Benchmade Narrows Review: A Gloriously Thin Titanium Pocket Knife With a Controversial Price

Introduction

Titanium in tools is a strange thing. It is hypoallergenic, sure, but for many people it is also genuinely addictive. The Benchmade Narrows leans fully into that appeal, pairing two solid titanium handle halves with M390 blade steel in one of the slimmest folding knife packages around. It is also one of the most controversial knives in recent memory, and almost all of that controversy comes down to a single number: the price.

First Impressions

The first thing you notice about the Narrows is how easy it is to miss. It is so thin that it practically disappears when you set it down, and the same is true in the pocket. The handles are not scales bolted to liners; they are two full titanium sides that form the knife itself, which is a big part of why the profile stays so slim.

Benchmade has been in the ultra-thin territory before with the Bugout, a knife that drew complaints mostly for its name rather than its design. The Narrows feels like the next step in that same philosophy, but pushed much further upmarket.

How It Opens and Locks

The Narrows uses a redesigned Axis lock built to fit into a much thinner mechanism. The bearing races are split, with one on the blade and one in the handle, which is unusual but effective. The action is silky smooth, and the knife can be flicked open easily, whether by the thumb stud or simply by holding the handle and snapping the wrist.

There are a couple of letdowns here. The standoffs and pocket clip appear to be steel, since both are attracted to a magnet, and the clip looks like it is borrowed from the Bugout. At this price, titanium hardware and a deep-carry clip feel like reasonable expectations, and neither is delivered. An aftermarket kit would genuinely upgrade this knife.

Blade Steel: M390

The blade is M390, a super steel Benchmade has been using since around 2010. It offers high corrosion resistance and excellent edge performance, and it is a well-proven choice. That said, M390 has been around since the late 1980s, and the Axis lock is now out in the wild everywhere, so neither element is especially special on its own.

The blade itself is very thin, which suits the knife’s carry-first mission. In use, it is plenty capable for pocket knife tasks, though the thin stock means it is clearly designed around light duty rather than hard use.

Weight and Carry Experience

On the scale, the Narrows comes in at 2.4 ounces. For context, that is roughly the weight of an 18mm shallow impact socket or an unused 11mm wrench, and noticeably lighter than a small shop ratchet. It is noticeably light in the hand, though other titanium-handled knives do exist at even lower weights.

The carry story is where this knife earns its keep. A pocket knife spends more than 99% of its life being carried and less than 1% being used, and the Narrows is designed exactly around that reality. It slips into a pocket and vanishes. The detent is soft, which makes deployment easy, though the blade can show a little separation in the closed position as a result.

The Price Question

Here is the hard part. The Narrows carries a street and retail value between roughly $500 and $600, with a black version sitting around $600 retail, territory that borders custom knives. If this were a $230 or $260 knife, most people would be grabbing it without hesitation. At $520-ish street, it raises eyebrows.

The comparisons are sobering. Benchmade has been raising prices across the line, with Bugout variants now approaching or exceeding $200 and some models breaking $300. Cheaper titanium-handled alternatives exist too, including a Boker with a titanium handle, a VG10 blade, a flipper action, and a price under $100, though it lacks the elegance and finish of the Narrows. Titanium itself is not that expensive as a material; it is simply hard to work with.

Worth noting as well: the Narrows is often called the narrowest or thinnest pocket knife, but that is not strictly true. Thinner knives exist, including a single-scale design that makes the Narrows look almost chunky, though that knife operates quite differently and would not be anyone’s first choice for a deserted island.

Buying Advice

If you can look past the price and focus purely on the features and performance, the Narrows is a great choice: full titanium construction, M390 steel, a smooth redesigned Axis lock, and a carry profile that disappears in the pocket. If budget matters at all, lighter or cheaper titanium-handled knives are available, and an aftermarket hardware kit would address most of the small complaints on this one.

Expect the Narrows to attract attention rather than fly off shelves. From a pure buzz standpoint, Benchmade created something that some consider absurd at the price, and everyone is talking about it either way.

Conclusion

The Benchmade Narrows is a glorious knife with a genuinely addictive titanium build and a superb carry experience, held back only by steel hardware, a non-deep-carry clip, and a price that borders on custom knife territory. Buy it for the thinness, the steel, and the feel; just go in with eyes open about what the money gets you.