I don’t have to tell you out-the-fronts are cool. You know like a guy with an earring
in one ear, fingerless gloves, Camaros, perms- classic cool. And Benchmade knows this. That’s
why they have names like Infidel, Pagan, Autocrat, Aristocrat, Wiccan, the 3400, and the Satan.
If you don’t believe me, look it up. Would a guy who’s into switchblades lie to you?
But specifically today we’re looking at the Pagan. Because you can’t name a knife
ShouldaboughttheInfidel. A knife featuring the same double action technology found in
$30 gas station out the fronts, and the same steel regular old steel found in the $90 Griptilian-
which adds up to a MSRP of … carrying the 5 divided by -3 $400!. However since it’s
a chisel ground out the front, a aluminum blade would probably be sufficient- if I were
to just predict how much you were going to use it.
But before we do anything else, and before I make any hard hitting cutting up guns jokes
then I will probably regret making, lets look at the dimensions like the overall length
and weight. I know, they should have given you those guns, a felony adds character. Blade
length and cutting edge. And I can sleep easy at night knowing that the serials numbers
have been logged by local and federal authorities. Handle size and grip area. Did you hear they’re
going to melt them all down and use them in blade steel of their new line of autos. Spine
thickness and handle thickness.
Carrying on with the cool sounding naming convention like found in popular model the
autocrat- the next new model is ? Tallnesses. The Democrat! Yeah definitely not worth the
setup. So the Benchmade Pagan is a kinda a large switchblade. They wanted to name it
“Punisher Skull” but settled on Pagan after a consultation with their legal department.
Plus I think that’s already a Cold Steel model. Right now there’s a guy rolling his
eyes, saying the punisher skull joke would have worked better on the Infidel. (Angrily)
What don’t you GET ABOUT “I DIDN’T BUY THE INFIDEL.” THIS IS ALL I GOT. IT WAS
A DECENT DEAL. AND WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES.
It features a uhhh (disgusted), stonewashed chisel ground dagger blade made out of 154CM.
Chisel ground means it’s flat on one side and regular knife on the other- or the Emerson
grind! Or as bench made puts it A similar symmetrical look and feel to the original
Pagan with the added utility of a single sided blade. MOLLE® compatible. Made in USA. I
don’t know what added utility means, but maybe it means it’s easier to field sharpen.
Who takes this knife into the field? Do you hunt with it? Dress game with it? Feather
stick with it? Or stab people occasionally like a normal person. To be fair the other
day I saw someone cleaning a deer with microtech on IG. I guess my main beef is that it’s
not easy to sharpen and not scratch the shit out of the blade unless you put it on something
nicer like a KME or Wicked Edge. CAnd let me just put this out here. I get that this
is made for fast one handed opening and closing and targeted at first responders. This is
for the guys who feel the need to point out things like this. Although my Dad was a cop
for almost 40 years and he never carried one.
Deployment. Smooth and solid, definitely a number 4 on the Bristol scale. To be fair
a lot of cheap autos are also those things. Zero misfires so far. And like any auto it
can get “off track” if you deploy it into something solid, like say a 2 on the Bristol.
A quick flick of the wrist or just pulling the blade gently till it stops gets it back
on track. The slider has quite a bit of travel and then it pa-chows. There’s plenty of
traction from the ridges for those operators wearing tactical gloves. When compared to
my bounty hunter I prefer the slightly easier on the thumb of the benchmade slider, because
I’m tender. There’s a little bit of blade play, common on nearly all Out the Fronts,
but it’s not something you notice during regular occasional fidgeting. Which basically
counts as use on an OTF. The handle is smooth and comfortable. The main thing that differiates
cheap and expensive autos is often the quality of the handle and the use of nice materials.
For example the aluminum handle here is anodized and made from a higher quality aluminum. Cheap
switchblades are often a softer aluminum and are painted- which leads to chipping of the
paint- and cracking of the aluminum. But yes, Viewers… there’s a great hand fondling
experience here.
Clip is nice and deep- and it’s a great advertisement to it’s intended audience
as to what knife you’re carrying in your pocket. Law Enforcement! So have fun bailing
your teenager out of jail, when he steals your switchblade you don’t use. In and out
of the pocket nicely, and there’s a molle sheath that comes with it do to strap on your
tactical vest- next to your chest rig.
Comparisons. First the Pagan. The two biggest complaints here are that it’s kind of boring
when compared to what you can get in microtechs, and that it’s a chisel grind. True chisel
grinds have their place- like mainly in the hands of Emerson fans- but they just don’t
quite have the basic flexible cutting pattern of a v grind, or sharpened on both sides.
Like the Para military 2 here. Here I’ll link a thread below on Blade Forums, that
sums it up over and over and over again over maybe 50 pages for the best uses of chisel
grinds. If you want something better suited for knife things this works. As does the Benchmade
Fact. This has become my favorite Benchmade. I don’t know why, but it’s the Benchmade
I find I’m carrying most of the time. More than the 940-2. Here is a cheap switchblade-
the AKC f-16. Like I mentioned early in the review… you’re getting a cheaper blade
steel, a less comfortable handle, and cheap painted aluminum, which has it’s charm.
As far as the basic action it doesn’t change. One hasn’t been more likely to go off track-
but one feels nicer in the hands and has a smoother operation. Now the Boker Kalishnokov.
Sometimes I call this the AK-47 but that’s a different knife and I’m stupid. Cheap,
and pachow. Of course you need to close a standard out the side auto with two hands
or against your leg. They’re not near as fun to fidget with. And now the Benchmade
vs the Ultratech by Microtech. A lot more flair here. Microtech fit and finish are on
par with benchmades but Microtech ups it’s games by different colors, different handle
materials and they’re about the same price. And in reality switchblades are more about
the fidgeting than the use. Laws prevent them from carrying them in a lot of places- because
of no logical reason. So they’re basically fidget spinners. You can open and close many
folding knives with one hand just about as quickly.
Wrapping it up. Benchmade makes a nice switchblade. Switchblades are very overpriced for the nicer
ones. The main differences in cheap versus expensive are the materials and fit and finish.
For fidgeting and fun- the cheap ones might be the way to go. Because you’re going to
end up carrying and using a standard pocket knife more. The Benhcmade is durable. I don’t
know if the internet has another instance of someone batoning a chisel ground Benchmade
switchblade, but this isn’t to show you it’s right- but more that it’s possible
now that someone has taken it there. Switchblades are basically anti social fidget toys.
Oh and if you want to hear a little bit of good news particular model has been discontinued
in the nearly year and a half it took me to make this video. I guess the added utility
of a single sided blade turns out to be too useful!
Say Hi to the patrons otherwise known as enablers. And if you like anti social fidget toys, please
comment, think about being a Patron for a dollar or so a month. click that bell to be
notified when I drop a video. Or just subscribe, and not have a chance to post “FIRST”
under a video. Follow me on Instagram. Buy a T shirt. Two people have so far this month,
sweet Lynn in heaven. There have been two month stretches where no one bought shit.
Thanks for watching!