Home on the Range #060: Benchmade Mini Adamas Marbled Carbon Fiber
Adam Scepaniak 11.12.23
It is that time of year where I look to spend more time in the woods hunting than I do sitting at my desk writing. Whitetail deer hunting is more than a pastime where I come from, it is life. Your whole family gets together after a year of watching trail camera photos pour in – meticulously and optimistically “picking” which deer you are going to shoot – and then it’s GO time! If you prepared yourself well and are fortunate enough to be given an opportunity, you might be able to fill your whitetail deer tag. Then, the real work begins. You need to field-dress your deer. This can be hellacious on knives because you are working inside a ribcage often on feel alone. Next, you will need to cape your harvest which can be harsh on blades due to cutting through hair fibers and cartilaginous areas. Finally, there is the processing of meats. From removing it from your harvest to deboning and more precisely crafting the cuts of meat you desire. To accomplish all of this, you need a quality knife. There is no mistaking it. Recently, Benchmade released their Adamas and Mini Adamas knives. They reached out to see if we would like to give one of them a test run so I decided on the Mini Adamas because I prefer smaller pelting/caping sized blades. So, today we are going to share all of our experiences with the Benchmade Mini Adamas Marbled Carbon Fiber knife in a good ol’ Minnesota test: processing a whitetail deer from start to finish. Let’s dive in!
“Home on the Range” Series Coverage on AllOutdoor
Welcome to our reoccurring series of “Home on the Range.” Here, we would like to share all of our experiences for those who may be homesteading, living off the land, hunting, farming, ranching, and truly investing in nature and the great outdoors. The ability to provide for yourself and your family can be tremendously rewarding and simultaneously difficult at times. So, in “Home on the Range” we want to share our different exploits so you can learn and hopefully we can receive your feedback along the way as well.
The Benchmade Mini Adamas knife has an MSRP of $290 – $375 based on the appearance and aesthetic that you go with. The Mini Adamas Marbled Carbon Fiber knife we are specifically reviewing here today falls on the high side with an MSRP of $375. It is an ambidextrous knife which you can change the pocket clip to either side and you have a lanyard hole as well. The Mini Adamas is made in the USA and all of its specifications can be read below as presented by Benchmade:
Toughness doesn’t take a day off. The 273-03 Mini Adamas®️ cleans up nicely with marbled carbon fiber handle scales and bright accents, bringing refined style to this utilitarian pocket tank. Featuring an ultra-tough CPM-Magnacut blade—this time with a satin finish—and nodding to its predecessors with FDE hardware, this classy weekday workhorse is ready for the weekend.
I have had the Benchmade Mini Adamas for a couple months now and have deployed it for everything from the mundane to the extreme. It was a part of my everyday carry (EDC) loadout for several weeks where I would cut boxes at work, slice bailer twine while ranching, and even use it to eat my lunch. Some tasks more glamorous than others, but the Mini Adamas always performed when called upon.
Those were not the tests that interested me the most though. I knew if I were to harvest a whitetail deer this fall, that would be the ultimate test of endurance, edge sharpness, and strength. Fortunately for me, preparation and opportunity aligned for me to harvest a healthy 9-point buck last weekend on Minnesota’s firearm season opener.
As mentioned before, once my deer hit the ground, the gauntlet began. My wife, Andrea, and I got a couple quick photos of our successful harvest, but then we began field-dressing the deer. By flashlight, I made an incision below the sternum (right at the xyphoid process – tip of the sternum) and opened the deer up. I began cutting through the diaphragm to remove the heart and lungs. Next, came the stomach, intestine, and the rest of the endtrails. After, I removed the genitalia as well as the butthole, then we would be assured that none of the meat would be tainted. I didn’t go out of my way to do this – it naturally happens while field-dressing a deer (especially in the dark) – but I stabbed, scraped, and poked into bone a handful of times.
Also, when you are field-dressing a deer this time of year, you are going to encounter a lot of fat. The fat, in and of itself, doesn’t necessarily damage the blade or knife, but it makes it greasy. Thus, leaving you more prone to slip, not execute a cut as you intended, and otherwise jeopardize the knife. Greasy fat while processing game is a tremendous nuisance.
Once my deer was fully field-dressed, by all observations the Mini Adamas survived and performed wonderfully. It even stood up to the task of cutting through whitetail deer hair (whitetail deer hair is hollow, coarse, and rough, wreaking havoc on knives for as small and unassuming as that task may be). Next, I got my deer home to begin pelting the hide. This meant a lot more cutting through greasy fat as well as hollow whitetail deer hair. Once again, the knife accomplished this task no problem.
Then, we began cutting quarters from the carcass, deboning, and sculpting individual cuts of meat. I appreciated the jimping on the rear of the spine of the knife because it gave me a lot of dexterity and trust in manipulating the blade. There were also jimping-style patterns on the grip of the handle as well. I always felt like I had a good handle on this knife regardless of the task that I was doing.
So, what are my final thoughts on the Benchmade Mini Adamas Marbled Carbon Fiber knife?… Overall, it is a gorgeous knife with the marbled carbon fiber handle and bright bronze accents throughout. More importantly, it performs. It kept a strong edge from the time I gut my deer up until (and beyond) the point of me cutting backstrap steaks. The locking mechanism felt strong and sturdy. Greasy whitetail deer fat and their peculiar hair was no issue for this blade. Between its attractiveness and utility, this has been a phenomenal knife in the couple of months we have been reviewing it. At an MSRP of $375, I would say it is more than worth the asking price.
In closing, I want to say thank you to Benchmade for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their Benchmade Mini Adamas knife with a Marbled Carbon Fiber handle. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Benchmade Mini Adamas knife with a Marbled Carbon Fiber handle is something worth spending your money on? Would you deploy one for hunting this fall? Take it with you camping? Use it everyday in your kitchen at home? As always, let us know all of your thoughts about Benchmade in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
