Introduction
I found the Benchmade Azeria on Amazon while looking for a good concealed carry knife. I own several knives from Benchmade, and I knew about the strong reputation that the company held. Quality, well designed knives, and that’s what I was expecting. So I payed the 84$ on Amazon, and two days later, my package arrived. To say I was excited would be an understatement, but over time, my excitement turned to a bitter disappointment.
The Specs
The Azeria itself is made of N680 steel, which is a decent corrosion resistant steel. The blade is 2.90 inches, and the overall length is 5.64 inches. The grips are made of Grivory, a form of plastic. The blade weighs 2.37 ounces.
The Review
The knife arrived in perfect condition. It’s a little small for me to fit in my hand comfortably, and the blade angle is a little bit off to me. The thickness and form factor of the knife scales was similarly uncomfortable, and I think it was just a bit to small for my long hands and thin fingers. I was disappointed, but it was still a quality knife, just not for me. The edge was RAZOR sharp, quite literally, and I liked the profile, even if the protrusion from the handle wasn’t perfect. The sheath is absolutely terrible though, with a belt clip a few sizes too large, that caused it to rattle around, and a “anti-assailant retention device” (a simple metal pin in the back of the sheath) was absolutely useless. Honestly, I was frustrated, but I decided that for the purposes of an honest evaluation, I would carry the knife every day for a few months.
So I’ve been carrying this knife since July 28th, and I can finally say, I’m completely done. Those grivory handles broke off after a 2 foot fall, and there was no recovery for them. The screws that held the handles on had stripped out completely, and I’ve honestly never seen anything like it.
Summary
So overall, I just can’t recommend the knife. I don’t like to walk away from a product writing an unsatisfactory review, but that’s what I’m doing. For 84$, I walked away with a really good box cutter.
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