Benchmade Aphid Review

[gnius]

This is a relatively new knife, and I did not see a lot of discussion about it, so since I purchased it I wanted to contribute a little information to the wonderful resource pool of this forum.

So, without further ado, this is my quick and dirty take on the new Benchmade Aphid.

The Aphid is a small assisted-opening folder. To quickly borrow Benchmade's data on this particular knife:

Features

* Textured Handle for Ample Grip
* Optimiser™ Assist
* Reversible Clip

Specifications

* Blade Length: 2.38"
* Blade Thickness: 0.100"
* Blade Material: 440C Stainless Steel
* Blade Hardness: 58-60 HRC
* Blade Style: Drop-Point Utility w/ Ambidextrous Thumb-Studs
* Weight: 1.65oz.
* Clip: Reversible Tip Down Clip
* Lock Mechanism: Locking-Liner with Optimiser Assist
* Handle Material: Valox; Reversible Tip Down Clip
* Handle Thickness: 0.38"
* Overall Length: 5.63"
* Closed Length: 3.25"

First impressions.

1. The knife is light. It is lighter than the Kershaw Skyline, which is my benchmark for light folders.
2. The knife feels sturdy. It has a liner on both sides, and it locks up tight, despite the relatively thin liner. There is no bladeplay that I can feel, and the knife passes the spine-whack test without a problem.
3. Unlike the stock photos from Benchmade, the knife has a black pocket clip... which prevents what would otherwise be a very annoying shortcoming.

Action

1. The thumbstuds require just a tad of effort to get to, and may present an issue if using gloves. But without gloves it's easy to open the knife
2. The assist is reasonably fast... coming in maybe just a hair slower than the Kershaw Leek.

Blade

1. The blade is THICK for such a small folder. It is significantly thicker than the Leek, and looks substantial.
2. The grind and the blade shape are perfect. It's a spear-point type of a design, unlike the Leek's modified Wharncliffe. Considering that the most direct counterpart to this knife would be the Kershaw Scallion (similar size, polymide handle, etc...), this knife's blade appears to be much better suited to everyday tasks.

Handle

The handle is very comfortable, and manages to fill the hand rather well for such a small knife... courtesy of ample thickness due to the two liners. The handle material feels warm and reasonably grippy, but not scratchy like the Skyline.

Overall

It's a nice little knife. Came very sharp from the factory, although I have not had a chance to use it for an extended period of time in order to find out how well it will retain its edge. As you can see it is quite a bit smaller than the Leek, but due to its light weight and excellent blade shape, I think it's very well suited for everyday carry.

Pics:

 

[bladkersh02]

Hey that looks nice. Being a fan of the monochrome, I'll have to check this one out.

 

[senoBDEC]

Wow.. it's a lot smaller than I expected. The thumbstuds do look a bit iffy though... and if they protude enough they may activate by snagging inside your pocket... hm - though perhaps that's WHY they placed it so close to the edge of the handle?

 

[Condition 1]

The Optimizer Assist requires a bit of a push to get it going and the thumb studs are probably placed in that spot due to the physics of deploying the blade. Of course this knife was made to be used as much as admired. For example, blade steel 440C, blade thickness lets you know that it’s not going to bend. Comparing it to the Leek is not all that fair to the Leek. I’m not criticizing you for doing it. In fact it’s a great review.

It’s just that the Leek’s blade 13C26 (I think) and it’s ultra thin blade... I’ve never seen a used Leek without a bent blade. I bent every one of my Leeks and never abused them. Good job on the Aphid. The pics really back your review well. Thanks for taking the time to review.
C1

 

[jujigatame]

Have you tried removing/deactivating the assist? I'm just curious what the detent and action are like without it.

 

[RKH]

Thanks for an excellent review on the Aphid. I am considering one and believe your review has made up my mind. I can always use another knife.

RKH

 

[knarfeng]

That is a great review with very good performance observations.

THANKS!

sigh...another knife for my want list.

 

[gnius]

Thank you for taking the time to check out my very brief review.

Here's some more impressions, after a week of EDC:

1. I've learned how to deploy both tip up and tip down (with some practice)... but it's a little scratchy due to the design. Because the assist uses a large bar at the spine of the blade, unlike the Kershaw speed-safe, the blade is harder to deploy, and the action is not as smooth.

2. The assist bar doesn't help with cleaning the knife... and I can envision how pocket lint could prevent it from working properly.

3. The pocket clip is a) very small and b) very tight. It will require some time before it can be comfortably worn on more delicate pants or pants that have a thick fold of material at pocket edges.

4. On bluejeans, the high placement of the pocket clip and its black color serve to make the knife pretty much disappear.

5. The blade shape is excellent for EDC tasks, and it's holding up ok in terms of the edge... but manufacturing shortcuts show after awhile - the blade wasn't uniformly sharp throughout the length (a 5mm area can't cut paper), and the sharpening grind is rather rough... so it was sharp, but not polished, giving a toothy edge. I'll correct both problems over the weekend, but it's clear that the quality of the edge doesn't stand up to the higher-end benchmade offerings, like my mini-rukus.

 

[mugwump867]

I just received my Aphid today and after carrying and using it around the house and yard for a few hours I thought I would chime in as well. I bought it to replace my Benchmade 530 which was my EDC lightweight folder for the past few years. I decided to switch to the Aphid because it's lighter, has full liners, and looks a little less menacing.

So far I really like it. It feels very solid for such a small knife and I like the toothy edge on the blade. The only thing I miss from the 530 is the Axis lock.

 

[gnius]

One further note, is that the Aphid, due to its small handle and slim size, has allowed me to really free up my pockets, due to the fact that it actually fits inside the coin pocket on my jeans. Now I can carry a knife, a multitool, and a flashlight... all without putting anything in the large pockets!
From left to right: Aphid, Leatherman Micra (pulled up to show), Fenix L0D-CE flashlight.

 

[Condition 1]

Hey, that's cool. Great idea.

 

[jkarp_53]

Thanks for the review and great pics. No too many reviews of this little USA-made assisted opener knife around. Benchmade's 440c blades are good stuff, I've got the new 522 and 527 and they cut well, so I'd expect this one to perform equally...looks like a great utility knife!