This 6-in-1 Knife Is Both Beautiful and Innovative
Buy $136, amazon.com; benchmade.com
Welcome to The Esquire Endorsement. Heavily researched. Thoroughly vetted. These picks are the best way to spend your hard-earned cash.
In an age of complexity sometimes we forget about the most fundamental of gadgets. No bell, no whistles, no screens or wires or Bluetooth or cords. Just a knife. Or rather, a knife that does knife things (cutting, mainly) but also sneakily makes itself useful in other ways, from opening bottles to unscrewing screws to even disgorging hooks and sawing wood, like one of Victorinox's very complex, 49-function army knives manages to do. If that is the tool-power you need, well, best of luck on your endeavors, which we'll assume amount to running an undercover opps military maneuver on Mars. For our money though, something simpler like Benchmade's 380 Aller knife suits best.
The blade is sharp, strong, and controlled by friction.
The first thing to know about the Benchmade 380 Aller knife is that it doesn't have a lock on it. Scary, right? A blade this sharp would seem to necessitate some sort of safety precaution. It's friction that keeps the knife folded up securely when not in use (Benchmade has a patent pending on that feature, in fact)—it doesn't feel flimsy or like it'd be easily jarred open, but when you need it, the blade glides smoothly from the case, then glides smoothly back closed. Nor is the blade itself, a straight-edge Wharncliffe style, overly large. If you need a hefty sort of knife, look elsewhere. But that makes this one ideal for small, precise cuts.
Buy $136, amazon.com; benchmade.com
It's handy as hell.
To call this knife just a knife would be to sell it short. The 380 Aller is truly a multitool, with five other functions. It has a screwdriver and pry tip, and micro bit slot, a bottle opener, and a hole for a key ring or lanyard. But most crucially, it doubles as a money clip. That thing'll let you ditch the wallet and travel light. However, should you hate ditching wallets and traveling light, it's removable. And when we say light, we mean it as, the knife is a mere 1.8 ounces, easily palmed or pocketed.
It travels well.
Function aside, Benchmade's knife is a beauty in steel, black, and royal blue; it was designed in collaboration with French knife makers Patrick Famin and Eric Demongivert. It was also meant to be a traveler's companion—a tool worthy of showing off, but foremost one that will come in handy in many cases, no matter where you are. Clip your money, open your bottles, screw and pry and cut, all in style.
Buy $136, amazon.com; benchmade.com
Prop styling by Miako Katoh.
Photography by Timothy Mulcare.
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