Ooooooo. Now that’s not easy. I’ve made knives from both their standard and Ultra steel. Still have a sweet UHC carving blade set Nordic style in a longish handle of Snakewood. Gorgous. I suppose it depends on one’s intended use and all that…and if you want a wood handle. Why Rossali puts nicer wood and a nicer sheath with their standard Carbon Steel is beyond me, but they do.
So here’s my breakdown…totally opinion…
Blade:
Rosseli…Carbon Steel that is proprietary to the maker, blades are a little short & fat for general use but that makes them better for skinning. These sharpen well and hold a very keen edge. I like the Carpenter blade.
Benchmade: CPM 3V at 60-62. This is arguably the best knife steel in the world today. Takes a great edge and holds it really well. Very tough, I’ve heard. This is a steel you want to sharpen in your shop or home, not in the field. Unless you put a convex edge on it and know how to do convex field sharpening. I don’t do extended field trips any more and could also toss a few other knives in the trunk, etc.
Handle:
Rosseli…Well designed Curly Birch handles, fat in the hand, plenty of purchase. You REALLY need to try out a handle or be sure the vendor will pay for return shipping and not charge you restocking fees, in case you don’t like it.
Benchmade…Oval shaped handle covered in “Santoprene” which feels like hard/soft plastic. I’ve never tried it but I think it would perform better re being slippery when bloody. But I’ve only ever had one knife handle that did well inside an animal…an old Gerber with a thin blade of L2 or L6 steel. They sprayed something on the handle that was like sand…then let it cure. It was grippy no matter what.
Sheath:
Rosseli…fairly common hard working sheath. A decent piece of gear. Trustworthy.
Benchmade…when you first get the new knife, remove it from the sheath then throw the sheath as far away as you can. OR…get a pad used for chair legs that’s sticky on one side and stick it inside the sheath, along the axis on the front side. Or, you could figure something else out but straight from the factory the sheath is worse than useless, it’s dangerous.