In the world of knives and EDC, Benchmade is synonymous with quality. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone speaking ill of the brand who’s used a Benchmade — or even held one, in many cases. For a long time, fans of the brand were confined to the aesthetic and material choices that Benchmade chose for its knives — but with the introduction of its customization tool, knife enthusiasts have been able to fine-tune a selection of the brand’s slicers and dicers.
For a while, the knives available in Benchmade’s customization tool were pretty limited — but a few weeks ago, Benchmade added a key silhouette to its customization crew: the Mini Bugout. Useful, beautiful, sleek and slim, this addition may be small in stature, but for fans of the brand, its addition is an opportunity to put their own touch on one of the key knives in EDC.
Using the Customization Tool
Using Benchmade’s custom tool is about as easy as it gets. You can access it a few different ways on the site: find it as the first option on the main navigation on the homepage, and then click through the knife options to find the one you’re looking for, or go to your knife of choice, find the “Build Your Own” option among the other stock colorways, and get to picking your preferred look.
Pro tip: If you have a specific knife in mind that you’d like to customize, going straight to its product page is a quick way to see if it’s part of the customization program. If you’re curious about going custom but don’t know which knife is “the one,” heading to the main customization page will allow you to browse through all the knives available in the tool.
I decided to customize the Mini Bugout for a few reasons — it’s the newest knife available in the custom tool, but it’s also insanely popular and useful — not to mention good-looking. Once I accessed the customization tool, that’s where the fun began.
How It Works
You’ll start by picking which handle material and color you’d like. Grivory, the most affordable material, also has the most color options — 12. You can also pick from G10, carbon fiber and titanium. Once you’ve got the material for the handle, you’ll pick the liner, blade and hardware.
If you’re picky or like to visualize all your options, the process could take a while. But if you know what you want and go in with a plan, you can have your custom knife ordered in 10 minutes or less. Once I placed the order for mine, it took two weeks to arrive. And when it did, it exceeded expectations. Mine features a titanium handle, silver liner, S90V steel blade with partial serration and a satin finish, blue spacers, black clip and hardware and a silver axis. A real beauty.
Want Custom, But Something Different? Gerber Has You Covered
If you're into the idea of customizing but want to explore other options, it's worth checking out Gerber's customization tool. It's similar in execution: use the main navigation to access the "Custom" landing page, where you can browse through a selection of knives (and an inspiration gallery), or go to the product page of the knife you have in mind, and see if it's available for customizing. I recently customized the Assert, Gerber's newest knife, and found the process almost as seamless as Benchmade's user experience.
Gerber's custom page responds quicker than Benchmade's, but there are fewer options overall — including blade steels and colors for the handle. The most notable difference between the two processes was the "Hardware" drop-down menu. Each time you customize a different piece of hardware, you have to re-open the menu to move onto another part of the knife. This isn't a deal breaker — it's just mildly annoying.
Going custom can potentially cost you a pretty penny — with more high-end materials and finishes available, it’s easy to rack up an expensive addition to your EDC kit. If you want to replicate my Benchmade design, for instance, it’s going to cost you $430 — without taxes. (Shipping is free.) If you want my version of the Gerber Assert, it'll run you $190 — far less than Benchmade's option, but with nearly as much customization.
More Customization Options
If Gerber and Benchmade don't float your boat, or you'd like to add to your custom collection, a few additional knife brands have customization programs to check out. You can design your own knife with Buck's Custom Knife Shop, Case offers custom knife imprinting, and Victorinox offers a selection of knives available for customizing. Spyderco offers engraving services on newly purchased products. If you'd like to gift customized knives to your employees or other corporate peers, CRKT has a corporate sales program.
If you’re a knife aficionado and want a one-of-a-kind piece that’s going to go the distance with you (and potentially be handed down to your children or grandchildren) then going custom is a no-brainer. However you slice it, you can’t put a price on the feeling that comes from using a knife that’s been designed by you, for you.
