- Benchmade Freek 560 · Drop Point3.6″ blade · 0.114″ spine · 3.72 oz · ~1.09″ tall
Benchmade Freek 560
DiscontinuedBenchmade no longer makes this knife in this configuration. Its current replacement is Benchmade Freek 560BK-1.
The Benchmade Freek 560 is a 3.6" drop point folder in CPM-S30V, flat ground. The handle is Dual Durometer G-10, secured by an AXIS lock. At 3.72 oz it sits 39th-lightest of the 61 EDC folders here, where the median is 3.2 oz.
- Blade
- 3.6″
- Weight
- 3.72 oz
- Steel
- CPM-S30V
- Price band
- Premium
Everyday carry and general utility
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against benchmade, bladeops.
- Blade length
- 3.6″
- Spine thickness
- 0.114″
- Blade shape
- Drop Point
- Grind
- Flat
- Steel
- CPM-S30V
- Overall length
- 8.46″
- Closed length
- 4.86″
- Weight
- 3.72 oz
- Lock
- AXIS
- Deployment
- Manual
- Handle material
- Dual Durometer G-10
- Country of origin
- USA
Why a drop point
The default hunting and EDC shape, and the safest general answer. The spine curves down to the tip in a convex line, which keeps the point low and strong and leaves plenty of belly for skinning. It is hard to make a drop point bad at anything.
Every drop point here →About CPM-S30V
The long-time American benchmark. Holds an edge far longer than 420HC and still sharpens on ordinary stones. Chippy if you pry with it.
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-S30V knives
What owners say
Drawn from 496 owner discussions of the Benchmade Freek 560 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.
What owners like
- Long-term main carry for owners who stick with it: one says it has been their main EDC for three to five years, and another says it has seen the most work carries of anything they own over the last couple of years.
- A millwright put theirs to work cutting custom gaskets for a pump on the job, after swapping an M4 blade into their S30V Freek.
- Intuitive to open: one owner who modded their Cold Steel Recon 1 so they can easily flick it open says the Freek is pretty intuitive as well.
- It feels substantial: one owner calls it a beast in the hand, and another says it is a beast next to their Bugout.
- One owner of six Benchmades says their carbon fiber Freek had the best build quality, centering and out-of-box sharpness of any of them.
- Aftermarket scales transform it: one owner who fitted AWT Cerakote scales says it feels totally different in hand and more premium, and that the Freek sold them on the brand.
- Value was excellent at older prices: one owner who carries it daily for work paid $100 a few years ago and calls that peak value.
What owners flag
- Stock dual-durometer scales age badly for one owner, whose rubber coating has deteriorated and keeps getting worse, and another is tired of the handle sticking to their jeans.
- Lock stick on new knives: one S90V owner found the pivot 80 percent broken in after four days while the AXIS lock kept sticking, and a carbon fiber S90V buyer found the lock gritty on arrival.
- One owner says they broke the lock on a Freek, a 940 and an Immunity within two months, while admitting they fidget with them a lot.
- Factory edges are steep or rough: one owner says theirs seems more like 30 degrees per side, beyond their guided sharpener, another called the factory edge poor, and an M4 Super Freek owner found theirs a little toothy.
- Thicker than some rivals of the same length: a Matsey Lynx owner says the Lynx matches the Freek's length and nearly its weight but is thinner in both grip and blade.
- AWT scales can bind the action: on one owner's Super Freek, tightening the stop pin or middle liner screw made the action very tight no matter how loose the pivot was.
A 3.6-inch drop point at 3.72 oz, the Freek is a folder owners put to work: one millwright cut pump gaskets with theirs, another says it has seen the most work carries of their knives over the last couple of years, and one has carried it as their main EDC for three to five years. Another owner carries a RAT 1 at work and the Freek most on their time off.
New-knife reports are mixed. One carbon fiber owner rates it the best-built of their six Benchmades, while others got a gritty or sticking AXIS lock on new knives, and one owner broke the lock on three Benchmades within two months of heavy fidgeting. Factory edges come steep, near 30 degrees per side for one owner. Two owners complain about the stock scales, one of a rubber coating deteriorating over years and one of a surface that sticks to jeans, and both were looking at AWT scales, which another owner fitted and likes.
Rivals named against it are the Hogue Ritter RSK, which one owner of both prefers for ergonomics, and the Spyderco PM2, which two Freek owners went on to buy. It suits someone who wants a full-size AXIS-lock folder for real work and is happy to sharpen it to a finer angle or re-scale it.
Freek or Hogue Ritter RSK?
One owner of both says they are close in size and weight with nearly identical deployment. They prefer the RSK's ergonomics and the Freek's scale pattern, and would keep the Hogue if they had to choose one.
What angle is the Freek's factory edge?
One owner coming from a Bugout says the Freek's edge seems more like 30 degrees per side, or about 60 inclusive, which was past the 25-degree limit of their guided sharpener. Another owner called the factory edge poor on arrival.
Will a sticky AXIS lock break in?
Not always quickly. One owner found the pivot 80 percent broken in after four days while the lock stick did not change, and pencil graphite only helped briefly. Another got a gritty lock on a brand new carbon fiber Freek and weighed returning it.
Which aftermarket scales fit the Freek?
AWT makes scales for both the Freek and Mini Freek. One owner fitted its Cerakote scales and says the knife feels totally different in hand and more premium, and two owners unhappy with the stock rubber-coated scales were looking at AWT. One owner warns that on AWT scales the stop pin and liner screws can bind the action if tightened too far.
Freek or Spyderco Para Military 2?
Two Freek owners went on to buy PM2s. One who owned a Freek for several months liked the PM2 enough to buy three, and a longtime Benchmade buyer with a Freek, Bugout, Adamas and 940 calls the PM2 the best knife they have owned.
Features
- AXIS lock
- Flat grind
- Made in USA
- Stainless blade
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