After selling his first 100 knives to a gun broker in 1979, under the brand name of Bali-Song, Inc., owner and knifesmith Les De Asis focused on making custom balisong knives inspired by East Asian martial arts and his Filipino heritage. Much as they are today, butterfly knives were niche products, but the market for high-end balisongs didn’t exist, so Les set a precedent for crafting high-quality knives sought after by those in the know. When the company emerged from the tumultuous mid-80s as Benchmade Knife Company in 1987, Les began collaborating with knife makers from tactical and martial arts backgrounds, influencing Benchmade’s design work toward tactical utility and combative use cases. By the early 1990s, Benchmade was producing knives favored by military and law enforcement professionals, which solidified Benchmade's reputation and allowed the company to secure many major government contracts throughout the 2000s and beyond.
Tough, durable, hard-use knives dominated the Benchmade lineup alongside the signature balisong variants, and echoes of Benchmade’s top-quality, best-in-class tactical knives reverberated around the world, eventually drawing the attention of King Abdullah II of Jordan. In an unusual turn of events, Benchmade accepted a commission to create a tactical folder for his personal bodyguards and elite special forces group. Inspired by the region’s design heritage and martial arts style, Benchmade knife-smiths built an extra-large combat folder with an upswept scimitar blade and a downward-curved handle with an aggressive grip. The final design, an Auto AXIS® folder, was delivered in a unique variant for the commissioner and a domestic production version in 2010, hitting the market as the 8600SBK Bedlam®. A manual variant arrived the following year.
The original 8600SBK Bedlam® automatic knife.
For fans of aggressive tactical knives, the Bedlam became an overnight classic and developed a following of passionate users and collectors. Yet after almost a decade in production, the burly Bedlam never achieved mass appeal outside of those close-knit tactical and professional circles. Its large size, overbuilt design, and unconventional profile prevented it from breaking into the mainstream EDC territory.
Not long after it was decommissioned, a steady chorus of hardcore Bedlam fanatics beat the drum for its return to production. One of those Bedlam fans was Vance Collver, Director of Product Line Management at Benchmade. With a career spanning 30-plus years at Benchmade, Vance is known as the keeper of our history, heritage, and products. Vance oversaw the development of the original Bedlam when he managed the Black Class product line over a decade ago. Now in charge of all product development, he saw an opportunity to honor the legacy of the iconic Bedlam and satiate the demands of its fans while simultaneously offering a captivating new folder to a generation of knife enthusiasts looking for something more pocket-friendly.
“The Bedlam was a huge knife,” Vance says. “We wanted to have some fun with it, update the styling, update the materials…so that's why we came out with three different variants of the Mini Bedlam. It still has that professional edge to it, but it’s more EDC friendly and very different from a lot of the knives we've been making in the last handful of years. It’s important to me that it truly feels like a modern version of a classic knife.”
As a frame of reference, the Mini Bedlam is not a small knife. It’s a mini in name only, relative to the original full-size Bedlam. The Mini Bedlam boasts an open length of 8.63 inches, whereas the full-size Bugout clocks in at 7.46 inches. An ode to the original, the Mini Bedlam retains the upswept scimitar blade, the down-swept handle with deep finger grooves, and full-length steel liners for uncompromising strength and rigidity. It’s the premium material selections and the detailed milling that help to distinguish the Mini Bedlam from its utilitarian predecessor. Once you grab it, you immediately feel the power, comfort, and security that every feature imparts, and it becomes an extension of your hand.
Approximate size comparison between the 865SBK Mini Bedlam and the original 8600SBK Auto Bedlam.
“It's not just simply scaling down a big knife, because when you just scale it, not only will it get shorter, it'll get thinner,” Vance explains. “Ergonomics are a very important component, so for the Mini Bedlam, the liner thickness is identical, and then we refined the handle so it still feels good in the hand and carries well, and we're not compromising strength.”
Designed for slicing, the Mini Bedlam’s scimitar-inspired blade is relatively thin and features CPM-S90V stainless steel, the top tier for edge retention with phenomenal corrosion resistance. The three variants share the trusty ambidextrous AXIS® lock, the iconic handle shape, a chamfered backspacer/striking pommel, and the standard pocket clip, but that’s where the similarities end.
“One of the things I really enjoy doing with product is incorporating subtle details,” Vance continues. “And that could be cosmetic details, little hidden Easter eggs that are part of the storytelling, or a tactile feature that you don't really discover until you get it in your hand. Once you feel it, it creates an intimacy with the product, and it creates differentiation between the three variants.”
The 865SBK Mini Bedlam® is a no-nonsense, tough tool with a Graphite Black Cerakote® blade finish and a black G10 handle with a crocodilian texture. The 865BK-01 Mini Bedlam® exudes a snake-like vibe with a Graphite Black Cerakote® blade finish and layered G10 handle scales with a rippling texture that flows across the handle. The 865-02 Mini Bedlam® looks exceptionally sharp with a satin blade finish and marbled carbon fiber handle scales, the gentleman’s version of this wicked beast. The marbling interacts with light, creating a dynamic aesthetic for an unlikely dress knife that’ll turn heads. The undulating, wavy texture enhances the grip and augments the shimmering marbled CF.
“The Mini Bedlam also features discreet tactile elements so that not only do you have these deep finger grooves that just ergonomically work, it also has this texture that isn't so aggressive that it would create hot spots on your hand, but it gives you this feeling of confidence,” Vance says. “We added other details like beveled grooving on the pommel so that it comes to a fairly aggressive point without being uncomfortable when it's in your pocket or for your hand sliding in and out of the pocket. And if you hold it in reverse grip, there's a nice place for your thumb to reside.”
A lifelong knife enthusiast and student of martial arts, Vance loves exposing people who are new to knives—or new to Benchmade—to things that are outside of their comfort zone to help dispel preconceived notions and expand their horizons about what knives can look like, feel like, and accomplish in their daily lives.
“The Mini Bedlam is an aggressive-looking knife with all these cutouts and finger grooves, but once you grab it and get it in your hand, there’s a tactile understanding that you don't get just from looking at it,” Vance explains. “Just clenching it in your fist feels good. And even if you're not into aggressive knives or combat knives, once you get it in there and you make that fist around the handle, you’ll be surprised just how good it feels… The Bedlam isn't for everybody, but I want everybody to pick it up at least once and feel it and go, 'Okay, I get what you're saying, and it's not for me, but I handled the snake and didn't get bit.'”
Bring tactical superiority to your everyday carry with the Mini Bedlam®.