Action on new Benchmade is very stiff

Another vote for at least backing off the pivot a bit...
... and add some lube to it also!
 
I ordered the Boost from the Walmart web site, but it was a 3rd party dealer. I did a web search at the time and found other complaints about Benchmade not honoring warranties from unauthorized web dealers. At least Benchmade answered my email, unlike some other knife manufacturers.
 
Bob Denman said:
Another vote for at least backing off the pivot a bit...
... and add some lube to it also!
Click to expand...
These very things got me going! I may have applied too much gun oil and it got a little gritty so I had to clean it up a bit but now it’s as good as my older Benchmades
 
Bob Denman said:
Another vote for at least backing off the pivot a bit...
... and add some lube to it also!
Click to expand...
(Now I've figured out how to quote previous messages).

Yes, I sometimes back off the pivot screw about 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn. I have tried Blue Lube, but the drops are too big. Nano is good for smaller drops.
 
Slash3040 said:
These very things got me going! I may have applied too much gun oil and it got a little gritty so I had to clean it up a bit but now it’s as good as my older Benchmades
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Glad to know that!
 
Slash3040 said:
I took it apart and there wasn’t any lubricant on the washers at all and there was no thread locker on any of the screws. Even the pivot. Someone at BM said fuggit and just

i do not mind taking a knife apart to maintain it. In fact I enjoy doing it but I spent 200$ on this brand new. For 200$ for a pocket knife I expect damn near perfect QC. Very disappointed
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Some knives may sit around for months and years before they get in the hands of a customer. I always take apart any new knife and clean and lubricate the pivot. I've never been entirely satisfied with the action of any knife out of the box. Never been satisfied with the edge either. I usually cut a few pieces of paper and then immediately sharpen it on my Wicked Edge.
 
tokerblue said:
Some knives may sit around for months and years before they get in the hands of a customer. I always take apart any new knife and clean and lubricate the pivot. I've never been entirely satisfied with the action of any knife out of the box. Never been satisfied with the edge either. I usually cut a few pieces of paper and then immediately sharpen it on my Wicked Edge.
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Could you describe the sort of action would entirely satisfy you? Or is it a "I know it when I see it" thing?
 
Another Shepherd said:
Could you describe the sort of action would entirely satisfy you? Or is it a "I know it when I see it" thing?
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My baseline for smooth action is a ball bearing pivot. I prefer to have all my knives open as smoothly as possible.
 
Slash3040 said:
It’s crazy BM won’t warrant a Walmart knife. They’ve serviced knives I’ve bought from people
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I bought my crooked river on ebay. I took a chance and got a real one for very cheap. Handle was cracked and blade was oversharpened (way thick behind the edge, and a good 1/8th of an inch short at the tip).

Emailed them, they said "send it in", so I filled out the paperwork, shipped it off, and they returned it with a new blade, new handles, and a deep carry pocket clip. The edge was good but a little obtuse (about 20 per side) so I reprofiled to 17 a side, and it's amazing.

They will take care of a knife if you send it to them. You don't need a receipt. As long as it's a genuine benchmade... A counterfeit will be destroyed.
 
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OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
My Bugout's pivot was crazy tight when I got it. Was still centered after I backed it off 1/4 turn, but with much better action.
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I took my Mini-B apart today in order to replace the scales. It STILL functions as slick as the day it showed up...
 
Slash3040 said:
As the title says, I bought a new Bugout and man is this thing rough. I understand there should be a break in period but after 3 days this thing is still squeaking and grinding. What length of time is normal to for this smooth out and when is a good time to take it apart and put fresh lubricant in?

update: thank you everyone for your replies. So I completely expected for there to be a very minimal amount of lube from the factory but upon disassembly, there was NONE. I am talking about actual metal on metal between the washer and blade. I lost a factory screw the day I got the knife and the BM rep I spoke to about that said sometimes they miss putting Loctite on at the factory so they are sending me a new bag of screws. Very disappointed with a 200$ knife that I ha e to apply the basic maintenance. Anyway the action is much more smooth after lubricant.
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I recently purchased a new Benchmade Infidel from “House of Blades,” but the action is so stiff, I have to use both thumbs to retract the blade.
 
The last three or four carbon fiber Benchmades with Axis locks I’ve purchased have had action that was extremely stiff.

After taking them apart I found a LOT of carbon fiber dust in all of the pivots. After cleaning out the carbon fiber dust, the action on all of them is fantastic.
 
A drop of BreakFree CLP should help smooth things out. I use it on all my Axis locks -- well, all my knives, for that matter.
 
By now, I have handled well over 100 Benchmade knives right out of the box or off a dealer's shelf. Up until the last month, only one had poor action that could not be fixed by loosening the pivot screw slightly, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, but that knife did eventually break in.

I had not encountered any Benchmades that were thread locked until this month.

I recently bought a Mini Freek that had very stiff action off the shelf. The owner of the store knows me and said I could loosen the pivot screw, which turned out to be thread locked. But I managed to break the thread locker and then the action was excellent. I got a nice discount because the owner agreed that the manufacture of the knife was defective, which was probably why it had not sold before.

Then I ordered one of those orange SHOT Show 2023 Exclusive Bailouts. It also has terrible action, and it is thread-locked, too. I keep meaning to send it to Benchmade with an emphatic complaint about thread-locker, but I have not had time yet.
 
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