Benchmade Bugout AXIS Lock Knife Carbon Fiber (3.2" Satin) 535-3

Was stiff out of the box as people have said. Had major lock stick to begin with. But over a hundred flicks later and it’s smooth as butta with drop shutty action. Mine is also razor sharp. I don’t cut anything with it though of course because I don’t want to get it dirty! It’s too pretty!

It's not all that I'd hoped. I'll get right to it. It's tight to start with. Nothing like I'd seen on all the videos. Made an adjustment that helped but still tight. If I flip it out pretty hard the Axis lock gets stuck or more notably harder to release. The last thing is if i just move the blade back and forth against the Axis lock (against the spring) it feels rough. Hope I'm not coming off to hard. I like the knife and have been flipping it to see if it loosens up a bit.

Recieved my 535-3 Carbon Bugout today. Is without a doubt will be my favorite EDC. Have carried the Osborne Emissary for many year now. Have three of them. Once in your hands then in your pocket you will love this knife. It carries well in any light pants or shorts. Being a slim profile and lightweight and great design. I adjusted the tension screw just a small amount to make it operate slick. Came razor sharp. Is high priced but glad I bought it. Flips out easier than any ever had and blade drops back in nice. And a plus with the 590V steel.

I have bought 3 of these knives with the attempt to get a good one. Each one has had either bad centering or a bad grind. I've bought several benchmades and they have all been great. For being the most expensive you would think there would be better quality control. i gave it two stars because these issues probably wouldn't change the performance. it just bugs me that the parts aren't fitting together correctly.

In short, this knife was a disappointment for the price.

I guess BHQ didn't want to post my initial review, but I still feel the need to give my take even after returning the knife.

The knife arrived and I was ecstatic for my first Benchmade. Shortly after I started to notice issues. The grinds on the bevel were not even, nor was the knife very sharp. I've bought knives for $50 that were significantly sharper than this. These were issues I could have fixed, however, I didn't want to immediately void the manufacturer’s warranty by using my belt grinder. Next was the action, it came stiff as hell and if I snapped it open, the AXIS lock would stick and become difficult to unlock. I tried to remedy this by working the pivot and handle screws. Nothing worked, it was either off center or I was left with the poor action. All in all, I think Benchmade should have focused more on quality control because this was a slap in the face after spending $255.

I bought this knife at a discount because it was "blemished". Supposedly, there were a couple of light blemishes on the scales and the blade was [supposed to be] slightly off center. Perhaps my eyes are as unrefined as my palate but I can't find anything wrong with this knife. It is absolutely perfect and I am extremely happy with my purchase. I've had a 940 Osborne for years and can't say enough positive things about that knife so thought I'd try the Bugout. This knife is very light weight, simple and high quality. I am now a fan of Benchmade and Blade HQ and intend to buy other versions of the Bugout - some as gifts.

The backpacer did not have jimping around the entire surface, so it feels slippery against the palm when I'm pinch closing. Bought a rockscale design full jimped titanium backspacer and it feels more secure now. That thing costs an extra $40 though.

Knife came stiff, I've yet to experience a smooth bugout straight from the box. I'll just lubricate and tweak the pivot.

Just received this, impulse buy when i saw it was $100 off list on bladehq. 2nd benchmade, 1st was a stock mini barrage with some custom micarta scales.
Fit and finish, pretty much perfect… centered, no issues with the grind or sharpness at all, feels quality. No flex, unexpected play, a little stiff opening but i can already feel it loosening up.
The aesthetics… i may have not picked the sky blue accents if i had a choice in front of me, but it’s quite nice looking, no regrets there. Feels much much thinner and lighter vs the mini barrage than the specs would make you think… substantial difference. Definitely doesn’t feel as beefy, but as a men’s EDC pocketknife not seeing heavy duty, about the perfect form factor.

I love this knife, came stiff but loosened up over time with no adjustment. The only thing is the edge is unevenly ground towards the tip of the blade. I'm sure this will be fixed if I send a note the first time I
send it in for LifeSharp

As the title states, this is a beautiful knife. The fit & finish are top-notch. Between the carbon fiber scales, S90V blade, and blue accents, this is one of the rare times I won't complain about the Benchmade "butterfly tax". As expensive as it is, you get a solid amount of features and materials for your money.

Now, the problem I've had with all Benchmades out of the box: the sharpening from the factory is thoroughly mediocre. I run a paper cutting test on every knife as soon as I get it, and this one dragged through paper for the first few cuts before tearing the paper around the 4th cut. For the price you pay, it's inexcusable to have to sharpen the blade before its first use, especially for harder steels like S90V. Maybe Benchmade is working so hard at getting these knives out the door - which is appreciated in the current market where so many knives are constantly sold out - but we all should expect a much better job on the edge when spending this much money. Also, this is not a drop-shut knife like the 940, 945, Bailout, etc. I presume this is due to the exceptionally light weight, but it will take tuning on the user's part if you want to get it to that drop-shut/fidget level of action.

Subjectively, the name of the knife is a bit of a misnomer. This is not a knife built for hard use. It is a slicer, and a good one at that, but it isn't the one knife you'd grab if you really had to bug out. That's a minor quibble, however. For a general EDC and even a gentleman's folder, this knife is a perfect fit.

Compared to my Ranger Green Bugout, this is in a whole new league. The fit and finish is much nicer...not to say that Benchmade's fit was bad on my other, but the feeling is much nicer.

The scales feel fantastic especially with the rolled edges that contour to your hands much better than the usual scales. The S90V is exactly what you want with the usual pain of sharpening. Finally that last pop of blue really sets it off.

With my Bailout as my work knife this Carbon Fiber Bugout is my summer/light EDC. It cuts boxes and does light work but is usually around for food prep and drink prep...but it does it all with a look and feel thats awesome. Its a wonderfully done piece that is worth the price for the materials and finish.

So my overall experience in receiving and since having this knife has been fairly disappointing.
To preface, at no fault of Bladehq, my order was shipped to the wrong address which was not returned. So somebody got a free 535 bugout.
After waiting a week from that debacle, Bladehq ships me a replacement.

The Benchmade box arrived with what appears to be water-damage. Taking the knife out, I notice the blade is off center and to the right. The satin finish looks scuffed with hairline marks throughout. The kick in the balls being the edge - it was definitely not slicing through paper or trimming the hairs off my arm with the ease that I had seen in many a review videos.
I don't know if Bladehq sent me somebody's return order, but overall this first time experience with purchasing from this company has been disappointing. With the one saving grace being that they replaced what I consider a stolen item (since retrieval was attempted).

Overall, it's a beautiful knife, but doesn't slice as well as I've seen with other owners. For $280+, everything should have been crisp, but my experience has been quite disappointing.

This knife is everything you love about the original bugout, but better. The carbon fiber scales make the knife comfortable in hand, the blade has a great edge, and the blue accents make the knife pop without being too obvious. Only complaint is that the action is a little slow, but that is to be expected from a brand new knife. All in all, great knife.

I own 3 bugout and one 940-1. And I love them.
But unfortunately this one is my last Benchmade knives I ordered!!! I also returned it. The knife is beautiful! Action out the box was bad but no surprise there and can be fix. The big issue to me was how bad was off centre the sharpening. I would say 70% on one side and 30% on the other. Looks more like scissors than knives. For a knife at $255 I’m expecting something close to be perfect. I had never seen a bad sharpening like this one in any of my knives even at $30. I wrote a review on Benchmade website and they didn’t publish it, not even some apologies for the poor quality control they are offering at a big price.... Thank you BHQ for the return with no questions asked! Sad and Disappointed...