Designed by custom knifemaker, Jared Oeser, Benchmade has released the Benchmade x Jared Oeser 601-211 Tengu Flipper. Known for his stellar knife designs, Oeser’s philosophy is summed as follows, “I build knives for use whether it’s chopping wood for a shelter in the mountains or opening a package at home, I design my knives to perform a specific task.” Benchmade has tapped Oeser to produce a premium version of his popular Tengu folder with the Unlimited Limited Gold Class 601-211 Tengu which infuses jaw-dropping materials with this popular design. Benchmade and Oeser chose black-and-white marbled carbon fiber, broken up only with a vibrant blue G-10 shield inlay for the Tengu Flipper.
Closed, this attractive package measures just 3.85 inches long and 0.44 inches thick. But the real stunner deploys with a press of the flipper tab. You’re looking at 2.77 inches of Bifrost Pattern Damasteel, forged to an HRC between 58 and 60. This means that the 601-211 will hold its edge through dozens of uses. And with an overall length of 6.61 inches, its modest size should make it perfectly at home in just about any setting. Like the base model of the Tengu, this version forgoes the pocket clip. However, in place of a clip, it comes with an attractive leather sheath, tacking 0.32 ounces of pocket weight onto the knife’s 2.62 ounces. According to Benchmade, this iteration of Jared Oeser’s design will be built only for the 2021 calendar year, in an unlimited quantity.
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