Benchmade’s Big, Beautiful New Folder Improves on a Game-Changing Knife Innovation

This classy-looking, not-so-gentle giant simultaneously honors a past breakthrough and gears up for years of hard use.

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Published August 5, 2025

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Review the history of any long-running successful brand, and you’ll be able to pinpoint various watershed moments, when a critical decision helped them further level up and secure their legacy.

With 46-year-old Portland-area knife brand Benchmade, one pretty clear early turning point took place in the 1980s when founder Les de Asis expanded beyond his beloved butterfly knives (aka bali-songs) to a much wider range of fixed blades and folders.

benchmade-seven-ten-gear-patrol-1 — It looks may be gentlemanly, but, at nearly nine inches long, the SEVEN | TEN is formidable, too.

Another happened many years later, in 1999, after the stepfather-stepson team of Bill McHenry and Jason Williams had spent the previous four years developing and patenting an incredibly smooth and reliable new slide-lock mechanism for folding knives.

Benchmade was so impressed with its functionality, the brand bought the rights, dubbed it the AXIS lock and in collaboration with the custom knife makers, introduced it on a knife called the 710. The rest, shall we say, is history.

Certified game changer

We can say that because if you head to Benchmade’s site today, you’ll find the AXIS lock on more than a hundred different folding knife skews.

I’m talking everything from the classic Bugout in its many iterations to the Bailout to the Osborne to Mini Bedlam and so many more.

benchmade-seven-ten-gear-patrol-3 — You’ll find the AXIS lock on more than a hundred different Benchmade knifes.

You’ll also find it on the brand-new SEVEN | TEN (more on that one below), of course.

What makes this lock so special that Benchmade has seen fit to employ it on basically every folding knife they make?

Composed of a spring-loaded bar sliding in forward and back in slot cut out of both liners/handle scales, it triggers a ramped notch cut into the base of the knife blade when opened.

benchmade-seven-ten-gear-patrol-5 — The blade’s offside honors the men behind a mechanism Benchmade has relied on for nearly three decades now.

When fully deployed, that leaves the base firmly lodged between a stop bar and the AXIS lock bar when fully deployed.

Anyone who’s played around with one knows the functionality is smooth AF and that blade ain’t going anywhere.

Which speaks to some of its other big selling points, including ambidextrousness, ease of use and safety.

Gentleman giant

For a knife honoring such a breakthrough, Benchmade has understandably gone all out.

The latest iteration of the SEVEN | TEN, a follow-up to last year’s 25th anniversary edition, is simultaneously swanky and substantial.

benchmade-seven-ten-gear-patrol-6 — The four-inch blade’s satin-finished M390 super steel looks good on a desk — or slashing through just about anything.

While the look borders on that of a gentleman’s folder, this knife can be all business with the flick of a wrist.

Speaking of which, the blade is 4-inch recurve drop-point made of premium M390 stainless steel with a satin finish.

Together with a contoured and grooved black handle made of anodized aluminum the total deployed length is enough to perhaps turn even Mick Dundee’s head: 8.95 inches.

benchmade-seven-ten-gear-patrol-4 — The anodized aluminum material of the handle adds style, while the shape and grooves improve grip-ability.

Additional aesthetic and functional touches include black oxide hardware, flat dark earth (FDE) accents and beefy matte bronze deep-carry pocket clip.

The mechanism at its center is of course an AXIS lock, but an upgraded one, improving upon the classic Omega spring with pinched leaf springs that further boosts its durability.

It seems unlikely an Omega spring would ever break, but thanks to the brand’s LifeSharp program, they would replace it for you at no charge, further ensuring that you get what you pay for with every Benchmade knife you buy.

benchmade-seven-ten-gear-patrol-2 — The deep-carry pocket clip is key to keeping this extra-special knife close and secure.

One other dimension that makes this knife special, and ensures a decades-old turning point won’t be forgotten, can be found on the offside of the blade.

There, just to the right of the thumbstud (and just above a url for all the brand’s many patents), you’ll find the words “Designed by McHenry & Williams.”

The Benchmade SEVEN | TEN is available now for $450.

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.