940-1's are shipping now..................

I need to see one of these at Blade.
I suspect that I will purchase one immediately after :rolleyes:
 
I got my 940-1 out of customs today. Mildly disappointed with the blade centering as the blade is very close to the off side scale when closed. Action is gritty. I'll see if I can get some photos when I get home this evening but I suspect that I'll just strip it down, give it a good clean and reassemble (shipping it back to the US at $50 one way ... I'll fix myself thanks). That should fix the problems. If not I will no longer be mildly disappointed but very disappointed. Blade was sharp - shaved easily but sounded a bit rough cutting thermal receipt paper. Very happy with it as a factory edge but I'll be putting my own on anyway (more to see how S90V sharpens than because it needs to be sharpened).

Cf is stunning. Since getting the gold class Grip a few years ago,all the other peoples' CF seems so ordinary.

Not to derail the thread but in the same parcel was a Northfork. I am really surprised that this little guy isn't getting more air time! Action is also gritty and this time the blade is leaning slightly toward the presentation scale (it is a tight fit between those scales to start with). $15 difference between this and a mini Ritter Grip - I'm thinking pay the $15 and save the cost of aftermarket scales.

Not that excited about having to strip and clean new knives but I suppose that's the way it needs to be these days. Occasionally I need to do it with the other guys knives as well so it ain't just Benchmade.
 
I said I would report back on the 940-1 service experience. Benchmade e-mailed me a shipping label for UPS overnight for shipping to them, they repaired it and shipped it back. Took about a week, very fast service. The work order said they replaced the handle, clean, lubed, sharpened, and adjusted. The knife is now smooth, sharp, and straight. Very nice knife now, and i will purchase from them again. Thanks Benchmade!
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Replaced the handle? :eek: That says that the knife never should have left the factory, and wouldn't have if BM had been doing proper QC before shipment. :(
 
I tried for almost an hour to get the blade straight. When I read the work order it made sense that the CF handle was bad because the tip was centered to the spacer but hit the clip side scale. I'm just glad they fixed it and I ended up with a knife I wanted.
 
JNewell said:
Replaced the handle? :eek: That says that the knife never should have left the factory, and wouldn't have if BM had been doing proper QC before shipment. :(
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I agree 100%.BM should include a coupon for a discount and letter of apology when a knife is returned because of a manufacturing defect.This would be the right and ethical thing to do in my eyes.A few minutes inspecting for QC issues before the knife is put in the pouch and boxed up seems like a pretty basic and easy thing to do......How long would it take to train someone to be the final inspector?How is it possible to not notice a defect like this when assembling a knife is the question?My opinion is that this is an example of what happens when a Company becomes numbers driven.Metrics,deadlines,and labor hours must be met.Predetermined performance metrics must fall in line or bonuses and the monthly/quarterly/yearly numbers may not happen.Benchmade made it right in the end, but if they want to charge a premium price then they must have premium QC in my book.I am very happy the poster above got his knife fixed at no cost to him only the inconvenience of correcting a legitimate issue that should have never happened in the first place..All is well that ends well?
 
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It looks as though the "bean counters" at Benchmade have crunched the numbers and determined the cost to improve quality control would be more than fixing the knives that are returned for repair under the warranty. What they don't include in that decision is the inconvenience for buyers to inspect a new knife for defects, contact Benchmade or a dealer for return, repackage it, travel to a location for shipment, and then wait weeks for it to be returned for a defect that should not have left the factory in the first place. If your time is valuable to you, then an offer of free repair to fix a defect that should not have been there in the first place is not really free. ;)
 
I want to be clear that I'm a long-time Benchmade owner with a huge pile of Benchmade knives, but this situation just doesn't make sense:

Quality <-----
Price ----->

I'm pointing this out because I actually care, not because I want to bash.
 
^ ^ ^ ^
Me too! I also have a large collection of Benchmade knives. Pointing out bad policies is not bashing. If everyone is quiet with their dissatisfaction in the inconsistent quality control Benchmade will believe everything is fine and customers are happy with their policies, which it seems there is quite a few who are not.
 
I have many Benchmade knifes also.I have been using BM knives for the last 15 years.No bashing intended on my part, just some opinions based on my experiences and a wee bit of common sense.I am not trying to ruffle any feathers as we are just having a civil conversation expressing our views..I think everyone sees things differently and the more opinions that are discussed in a civil way equals a broader and more rounded understanding of things I am passionate about.I don't expect anyone From BM to jump on this forum and answer any of the questions that myself or others have posted,but I would love to hear the answers......
peace,
salmonkiller
 
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So how much would it cost for Benchmade to have a knife sent back to them for replacing the handle, cleaning, lubing, sharpening, and adjustment; plus the cost of shipping back to the customer? I'd imagine time and materials is about $40-$50 a pop. Why do this instead of giving each piece a little extra time to begin with?

Claiming to have the best customer service is one thing, but it is quite another to require people to "experience" that customer service. Just saying you know, it's probably better to have people's stories starting like this: "that the stuff is perfect out of the box!"; rather than "After I sent the brand new item back to the manufacturer....it's great!".
 
RevDevil said:
So how much would it cost for Benchmade to have a knife sent back to them for replacing the handle, cleaning, lubing, sharpening, and adjustment; plus the cost of shipping back to the customer? I'd imagine time and materials is about $40-$50 a pop. Why do this instead of giving each piece a little extra time to begin with?

Claiming to have the best customer service is one thing, but it is quite another to require people to "experience" that customer service. Just saying you know, it's probably better to have people's stories starting like this: "that the stuff is perfect out of the box!"; rather than "After I sent the brand new item back to the manufacturer....it's great!".
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Agreed.

My conjecture is that the great majority of consumers are not as exacting as those on BF and Benchmade has calculated the costs as being advantageous to not having the upfront expense of high-quality but instead take extra care of the overall few that come up for warranty repair.
 
BM has no reason or motivation to get better and make any improvements. Instead of voting with their wallets, people continue to purchase their products. It's like raising a child. If you yell and threaten your kid with punishment for doing something wrong and you don't follow thru when an incident occurs, the child has no reason to change his/her behavior. It's the same with a company. Bitch and complain all you want, but as long as they're making money, why should they pay the additional costs to do the right thing and improve quality?

The only BM I continue to own is my 940 that I've mentioned a few times. It's the last in what used to be a pretty big BM collection for me. Since learning a bit of BM history and their recent practices, I've sold-off all but the 940 and to be honest, that 940 will be sold in a heart beat if the price is right. I continue to hope that BM will do the right thing on their own, but these issues with the 940-1 release doesn't seem promising. I'll continue to hope that BM turns things around, but until such time, my purchases will go to someone else.
 
Dug out an older BM 942 with a S30V blade out of my desk yesterday and rediscovered an old friend again.I am now, seriously considering pickup up one with a s90v blade without the ugly writing.
 
For some reason this one didn't initially sing to me. However, I've found myself perusing my knife shelf for a slightly more gentleman-like folder when heading out to dinner, coffee, etc. on multiple occasions lately and nothing but a regular 940 has stuck out. The 940-1 seems like a perfect fit. Now I just need to drink enough beers to get over the price for the few minutes an online transaction requires.... :p
 
I love how narrow this knife is when folded. Mine has no blade play but whips open with zero resistance. It has kicked all of the Spidercos out of my pocket for EDC, including my Southard. I like the Southard better, but carry the 940-1 instead due to it's smaller size.
 
RevDevil said:
So how much would it cost for Benchmade to have a knife sent back to them for replacing the handle, cleaning, lubing, sharpening, and adjustment; plus the cost of shipping back to the customer? I'd imagine time and materials is about $40-$50 a pop. Why do this instead of giving each piece a little extra time to begin with?

Claiming to have the best customer service is one thing, but it is quite another to require people to "experience" that customer service. Just saying you know, it's probably better to have people's stories starting like this: "that the stuff is perfect out of the box!"; rather than "After I sent the brand new item back to the manufacturer....it's great!".
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Very we'll said RedDevil
 
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