While I was at Blackwater’s equipment introduction day last October, I still recall Chris Taylor, Blackwater’s Vice President, time and again, stating in strong tones for all who were within earshot,"Blackwater Gear will be made in America - by Americans for Americans!!!”
So it is with no surprise that Blackwater’s Knives are built by the professionals at Benchmade Knife company ( BMK ) in Oregon. Having had an opportunity to tour the Benchmade knife Facility, with BMK’s Vice President, Greg Mooney as my personal tour guide, I was given the 5.50 cent tour. It was an interesting and eye opening tour at that. As we walked through the facilities many floors, though door after door, I was simply amazed at the immensity of it all, not to mention the number of Knife’s BMK was busy packing and shipping out.
I was treated to an in depth education of Knife manufacturing by one of the largest and best knife manufacturer’s in the world. The sheer immensity of it all was staggering. Their stocking capability, their cataloging capacity, and their numbers of people on the floor at the different steps of knife building, impressed the hell out of me. I was introduced to each and every step, from cutting a large sheet of metal to sharpening the metal, to finally turning it into a blade, to inserting the blade into a handle, and finally into a sheath, when it would be packed into a box and finally sent over to it’s waiting point before it would be packed into a large box and shipped out to it’s eventual destination. What an intense operation.
Excerpt from BMK’s website:
Today, Benchmade Knife Company, Inc. manufactures knives for a loyal and ever growing following of knife users. As we move into the 21st century we are poised for even more exciting opportunities, innovations and ongoing total world-class quality. Here at Benchmade we employ a simple philosophy- “Make it cool, make it solid, make it happen and definitely make it Benchmade.”
BMK has been in the knife making business for quite a while, and has done quite an incredible job with this new Blackwater knife design. Hey, the packaging really stands out, too.
First of all, it is a great logo, and owning a Blackwater Knife is in my opinion a Big Deal. I truly love the Blackwater logo, seriously who doesn’t? That BearPaw is one of the most awesome logo’s around. To have it on my knife is definitely worth some serious CDI points.
Operationally, Blackwater knife’s are on the mark. Fixed blades with either Drop-Points, or Tanto edge, come in Black or Coyote. Tanto- Most tantos seen on the American cutlery market are Americanized formats. Like the Japanese tanto, the Americanized tanto has a high point in-line with the pivot. A flat grind is applied to the point, leaving it very thick and extraordinarily strong. this thick area helps absorb the impact from piercing, as the tanto was originally designed for armor piercing. The front edge meets the bottom edge at an obtuse angle rather than curving to meet it as seen in the Japanese tanto. The only negative aspect of the tanto blade shape is the cutting surface area is sacrificed to gain tip strength. Drop-Point slow convex-curved drop in the point characterizes a drop-point blade. The drop-point format lowers the point for control but adds strength to the tip. Usually coupled with plenty of belly for slicing, this format is often used for hunting knives. It is also a fantastic all-around blade format. This blade shape can be found on a wide array of knives. With sheaths designed to Lock in the blade, and a One-Way only insertion method, ensuring your blade remains locked in place when properly secured. Thumb release mechanism allows easy removal from the sheath. While the Knife handle has a finger grip preventing your hand from slipping forward while using this knife. A lanyard hole is built into the tip of the handle for those of you who like to be sure your knife is lanyarded in during use. The drop-point has a 4 ¾ inch blade, while the Tanto edge is the same.
EDGE CONFIGURATIONS: |
This refers to the cutting edge itself, and Benchmade currently offerstwo primary edge configurations. PLAIN EDGE, which is the traditional straight ground cutting edge. This edge is the most common used in knives due in part to its relative ease of resharpening and overall blade utility. COMBOEDGE™ is the Benchmade term for a blade which is mostly plain edge, but also has a partially serrated edge. This blade enhancement is beneficial to the knife user who has a need for cutting fibrous materials such as rope or webbing on a regular basis. The serration provides a scalpel sharp cutting surface while increasing the cutting edge length in a shorter distance. All the Blackwater knives we checked out had the COMBOEDGE.
Blackwater Gear - Knives offer three folder’s, two manual and one automatic, and they are also just as Kewl as the fixed blades. All folders are built with the Axis lock.
AXIS LOCK:
A Benchmade exclusive, this patented AXIS™ locking mechanism is an ingenious marvel that has been touted by some as quite possibly “the strongest folding lock ever.” It’s the culmination of four years of “tinkering” by renowned custom knife makers Bill McHenry and Jason Williams. So simple yet so functional, this mechanism is certain to leave you scratching your head and saying, “WOW, why didn’t I think of that…" The features of the AXIS lock are significant and greatly enhance the function of knives. First and foremost is the strength. This lock is definitely more than adequate for the demands of normal knife use. A close second to strength is the inherent AXIS advantage of being totally ambidextrous without user compromise. The blade can be readily actuated open or closed with either hand- without ever having to place flesh in the blade path. Lastly, and certainly not any less impressive, is the indescribable “smoothness” with which the mechanism and blade function. By design there are no traditional “friction” parts to the AXIS mechanism, making the action the much smoother. And it’s all reasonably exposed so you can easily clean away any unwarranted debris. Basically, AXIS gets its function from a spring-loaded bar that rides forward and back in a slot machined into both liners. The bar extends to both sides of the knife; spanning the space between the liners and is positioned over the rear of the blade. It engages a ramped notch cut into the tang portion of the knife blade when it is opened. Two omega style springs, one on each liner, give the locking bar its inertia to engage the knife tang, and as a result the tang is wedged solidly between a sizable stop pin and the AXIS bar itself. It’s a lot of words in an attempt to describe simplicity, but the very best way to truly appreciate the AXIS lock is to experience it for yourself firsthand. Available on All Blackwater Gear Folding Knives.
Over the past several months we’ve utilized the knives we received in dozens of different scenarios, from normal cutting to emergency use, to use during Tactical Entries, and as a Hammer on at least one occasion. We found Blackwater Knives to be above par in many instances, and in all instances on the mark for our suggested uses. Whether they were used in salt water, or fresh, to cut mooring lines or rubber, to scrape gunk from a pier piling, to cutting away 550 cord from the outboard prop, to being used to scrape off the battery post in the patrol vehicle, or jammed into a box as a hold-open, or when used to cut wire, or any other number of hard uses we ran these knives thru. We found them to respond as advertised. Maintaining a good working edge, and with proper care our knives remain operational.
We highly recommend the Blackwater Gear Knife for use by all who have a need for a hard work knife. Although if you try hard enough anybody could break a blade, our goal was to run these knives thru a series of REALISTIC scenarios and uses, and report our findings.
With a total of five different knife configurations to choose from now, I have it on good authority as time moves ahead, there will be New designs in the near future. So keep your eye to Blackwater Gear - Knives and get one for your knife collection soon.
I want to take a moment and express my personal Congratulations to Blackwater USA for their selection of knife Manufacturer, on their knife design, and wish them only Continued successes. Well Done Blackwater.
Dealers you can now BUY Blackwater Gear-Knives from:
Blackwater USA’s Pro Shop, Tactical & Survival Specialities ( TSSI ), Ranger Joes, Brigade Quartermaster, Maryland Small Arms, and Extreme Outfitters.