I’m not a knife guy, but I can most certainly enjoy a nice knife. I also like automatic knives. I love the idea of the switchblade. Maybe it’s the fact that they face some silly laws, much like guns, that makes me appreciate them. The fact that automatic knives are banned so widely when most non-auto knives are just as fast is downright silly. Benchmade has been a big advocate of the automatic knife and has recently released the Shootout.
The Shootout – Break It Down
The Infidel has long been the company’s flagship automatic knife, and I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. However, the Shootout approaches the automatic knife world with a more practical perspective. Unlike the Infidel, the Shootout isn’t a dagger but a single-sided blade with a polymer handle. The automatic design features a double-action mechanism, making it a versatile tool. We get a reversible pocket clip and a lanyard loop, adding to its practicality.
The Shootout has a 3.51-inch blade and an 8.22-inch overall length. Impressively, it weighs only 2.8 ounces—just under half the Infidel. The swap to a polymer handle makes a big difference. The Shootout uses a carbon-reinforced nylon polymer designed for strength and rigidity.
The blade features a bit of a soft nato design. It doesn’t have the same sharp corners as most tanto designs. The blade features a PVD-coated finish to resist corrosion. The Shootout comes in numerous colors, and I went with purple to engage my inner Mace Windu. Offering multiple colors outside the typical black/FDE/olive rainbow is clever. If you aim to market this as a practical EDC tool, don’t get stuck with the tactical idea.
The Blade
The Shootout features a 3.51-inch blade made from CPM-CruWear. CruWear is a tool steel that’s not specialized but premium steel. It’s an excellent general all-around option for a high-end EDC option. It holds an edge very well, is a tough steel that resists damage, and is not hard to sharpen. The only downside is rust resistance. Even then, it’s not going to rust up quickly. The PVD-Coat will certainly help.
I can’t say I love a Tanto blade for EDC use. I’m a big clip-point guy. If that makes me a vanilla knife owner, then so be it. I find the clip point better suited for what I use a knife for. I don’t see myself needing the extra penetration power of the tanto to open Amazon boxes. The soft tanto with the hard corner still gives us a decent belly for leading cuts.
It certainly slices very easily. I’ve cut open boxes, cut through tape, cut up a bottle to turn it into an ad-hoc dog water bowl, and done those basic everyday tasks a knife gets called in for. I haven’t had a chance to test it with skinning game, but bow season isn’t that far away.
The Shootout provides a nice, long, thin blade. It’s not front-heavy by any means. It’s well-balanced and easy to work with. It’s not a heavy-duty survival knife, but it falls right into the realm of an excellent EDC knife.
Getting a Grip
The Shootout’s grip is quite nice. It feels super thin, and at first, I was a bit doubtful. How can it be so thin but hold up? So far, it hasn’t given me a problem. I haven’t tried to break it, but I have dropped it. It’s banged off my car door while in my pocket and has generally not been treated well. I’m not capable of careful handling of anything. The handle does not flex or bend. It feels like it should flex when gripped hard or twisted, but it does neither.
Benchmade heavily textured the grip with a scale-like design. As you get closer to the blade, we get into a sandpaper-like texture. It exists to prevent that last slip of the hand. In Florida, in July, that’s a nice touch. After just an hour outside I look like I dipped in the pool because I’m awash in sweat. Hands included. So, having an aggressive texture prevents my hand from slipping while using the knife.
I recently had to shave down a furring strip at the range to fit into a target holder. Sadly, the strip didn’t come right. I trimmed that corner while sweat pooled below my head, and my hand never slipped on the handle.
The trigger to activate the blade sits on the side. It’s metal with a texture to it. When pressed upward, the blade flies into action. That nub then becomes a built-in thumb nub to apply pressure to the blade. It’s a nice touch and creates some excellent ergonomics. It also retracts the blade when pressed downward. We get a satisfying schwick with each action.
Getting In a Shootout
Like most high-end automatic knives, the Shootout carries quite the price tag. It’s 300 dollars. That’s a good bit of change for a pocket knife. The automatic function is cool, but modern knives open pretty quickly and can be done with one hand. The Shootout is perfect if you want an auto knife with EDC traits. If you want an affordable, high-quality knife it can only give you the high-quality part.
For more information, please visit Benchmade.com.
