Reviews > Knives > Folding > Benchmade 530 > David Sowards-Emmerd > Field Report

Field Report - Benchmade 530 SBK
January 24, 2006

Name: David Sowards-Emmerd
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8'' (1.73 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Email Address: drunken_marmotATyahooDOTcom
Los Altos, California, USA

Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking semi-frequently about six years ago, soon after moving to California. I generally take weekend (1 night) trips, and occasionally take 3-4 day trips. Most of my backpacking experience is at moderate altitude, 6,000'-12,000' (1,800-3,650 m), in conditions ranging from dry desert to hail/heavy snow in the mountains. In winter and spring I split time between Southern California (SoCal) deserts and snowshoeing/skiing/snowcamping in the Sierra/Cascades. Summer and fall I tend to stick to the high country. I have reduced my packweight, including food and water down to less than 50 lb (23 kg) for snow camping and mountaineering and under 30 lb (14 kg) for 3-season camping with temperatures down to freezing. I'm trying to include more mountaineering, climbing and bouldering in my trips.

The product was received on November 10, 2005.

Product Description:

Manufacturer's Description:
Blade Length: 3.25'' (8.3 cm)
Blade Thickness: 0.090'' (2.3 mm)
Blade Material: 440C Stainless Steel
Blade Hardness: 58-60HRC
Blade Style: Spear-Point
Weight: 1.88 oz (53 g)
Clip: Black, Reversible, Tip-Up
Lock Mechanism: AXIS
Overall Length: 7.42'' (18.8 cm)
Closed Length: 4.17'' (10.6 cm)

Specifications (as measured by tester):
Closed Length: 4.19'' (10.6 cm)
Overall Length: 7.41'' (18.8 cm)
Blade Length (tip to handle): 3.25'' (8.3 cm)
Weight(knife, including clip): 1.73 oz (49 g)
Weight(carry sack): 0.07 oz (2 g)
Weight (clip): (3 g)

Product Description and Initial Impressions:

The Benchmade 530 (Pardue) SBK is a very lightweight folding knife. The SBK model has a serrated, spear-point blade that is coated, except for the edge, with Benchmade's BK1 BenchKote. For more details on the knife construction and materials, see my Initial Report.

Use So Far:

I've carried the 530 with me almost every day since I received it. Most of the time I've had the belt clip attached and about half of the time it has been clipped to my pants, the rest is just sits in my pocket. I've also threaded some Triptease through the hole in the scales, so that I could carry the knife on a carabiner or attach it to a pack strap. I frequently play with the 530 when I'm sitting around the house, including shredding paper and opening and closing the knife. After about a week of use, including opening and closing the knife several hundred times, the screw next to the pivot screw actually fell out of the knife. Since I didn't have a T6 (Torx size 6) driver at the time, I used a similar sized hex driver to re-install/re-tighten the screw. I was surprised at how loose the screw had to be to keep the blade opening easily. I could over tighten using a broken, wooden toothpick. Soon after this, I found a Craftsman T6 driver at Sears, and over the Holidays I picked up a Benchmade Blue Box (set of small Torx bits and a driver).

Nevertheless, this is the only issue I've had with the knife, and it's just a minor one that has been prevented since by keeping an eye on how tight the screws are. I have a bit of a feel for this now without checking the screws, as the blade wobble (when closed) and ease of opening are directly related to this. I tighten the blade pivot screw, and the one next to it just enough that the blade won't wobble side-to-side and is still smooth to open. It never is able to wobble in the open-close direction due to the AXIS lock. Tightening just slightly makes opening the blade very difficult, and might lead to faster wear on the moving parts (blade, bushings and liners).

I can segregate my use of the knife into two categories: home use and backpacking use, and there is quite a bit of overlap between the two. Around the apartment and in my office, I've used the 530 for a range of tasks including sharpening pencils, cutting bread, buttering stuff (using the back side of the blade to slice the cold butter), slicing fruits and vegetables, as a dinner utensil for eating chicken and steak (on lexan plates, very careful not to touch the blade to the fork), opening packages, and cutting random things. In the backcountry, I've used the 530 for cutting bread (see photo), cutting cord, cutting open MircoPur tablet packaging, and cutting duct tape and fabric repair tape.

Observations So Far:

The AXIS Lock:
The locking mechanism is my favorite of all I've used so far. It's very smooth, unlocks easily (when I want it to) and I'm confident from my use so far that it won't unlock on me. The only potential weak link in the lock is the spring that keeps the locking mechanism in place, which I will keep an eye on, but have no reason to believe that it might fail thus far. The 530 has been easy to open and unlock in most conditions, including with very cold and numb hands and while wearing leather gloves. The exception has been with wet hands, especially sweaty fingers. In this case, it's more difficult to get a hold of the thumb stud or lock release due to their low profile. But in this case, I just use a fingernail for either task and the problem is solved.

The AXIS mechanism on the 530 is slightly different than the AXIS lock on most of the other Benchmades models I've looked. In the case of the 530, the base of the blade has an extra groove, which is the reason the blade pops out of the scales when I pull on the lock mechanism. This is not the case with the other benchmade models I've gotten my hands on (Griptilian and Mini-Griptilian models, Rukus).

The Clip:
The clip is very lightweight but does make the knife a bit more streamlined when removed. However, the tradeoff is that it's a bit more difficult to open the knife with the clip removed, and some of the leverage is lost. I'm still able to 'flick' the blade open without the thumbstuds consistently, even when the clip is removed, it just required a bit of practice on my part. I've removed and replaced the clip several times during the testing period, and currently I'm carrying the 530 without the clip. A significant fraction of my pants have zippered pockets, so the clip doesn't help here, and I've got a small loop of Triptease cord that I put through the lanyard hole in the knife when I want to secure it without the clip (e.g. to a carabiner).

Edge Maintenance:
I've sharpened a few times with a Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker, maintaining a 30 degree (whole) angle on the edge. Most of the time this was just a quick touch-up with the fine grit stones. I haven't produced any nicks in the edge or anything that would require major sharpening, but I do like to keep my knives sharp. So far, the 530 has held it's edge very well for the amount of use I've put it through.

The Coating:
The BK1 coating has held up well so far. I noticed a few minor scratches in the coating and a bit of discoloration near the tip of the blade (see photos). No corrosion is visible, and the edge has a nice shine to it.

Cleaning and Lubrication:
I've cleaned the 530 several times - sometimes just with hot water or soap and hot water, other times I've just wiped out the lock and blade pivot area as best as I could with a paper towel. I've also used cotton swabs every once in a while, but have to pull a bunch of cotton off for it to fit between the scales. After cleaning, I'd been using 3-IN-ONE oil up to this point to lubricate the knife. I picked up some Tuf-Glide recently and intend to use that for lubricating the knife during the rest of testing. The Benchmade premium dealer where I bought it recommended the Tuf-Glide over the Militec-1 that Benchmade recommends (they sold both, and the Tur-Glide was cheaper too!). So far, the 3-IN-ONE oil has worked just fine.

Gear Destruction:
I've found the tip of the blade to be excellent for disassembling gear and removing stitching. I often grip the blade itself for this close-in work to maintain more control, and reduce the likelihood of slipping and cutting myself, instead of holding the knife by the handle.

Grip:
The grip on the 530 is surprisingly comfortable considering how thin it is. There are no sharp edges or particular spots that cause discomfort. The metal ridges on the back of the knife seem to give less grip than the plastic, but I believe this extra metal is there for structural reasons (for the lock), and the ridges are definitely better than smooth metal in their place.

Continued Testing

I will continue to carry the 530 with me for most of the remaining testing period. I have acquired a few more knives over the past month, so it will have to share the spotlight as far as every day carry. However, I will bring the 530 on all my backpacking and hiking outings. Testing will include more snow camping and use with gloved hands. I was hoping to report more on snow camping during my Field Report, but on my main snow trip, the knife didn't leave my pocket until I got into my tent that night. Finally, I will give the 530 another go at shaving, after a good sharpening and stropping.

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Reviews > Knives > Folding > Benchmade 530 > David Sowards-Emmerd > Field Report