- Benchmade Bailout 537 · Tanto3.38″ blade · 0.09″ spine · 2.05 oz · ~0.87″ tall
Benchmade Bailout 537
DiscontinuedBenchmade no longer makes this knife in this configuration. Its current replacement is Benchmade Bailout 537BK-06.
The Benchmade Bailout 537 is a 3.38" tanto folder in CPM-3V, flat ground. The handle is Grivory, secured by an AXIS lock. One of only 2 tanto blades in the catalogue, out of 140.
- Blade
- 3.38″
- Weight
- 2.05 oz
- Steel
- CPM-3V
- Price band
- Premium
Everyday carry and general utility
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against knifecenter, bladehq.
- Blade length
- 3.38″
- Spine thickness
- 0.09″
- Blade shape
- Tanto
- Grind
- Flat
- Steel
- CPM-3V
- Overall length
- 8.07″
- Closed length
- 4.71″
- Weight
- 2.05 oz
- Lock
- AXIS
- Deployment
- Manual
- Handle material
- Grivory
- Country of origin
- USA
Why a tanto
A flat main edge meets an angled tip section at a distinct break. It concentrates force into a very strong point at the cost of almost all slicing belly — good for punching through hard material, poor for skinning.
Every tanto here →About CPM-3V
The toughness champion. Chosen when a blade has to be batoned or pried and breaking is unacceptable. Keep it oiled.
1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other. All CPM-3V knives
What owners say
Drawn from 823 owner discussions of the Benchmade Bailout 537 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.
What owners like
- CPM-3V takes hard use. One owner who whittles, does yard work and breaks down boxes with it calls the 3V tough yet razor sharp, and another rates its edge retention ten out of ten.
- So light it disappears: Grivory owners describe it as extremely light and easy to forget in the pocket, and one backpacker shopping for a light folder loves how light the Grivory scales are.
- The thin tanto earns its keep. One owner uses the tip for precision work and the long flat edge for shredding material, and another found it fantastic for urban carry once they got used to the shape.
- Bigger and better suited than the Bugout for some hands: two owners who found the Bugout too small or less to their liking settled on the longer Bailout, and a third thinks it is probably the better knife.
- Double-sided guard keeps the hand back. A backpacker who tested both in a store found their hand slid past the Bugout's guard but stopped on the Bailout's, and says it has caused no pocket trouble.
- Discreet enough for the office: one owner replaced their Adamas 275 with a 3V Bailout as a city carry because it blends in at work.
- Sale prices leave room to upgrade. Owners report paying $112 shipped from Benchmade and $160 at retailers in 2025, and one spent $80 more on aftermarket scales and washers.
- Easy platform to modify: one owner with no prior experience fitted a pivot bushing system to a 3V Bailout, and another reports that Bugout barrel spacers fit for a backspacer delete.
What owners flag
- Grivory scales feel flimsy to many buyers. Owners describe them flexing in the center, feeling plasticky or cheap, and one got rid of theirs for that reason.
- Budget for new scales: the common fix is AWT aluminum scales, sometimes with oversized washers, which owners say transform the knife or make it feel like a whole new one, and one new buyer was weighing Rockscale titanium against AWT.
- Stock clip dug into one buyer's palm, and they replaced it with a lower-profile clip.
- Lanyard pommel tends to come off. One owner called the loop godawful and was glad to lose it, another plans to delete the pommel so it stops jabbing when tucked in a waistband, and another removed the window breaker.
- Long handle misses some pockets: one owner says it does not fit the fifth pocket on all of their work jeans.
- Counterfeits are out there. Two buyers in 2024 found the Bailout they bought was fake, and one got a refund before buying a genuine one.
Just over 2 oz with a 3.38 inch CPM-3V tanto, the Grivory Bailout is carried as a light, thin knife for town and work. One owner uses it for boxes, yard work and whittling, another takes it to the gym in light shorts, one carries it for inner city days in place of an Adamas, and one backpacker picked it over the Bugout for its double guard.
The blade is what won one owner over after mixed first feelings: the 3V's toughness and edge and the tanto tip's precision. The handle wins fewer people over. Owners repeatedly call the stock Grivory flimsy, flexy or cheap, and the usual fix is AWT aluminum scales with oversized washers, often with the lanyard pommel removed.
Bugout or Bailout is the comparison that comes up most. Owners who move to the Bailout cite the longer handle and the guard, and one thinks it is the better knife. Sales put the 3V Grivory version at $112 shipped from Benchmade and $160 at retailers in 2025, and owners have spent from $80 to roughly $180 more on scales and parts; buyers should check the seller, as two people bought counterfeits in 2024.
Why does my Bailout have plastic scales and a 3V blade when others are aluminum?
That is the standard model: CPM-3V on Grivory scales. One owner who has three describes a standard Grivory one, a more tactical M4 version and an orange aluminum SHOT Show edition in 3V, all with the same thin tanto. A first-time buyer whose OD Green Bailout had polymer scales and a 3V blade wondered if it was an older one or an anomaly.
Bailout or Bugout?
Owners who chose the Bailout mostly cite size: one found the Bugout too small, another prefers the extra length, and a backpacker liked that the Bailout's guard stopped their hand where the Bugout's did not. One owner who has both thinks the Bailout is probably the better knife once you are used to the tanto.
Are the Grivory scales worth replacing?
Many owners did, usually with AWT aluminum scales, and say it transforms the feel; one found the AWT aluminum scales removed the flex and even shaved a little weight. Not everyone agrees: a backpacker likes the Grivory for how light it is and says the slight flex does not matter in standard cutting.
Can I take the pommel or glass breaker off?
Yes, owners do. One removed the window breaker from a 3V Bailout, another planned to delete the pommel to stop it jabbing in a waistband, and one reports that Bugout barrel spacers fit if you want to replace the backspacer.
Features
- AXIS lock
- Flat grind
- Under 2.5 oz
- Made in USA
- Tool steel blade — will patina
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