FOG HORN

Benchmade 275 Adamas Beauty and the Beast

By: Sal Palma

2012
Twobirds Flying Publication

Shane Sibert is a son of Oregon and one of the best custom blade designers in the country. In collaboration with Benchmade Knives, he created the Adamas to honor the courage and commitment by our warriors. The 275 Adamas is dedicated to the men and women in harms way. Benchmade Knife Company will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of these knives to the Ranger Assistance Foundation. My reference to Beauty and the Beast in conducting this review is inspired by the original French fairy tale Le Belle et la Bte first published in La jeune amricaine, et les contes marins in 1740; written by GabrielleSuzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Its hard to

do justice to works written in another language but Ill summarize it by saying that two seemingly and diametrically opposed styles can exist in perfect symbiosis. Its a beautiful fairy tale for kids to read. Yet it remains applicable to our knife in review. At first glance, the Adamas is an eye catcher: clean lines, beautifully formed finger coils, jimping in all the right places, a partial flat grind extending from the center of the blade to its very sharp edge and a beautifully curved belly. However, picking up the Adams reveals its heft, lock up and enormous slicing and puncturing power the Beast. Benchmades Adamas sports a 3.82 blade with a thickness of 0.160 made from D2 tool steel. The combination of blade thickness and D2 Tool Steel delivers a whopping 60-62 HRC of blade hardness. You can chop or baton with this knife and never lose sleep concerned that youll snap its blade. If you hold your tongue just right, you can probably pry concrete blocks out of a wall with this knife. It is stout; so much so, that it easily competes with some of the lighter fixed blade designs.

Copyright 2012, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.

Benchmade 275 Adamas Beauty and the Beast

2012

The locking mechanism is built on Benchmades patented AXIS lock and it is rock solid. During my testing, I attacked a couple of 2-inch tree branches, hacking away at them until they fell. An after action inspection revealed that there was no play in the blade up and down or right to left. Furthermore there was no deterioration in its smoothness of operation. Deploying the blade was equally satisfying, and uncharacteristically smooth for a knife in its class. There are no rough spots so it takes very little force to deploy it and is as fast as any assisted opening design. The fully ambidextrous thumb studs are placed at precisely the correct point on the blade; theyre also sufficiently large for gloved hand single handed operation. The gorgeous blade profile is what knocked me right off my feet. The Adamas is a drop point design with a nice swedge along the spine that assists puncturing; giving the knife a faux double edge look. Streaming aft from its massive tip along the edge is a gorgeous belly that bestows a slicing capability to be reckoned with. This knife, if handled recklessly is quite capable of taking a finger before you even know it happened.

The Adamas is a military grade tool from stem to stern; having said that, caveat emptor do not let children play with this knife as the smooth opening and closing along with its blade heft will alter their lives. You can talk about the Adams handle all day long but nothing tells the story as well as holding one in your hand. The knife is balanced about 1-inch south of the axis point, which makes the tip very fast, and lets the knife rest solidly in the hand.

There is an abundance of jimping along with a thumb rest at the axis point which ensures a solid and secure saber grip, so chopping, cutting or slicing present no serious challenge. In fact, there is jimping on any shelf coming in contact with the fingers, regardless of the grip used, which provides the user with great control using any combination of a saber grip or reverse grip. You can be assured that your hand will remain locked in to the handle and not slip over the blade. The frame and G10 scales form a natural curvature for a comfortable and secure grip
Copyright 2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

Benchmade 275 Adamas Beauty and the Beast

even in the largest of hands. The angles used in the grip design naturally insulate the hand from shock while pulling hard duty. This Sebert design takes an interesting approach. The frame is drilled with three large through holes on either side. The G10 scales are machined with a matching concentric pattern only a smaller radius was used. This practice does two things. First, the smaller openings on the scale prevent your fingers from falling through the cutouts and into the frame where cutting your fingers while closing the blade is possible. Second, it provides for an efficient way to eliminate debris trapped inside the open frame. You can hose the handle down and have it completely drain. The knife can be fully disassembled for maintenance, but having these openings keeps the area inside the frame clear of mud and other contaminants, which is simply accomplished by holding the knife under running water.

2012

very low profile. The clip could use some stiffing given the knifes substantial weight of nearly 8-ounces. However, it secures the knife adequately. More importantly, the knife wont bind in the pocket.

The Benchmade 275 Adamas, ships with a MOLLE compliant pouch so it can be carried on your vest or plate carrier with no problems at all. Shane Sibert and Benchmade have delivered a very thoughtful design reflecting the resilient and adaptive character of the men and women it was designed to honor. It is esthetically pleasing yet thoroughly capable and robust, a perfect dichotomy perfectly integrated and symbiotic. Benchmades Adamas is truly worthy of being called Beauty and the Beast, but its no fairy tale its designed for the rigors that come with hard use. -SP

I very much like the Adamas tip up carry and the reversible clip, which allows the knife to sit deep in the pocket creating a
Copyright 2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved

Benchmade 275 Adamas Beauty and the Beast

Video

2012

Manufacturers Specifications Blade Length: 3.82" Blade Thickness: 0.160" Handle Thickness: 0.730" Blade Material: D2 Tool Steel Blade Hardness: 60-62HRC Blade Style: Drop-Point Weight: 7.70oz. Pocket Clip: Tip-Up, Reversible Lock Mechanism: AXIS Overall Length: 8.70" Closed Length: 4.88" Sheath Material: MOLLE Pouch Class: Black

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Copyright 2012, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved