Benchmade has been making quality everyday carry folding knives for quite a long time now, and one of their best also happens to be one of their oldest blades still available. That knife is the now 20-year old Benchmade Osborne knife, first introduced in the year 2000, but with a forward-leaning design that looks at home in EDCs decades later. You might think Benchmade would be content to rest on their laurels, but to celebrate the success of this evergreen model, they’ve given it a refresh and sized things down for modern EDC needs. The community asked for a Mini Osborne knife, and now in 2020, it’s here.
The new Mini Osborne knife features a smaller 2.92″ blade, brought down from the original knife’s 3.4″ length. It keeps the unique flat-ground reverse tanto blade shape of the original however, including the top swedge that makes it easy to stick this knife in thin spaces and the curve at the tip that makes for excellent detail slicing when the task calls for it. Its CPM-S30V stainless steel blade composition means it can achieve and retain a sharp edge for longer, and you should be able to use this knife for utility tasks without having to worry about it getting dull quickly.
The black G-10 handle matches the blade’s stealthy finish, and helps keep the overall knife lightweight at 2.19 ounces. The reduced size means it’s also lighter than the original while still having enough ergonomics for a full grip for most people. The scales’ blue base layer also gives them a nice accent when viewing the knife at an angle. And it’s easy to deploy the blade with either hand using the manual ambidextrous thumbstud, with the AXIS lock keeping everything in place even during hard use.
Despite its smaller size, don’t mistake the new Benchmade 945BK-1 Mini Osborne for an inferior knife. It’s fully capable like the original, but its smaller size allows it to run more discreet when you need it. The blacked-out aesthetic helps with that as well, and the contrasting blue metal hardware gives this 20th anniversary knife a look that you’ll enjoy having with you on your adventures for at least the next 20 years. If you want to learn more, click the link below and preorder one for your EDC.
