Benchmade Infidel 3300BK

The Benchmade Infidel 3300BK has been an iconic staple in the American made knife scene for years! It has been available in many different colors and several different blade steels but the overall design has remained the same since it’s introduction in 2007.

This knife is known as an OTF or out the front double action automatic which means that the the blade is deployed and retracted with the use of a trigger switch on the top of the handle. This deployment method is very useful for situations where you need to access your blade with one hand and it is also safer than many other knife deployment methods because your fingers are always out of the path of the opening and closing blade!

The Infidel’s body is made of 6061 T6 anodized aluminum and houses a razor sharp D2 blade that is double edged and sharpened with a chisel grind. The menacing dagger style blade is coated with a deep black Cerakote that helps protect the blade from rust and corrosion since D2 is a carbon steel with little corrosion resistance. Benchmade knows how to do a good heat treat with the hardness on this blade rated at 60-62 H R C!

The Infidel seems to get a lot of unfavorable opinions on the internet but once you handle this classic blade, you’ll understand why it has been a fan favorite for so many years! This OTF originally set the standard that many other up and coming knife companies had to live by. Sure. . . by today’s standards, the Infidel could use an upgrade in blade material but it is still easily recognized as the king of the OTF’s and it still manages to get the job done with it’s tried and true D2 steel and iconic design.

It seems that the trigger switch is either love or hate with many owners. It is fairly easy to manipulate but it has a lot of travel due to the way it loads the firing and retraction springs during operation. This gives it a spongy, soft feel which is very different than some other brands on the market. Some people call the blade action a little sluggish but I find the action to be snappy and extremely smooth with unmistakably crisp acoustics!

I believe that much of the negative press that the Infidel receives is due to the way it is designed and from being compared to other brands that don’t exactly operate the same.

All in all, I think the Infidel would benefit from an upgrade in steel and a stronger action just to appease the critics but at the end of the day, this knife will do it’s job consistently and reliably as loon as you keep it clean and lubricated. This really goes for any OTF on the market as they all can be a bit finicky when not maintained.

If you stop and think about it, many of today’s highly sought after grail knives are actually older designs such as Chris Reeve’s frame lock offerings. Just because they are older designs doesn’t mean that they can’t get the job done!

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Be sure to Subscribe to @RocketFoot556 on Youtube and Instagram for more great content!