A few of my hunting and fishing buddies are “knife guys.” They have numerous models designed for specific tasks, as well as everyday carry knives for routine jobs such as opening cardboard shipping boxes.
Truth be told, I’ve never been a knife guy to that same degree. Sure, I own many knives (and a few multitools) because of my lifelong fishing and hunting passions. My kitchen drawer contains a half dozen fillet knives — some decent, some crummy. Sadly, I’ve never gotten serious about learning how to sharpen them properly.
It’s precisely because of my lack of sharpening skill that I was intrigued to learn about Benchmade’s lifetime sharpening service — called LifeSharp — available for free with the purchase of any Benchmade knife. This was explained to me while attending a meeting in the Benchmade booth during the 2025 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. (SHOT stands for Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade.)
But I’m getting ahead of myself; let me back up a bit: The media contact I visited with at SHOT represented a few outdoor brands, and although Benchmade wasn’t on my radar to visit during my week at SHOT, I agreed to visit the the company’s booth after reading a recap about its history. As a writer/editor, I’m always interested in a good story, and Benchmade certainly has one.
FYI: Click here to watch a fascinating film, “Tried by Fire; The Les de Asis Story,” about Benchmade’s founder. (FYI: The video is under the heading, Watch Our Full Story. Be sure to turn on the volume, and know that the first minute is more like an ad than a film. But stick with it; the film tells an amazing story and is worth your time.)
As I toured the big and impressive Benchmade booth at SHOT, I had to ask about the Show attendees lined up on one side of the space. I found out they were waiting to drop off their knives for a Benchmade service tech to sharpen the blades on site — for free!
The wheels began turning in my head: Perhaps I didn’t have to spend the rest of my fishing and hunting days frustrated with marginally performing knives? The media contact could certainly sense my enthusiasm for the company and its unique sharpening policy, and when the person extended an offer to field test a Benchmade knife, I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough.
Choosing the Fishcrafter
The Fishcrafter comes in two lengths, 7 and 9 inches, and I field tested the shorter blade, model No. 18010. The reason I chose the 7-inch blade is because I most often fillet panfish, keeping small- to mid-size bluegills and crappies and releasing the bigger ones. I’ll also occasionally keep northern pike and channel catfish — again, keeping smaller ones and letting bigger ones go.
My needs for a fillet knife seemed to match well with the product description I found online while researching various Benchmade knives: “Built with premium corrosion-resistant materials and designed to process small to medium fish, the 7-inch Fishcrafter is highly specialized for powerful push-cutting, deboning and effortlessly smooth filleting.”
Fishcrafter Model No. 18010 Specs
- Total length: 11.89 inches
- Blade length: 7 inches
- Blade style: Trailing Point
- Handle material: Santoprene
- Blade steel: MagnaCut Stainless Steel (60-62 HRC)
- Sheath: Molded
- Knife weight: 2.84 ounces
- MSRP: $240
- Contact: benchmade.com
As someone who has never owned an expensive knife, I researched what goes into building one. Quote: “Every Benchmade knife begins with high-grade steel, laser-cut for precision and strength. Each blade is meticulously ground, beveled and finished to exacting standards, ensuring exceptional performance and durability. Our handles are milled and machined in-house to the tightest tolerances, then hand-assembled and sharpened by expert technicians. With over 30 years of manufacturing excellence behind every edge, our knives are proudly crafted in our state-of-the-art facility in Oregon City, Oregon.”
Testing the Fishcrafter
Almost a year has passed since that January 2025 SHOT Show meeting in the Benchmade booth. I’ve had the 7-inch Fishcrafter in my possession for nearly 10 months, long enough to pass along some meaningful feedback on it.
The first time I put the Fishcrafter to the test was after an early March ice fishing trip to a local Minnesota lake. I kept a handful of bluegills and crappies. In my opinion, when it comes to eating fresh fish, nothing compares to panfish caught through the ice — crazy good!
As I mentioned earlier, I own a half dozen fillet knives (all with 7- to 8-inch blades), some better than others. Through the years I’ve attempted to sharpen them, but I’ve never been able to put on a scary-sharp edge. Would I notice a difference when cleaning panfish with the new Fishcrafter? Absolutely!
I couldn’t believe how the Fishcrafter blade sliced through the bluegills and crappies. If you’ve filleted bluegills and crappies before, you know they have substantially thick scales; they aren’t the easiest fish to clean.
After cleaning half the panfish I’d kept, I set aside the Fishcrafter and grabbed a fillet knife (a decent one) I’ve owned for decades. I try sharpening it each year, but as I’ve said, I’m not a knife-sharpening whisperer. That said, it’s far from dull.
The difference between my old fillet knife and the Fishcrafter was striking. I had to use so much more pressure with the old knife to make any progress on a panfish. I could get the job done, but it was a struggle. In contrast, moving the Fishcrafter blade through a bluegill or crappie was easy.
In addition to a tremendous difference in blade performance, the Fishcrafter also provided a much more positive grip. The Benchmade website explains that the knife’s Santoprene handle is a composite of vulcanized EPDM rubber and thermoplastic. I won’t pretend I know exactly what that means. What I will say, however, is the durable molded handle material felt great in my hand, and it provided a secure grip, even with panfish slime on my fingers.
Of course, the big question is how long will the Fishcrafter stay sharp? After all, I’m sure most of my old fillet knives did a decent job when they were new. At this point, all I can tell you is I’ve used the Fishcrafter for nearly 10 months, and I’ve cleaned a lot of bluegills, crappies, northern pike and channel catfish. I’ve even kept a few small- to medium-sized largemouth bass that swallowed my hook; they weren’t going to live so I decided to eat them rather than feed them to the turtles. I’ve also used the Fishcrafter to easily remove the pesky silver skin from whitetail backstraps prior to grilling.
So far, I haven’t noticed any falloff to the initial blade sharpness. Clearly, the quality of the Fishcrafter blade (MagnaCut Stainless Steel; 60-62 HRC) is far superior to the steel found in my old knives. Even when I do my best to sharpen one of my old fillet knives, I can feel its blade lose its edge after cleaning only a half dozen panfish. This isn’t the case with the Fishcrafter.
And this brings me back to how I began this story, with Benchmade’s LifeSharp sharpening service — for life. Now I can have peace of mind that no matter how many fish I clean, and how long I own the Fishcrafter, I can send it back to the experts at Benchmade and then receive back a blade that performs like brand new.
Benchmade Warranty
I’ll end this review with a quick mention of the Benchmade Warranty. After all, spending a couple hundred dollars on a knife is a big commitment.
Quote: “Benchmade stands behind every knife that comes out of our Oregon City Factory. If your knife experiences an issue due to a manufacturing defect, we’ll repair or replace it at no cost. Our goal is simple: keep your knife working for life.” Click here for more about this warranty.
