Benchmade has been the gold standard in American production folders since the late 1980s — the company that popularized the AXIS lock, proved that CPM steels could be made affordably at scale, and still hand-finishes every blade at its Oregon City plant. The fit and finish is a step above most production knives: blades center, locks engage cleanly, and the pivots stay smooth over years of use.
The Osborne 940-1 is the carbon-fiber version of Warren Osborne’s iconic reverse-tanto design — same 3.4-inch CPM-S90V blade, same aluminum liner, but with a carbon-fiber handle that shaves weight and looks unlike any other production folder on the market. The reverse tanto point opens boxes and cleans up detail work where a drop-point would be too fat.
Benchmade manufactures every knife at its factory in Oregon City, Oregon. Blades are heat-treated in-house, handles are machined locally, and each knife is inspected and test-fired before it leaves the building. The company’s LifeSharp service will sharpen any Benchmade free for life — a policy that only makes sense if they know the knives last that long.
