A few reasons why I am switching from Benchmade to Spyderco.

[luke86]

I've never problem with customer service. They send omega springs for free if you ask nicely - they offer free warranty repair but you can tell them that you prefer repair it yourself and you can manage dissasemble/assemble. They offer sending your knife to them at first place because they're afraid like almost every company* that you'll disassemble knife and will be not able to assemble it properly again. Also they can send pocket clip for free, Spyderco wants money, so Benchmade imho has more friendly customer service for now. I own Spyderco and Benchmade, in my opinion they're equal quality, just different in design.

*If I'm correct only Emerson and CRK have no problem with disassemble knife by customer.

They only send them to you because you are outside the US. They will not send them out to US residents. Kind of messed up if you ask me. People outside of the country get better treatment. I know the reason is because often times they have difficulty sending knives in the mail but still.

 

[DocT]

Back on track...I have a few BM's and like them. I have had one and only one knife from them that had a loose blade from the factory, which they fixed and turned it around in 5 days. However, I strongly prefer Spyderco because they usually have better prices, better ergonomics, better steel (usually), much better heat treatment, and a lot of other reasons. I also love the fact that the owner of Spyderco is very involved with his customers. Even my wife approves.

I will say that a lot of axis lock knives will open in your pocket or purse and if dropped will fly open. They do not have a bias towards closed. I quit carrying my axis lock knives after my wife complained of hers opening like this. I dropped mine and 2 out of 7 times they came open, regardless of the model. The Mini Grip was the worst. I dropped my MG just yesterday and if flew open. It is hard to get a Spyderco to do that (not impossible). Also, many Spydercos will not lop off your fingers if the lock fails due to the design, but I do not know of a BM that can say the same thing.

 

[TheEdge01]

Back on track...I have a few BM's and like them. I have had one and only one knife from them that had a loose blade from the factory, which they fixed and turned it around in 5 days. However, I strongly prefer Spyderco because they usually have better prices, better ergonomics, better steel (usually), much better heat treatment, and a lot of other reasons. I also love the fact that the owner of Spyderco is very involved with his customers. Even my wife approves.

I will say that a lot of axis lock knives will open in your pocket or purse and if dropped will fly open. They do not have a bias towards closed. I quit carrying my axis lock knives after my wife complained of hers opening like this. I dropped mine and 2 out of 7 times they came open, regardless of the model. The Mini Grip was the worst. I dropped my MG just yesterday and if flew open. It is hard to get a Spyderco to do that (not impossible). Also, many Spydercos will not lop off your fingers if the lock fails due to the design, but I do not know of a BM that can say the same thing.

A lot of grime can accumulate around the Omega springs too. The only way to completely clean the knife is to take it apart, and you risk voiding your warranty by doing so. I have never had an axis lock knife to come open on me, but I have had the axis bar to jam on the bottom of the blade.

 

[palonej]

Ugh......most any folder will open if dropped.
Grime can accumulate in any action.


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[Climb14er]

Was a huge Benchmade fan for many years, their quality and designs and the axis lock were superb.

I transitioned over to Spyderco with an original Manix, which I gave to my nephew. From there, quite a few Spydercos which I've recently thinned out, sold M4's, ZDP189 steels.

My current EDC is a PM2 in S30V, a Manix 2 CF S90V and a BM 710 M2HS. The latter is IMHO the finest Benchmade pocket knife and the M2 steel I prefer over the M4 Benchmade and Spydercos which I've all sold.

I like the designs, feel, quality and workmanship of Spyderco.

Plus, they're a Colorado company and I like Sal Glesser!

Oh, I forgot... I've got a Spyderco Atlantic for sailing.

Spyderco gets my money!

 

[MarkN86]

I myself traded my Benchmades away for Spyderco, due to the axis lock and general dislike for the overall designs. I never had a single breakage and I think it's a great idea, a very solid lock. One glaring oversight that most people don't think about when they talk about the omega springs breaking is that lockbacks, frame locks, and liner locks can fail too. While locks with larger springs last a little longer, a fixed blade will always last longer.

I traded away my Benchmades due to the fact that the design just didn't work for me and I either don't like or can't afford the non-axis lock knives. It's nothing personal, I might not like the ball bearing lock either but I haven't tried one to know for sure. In addition, I prefer the blade shape and grinds on Spyderco knives better as far as cutting performance goes, and how the knives seem to lock into your hand in use. I even like Buck for their thinner blade profiles and conservative designs, they cut like crazy and are fairly pretty.

If you like Benchmade's products, please do your best to support them and keep them in business. They sell some pretty fine Balisongs and OTFs. I just have no need for either design, but that doesn't mean I want to see them go away.

 

[uxo2]

Nvm...

 

[TheEdge01]

Ugh......most any folder will open if dropped.
Grime can accumulate in any action.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree with you, grime can accumulate in any folder, but MOST actions can be cleaned out much easier. The grime that accumulates around the springs just stays there unless the handle is taken apart. However, Benchmade cleans the knife when it is sent in for LifeSharp service.

 

[TheEdge01]

I myself traded my Benchmades away for Spyderco, due to the axis lock and general dislike for the overall designs. I never had a single breakage and I think it's a great idea, a very solid lock. One glaring oversight that most people don't think about when they talk about the omega springs breaking is that lockbacks, frame locks, and liner locks can fail too. While locks with larger springs last a little longer, a fixed blade will always last longer.

I traded away my Benchmades due to the fact that the design just didn't work for me and I either don't like or can't afford the non-axis lock knives. It's nothing personal, I might not like the ball bearing lock either but I haven't tried one to know for sure. In addition, I prefer the blade shape and grinds on Spyderco knives better as far as cutting performance goes, and how the knives seem to lock into your hand in use. I even like Buck for their thinner blade profiles and conservative designs, they cut like crazy and are fairly pretty.

If you like Benchmade's products, please your best to support them and keep them in business. They sell some pretty fine Balisongs and OTFs. I just have no need for either design, but that doesn't mean I want to see them go away.

Any folding knife lock can fail. Most locking mechanisms on folding knives I have researched other than the axis lock wear out before failing.

 

[MarkN86]

Any folding knife lock can fail. Most locking mechanisms on folding knives I have researched other than the axis lock wear out before failing.

I won't disagree on that note. A framelock or liner lock have such little movement that it's difficult for them to break, you just see further advancement on the lock face. On occasion you can see a pin break or a lock spring break on a lock back but it is exceptionally rare.

Axis Omega springs move quite a bit and are so thin that they seem fairly delicate. I refuse to believe that they don't break; not everyone who uses the knives ends up on these forums to report it. I just know that I myself never had one break and I do agree with others that the issue is a little overblown. I agree that it is a problem that you can't easily clean out the mechanism in the event that dirt, fish scales, or blood get into the action, and these things will accelerate the wear of these springs by causing corrision.

It is one of the reasons why I moved away from Axis. The ease of cleaning and potentially better long term reliability outweigh the need for sheer lock strength.

 

[ourgon]

They only send them to you because you are outside the US. They will not send them out to US residents. Kind of messed up if you ask me. People outside of the country get better treatment. I know the reason is because often times they have difficulty sending knives in the mail but still.

Maybe it is like you wrote. But honestly I would like rather to live in USA without that special treatment and paying less money for knives. Currency of my country is a crap in comparison to $$$ - buying BM 940 is like for US citizen buying CRK Sebenza 25.

In my BM 950 omega never failed. I own that knife 8 years. Sometimes omega break, but I've never heard about two omegas failing at the same time. Even with one omega lock is still secured.

 

[TheEdge01]

Maybe it is like you wrote. But honestly I would like rather to live in USA without that special treatment and paying less money for knives. Currency of my country is a crap in comparison to $$$ - buying BM 940 is like for US citizen buying CRK Sebenza 25.

In my BM 950 omega never failed. I own that knife 8 years. Sometimes omega break, but I've never heard about two omegas failing at the same time. Even with one omega lock is still secured.[/Q

It is undoubtedly rare, but it can happen.

 

[Tdhurl1103]

I've always had trouble actuating the axis lock, and holding on to the knife while I do it. But, that is a personal problem and not the fault of BM.

Having said that, I stay away from knives with a coiled spring in it. Spydercos included.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

Maybe it is like you wrote. But honestly I would like rather to live in USA without that special treatment and paying less money for knives. Currency of my country is a crap in comparison to $$$ - buying BM 940 is like for US citizen buying CRK Sebenza 25.

In my BM 950 omega never failed. I own that knife 8 years. Sometimes omega break, but I've never heard about two omegas failing at the same time. Even with one omega lock is still secured.[/Q

It is undoubtedly rare, but it can happen.

Other knives can fail too in a variety of ways. I don't like how Spyderco blades tend to break at the opening hole when they fail. Being aware of that weak point I have never had one break on me and I think the pros out weight the potential cons. Same with the axis lock, had dozens of knives with them, never had a spring let alone two at the same time break. Sure there is a possibility they can, so I check them every now and then especially if they could of gotten something corrosive on them. Again the pros out weight the perceived potential cons.

If you prefer one brand over the other that is fine. There is room for both in my life and I don't feel the need to build one up and tear the other down. You should be happy there is competition in the marketplace. Since you are fond of what if scenarios, imagine benchmade went out of business and Sal retired (double omega spring failure so to speak.). The new owners of Spyderco could decide to wring some of the cost out of their product and use cheaper materials and build all the knives in China. With no Benchmade there to offer high quality production knives there is one less option for you to turn to.

No need to be so divisive. Too much us vs them in this world already. If you prefer Spyderco you can just state what you like about them, no reason to tear another company down doing so. Enjoy your Spydercos in good health.

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[TheEdge01]

Other knives can fail too in a variety of ways. I don't like how Spyderco blades tend to break at the opening hole when they fail. Being aware of that weak point I have never had one break on me and I think the pros out weight the potential cons. Same with the axis lock, had dozens of knives with them, never had a spring let alone two at the same time break. Sure there is a possibility they can, so I check them every now and then especially if they could of gotten something corrosive on them. Again the pros out weight the perceived potential cons.

If you prefer one brand over the other that is fine. There is room for both in my life and I don't feel the need to build one up and tear the other down. You should be happy there is competition in the marketplace. Since you are fond of what if scenarios, imagine benchmade went out of business and Sal retired (double omega spring failure so to speak.). The new owners of Spyderco could decide to wring some of the cost out of their product and use cheaper materials and build all the knives in China. With no Benchmade there to offer high quality production knives there is one less option for you to turn to.

No need to be so divisive. Too much us vs them in this world already. If you prefer Spyderco you can just state what you like about them, no reason to tear another company down doing so. Enjoy your Spydercos in good health.

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This thread welcomes everyone's outlook on one company or another. I'm not trying to tear Benchmade down, in fact I made it clear that they make a nice product. Throughout this thread, you can see that some folks agree with my perspective and others don't.

 

[Manek]

I'm a BM fan. I carry my mini-grip more than any other knife. On the other hand I own four times more Spyderco than BM.

On the other other hand I'm currently at the park with my kids with a Spydie product guide on my lap. So, yeah, I'm pretty much a Spydie man and both my 5 and 4 year old kids can pick out a Spyderco knife in a store display (not so much an Axis Lock).

edit to add: On the third hand, (i'm now out of hands )I'm glad I don't have to choose between knife manufactures and can.enjoy my knives freely. Now, someone help me decide which kid to love more.

 

[THEJimmyN]

I prefer the quality of Spyderco as well. Benchmades have always have issues for me as well. Out of all the ones I bought, the only one kept was the mini grip (carried by my girlfriend) and its uncentered.