Knives and motorcycling go together like, well, maybe I shouldn't finish that thought, as they're more routinely associated with outlaws than anything else. Yet, as I've talked about on numerous occasions, I think a trust pocket knife is probably the most important tool you could own, whether you ride bikes, drive ATVs or UTVs, or ride snowmobiles.
That may sound hyperbolic, but I've found that when I'm stuck by the side of the road, my pocket knife has come in handy more times than I care to admit. And in terms of getting yourself out of a bad situation, say, if you flip a UTV and the seatbelt gets stuck, I know I have my blade to cut the strap.
Hell, I once did that in a car.
So while you might not expect RideApart to cover knives, we are after all a powersports website, I feel that knives are part of not just the culture of riding, but also what many of our readers use every day. That's why when Benchmade offered to send me the brand's new PSK pocket knife, I said, "Sure, send it over."
And after spending the last month with it on my hip, all I have to say is, folks, this knife is a burly thing and will handle whatever life throws at you.
For those who haven't read my other screeds on gear, I might as well be an engineer's nightmare. Whereas most folks would use their pocket knives to just cut through the tape on their Amazon boxes, I tend to use them for things most wouldn't dare for fear of dulling blades or breaking the tips. But they're tools designed to be used, and my past experience with Benchmade has made me believe I could do anything I want with the brand's blades.
And the PSK follows that letter of the law.
Fully open, the drop-point blade and hilt are 8.3 inches long, while the blade takes up 3.4 inches by itself. It's made of CPM-MagnaCut super-tough stainless steel with a cerakote finish for extra durability and sharp right out of the box. Opening the knife is enjoyably easy, as it just flicks out thanks to Benchmade's AXIS Assist mechanism, and there's a lock on the hilt so you don't accidentally open it or if your kids go through your pockets.
My normal everyday carry, also a Benchmade, is the brand's Bailout, which is considerably lighter than the PSK. And my only worry when the PSK showed up was that the weight differential would feel off in my pocket. For clarity's sake, the Bailout weighs just 2.7 ounces, while the PSK weighs a whopping 5.4, so literally double the weight. But once it was in my pocket, the weight actually felt better than the Bailout, as the heft made me check my pocket fewer times to make sure it was still there.
During my time with the knife, I've made a backcountry repair to an electric dirt bike using the back of the blade as a screwdriver, I've extricated an arrow from the trunk of a tree after a missed shot, I've fixed a sink, worn it out while scouting for deer and elk, and fallen onto it while attempting to cross big rock gardens, scree fields, and the woodiest terrain imaginable.
I've also thrown it into the dirt, mud, and grass, rolled over it with an ATV, our family's Can-Am UTV, and our Honda Ridgeline, and generally treated it like the village bicycle.
The only noticeable difference between when it showed up and right now is some slight wearing on the pocket clip. Every other part of the knife looks brand-spankin'-new. And despite me using the blade to carve a section of tree out, it's still sharp enough to cleanly cut paper. I'm hoping I'll be able to test its sharpness on a deer soon, too, but we'll see if the hunting gods smile upon me.
What's more, as with every other Benchmade product, the PSK comes with the brand's lifetime warranty and lifetime sharpening. I'm a big proponent of buying stuff with those types of warranties, as it reduces the amount of trash in landfills and your garage, as well as stops other companies from pulling the old "planned obsolescence." That said, you are going to pay more for something like Benchmade's PSK because of that.
The current price of the PSK is $400, which ain't cheap. But for something you'll have for life, along with being able to send it in whenever to get sharpened, I feel like what it can do justifies the spend. Granted, I don't have access to your bank accounts, so your thoughts on the subject may vary.
I just know that if I can't break it, you won't be able to.
