When the Crooked River came out a few years ago, it was a pleasant departure for Benchmade. Part of their “Hunt” lineup, the Crooked River quickly became a favorite of the knife community and Benchmade loyalists in equal measure thanks to its charming mixture of old-school personality and modern construction and technology.  It’s also a huge knife, stretching more than 9 ¼” open with a 4” blade and weighing nearly five and a half ounces.

The blade is impressive: made from CPM S30V, it has a dramatic clip point profile with a unique two-tone finish: satin on the primary grind and stonewashed on the flats.  The Axis Lock holds the blade open and provides for a slick deployment/closing action.  The big draw to the Crooked River are the scales: called Dymondwood, they’re made with actual wood that’s impregnated with phenolic resin to make it water resistant as well as not prone to swelling and shrinking that’s common in natural materials.  It gives the Crooked River a classic appearance without the downside of handles that are loose in the winter and don’t fit in the summer – old mixed with new, like a modern Buck 110.  A splash of bright orange on the G10 backspacer and the collar for the pivot brings some visual interest, as does the contrasting aluminum bolster.

The Crooked River has a traditional shape combined with modern technology that pushes the preconceived notions of what a hunting knife should be.