Absolutely Disappointed With Benchmade.

midnight flyer said:
Well, Antonio K. get yourself ready. Put on your flame suit, your body armor and make sure you are in your thick skin. The Benchmade Defenders of the Faith will be here shortly to burn you down. They may call you a liar, dismiss the contents of your post out of hand, or even ask if you have some kind of hidden agenda against Benchmade.

You will get the "I have NEVER heard of this happening.., and I have over 500 Benchmades...." and "OK, so maybe you saw it happen on someone else's knife, but did it happen to you personally" (you will know then their indignation kept them from reading your full post).

From a less salty view, I would say that what you are asking for from Benchmade is a knife like they used to make, the knife quality that built their reputation. I have seen several of these posts pop up questioning Benchmade's quality these days, some here on BF and some on another venue. The story has some pretty good legs and I for one don't think that all the posters are lying.

I have a good friend I see a couple of times a week that is a Benchmade dealer. I can go through the knives he has any time I want, and examine them as closely as I want. He shoots it to me straight about his sales experience with the knives, too. First, they can't keep up with the demand for certain models, and the Benchmade folks have told him they are pumping out knives as quick as possible, but they still can't keep up. He has noticed a difference in quality of grinds, opening and closing, assembly and sharpness. The difference isn't what I thought it would be; what he has noticed is that there is a problem of consistency in the product. Some pieces are top notch, others aren't.

He keeps an eye on the product as he can sell any knife brand he wants, and doesn't want return hassles or any quality issues that would slow sales. At this time he told me is isn't over concerned, but as a huge Benchmade fan himself he is concerned. He is aware of the Omega spring issue and that and poor grinds are his biggest concerns at this point. Again, I want to stress he isn't overly concerned.

I hope you got a run of bad knives and that is all, and you can get a "good one" soon. I just recently bought a mini grip from my buddy for my nephew and it was a very nice specimen. So there is hope since they are still capable of a top notch product.

Robert
Click to expand...
What your knife dealer friend said makes a lot of sense to me. If BM is rushing things to meet demand, that's when bad things happen for QC.

It's not an excuse because in the long run, letting bad product slip through with the plan of just fixing or replacing problem knives after the sale is just not good policy! It's the fear of losing sales when people are looking to spend money on a nice knife and they will just turn to something else if nothing is immediately available. However, I believe the demand will still be there for the great designs that people are after even if they need to wait. Having to wait for a great knife does not leave the bad impression of getting a lemon!

I've read enough reports of broken omega springs now to believe it's a problem. The percentage of bad springs seems a little high. Maybe they should consider using one gauge thicker wire to make them?

All in all I think BM is a great company and I hope they will take steps to do better with their QC moving forward. There is always room for improvement!
 
This is one of the mains reasons i don't own a Benchmade. I don't live in the US so if a knife has a problem i can't just send it in for service..
 
BM makes good knives and there are many happy customers. However, there are many other good knife brands also and it seems like BM has not been good to you, for whatever reason. I recommend staying away from them or getting something used from a forum member so you know it's been used some and should be defect free or at least disclosed.

I've had good and bad benchamdes, actually just sent in my first one for warranty. However, I've never had to do that with spyderco. If spyderco's weren't so damned ugly, in general, I would feel less compelled to look elsewhere. However, BM is really good when they're good but they can be really bad when they're bad. Reminds me of queen cutlery who is currently shut down for "restructuring."
 
danbot said:
What your knife dealer friend said makes a lot of sense to me. If BM is rushing things to meet demand, that's when bad things happen for QC.

It's not an excuse because in the long run, letting bad product slip through with the plan of just fixing or replacing problem knives after the sale is just not good policy! It's the fear of losing sales when people are looking to spend money on a nice knife and they will just turn to something else if nothing is immediately available. However, I believe the demand will still be there for the great designs that people are after even if they need to wait. Having to wait for a great knife does not leave the bad impression of getting a lemon!

I've read enough reports of broken omega springs now to believe it's a problem. The percentage of bad springs seems a little high. Maybe they should consider using one gauge thicker wire to make them?

All in all I think BM is a great company and I hope they will take steps to do better with their QC moving forward. There is always room for improvement!
Click to expand...
Well said.

Do bigger BM's come with beefier springs?
 
Wolverine666 said:
Well said.

Do bigger BM's come with beefier springs?
Click to expand...
That I do not know.

I have only owned a few BM knives through the years and they've all been great. I"m currently carrying a Bugout and for two months now, no problems whatsoever. I don't live in the US, so if a spring breaks it will be a PITA!
 
I only have 2 BM folders, both with G10 scales. After a little use, I pulled the scales off to look at the springs.
There were wear marks on the springs that lined up with a rough area in the scales spring pocket.
I don't think you should have to do this to a new knife, but I sanded the pockets smooth.
This was 5-6 years ago, and no problems since.
It's all in the details, and BM misses a few.
 
Odd to hear that. I have never had a problem with any of my Benchmades: Mini-Rukus, 710, a couple of Grippies. Sounds as if BM did try to rectify the faults, though.
 
I am one of those people who has been buying using benchmade a for over a decade without a single problem, never had to send one in.

I have owned a 940, 530, 710, 555, 551, 550, fixed grip, 707, pika, mini pika, ambush, monochrome, and others that I can’t recall right now.

Probably had about twenty different benchmade “knives” that I have personally owned and a hundred more that I have held and examined, or maintained for others.

I had a good friend who bought a full size grip on my recommendation, it was his only knife other than a mora and a case sod buster and was his most carried.

He worked in a green house and used it hard for at least eight years before he passed, he cut all sorts of plant stems, dug in the dirt, cut cardboard and rope, and just used it as his only tool for any task he could.
I sharpened it regularly as he was always dulling the edge on dirty materials, but I never had to fix a thing except for one pocket clip that got bent on a seat belt.

In my pocket right now is a cabelas griptilian in D2, I work as a mechanic and it sees daily work duty cutting hose, stripping wire, cutting through thick plastic used in wheel wells, opening many boxes and breaking down cardboard, punching holes in oil cans, etc.

I take care of it, keep it sharp and relatively clean when the day is done, but it’s not babied.

My mini grip is over ten years old, it saw a lot of carry and use over its life and is still smooth and ready for ten more years.

Even my cheaper benchmades like my pikas and especially my ambush are very nice and worth twice what I paid.

My wife carries a blue handled mini grip that she always forgets to remove from her jeans when she washes them, it has seen more wash and dry cycles than some peoples underwear, only real wear on it is the paint on the clip and the tip is usually full because she only cuts things with the tip for some reason, including cutting food on a ceramic plate :-(.
She also has a wood handled folder in S30V, can’t rememeber the model right now, that has seen similar conditions and is still going strong.


Now with benchmades honor defended, I will say I have gotten many with edge grinds that left a little to be desired, always sharp, not always as acute an angle as I would prefer and not always perfectly even, Spyderco leads the pack in this regard. But nothing so bad I couldn’t sharpen away pretty easily.

I am also a spyderco fan, even bought my Manix XL directly from the factory in Golden, CO when I was stationed at Ft. Carson. They make great knives as well, design wise not as pleasing to me as benchmade, but very functional.

My Delica 4 is the only other knife that has seen as much carry as my griptilian, it still sees carry and use when I want to carry a different knife to work. However, this delica 4 in question came with a rough spot on the tang that made opening and closing the knife gritty, as it would catch on the lock bar, after disassembly I found that the tang wasn’t ground square or even and had a high spot that was causing the issue. I could have sent it in, but I chose to keep and fix it myself, things happen, not every example will be perfect. One spyderco out of ten or so I have owned had a flaw, wont keep me from liking or buying them aight unseen.

I am sure you have had some bad experiences with your benchmades, I ha e heard of many omega spring breakages on the forums, but people generally only complain when something is broken, not when it is working as it should. So out of every one breakage I hear about, there are probably thousands of non failures I don’t hear about. I will take those odds.

I hear you on the ZT knives, not my cup of tea, nicely made but design does nothing for me.

Kershaw speed safe knives have spring problems as well, I ha e many of those and have broken many over the years, I expect them to break after so many cycles and they are an easy fix, so they don’t stop me from buying blurs either.
 
expidia1 said:
I was going to suggest you get extra springs and learn how to replace them yourself. I've seen pics of BM's opened and there is not much to them inside. I didn't know BM doesnt sell springs. You might try and find a knife repair shop who might be able to get a few for you. I've started collecting BM's over the past 2 mounths and currently own 5 (6 including my son's 940). I have two that I'm currently sending back for repair. One 490 arcane has 3 tiny chips on the black scales that I doubt I put there. Or for a $260 MSRP knife they should not chip as it did. Sure they could be touched up with a magic marker, but that is not the solution for as poor a quality scale material that chips like it does.

The other one is an MCR which Im not happy with the fit and finish. The clip is almost immoveable to pull up a little to avoid wearing out my pants. They are sending me two other clips for free but while they have it they can fix this stock clip. But the fit has on each of the corners of the edges of the woodlike scales 4 sharp pointed edges where the scales butt up against the bolster. Sure I could file them down myself but that would remove the finish on the scales. Lastly the scales which I bought for the wood grain look have a big oval lighter brown blotch of wood finish that does not blend with the scales on one side. I never noticed it in a pic before I bought it, because it was somewhat blocked by the clip and a $220 MSRP should not have left the factory with this defect IMO.

Thats 2 out of 6 BM's going back for fit and finish issues or 33% of my new collection already going back to bM for repair. I really like the style of most BM knifes. I'm rethinking using BM for an investment for future sales into more expensive knifes.

I've looked at some in the ZT line for collecting as my son suggested, but most "for my early tastes in knives" (and not trying step on toes here as to each their own) but many in the ZT line look like grey boxes cutters to me. Just put in box cutter in amazon that will show the grey $3 stanley box cutter which when I look at some expensive ZT's thats what pops into my mind. Also, many ZT's have a strong tactical look to them, which is not my cup of tea either (at least for now).

The Chris Reeves Sebenza models have not piqued my interest yet either, so I continue to collect various BM models.

Try to find and replace springs yourself (or collect up a few folders so if you send one in for repair you still have others) your total investment in tools to do this is 1 torque head screwdriver.

Lastly, you might look into getting yourself a Wicked Edge sharpening system as I did. Watch a few vids on youtube. Start with an inexpensive used model setup off ebay etc.
With this system, its not how much you spend on their higher end systems. Its all about the various stones that produce the edges which are the same stones used by each model no matter how much you spend on a WE system. You can create ""the exact same razor sharp mirror edge on each system if you spent $200 or $900.
Don't start with your folders as there is a decent experience wise learning curve to usin the system, its easy to use but much like learning to play any instrument like a piano . . . it takes much practice to reach a level of a craftsmanl. Thats why it opens a new world or facet to a knife collecting hobby. Start with some old kitchen knifes or buy a few in a 2nd hand store. Learn to put the ultimate edge on your knifes and I think that will increase their value with a mirror edge on each rather than accepting the factory edge that BM puts on probably spending 15 seconds on a grinding belt and then tossing them into the shipping box.

Sharpening your own knifes will double the enjoyment of your hobby and with practice can make you a craftsman at putting a "wicked Edge" on your collectors.
How many times can you flick open and close a knife? They pretty much all work the same. Thats why I immediatley purchased a wicked edge system the same time I started collecting folders.

So don't give up on BM just yet as you do seem to have that proverbial black cloud over your head currently. The sun will come out tomorrow . . . (hey, those words could make a start to great song) :D
Click to expand...

Funny you say that, the edge pro apex model 4 kit was the first thing I got when I first got my knife.
 
expidia1 said:
I was going to suggest you get extra springs and learn how to replace them yourself. I've seen pics of BM's opened and there is not much to them inside. I didn't know BM doesnt sell springs. You might try and find a knife repair shop who might be able to get a few for you. I've started collecting BM's over the past 2 mounths and currently own 5 (6 including my son's 940). I have two that I'm currently sending back for repair. One 490 arcane has 3 tiny chips on the black scales that I doubt I put there. Or for a $260 MSRP knife they should not chip as it did. Sure they could be touched up with a magic marker, but that is not the solution for as poor a quality scale material that chips like it does.

The other one is an MCR which Im not happy with the fit and finish. The clip is almost immoveable to pull up a little to avoid wearing out my pants. They are sending me two other clips for free but while they have it they can fix this stock clip. But the fit has on each of the corners of the edges of the woodlike scales 4 sharp pointed edges where the scales butt up against the bolster. Sure I could file them down myself but that would remove the finish on the scales. Lastly the scales which I bought for the wood grain look have a big oval lighter brown blotch of wood finish that does not blend with the scales on one side. I never noticed it in a pic before I bought it, because it was somewhat blocked by the clip and a $220 MSRP should not have left the factory with this defect IMO.

Thats 2 out of 6 BM's going back for fit and finish issues or 33% of my new collection already going back to bM for repair. I really like the style of most BM knifes. I'm rethinking using BM for an investment for future sales into more expensive knifes.

I've looked at some in the ZT line for collecting as my son suggested, but most "for my early tastes in knives" (and not trying step on toes here as to each their own) but many in the ZT line look like grey boxes cutters to me. Just put in box cutter in amazon that will show the grey $3 stanley box cutter which when I look at some expensive ZT's thats what pops into my mind. Also, many ZT's have a strong tactical look to them, which is not my cup of tea either (at least for now).

The Chris Reeves Sebenza models have not piqued my interest yet either, so I continue to collect various BM models.

Try to find and replace springs yourself (or collect up a few folders so if you send one in for repair you still have others) your total investment in tools to do this is 1 torque head screwdriver.

Lastly, you might look into getting yourself a Wicked Edge sharpening system as I did. Watch a few vids on youtube. Start with an inexpensive used model setup off ebay etc.
With this system, its not how much you spend on their higher end systems. Its all about the various stones that produce the edges which are the same stones used by each model no matter how much you spend on a WE system. You can create ""the exact same razor sharp mirror edge on each system if you spent $200 or $900.
Don't start with your folders as there is a decent experience wise learning curve to usin the system, its easy to use but much like learning to play any instrument like a piano . . . it takes much practice to reach a level of a craftsmanl. Thats why it opens a new world or facet to a knife collecting hobby. Start with some old kitchen knifes or buy a few in a 2nd hand store. Learn to put the ultimate edge on your knifes and I think that will increase their value with a mirror edge on each rather than accepting the factory edge that BM puts on probably spending 15 seconds on a grinding belt and then tossing them into the shipping box.

Sharpening your own knifes will double the enjoyment of your hobby and with practice can make you a craftsman at putting a "wicked Edge" on your collectors.
How many times can you flick open and close a knife? They pretty much all work the same. Thats why I immediatley purchased a wicked edge system the same time I started collecting folders.

So don't give up on BM just yet as you do seem to have that proverbial black cloud over your head currently. The sun will come out tomorrow . . . (hey, those words could make a start to great song) :D
Click to expand...

Funny you say that, the edge pro apex model 4 kit was the first thing I got when I first got my knife. I'm going to give benchmade a call and seriously ask them to fix it and why I keep having this bad luck. It's weird, my crooked river and the valet don't seem to ever break.
 
Regardless of the actual product whether it is a vehicle or a kiln fired brick, no manufacturer is perfect. And sometimes they can be the victims of their own success. To meet demand they may loosen or lessen their quality control standards, or they may actually being in the dream position of making so much product they simply can't keep up. An enviable position to be in for manufacturers of anything. No reason to believe that a manufacturer can't get things back on track.

And specifically to Benchmade, I trust my buddy the dealer and his lack of real concern with any problems with the Benchmade products he sells. I guarantee he would tell me if there was a real problem, and at this point he is just keeping an eye on things. Granted, he doesn't represent a large slice of the market because he doesn't sell that many knives in perspective to the big guys, but on the other hand he is small enough to keep tabs on every transaction. And by choice, he sells ONLY Benchmade knives in his store.

His annoyances with Benchmade (again, not a real concern) are the inconsistency from knife to knife and he counters this by pulling out as many knives of the same model that the customer wants and allows them to pick their favorite. Win/win, as the differences are usually fractional and the customer feels like they got the best of the lot. His second is the fact that the knife has to be sent in to replace the Omega springs. He would like to see the springs sent out like Kershaw/ZT does so you can replace your own springs without voiding the warranty on the knife. According to him, the average turn around spring replacement service is about 2-3 weeks, sometimes less and sometimes more. It may just be me, but that doesn't seem bad.

All that being said, I understand Antonio's disappointment and anger. I had three really crappy knives from Queen about 4 years ago, and with each one winding up with me sending the knife back multiple times or just returning to the dealer for a refund, I was so pissed off I quit Queen brands and started buying Chinese Bokers, Rough Riders, and knives like that to get the traditional knives I wanted. The overall quality was MUCH better. Sad for me as Queen had been my favorite traditional knife for years, but enough was enough. After I had experienced the same problems with CASE, a brand I carried for 40 years, I won't buy one unless I can see it in person.

While Benchmade is booming, they may have some inconsistencies and even some major failures, but they will probably get the ship righted. Maybe they can use the money from their most recent price hike (Yikes!) to get some new QC measures in place.

Robert

Robert
 
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/i-love-the-axis-lock-but-hate-the-omega-springs.1198604/

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...t-i-think-im-done-with-the-axis-lock.1287264/

These are two threads I started about the same issue a few years ago here. You could guess the content from the titles alone.

I was very excited to see the BM Anthem use a coil spring mechanism, and I stand by my first impression: I would buy any benchmade knives I own over again if they came with the same mechanism, including the Adamas, 940, Bedlam, 710...

Since then, I've broken yet another spring in my 940. Given the state of the Canadian border, I'm going to start making my own replacement springs.

I've come to the conclusion that I have a combination of poor luck, and particularly corrosive body chemistry; all breaks have been in the same position.

And yet, as recently as yesterday I carried my 710 in the studios. It could be that I just like the punishment. :p
 
OP that's frustrating, I had a similar experience to yours with Benchmade around 10 years ago, broken Omega spring, then difficulties getting it fixed. They finally did fix, then I sold the knife to a friend at my local gun range. I like Benchmade and the Axis design, it's a nice ambidextrous design for left-handers who are used to living in a RH biased knife world. I still own a Benchmade Mini Rukus that has seen a lot of hard use and had no problem whatsoever, and a Benchmade Ritter Mk3 fixed blade, also a nice design and high quality for the money.

I wouldn't try to generalize about Benchmade from my sample of 1. I've also had 1 issue with a Spyderco knife over the years (they fixed it), and 1 with a ZT (they refused to fix and said it was within their spec). What I have decided for my own purposes, is that I won't buy any more Axis lock knives that use the Omega spring system. I think for the vast majority of users they probably work just fine, and probability is on your side if you buy one. But I've experienced spring breakage firsthand and seen enough credible reports of these breaking, that it seems like a more frequent point of failure than I'm comfortable with. Recently I was tempted by a nice Knifeworks Griptilian design with an M390 blade, but in the end I stayed away because I no longer fully trust the Axis lock. People will jump on here and say stuff like "I've owned {fill in the blank with some huge number} Benchmades and never had an issue." No doubt, no doubt. But my issue was real, I believe the OP's is, and I believe many of the other reported Omega spring breakages I've read over the years. Maybe overall this lock/spring design is 'reliable', but for me, it's not reliable ENOUGH. I've moved on to other designs. However, I still like Benchmade as a company and would consider other knife designs that they make if I see one I like. I wouldn't necessarily judge the whole company by that one design or one bad experience.
 
I am a firm believer that every company has bad "batches" or a knife will slip out every now and then. But breaking 4 springs on the 940 and one on my foray. It's haare to think it's bad luck.
 
Last edited:
I do agree no company is prefect, and it is possible for bad QC from any company or on the rare occasion an omega sprint to break. I personally have owned 6 benchmades, maybe one or two didn't exactly "perfect grinds" but were close, never had any major QC problems and especially never have had any axis lock/omega spring issues and I flick my knives constantly. Honestly man, as somebody who is pretty familiar with statistical science... I look at the numbers and probabilities of this happening and the fact is with this amount of issues with one person, I have to conclude that you are very likely the lurking variable in your Benchmade observational study. Thus, when I read this I think this largely reflects the user and less so the company. I'm also not a benchmade fanboy, it is maybe 4th or 5th favourite company... if not lower.
 
Last edited:
Lets move this to the Benchmade forum, they have a company rep on here.
 
I’m getting ready to send my Mini Crooked River to BM due to vertical blade play. I’ve had it for maybe five weeks. Love the knife but cannot STAND vertical play. Sucks to have to send a new knife away. And for the price of their knives, these issues (including broken springs) shouldn’t exist. I’ve recently purchased two Chinese Kershaws (Fraxion and Atmos, each ~$30) and they’re rock solid. I know, completely different locks than the Axis, but still...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top