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Review: Benchmade Safety Cutters

Hopefully, most of you reading this blog right now are in the habit of carrying a first aid kit when you are shooting and, hopefully, you have at least some training on its use. If you do carry a first aid kit with some regularity, you are likely familiar with the ubiquitous medical shears that are a part of so many kits. These shears are, with few exceptions, cheaply made but passable for clearing obstructions like clothing and gear from a wound site. Those shears have been used for years, but, as with most pieces of gear, eventually someone gives us something better. The someone is Benchmade and the something is their Safety Cutters.

The 8 Hook sheath is on the left and the 7 Hook sheath is on the right.

Removing the Safety Cutter from the sheath is easy. Just lift the flap and pull out the cutter.

Some Background

To really appreciate the Benchmade Safety Hooks, you have to first understand what they replace (or at least supplement). Shears, medical shears, EMT shears, or whatever else they might be called are both a blessing and curse. On one hand, their design allows them to cut through some incredibly durable materials. This is often demonstrated by cutting a penny in half. However, their cheap construction can render them useless in a matter of minutes. They often dull very quickly – even after cutting just one pair of pants. They can flex and bend. They aren’t comfortable to use for strenuous work and can fatigue your hand very quickly. They can also take quite a long time to cut through some material or to make long cuts like in the case of a pant leg. In spite of all of that, you will still find a pair in any serious first aid kit because they work, at least for a while.

A Better Way

Benchmade Safety Hooks represent a better way to do many of the tasks that you would traditionally complete with shears. They are easier to carry, easier to use, faster, and they last nearly indefinitely.

I own several of the 7 Hook/Safety Cutters and 1 of the 8 Hook/Safety Cutters. They weigh about the same as a set of shears but are much more compact and easy to carry. Benchmade Safety Hooks come with a sheath and in the case of the 7 and 8 Hooks, they come with a MOLLE compatible sheath. The sheath is simple and effective. It retains the Safety Cutter with a hook and loop secured flap and a secondary elastic band. In the event that the flap catches on something and is pulled loose, the elastic band can retain prevent the Safety Hook from being lost. The sheaths even come with the MALICE clip that is necessary to mount it.

The sheath mounts easily with a provided MALICE clip.

Even if the flap is accidentally released, the elastic loop serves as secondary retention.

Using a Benchmade Safety Hook is easy. “Grip it and rip it” has never been a more appropriate phrase. As soon as you have one in hand, you know how to use it. You hold the grip area in your hand and hook whatever you wish to cut with the hooked end of the cutter. Then it is simply a matter of pulling the hook through the material. The hooks are so sharp, that this takes very little strength and effort.

I stated above that the Safety Cutters are faster than shears and you may be wondering how much faster. I compared a brand new set of shears that had never cut anything with a brand new 7 Hook/Safety Cutter by using each to cut from cuff to waist on an old pair of BDU pants. The shears did the job in a respectable 46 seconds while the 7 Hook zipped through in less than 4 seconds. Not only was it faster, but it was considerably easier. 4 seconds is a lot faster than 46 seconds.

The 7 Hook made it through these BDU pants 42 seconds faster than brand new shears.

Benchmade has tested their Safety Hooks for hundreds of cuts and while they do eventually get harder to cut with due to dulling, they will last many more cuts than a pair of shears. The 440C Safety Cutters are hardened to 58-60 Rockwell and the edges are refined to a high polish. It is amazing how long the edge lasts. If it does start to dull, you can simply return it to Benchmade with a small fee to cover return shipping and they will bring it back to life for you. You can also maintain it yourself if you are handy with strop compound. I use compound loaded into a thin leather strap to keep the hooks sharp. Harsher abrasives like ceramics or diamonds should not be used.

What Will They Cut?

I have used the Safety Hooks to cut all of the mundane stuff like tubular webbing, first aid tape, pant legs, para-cord, and heavier rope. However, what is most impressive is how they cut more difficult items like multiple layers of 1000D nylon in a chest rig and even a leather work boot.

This chest rig opened with an 8 Hook like it had a zipper. The straps were also cut easily so the rig would fall away completely.

If you need to access a chest wound, the Safety Hook can be used to strip away clothing and even gear. It zipped through no less than 3 layers of 1000D nylon and a layer of MOLLE webbing in one pull when I tested it on an old chest rig that I had laying around. Searching for buckles is wasted time when you have a tool like the Benchmade Safety Cutters.

Even tough leather work boots are no match for the 7 Hook.

If you need to clear a boot, don’t waste time trying to untie the laces, loosen the boot, and then remove it. Simply pull the cutter straight down from ankle to sole and then forward toward the toe and the boot falls away (you don’t need to cut both sides). It only takes a few seconds and it is amazingly easy to pull the hook through multiple layers of leather and fabric.

Even thicker items like climbing rope can be cut with these Safety Cutters. You simply start the cut with a small rocking motion to get into the inner layers and then pull. It’s easy.

Conclusion

Both the 7 Hook and 8 Hook Safety Cutters are excellent. The 7 Hook is more compact and its foam rubber grip is more comfortable and easier to use with gloves. I think it is the better all around choice, but some users may prefer the more nimble feeling and slightly longer reach of the 8 Hook. There is also a newer version of the 8 Hook that integrates a carbide glass breaker which really adds to an already excellent tool.

These Benchmade Safety Cutters outclass every similar product that I have ever tried. They represent a huge improvement over shears for first aid tasks. They are so reasonably priced (especially considering the sheath and MALICE clip) that it makes sense to own at least two of them so you can be sure to have one even if the other is sent out for sharpening. They work so well and are so easy to carry that there is almost no excuse not to add one to your kit today. I consider them among my most important pieces of first aid gear.

You can check out the 7 Hook and the 8 Hook along with all of the other Safety Cutter models on Benchmade’s website.

Elzetta Lights Are No One Hit Wonder

Elzetta recently impressed us with a demonstration of just how water resistant their lights really are. Well, Elzetta isn’t done proving the durability of their lights. Check out this amazing demonstration of impact resistance.

If an Elzetta light will stand up to driving thousands of nails, then I suspect it will survive just about any drop, fall, or accidental impact you can throw at it.

You can read more about the entire line of Elzetta lights and mounts on their website.

Review: SEREPICK Executive Kit

The Bogota Entry Tools and Bogota Titan Entry Tools are not only some of my favorite pieces of gear that I have ever reviewed but they are also the most popular pieces of gear that I have ever reviewed in terms of page loads. Once you actually use them, it is easy to see why they are so popular. They work extremely well. These Bogota Entry Tools allow someone with no lock-picking experience to bypass locks with just a little practice.

The new SEREPICK Executive Kit pairs the Bogota Entry Tools with 2 handcuff shims, a diamond wire blade, and a svelte case to create a very attractive, very simple, and very effective set of E&E tools. All of these tools are extremely simple to use and very effective. In this review we will take a look at each of the components individually.

Bogota Titan Entry Tools

The Executive Kit comes with the Bogota Titan Entry Tools. The “Titan” in the name indicates that these are crafted from titanium. Since I have already reviewed these before, I will just hit some of the high points. Please refer to the full reviews of the Bogota Entry Tools and Bogota Titan Entry Tools for more detail.

The Bogota Titan Entry Tools are well suited to this set due to their titanium construction. Titanium is a fitting material for a set that is designed to be so elegant. Titanium is non-ferrous which makes these tools very difficult to detect on their own (the handcuff shims and diamond wire blade are ferrous so they may be easier to detect). The extreme corrosion resistance of Ti makes it well suited to a kit that will be carried often and used little. The Bogota Titan Entry Tools are the heart of this kit.

Handcuff Shims

If you have never used handcuff shims, you will be in for a wake up call. They can be used to open nearly any set of handcuffs unless they are double locked. They are extremely effective and extremely easy to use. In fact, they are easy enough to use that, with just a little practice, they can be used behind your back.

The shims are made from spring steel so, while they are extremely small and thin, they are fairly tough. I used the same shim to open cuffs over and over again with no deformation or damage to the shim at all. The spring steel also provides the right amount of rigidity and flex that is needed to force and finesse the shim into the ratchet mechanism of the cuffs. Other handcuff shims that I have used have not held up nearly as well as these from SEREPICK.

To use the handcuff shims, you must first know which side of the cuffs has the ratchet mechanism. This can be determined by touch or visually by locating the key hole or ratchet teeth on the swing arm. The ratchet mechanism will be on the same side as these items. Then it is a matter of simply inserting the shim in between the swing arm and the ratchet mechanism to disengage the teeth. Once the shim is in place, the cuffs will fall open.

Diamond Wire Blade

The 70mm diamond wire blade is a very interesting and versatile addition to the kit. It is probably the easiest piece of the kit to use but it also requires the most patience. It is just what it sounds like – a piece of fairly rigid wire that is impregnated with diamond dust. The result is a tiny blade that can be used to saw through anything that is less hard than diamond, which is just about everything.

I used the diamond for a number of tasks to get a feel for its capabilities. I used it to do the initial opening of a an AK-47 rear sight before switching to wider file to finish the job. It worked quite well for this, much like the diamond jewelers file that I typically use for the task. I also decided to cut through a hardened steel 1/8″ hex wrench with a timer running. It took about 25 minutes to get about halfway through and just under 50 minutes to get to the point that it was compromised enough to bend and break.

That is a long time, but this is a last ditch item. It is actually quite impressive that a short piece of wire and some diamond dust can cut through hardened steel. The applications for this are nearly endless.

SEREPICK Executive Case

The case itself is really impressive. It really sets this kit apart as a classy item that is worthy of its “executive” moniker.

It is made from bicast leather and features 3 cells – one cell for each tool. The tools are retained by a flap that tucks into a band to close. The flap is tapered to make it easy to tuck into the band.

Conclusion

The SEREPICK Executive Kit can get you out of ugly situations and looks good in the process. It builds on the capabilities of the Bogota Entry Toolset with two additional tools that are equally as effective and simple to use. It is so slim, small, light, and cool that it would be at home in anyone’s briefcase, EDC bag, or E&E kit.

Check out the SEREPICK Executive Kit on the SEREPICK website.

Disclosure: The item was provided to me by SEREPICK, free of charge, for review.

Elzetta Lights: Water Resistance Test

If you are familiar with Elzetta flashlights you are likely already familiar with how tough they are. You can literally drive nails with them.

Their extreme durability extends far beyond just the sort of impact resistance that it takes to survive driving nails. They are also extremely water resistant. In fact, even if water breaches the o-ring seals and completely fills the light, your Elzetta light can continue to function.

The sealed Malkoff LED module is one of the keys to this level of water resistance. Even though water may breach the body of the light, it cannot access the LED or the electronics.

This is a tremendous capability. O-rings crack, tear, and deteriorate over time. Everyone has had the experience of a once water-proof watch or flashlight allow water to enter unexpectedly. It is comforting to know that even if this happens to your Elzetta, you will probably still have a functional light.

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