Once upon a time Benchmade had the perfect, high value EDC/lightweight tactical blade: The Ascent. At just 2.4 oz the Ascent is a great design. A nicely shaped, flat ground 3.5″ 440C blade, a strong lock back, fast deployment, tight lockup, perfect stonewash finish, and an excellent reversible pocket clip are the highppoints. And there’s not too many lows here: maybe just the pointy handle that might stick out of the pocket a bit while you’re carrying the Ascent. Wisely, BM chose to NOT put …
Sometimes a smaller survival/combat fixed blade is all that will fit into your kit. This CSK II knife weighs out at very light 12.6 oz total weight while still providing a 6″ 1095 steel blade that can perform survival tasks (with some limitations). This blackened 3/16″ thick blade should slice well and helps keep the blade light. But it probably won’t be the best heavy duty wood splitter… it lacks the width and blade length. The lighter weight blade is fast and light in hand and would be …
This blade totally chipped out during light duty use in the woods. The video is an excerpt from my “Wilderness Lean-To” series. As explained in that series some live saplings were needed in that remote area for construction. Limb stripping them prepared them for use in the shelter. Watch what happens with the CSK II…
