Save Your Money | Benchmade Mini Narrows | Review

[@metal_complex]

My Amazon page! The gear I use here on the channel! - www.amazon.com/shop/metalcomplex Metal Complex's recommended knife/gear retailers! - beacons.ai/metalcomplex Thanks so much for watching! You can support my channel on Patreon here - www.patreon.com/metalcomplex MC stickers! - www.redbubble.com/people/metal-complex/shop?asc=u

[@seancollins3711]

Love the honesty, this is why we come here. Benchmade, get yourselves together, you look silly.

[@thepowerwithin2217]

I love that it was like taboo and hated to talk s*** about Benchmade but now everybody's pretty much on the same page.

[@kushviper]

The Scrappy-Doo of knives is hilarious

[@cgarrand78]

This was absolutely one of the best knife reviews I've ever seen.You sounded so frustrated and disgusted about the whole thing and than friggin Jeff opened his mouth and pissed you off.I was laughing through the whole thing.I've hated the Narrows since it was announced and I knew the price they were going to charge was going to piss me off even more.This made my whole day!

[@caidenjones918]

The example I always like to use when speaking about Benchmades egregious pricing is TRM. Small batch, in house production in the USA, incredible machined titanium, properly heat treated 20CV. For $125 less.

[@johannessmith1369]

But it's not thin!?!

[@metal_complex]

It's very thin.

[@48mastadon]

"The Scrappy-Doo of knives..." That was good.

[@seangriffin107]

Unless they changed the springs from the standard sized Narrows, the springs are not Omega springs. Benchmade developed a new spring system because the Narrows is too slim to use Omega springs. Rest of the review checks out-too much money for the total package, which itself is pretty niche use case. That said, I picked up a regular Narrows on sale for $300 on a dealer’s clearance and, for that price, it’s not a bad choice if you want an ultra light carry.

[@caseypate3500]

I’m glad you’re honest and impartial with your reviews, recommendations.

[@bengoldstein26]

I do enjoy when u rip apart a knife (any knife, no matter the price) we have seen so many great knifes come out and all we hear is the same talking points over and over from all the channels Its nice to have a change once in a while

[@christopherdavisson617]

That's what I love about your videos/opinions. You are always very honest and straightforward.

[@MapleFoxGMS]

You can buy a sebenza for that price! Crazy. Benchmade really needs to fix their pricing across the board.

[@joeftan]

I agree, but it’s a whole lot more than just their pricing. They’ve lost all sense of ingenuity and don’t listen to the consumers. They just release color variations of the Bugout/Mini, along with a bunch of plastic OTFs. The fact that they’re Made in USA is no excuse. For example, look at TRM, ABW, Spyderco, and especially recent Kershaw releases. For this price, how could one choose this over a CRK, Hinderer, Spartan SHF, etc? I used to be a fan of Benchmade, and still like the few I have, but they’ve made themselves irrelevant, especially in the current hyper competitive environment.

[@MapleFoxGMS]

@@joeftan I hear ya, it definitely goes deeper than just pricing. I still own a couple BM that I also like, but if I had to buy new, wouldn't even bother looking at their current stock. I've got a lot of the other competing brands competitively priced blades like the deka, bel air etc. and they are just so much more bang for the buck. It only gets worse once you move up into the $200-300+ price range, recently got a Protech TR3 manual and have been loving that one.

[@Oso_Gordo]

Thanks for the honest opinions, regardless where a knife is made, or the materials used, you should receive value for your money. I've been surprised that some of the lower price knives from China, Taiwan, and other countries may not be the premium materials, but the overall build quality as good or better than some "big name US made knives. Also, unless you are purchasing a trophy to look at and brag about (not a bad thing), you are just buying a marketing campaign.

[@SinistralCitizen]

I thought these used the Torsion spring instead of the Omega srpings?

[@GoodmaneYT]

You're correct. You can see the torsion spring in the video.

[@brianlash154]

Benchmade priced me out a long time ago, and to keep up the insults they produce jokes like this

[@kinguin7]

Still pretty happy with my $240 Hogue Mysto. Also with titanium, also USA made, and a decent bit of Magnacut.

[@Pzykoh_Tey]

Thanks for the honest review MC. I'll do the shameless plug 😁 Instead of getting BM Mini Narrow, get the full DLC Excalibur, you will still have $75 left in your wallet. 🤙

[@cainmiranda1204]

😂🤘🏻

[@cintage]

Totally understand your point. I’ve got two custom knives ( one Nico Baumann and one Vincenzo Balistreri) that cost 500€ ( = ca. 500$) each, but they are 100% handcrafted by just one artisan. 500$ for a production knife with unspectacular material ist just crazy.

[@earlwoods8253]

Ty for acknowledging the price tag right off the bat, and thank you for consistently putting out great content.

[@JohnDoe-zb7dz]

Your straight up uncompromising honesty is so valuable in a channel. So many better knives in this price category as your reviews have demonstrated. There are only a few BM I would consider owning. This is definitely not one of them, even if the price was realistic. Thanks for video.

[@Gamezrodolfo77]

The way you feel about this Benchmade is how I think about every Benchmade. I've never understood the fanbase.

[@OreoDave]

"The Scrappy-Do of knives!!" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@openplz3000]

Honest review. I have to say I like their new auto. BM needs to get back to the basics, make stuff we want and that is reasonably priced as they are quickly pricing themselves out of the market with stuff the community doesn't want IF it were half the price.

[@phantomstrike3310]

I have 2 Benchmade knives. The first one I bought was the Pika when I was over in Iraq. Great knife, it served me 2 combat tours. The second is a North Fork that I got on clearance for 100 bucks where i work. I would not have paid the original 225 dollar asking price. The Demco AD 20.5 I just bought for 100 bucks on sale.....Benchmade is absolutely nuts with their asking prices. The Civivi Vision FG In Damascus I paid 100 bucks for............I sell guns and knives as my job, and I will never recommend a Benchmade..........they have lost their minds, but some people keep buying them.

[@iamarawn]

Zero tolerance hinderer 0562ti. Sort of the same size, made it the US, 20cv with titanium handles. 320 dollars. Sounds like a better option.

[@andrewhenry1419]

Just save yourself almost $400 and get a Vosteed Parallel. And a TRM. 😑

[@jocemarine6247]

And for à little more the fantastic and stellar Reate GTR😅

[@m4jqp]

I picked this little guy up a while back and I can appreciate your sentiment on this knife. I'm not a Benchmade fan but I love small footprint knives. At the end of the day though, I've been carrying it and have enjoyed having it in my pocket (not necessarily sparking the proverbial joy). I'm fortunate enough to not need to stress over the price tag. I also got it on sale 25% off, which helps a bit to straighten out the value to price ratio.

[@henryg683]

I’m sure diehard benchmade fan people would definitely love this one but I guess it seems like a lot of people would be interested in getting something more budget friendly for their collection!!???

[@clavididk1236]

I'm getting the rex 45 smock I need it missed the m4 version 😔

[@ix8750]

"Its smaller and annoying, the scrappy doo of knives"....Bro....Hahahaha i lost it

[@micahdanielson123]

I can’t imagine spending over $100 more than I spent on my WE Attor just to get this

[@Hellionmasks]

i would love a benchmade... but i will never buy one unless they were priced fairly like other companies. BM get your head out of the sand. Thanks MC for your honest reviews.

[@Cyanoblades]

If you want a super thin knife get a Quietcarry Drift.

[@spirona]

“The Scrappy Doo of knives.” Sure, I watch her content and see because I learned a lot and cover a lot of different items at different price points in aesthetics. The real reason I watch your content is for gems like this. I hate be made yet. I knew this would be an amazing viewing experience you never disappoint! Now I’m gonna head on over to the bench made Reddit for him to let them know about this video. With your esteemed standing in the Reddit community, I’m sure they will love you and me both for it. 😏

[@scottyh.6992]

I do like it. Just not enough to spend $500 on it.

[@timmederich]

I love my full size Narrows only because I got it for the cheapest price possible. Free! cuz I won it here on GAW!!! 😆🤷 It is ridiculously thin and light. I'll give it that much. But it's way overpriced and feels kind of flimsy in the hand.

[@markpotvin4505]

"The Scrappy Doo of knives" ! lmao. Funniest line I've heard in months.

[@BrokenSpurEDC]

I agree, for $500 I want some kind of wow factor. This screams, I am knife and I do knife things also I’m $500

[@christopherjohnsey1072]

In a way, the Narrows reminds me of the Adamas. I love the Adamas, but it feels somewhat incomplete on the enthusiast side. It’s uncomfortable in the hand without wrapping it but you really wish they’d have just sent it with scales from the factory. The Narrows just kind of utilizes handle scales more worthy of being liners than handles. Fortunately for Adamas owners, you can find aftermarket scales or wrap it but with the Narrows you’re just SOL.

[@redriver6541]

I quit paying the Butterfly Tax many years ago....... If I'm going to overpay for something....... It's going to have a round hole and be made in Golden Colorado Earth.

[@kinguin7]

Spyderco, while maybe overpriced, is generally much less so than definitely this model and probably Benchmade in general but that goes back and forth by model maybe.

[@stearnsbingham552]

There are lots of people out there who have knife money, not so many with knife knowledge. Plenty of people will buy. Not me, I crossed benchmade off my list years ago. I don’t even glance at their catalog listing, much less peruse it like I do other knife manufacturers. Why look at a knife you love but is grossly overpriced and likely missed a run through QC?

[@franksalem8580]

I own the Narrows and love it. But you convinced me to pass on this smaller version especially since I bought the Kershaw Mini Iridium which is okay but not great after loving the full size Iridium.

[@Talix.]

At this point who is still buying Benchmade's? I have 250+ knives and not a single Benchmade.

[@TimeToTravel-u2x]

Id take a Kizer over 95% all Benchmades at 1/2 the price

[@joelamaro4525]

100%

[@mschwoebel]

It seems to me this is some sort of executive knife, like a Mnandi or William Henry. They just didnt seem to take that direction when advertising and promoting it. They really should have tried to use some aspects of the Anthem in its design I think.

[@jako1234567890jako]

Id love to know your opinion on the Spyderco Chaparral. It seems like both Benchmade and Spyderco tried the same thing, but one failed and the other (in my opinion) succeeded massively. The Chaparral is one of my all time favourites but this Benchmade does nothing for me

[@pessimisticprofessorfarnsw3241]

Working in manufacturing, I don't think Benchmade could do this for 300. May have been best to gold series a limited number and move on but instead they doubled down. I have the original one in black and like it and how it carries but I got it 20 percent off, no tax at a gun show which made the price bearable to me.

[@joelamaro4525]

A small Sebenza which I think is a better made knife using both more handle material and blade material and in a better knife steel for $425 tells me that Benchmade could get pretty darn close to $300 for the mini narrows.

[@adambecker4661]

I don't think they're omega springs in the narrows or mini narrows

[@Carnivorous_edc]

These knives are a good example of a company taking advantage of its fan base. 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@potatosnacks5571]

19:15 Could you give an example of an alternative?

[@IchNixHabenUsername]

TRM Neutron 2

[@giantfatberg]

Vosteed Parallel and Quiet Carry Drift Large or the regular Drift for that mini feel

[@Xentis03]

@@giantfatbergah yeah I have the Vosteed Parallel and while it’s a super slim and slice knife the axis action is poop. Fun knife, but has objectively bad action.

[@skizzzikOne]

-200 and I would still think its a pretty high price.. But well im from europe and I often think.. wow why murica knife so high price

[@Bobs_Pocket_Knives]

It's wild that they would even send these out to reviewers. 😂🤷🤦

[@bindrankin4159]

@MC the shrl links haven’t been working for me. on your channel and neeves and other channels. edit. and that is over 4 devices. iphone, 2 ipads and PC

[@slayer7682]

The 761 Monolock, my personal favorite Benchmade.

[@younglilbabydrama]

765 is mine. Mini monolock

[@CristoffelBonorand]

I know people who love it, but I would probably agree with you. I payed my fair share for knives that I think are not worth it objectively, but they have a certain panache. The Paysan for example. Horrible knife, but horribly cool. The Narrows can have this coolness factor for some ppl, but certainly not the majority.

[@Thomamps]

I know what you mean about a $500 knife. My current maximum is $300 but I have found a knife I think is worth the money and I'll be selling some of my collection to pay for it. My personal valuation, what I would pay, is $150 for this specimen.

[@andrewlyons7629]

Ohhhh Benchmade, how I hope you read the comments. Not going to lie, the half a dozen comments you will see that say “but I like” you will take that and run instead of listening to 99.9% of the community but yall need to get your crap together.

[@earlwoods8253]

Just to make a point about the price how much would it cost to modify my American made pm2 with those American made titanium scales like yours.

[@dat_boi3372]

The scales are 85 dollars. They’re made by Flytanium. They’re the lotus Ti scales.

[@yankee2yankee]

Most knives with those materials cost $200, or less. I just bought a knife (my fanciest knife ever), a full dress Artisan Cutlery Boa, in full Timascus and S90V, for what the Narrows costs (not sure about the mini)! What I’m saying is that the Narrows knives are ordinary high quality knives for extraordinary high quality knife prices… I think I would be disappointed with a Narrows, at $500! I think I could get at least 2 knives as good or better, for the price of a Narrows. Benchmade can’t make that knife for $80, but nobody is asking them to! For $200-$250, the Narrows, if you like it, would be a fair deal. Other knife companies, including American companies (e.g. Spyderco), do it every day. And right. If you LOVE the Narrows, it might be the perfect knife for you! Carry yours proudly! It’s your decision to make. Most of us like the way it looks well enough!

[@none4now-k9c]

I honestly don't know how people can sit in an office and hold the thing in hand and say "this is a 500 dollar knife" what are they smoking? It's annoying that they have not taken the hint from a large chunk of the knife community. All they want to do is swindle diehard Benchmade fans out of their money. Thanks for having the balls to say this is garbage for the price. 180 bucks....maybe. 500? It's insulting. Idk who they think they are?

[@zteacherr5992]

$500 is insane

[@USMC_NATE]

If people would stop buying at high prices, it will drive the prices down. It's that simple. They will be forced to lower their prices, or they will go out of business. The world can continue without Benchmade, especially with what other companies offer currently.

[@marccooper7376]

I've got the Vosteed Parallel and I'd have the Parallel over this Benchmade anyday and that price is ridiculous.....give me well made Chinese stuff over the extremely over priced USA companies every time

[@rks9612]

I love light knife for carry! Absolutely hate heavy clunky knife pulling pants down! At home I often wear swimming shorts and then bugout is probably best! I agree that price for materials you get is not reasonable! Also having such a thin knife makes it uncomfortable for heavy cut! In other words.. Narrows is for extremely narrow costumer base!

[@Carl-bd1rf]

I’d get it @ $79

[@Cid_1]

Benchmade are either in financial trouble or are completely shameless. Just looking at their new releases and prices. You have the Narrows/Mini, Seven10, and the Bushcrafter CF/Mini. The Bushcrafter in Cruwear and poorly finished CF is $450!!! That's more or the same as you pay for a Custom made knife in Cruwear and a lot better looking and finished CF. They really need someone new in that company to get them back on earth, so they don't end up as another company of the past. I don't enjoy shitting on Benchmade, but until they start improving it has to be done.

[@Frostbite1090]

You put a T10 in the pivot, the body screws could still be T6 though lol not sure. They are know for T6 body on some older models I've had but on this model its probably T8 I'd wager but i dont follow BM closely at all. Clip screws look T6, body visually I can't tell.

[@Knifes-and-Gear-Insights]

Typical Benchmade. That's why I only owned 1 so far (which btw was probably the only decently priced Benchmade for what u get, the Mini Adamas carbon fiber), but I even sold that. In my personal opinion 95% of Benchmade's knifes are at least overpriced by 30%, if not more. Yes they are USA made but plenty of companies that make USA made knifes are way cheaper. Not saying the Narrows is a "bad" knife per se, but the price tag of it and many other Benchmade knives is simply too much for what it is.

[@thomasleutwiler4588]

I think the knives from this manufacturer are simply too high. This is not a Swiss Army knife😂😂

[@The-Endless-Dream]

9:07 Scrappy doo of knives😂, what an apt description

[@Frostbite1090]

Completely agree, Benchmade makes some bad decisions IMO. I know they let down the balisong community with the Necron and 6X(overpriced steel handles) before it. Well and 8X. I haven't tried the Necron heard it was maybe OK but steel liners and sort of high price. the 6X without Ti handle replacements was useless, and people hated the 87 design. 51 were fun but people want the OG 4x style bali in a bunch of blade shapes rereleased.

[@ASMR-soothingsounds]

No reason this knife should be priced at 5 bills ffs. smh

[@potatosnacks5571]

I want this knife really bad (full size) and have the ability to buy it at half off. But I can’t morally support their decision to make this knife. I love the actual knife, it’s almost perfect for me if it was 1/3 the price

[@franksalem8580]

You would not be disappointed with the full size knife. I own one and love it but I got it for under $500.

[@potatosnacks5571]

@ how is the anodizing holding up?

[@wc4201]

So if I understand you correctly… you didn’t like it? lol damn, MC went TF off lol

[@miker9927]

Benchmade fell off hard quite a while ago. What idiot spends over $250-300 on a basic production knife. There is a complete disconnect with reality here.

[@kitanisthe]

I bought the Narrows when it came out.. Trusting Benchmade.. I consider it a "dress pants" knife.. something to put in your pocket and hardly use it. I will not buy the mini-narrows

[@TejasEDC]

Just got a 1 of 1 Jack Wolf from the DLT Trading 12 days for less than this knife. I like Benchmade knives but their pricing is out of control…

[@norrisfong6445]

US made vs Chinese made labor is my first thought for the price.

[@TejasEDC]

@@norrisfong6445 the JWK I got was full custom modded for DLTs 12 days by Knife Modders…. Still less than this knife. Knife modders work isn’t cheap and I got the most expensive one available lol. That’s saying something

[@xw4]

Call me crazy, but I liked the Anthem much better.

[@shadowcastyt]

Your not crazy there’s no comparison to the Anthem, which was cheaper than this… sure inflation is a thing but that’s ridiculous

[@ttattx]

Just buy the MC Excalibur and you'll still have leftovers for an accessory or two

[@scottaddison8071]

Your hate for Benchmade is obvious

[@brianpersten926]

one of my fav's

[@cgarrand78]

Benchmade is scared to send anything else after that mauling! LOL

[@MY-T-SHARP666]

I do not have a problem with Benchmade knives but their prices!?

[@FlyawaytunaKnives]

It just can’t compete at all with other USA made knives in the same price range (Hinderer, Chris Reeve, etc.) This and the full size where DOA

[@briansavage932]

Whew. This was some tough love.

[@Pete-wr4kj]

In that price range, Chris Reeve.

[@piperkennard1039]

They have to give a knife like that to a reviewer to review cuz nobody in their right mind is going to spend that kind of money for that kind of knife. Benchmade relying on their name to sell everything but their name means less and less nowadays. I call it the knife for the man or female that has more money than they know what to do with and they don't care if it's 20 or $1,000 they'll buy it anyway just because it's a Benchmade😂😂😂😂 thanks for sharing brother 🤙

[@IchNixHabenUsername]

This is a 250 dollar knife.

[@Nkdc333]

I handled it the other day and I somewhat appreciated the build quality. Definitely overpriced and the clip looks super cheap. But the build is neat even if it’s not your style.

[@GabrielCarterEGA]

Probably your last free Benchmade

[@jonathanklein7875]

The hate for this knife and company in general is 100% due to the prices they expect people to pay. If this exact knife came out as a USA made Kershaw at $170, people would be singing its praises. Benchmade lived high on the hog for years by cranking out their "exclusive" axis lock knives that frankly weren't and aren't up to par with the competition in terms of overall quality. Now that they don't own that patent, their only business model is to double down and conflate quality with price point, maintaining an allure of superiority simply by charging for it. It's most certainly not a sustainable business model, and folks have caught on. I wonder if this is the last knife they send you for free...😂

[@earlwoods8253]

I don’t think benchmade is going to send you anything else. 😂

[@ChristianRocker]

I actually really like mine. Benchmade does charge way too much but the knife is good

[@timanderson9216]

I feel the same about Scrappydo 😂😂😂😂😂

[@jeffhamilton4587]

Hey! My name is "Jeff " and I'm a nuclear engineer. I wouldn't spend a penny for that stupid overpriced piece of benchmade!

[@larrycasaletto2331]

​It appears you do by responding to his comment😂​@@TimeToTravel-u2x

[@Jacrispy223]

No one cares!

[@kinguin7]

​@@Jacrispy223one replier seems to... 🤔

[@robertbrunello]

My name is Jeff

[@maybefrank8345]

We don’t take kindly to your type round here “Jeff” Best be movin on to the next town

[@krazy_roach1698]

Some hot garbage thanks

[@lerch400block]

Should cost 280-330 🤔

[@mynamesjeff347]

I hate Benchmade , they really let me down . When I first got into knives my dad told me Benchmade was good and I bought a $1000 worth of benchmades. Most of them have had issues right out the box , 4 of them have had omega springs failed on me. The steel is good but everything else is dog shit

[@monkpato]

And the steel isn't great.

[@TheCgOrion]

$500? They need to get a grip with their pricing.

[@plutoorbitdream]

9:23 you grabbed the T10 bit thinking it was a T8…

[@metal_complex]

Looks like I did but the white part that contains the bits actually slides in the green case so it just lined up with the t10

[@plutoorbitdream]

@ if you look closely at the bit in your hand it’s a T10.