[Benchmade] North Fork Folding Knife S30V

The Benchmade North Fork 15032 CPM S30V, Maple Wood is a relatively compact pocket knife, designed for hunting purposes.

The Handle

The handle is very grippy thanks to the orange G10 backspacer with grooves. You even have enough grip with wet hands. There are also grooves on the spine of the blade so that your thumb or index finger has a place to rest while cutting. The droppoint blade is great for hunting purposes, but can also come in handy during everyday tasks.

The North Fork is a cool EDC knife. With its blade length of 7.5 cm, this knife is suitable for daily cutting tasks. For example, opening boxes, peeling an apple, the odd job around the house: this pocket knife can do it all.

Opening the North Fork is easily done with one hand using the thumb stud. The pocket knife runs on phosphor bronze washers making opening and closing smooth and easy. Once opened, the axis lock ensures the blade is fixed in place. It prevents the pocket knife from accidentally closing. A cool feature of an axis lock is that it can be easily used by both left-handed and right-handed users.

Blade made of CPM S30V steel

The blade of this Benchmade Hunt Class is made of CPM S30V steel. This is a premium type of stainless steel made by Crucible Industries in the US. S30V retains its sharpness well and is very corrosion resistant. Moreover, with the right tools, it is also easy to sharpen yourself.

Several leading figures in the knife world collaborated on the development of CPM S30V. Including knife makers like Chris Reeve, Sal Glesser, Ernest Emerson, Tony Marfione, Phil Wilson, Bill Harsey, Mike Jones, Steve Ingrim, Tom Mayo, Jerry Hossom and Paul Bos.

Blade Finish

The ‘stonewash’ process was chosen for the finish of this blade. The stonewash process involves the blade being placed inside a drum with ceramic stones, or media, and then vibrated or tumbled for several hours. The result is a finish that looks precisely polished or roughened depending on the version. The advantage of stonewashing, however, is that signs of use are much less noticeable. That makes it a popular choice for knives that see a lot of use.

About Benchmade

Benchmade was founded in 1987 by Les de Asis in California. It began as a small company producing butterfly knives. With a strong commitment to innovation and quality, Benchmade quickly grew and moved to Oregon, where it expanded its production capacity. A signature feature of Benchmade is the Axis lock, which is also used by other brands today.