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Reviews > Knives > Fixed Blade > Benchmade 15000 Bone Collector > Test Report by Erin Marie Hedden

BENCHMADE 15000 BONE COLLECTOR
TEST SERIES BY ERIN M. HEDDEN
LONG-TERM REPORT
August 21, 2011

CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE FIELD REPORT
CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE LONG-TERM REPORT

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Erin M. Hedden
EMAIL: tookieblueeyes@live.com
AGE: 33
LOCATION: Southeastern Colorado, USA
GENDER: F
HEIGHT: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
WEIGHT: 153 lb (69.40 kg)

Backpacking Background: I have been backpacking since 4 years of age, taking long trips into the mountains with my family. I hike various terrains from mountains and plateaus to grasslands and prairies. My excursions can be a day hike with a light-weight waist pack, a loop trail taking up to 5 days on which I keep my pack as light-weight as possible, or an in-and-out trip for a night or two where my pack can be heavy. Slow and steady is my pace and I use a tent or a hammock depending on weather and terrain.


INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

IMAGE 1Manufacturer: Benchmade
Model: Bone Collector 15000-2 Caping Knife
Year of Manufacture: 2011
Manufacturer's Website: Benchmade
MSRP: US $110.00
Listed Blade Length: 4 in (102 mm)
Measured Blade Length: 4 in (102 mm)
Listed Blade Thickness: 0.140 in (3.56 mm)
Measured Blade Thickness: 0.141 in (3.58 mm)
Listed Overall Length: 8 in (203 mm)
Blade Material: D2 Tool Steel (Carbon)
Blade Rockwell: 60-62HRC
Measured Overall Length: 8 in (203 mm)
Listed Weight: 3 oz (85 g)
Measured Weight: 4 oz (113 g)
Listed Handle Thickness: 0.590 in (15 mm)
Measured Handle Thickness: 0.6 in (15 mm)
Handle Material: Stabalized Walnut
Sheath: Brown Leather
Listed Sheath Weight: 2 oz (56 g)
Measured Sheath Weight: 2 oz (56g)

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

The Benchmade 15000-2 Bone Collector fixed blade Caping knife came in a smart looking black box with green and white images and writing on it. The box center slid out to reveal the Bone Collector itself in its handsome leather sheath and a "User Care Manual".

The sheath itself is made of a brown leather with a button snap thong to keep the knife secure. The impression of the Bone Collector image and its name is centered on the sheath itself and it stands out quite nicely against the lighter brown of the sheath itself. It appears to be well constructed and of high quality leather with a tough white cord used in its shaping and construction.

IMAGE 3The knife handle itself has a textured walnut handle with a rib cage pattern and it also has added jimping around the knife tang and blade for added grip and stability. The Bone Collector logo itself has also been burned into the end of the handle which gives it a very attractive look.

IMAGE 5The blade is made of a D2 steel otherwise known as carbon steel and is a straight edge with the Benchmade name and D2 15000 USA printed clearly on the left side of the blade, while Michael Waddell's signature and the Bone Collector name is printed on the right hand side.

READING THE USER CARE MANUAL

Reading the care manual is easy enough and is written in English. They highlight the 3 different types of product classes they offer, the gold class, which is their premium line of products, the blue class, which is said in the manual to represent "the heart of everything that is Benchmade", and the black class, which encompasses products that are designed and developed for extreme duty.

The manual also highlights the proper care and maintenance of the knife itself, the Benchmade LIFESHARP service, which states simply that Benchmade will resharpen the knife to factory edge for a nominal fee of $5 US which is just to cover the price of handling and return shipping.

Also covered in the manual is the limited lifetime warranty and what is covered by the company along with a registration card for the owner to return to the company if one should choose to do so.

TRYING IT OUT

IMAGE 2Initially I used the knife to remove the wing bones of a Turkey to make myself a wing bone call for a future hunt and found that the blade cut through the meat of the birds wing with ease and separated the ligaments and tendons that were in the birds wing nicely. The amount of control over the knife was exceptional. I experienced no slippage or shifting of my hand when I applied a greater amount of pressure on the knife to cut through some of the feathers and bone.

SUMMARY

IMAGE 4Overall my initial impression of the 15000-2 Bone Collector by Benchmade is a positive one. It is a very handsome tool and it feels quite balanced in the hand. The sharpness of the knife right out of the box was more than exceptional and it stood up to the task of removing the wing bones from a turkey wing the first time out and that impressed me. I am excited about the Bone Collector and look forward to using it a bit more as I feel that it is a very strong tool for any hunter to have on his side.


FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

IMAGE 1

I used this fixed blade knife to dress a wild turkey after a successful hunt at Picketwire Canyon in Southeastern Colorado in April. Also, it has been used to clean several trout and 1 channel catfish at Ordway Reservoir in Ordway, Colorado and it has been applied to many different common tasks at home and in 3 separate camps.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

The Benchmade Bone Collector 15000-2 proved to be proficient in dressing the wild turkey that was harvested during the hunt in Picketwire Canyon during April. It cut through the tough skin easily and I experienced no slippage even after the handle had been thoroughly coated with blood during the dressing process. The jibbing added to my grip on the knife as well.

This knife also proved itself to be useful to clean and gut fish. Again I experienced no slippage during the process after the blade and the handle both had become coated in blood and the normal slime from the fish and its innards.

IMAGE 2In other common camp tasks such as opening vacuum sealed bags of food items and cutting cordage to proper length for hanging a bear bag or tying down tarps the knife performed well. When it came to slicing up Spam or cutting up jerky I had no problem using the Bone Collector.

This knife kept its sharp edge after regular use and has only been in need of a few strokes over a sharpening stone twice during the past three months. It was never seriously dulled by any of the its regular applications.

SUMMARY

The Benchmade Bone Collector performed well during the many different occasions I have used it during wild turkey season, while fishing, at home and on the trail. It has never failed to perform well under any condition, even being coated in blood and fish guts, or after being used to cut through the tough joints of a bird.

IMAGE 3I have used this knife to clean, quarter and gut a large turkey then switched from cutting to scraping to remove excess material from the skin to preserve the feathers and beard for a wall mount. I also used the Bone Collector 15000-2 to separate bones from the wing of another bird and clean those bones off well enough to create a wing bone turkey call for future hunts.

It performed exceptionally well during turkey season as well as during the more delicate task of gutting and cleaning fish. The knife went from the tough jobs to more straight forward tasks such as cutting twine and slicing jerky well and proved its ability to hold its edge well.


LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

I have had in my possession the Benchmade Bone Collector 15000-2 fixed blade caping knife for five months, but it has only been over the last 2 months that I have made this knife part of my EDC (every day carry).

As a part of my EDC it gets used here at home, around the ranch and at work in the fields around southeastern Colorado.

It also gets use during my fishing trips out to Holbrook lake, Ordway Reservoir, along the Arkansas River and in the canals for channel catfish here in southeastern Colorado. I have also used it on several camping trips out to Holbrook lake over the last three months and on a few backcountry picnics in Picketwire Canyon and at Ryans Pond as well.

The Benchmade Bone Collector 15000-2 has been put to use during the hot, sunny days that seems to have plagued the region for the majority of the summer season.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

The Benchmade Bone Collector 15000-2 impressed me when it showed its capability when field dressing two wild turkey in the spring hunting season. It cut through skin, flesh, fat, cartilage, joints and bone without problems or extra effort being applied.
IMAGE 2
Knife Matches Beard In Length


I am pleased with the Bone Collectors ability to clean different fish that I have caught throughout Southern Colorado's lakes and rivers. It does just as well as the special filleting knife I carry in my tackle box and doesn't require edge touch ups like my filleting knife does. I have found that this knife guts trout and skins catfish just as well as those made specifically for the needs of fisherman.

This knife cuts up, chops and slices up meats for meals in camp with no problems and I have even used it to slice up freshly caught fish for the fire without issue.

When preparing fruits and vegetables for meals or snacks in camp or during a backcountry picnic so many knives have often produced poor results, if not complete failures, so I was more than surprised by the Benchmade Bone Collector when I applied it to this task. I was happy to see that no squished, smashed, mushed, mashed or maimed fruits or vegetables were a result of applying the Bone Collector to this portion of my meal preparation. Even soft fruits like tomatoes and peaches were no problem cutting into with the Bone Collector. This was a big seller for me on this particular knife.

Opening up packaging of food items is easy. So is opening up those heavy plastic containers that encase products I have purchased at a store. Getting a cellular phone charger out of its package in the car was just as easy as opening up some ramen noodles by the campfire.

Using the Benchmade Bone Collector to cut lengths of 5/50 paracord to use as guy lines for makeshift rain shelter was short work. So was cutting rope 1" (25 mm) in diameter. However, it took more effort to get through a rawhide lariat when it became tangled up in the header of my swather (farm equipment that is used to cut hay and leave behind swaths, or rows of cut grass and hay) at work.

SUMMARY

IMAGE 1The Benchmade Bone Collector 15000-2 has been asked to do just about every chore I can imagine thus far and has always met the challenge without failure. It has met my needs and expectations on every occasion. It has even surprised me by exceeding expectations on several occasions as well.

The Bone Collector is certainly more than capable of meeting the needs of any small game hunter. This I can say out of personal experience and with confidence.

The knife is well built, sturdy and strong with a sharp edge to its blade right out of the box. That edge is not quick to be worn down and dulled. When the edge finally does begin to dull it only takes a few strokes over a sharpening stone to correct but there is always the option of sending it back to the Benchmade company to have it returned to its original factory edge as well, which is a nice option for any knife owner to have.

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1. Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

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