Benchmade’s Claymore has been one of the most interesting automatic knives on the market since it debuted in 2021, and the latest redesign makes it even more appealing.
The big news is the firing mechanism. The old Claymore made you disengage the safety and then hit the deployment button, two separate steps. The new version folds both into one deliberate back-and-down thumb motion. You slide back and press down, and the safety disengages and the blade fires in a single movement. Close the knife and the safety resets itself, so there is no extra step to forget.
Everything else that made the Claymore good is still here: a 3.6-inch 154CM stainless steel blade with a black Cerakote finish, a light Grivory handle, and a reversible deep-carry clip. You get your choice of drop-point or tanto blades, plain or serrated edges, and black or ranger green handles, with weight running 3.5 to 3.7 ounces depending on the blade. Benchmade applied the same new mechanism to the Mini Claymore, which carries a 3-inch blade at 2.5 ounces.
All eight full-size versions run $250, with the two Mini Claymores at $225.
If a $250 blade is your speed, also check out my review of the Vosteed Nip-L, another knife at the same price point worth a look.
