Benchmade's Cheapest Knife Just Got a Cutting Edge
Benchmade's SOCP dagger has spent years as the company's most affordable entry point, a skeletonized spike built for defensive use and little else. This week the Oregon maker answered the most common complaint about it: the SOCP Single-Edge Dagger adds a proper plain edge so the knife can actually open a box.
The original SOCP's dagger profile was never meant for cardboard and zip ties. Its double-edge geometry is a thrusting design, and owners who wanted to carry one knife for everything ended up carrying something else alongside it. Adding a single-edge version keeps the slim, skeletonized handle and the finger ring that made the platform popular while giving buyers a serviceable work edge at $125.
That price is the headline. At $125 the SOCP Single-Edge Dagger undercuts almost everything in Benchmade's catalog and lands in the same bracket as mid-tier imports, but it carries American assembly and the brand's Lifesharp service. For someone who wants a light defensive tool that doubles as a letter opener, it is a far more rational everyday carry than a dedicated dagger.
The trade-off is comfort. Skeletonized handles are minimal by design, and long cutting sessions will remind you of it. If your knife does real work every day, a Benchmade Bugout or a Mini Griptilian is the better tool. If you want a thin, near-weightless companion blade that disappears in a waistband or pocket, the SOCP format is hard to beat — and now it can handle the small jobs too.
One more consideration: the SOCP platform's skeletonized handle is deliberately minimal, so adding an aftermarket grip wrap or a small lanyard improves control without adding meaningful bulk. Owners who carry it as a backup blade consistently report that the finger ring does most of the retention work, which is exactly what the design intended.
Check Benchmade's site for current stock, since SOCP variants sell through quickly. Comparing options? Our coverage of Benchmade's recent folders and the Griptilian's super-steel revival walks through the rest of the lineup.