Advice needed on 707 Sequel

M

macknife12

Joined
Jan 1, 2013
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786
Hello fellow Benchmade users.
I was hoping for a bit of advice on a new 707 I have just received. It was very tight when I first opened it, but The adjustment pivot needed only a slight turn to the left for it to become too loose with blade play. I am looking at either two handed opening, or a loose blade. The blade is also not centered loose or tight. The dealer is very helpful, and told me that they had sent some back to Benchmade who then sent them back the same, so I guess that this is how they are supposed to be. The dealer is willing to refund me, but I would rather try and find out if anyone else has had this issue and may know a fix, because I really like this knife.
Cheers
 
Sometimes it´s hard to find the sweet spot. You should turn the adjustment pivot in very (VERY) small steps. My 707 is one of the smoothest knife I´ve ever handeld. So if you never find that sweet spot maybe there is something wrong with the knife. I put teflon tape on the pivot screw, maybe that will help to fine tuning it a bit more.
 
Slowstarter said:
Sometimes it´s hard to find the sweet spot. You should turn the adjustment pivot in very (VERY) small steps. My 707 is one of the smoothest knife I´ve ever handeld. So if you never find that sweet spot maybe there is something wrong with the knife. I put teflon tape on the pivot screw, maybe that will help to fine tuning it a bit more.
Click to expand...

Thanks Slowstarter,
I know it will come down to the fine tuning. I have 14 days to decide on a return, so I will take my time with this. I own the 710 and that is one smooth knife. I was hoping for the same but obviously smaller. I still like this knife and I want to make it work.
Cheers
 
My 707s are pretty touchy to adjust. Finding the spot where there is little or no blade play but the knife is still flickable takes a bit of patience. It's a bit simpler if you're willing to add a drop of nano-oil--I find that then I can tighten down the pivot a little more and still retain flickability (yes, I make words up). To save hassle of having knives loosen up over time, I always throw a drop of threadlocker on the pivot and then tune them up (permatex blue usually in my case).
 
I really like the looks of the BM 707 and the clip-blade is one of my favorite styles for an edc. I have just entered the market for mid-range knives after many years of carrying an assorted collection of <$40 edc's. The 'Leek' is probably the best carry in terms of quality I currently own along with a CRKT. But still-I've been on the cheaper side of knives and decided on Benchmade and Spyderco as the two brands that look the most satisfying. As for your initial friction and 'sweet=spot' issue I can only tell you that I just received what was supposed to be my introduction to the 'better' brands with a Spyderco Ambitious. I decided to not buy the Benchmade Torrent until I know a little more about spending money on blades. So-even though I knew it was a 'value' model I had very high expectations for the Ambitious. It was WAY tight out of the box and was grinding. Rather then return it I decided to explore and clean out the pivot and smooth a teeny-tiny burr I found on the bronze washer. It didnt improve too much at first. I broke it down again and added some Swiss bearing oil. Still-only a little improvement. I spent a while tweeking and tuning the pivot which had the same issues as your 707. I expected to have to return the blade in the morning and when I woke up-I was surprised to find I had a different knife then the day before. Friction was gone and blade extends with some authority into a firm lock-up. Its not 'lightning' fast but then I read MANY reviews and determined it was never designed to be that fast.

Anyway-So the moral for me...a neophyte in the world of BM, Spyderco, and mid-line edc's? That I should expect knives which are little machines to be as close to perfect out of the box as possible but when they are NOT-it isn't the end of the world and that tweeking and fine adjustments are not out of line and since we should all be doing general maintenance on our blades at some point its not so crushing to have to set the blade up initially.* Besides-if a problem truly persists-there is another 12 days to make the return. I am still fussing with the blade centering vs. speed but the action keeps improving every hour I keep the knife in action (meaning: obsessive opening/closing)

*The real question for me -as someone new who is looking to spend another $80-$150 on a knife like your 707 or the 527 or maybe the Torrent-is whether I should expect a TOTAL perfection out-of-the-box at this price point over say the 'value' folders put out by Spyderco , BM and others? Or-should I assume that all of these brands have equally strict qc standards and intial set-up is rare but not unheard of and where price corresponds to how 'perfect' the knife is set up brand new? In other words-among the collectors here that have a lot of BM knives-how common is it to have to do initial tuning and more importantly-if you DID the tuning or sent it back? I assume that BM didn't earn its reputation for screwy off-center blade pivots but a tool is a tool and will always require manual adj at some point. The question is at what point should we expect perfection-before we open the box -or after?

Oh-sorry as a new poster to post such long responses. I don't even own a BM yet but I do have years of experience with woodworking blades of ALL types and Japanese/Swiss sharpening set-ups
 
Last edited:
evilgreg said:
My 707s are pretty touchy to adjust. Finding the spot where there is little or no blade play but the knife is still flickable takes a bit of patience. It's a bit simpler if you're willing to add a drop of nano-oil--I find that then I can tighten down the pivot a little more and still retain flickability (yes, I make words up). To save hassle of having knives loosen up over time, I always throw a drop of threadlocker on the pivot and then tune them up (permatex blue usually in my case).
Click to expand...

Sounds good evilgreg. I have this weekend to have a go.
And "flickability" SHOULD be a word, its a good one.
Cheers
 
Dabakr said:
I really like the looks of the BM 707 and the clip-blade is one of my favorite styles for an edc. I have just entered the market for mid-range knives after many years of carrying an assorted collection of <$40 edc's. The 'Leek' is probably the best carry in terms of quality I currently own along with a CRKT. But still-I've been on the cheaper side of knives and decided on Benchmade and Spyderco as the two brands that look the most satisfying. As for your initial friction and 'sweet=spot' issue I can only tell you that I just received what was supposed to be my introduction to the 'better' brands with a Spyderco Ambitious. I decided to not buy the Benchmade Torrent until I know a little more about spending money on blades. So-even though I knew it was a 'value' model I had very high expectations for the Ambitious. It was WAY tight out of the box and was grinding. Rather then return it I decided to explore and clean out the pivot and smooth a teeny-tiny burr I found on the bronze washer. It didnt improve too much at first. I broke it down again and added some Swiss bearing oil. Still-only a little improvement. I spent a while tweeking and tuning the pivot which had the same issues as your 707. I expected to have to return the blade in the morning and when I woke up-I was surprised to find I had a different knife then the day before. Friction was gone and blade extends with some authority into a firm lock-up. Its not 'lightning' fast but then I read MANY reviews and determined it was never designed to be that fast.

Anyway-So the moral for me...a neophyte in the world of BM, Spyderco, and mid-line edc's? That I should expect knives which are little machines to be as close to perfect out of the box as possible but when they are NOT-it isn't the end of the world and that tweeking and fine adjustments are not out of line and since we should all be doing general maintenance on our blades at some point its not so crushing to have to set the blade up initially.* Besides-if a problem truly persists-there is another 12 days to make the return. I am still fussing with the blade centering vs. speed but the action keeps improving every hour I keep the knife in action (meaning: obsessive opening/closing)

*The real question for me -as someone new who is looking to spend another $80-$150 on a knife like your 707 or the 527 or maybe the Torrent-is whether I should expect a TOTAL perfection out-of-the-box at this price point over say the 'value' folders put out by Spyderco , BM and others? Or-should I assume that all of these brands have equally strict qc standards and intial set-up is rare but not unheard of and where price corresponds to how 'perfect' the knife is set up brand new? In other words-among the collectors here that have a lot of BM knives-how common is it to have to do initial tuning and more importantly-if you DID the tuning or sent it back? I assume that BM didn't earn its reputation for screwy off-center blade pivots but a tool is a tool and will always require manual adj at some point. The question is at what point should we expect perfection-before we open the box -or after?

Oh-sorry as a new poster to post such long responses. I don't even own a BM yet but I do have years of experience with woodworking blades of ALL types and Japanese/Swiss sharpening set-ups
Click to expand...

Good point.
I am about 6 months in around $5000.00 worth of goodies and I started with some good quality knives. I did indeed expect perfection out of the box, but having said that, it is probably the smallest knife I have purchased, so tolerances, pivot screws etc. will not be as rock solid as a larger knife. I think that this baby does need some extra care with the fine tuning. All in I own 5 Benchmades and they are great.
I think that this is coming down to me dealing with the size.
At the end of the day, I am ok with this because the dealer will back me up if I don't have any success, and Benchmade is a good company to deal with.
You make a good point with "expectations" It is all about perception isn't it?
Cheers
 
Picture the pivot screw having 64 degrees, at times 1/32 of a turn can be the difference between tight or loose. After polishing hardware I've moved the screw 1/64 of a turn to find the sweet spot.

I've never had a blade off center on an axis lock knife... I'd send it back just for that, on top of the possibility that you have a knife with matching max/min tolerances leading to a knife that just won't work as nicely as another 707 which had tolerances leading to perfect fit.
 
Benchmade manufactures and assembles fine knives, but they don't "fine tune" them. Were they to do so their knives would be costlier. And even if they did adjust every knife to the sweet spot, initial wear would loosen it anyway.

If it sounds like I'm being critical I'm not-- all I've been buying is BM, I love 'em.
 
ryxlyx said:
Benchmade manufactures and assembles fine knives, but they don't "fine tune" them. Were they to do so their knives would be costlier. And even if they did adjust every knife to the sweet spot, initial wear would loosen it anyway.

If it sounds like I'm being critical I'm not-- all I've been buying is BM, I love 'em.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. ryxlyx,
I'm not sure where you are being "critical" ? Most companies don't need to fine tune production knifes as the production tolerances are tighter than a funeral drum. Even my $20.00 Kershaw is centered after 6 months of use, and that would have been Chinese made.
I think you may have missed my point in my original thread. "Advice needed" on a knife that I want to work, from a company that I like.
Cheers
 
macknife12 said:
Thanks for the info. ryxlyx,
I Most companies don't need to fine tune production knifes as the production tolerances are tighter than a funeral drum. Even my $20.00 Kershaw is centered after 6 months of use, and that would have been Chinese made.

Cheers
Click to expand...

This would be my 'sticking point' as well. If I was still -even slightly-annoyed after a few more days of playing around with the 'sweetness' I would probably send it back thinking I am likely to NEVER be completely happy. Thankfully this is why dealers have return policies and we can skip dealing with warranty work which seems ridiculous at this price point. That said-the price point of my new spy ambitious is low enough where I can (but not necessarily SHOULD) accept a bit of off-centered vs. sweet-spot action. good luck with your 707. I am now heavily leaning towards either the 585, 890 or maybe the 527. I know its a matter of preference but I'll take any opinions out there.
 
I have been using a 707 for about the last four months, and it to has a slightly off center blade and some blade play. I have fiddled with the pivot trying to find the sweet spot, and I am not sure if it has one. In order for it to open and close free and smooth, it seems it must have a little blade play. As others have said the 707 does seem touchy to pivot adjustments. You only need to turn the pivot the slightest tiniest about to change the action of the blade once you reach that point of to tight. I am going to clean and lube mine and use some thread lock on the pivot and see if I can make myself happy. A tiny amount of play or off centering I can live with.
 
My 707 came a little stiff, but easy to open. I used some Blue Lube and after a small amount of use, it is perfect.
The blade is perfectly centered. If yours doesn't work right, something is off.
It isn't strange to find the action a little tight when first received, but it shouldn't be hard to use. I have 3 Benchmades, and none are hard to open.
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.
Well, after spending the weekend on this, I have had no luck. Almost had it at a few stages but after a few flicks, it's goes back to loose. This was with blue loctite on the pivot. Even when I had it slightly tight, the blade would never center.
Unfortunately, it is going back. At least I gave it a go.
I will probably put the funds towards something else as I fear this model may be a bit too dainty for me.
Cheers all
 
Hey macknife, one thing you have to must consider first is the fact that it is new. Benchmades IMO definitely have to be broken in, out of all of my BM's my oldest (a mini grip) is BY FAR the smoothest out of all of them. Its literally like glass yet absolutely no play, even trying to muscle some out of it. That being said the true sweet spot on your 707 is at a point right now that feels unflickable or too tight. Keep this in mind that it will smooth out significantly with use (flipping it in and out).

If someone hasn't already said to, try loosening every screw on the knife (even the clip screws). Just so they aren't tight, maybe a few turns more. Now tune your pivot. Like suggested before use very small increments. Once you have that set tighten up your the other screws, but don't kill em.

Now flick away good sir and break in your 707 :thumbup:
 
kniferbro said:
Hey macknife, one thing you have to must consider first is the fact that it is new. Benchmades IMO definitely have to be broken in, out of all of my BM's my oldest (a mini grip) is BY FAR the smoothest out of all of them. Its literally like glass yet absolutely no play, even trying to muscle some out of it. That being said the true sweet spot on your 707 is at a point right now that feels unflickable or too tight. Keep this in mind that it will smooth out significantly with use (flipping it in and out).

If someone hasn't already said to, try loosening every screw on the knife (even the clip screws). Just so they aren't tight, maybe a few turns more. Now tune your pivot. Like suggested before use very small increments. Once you have that set tighten up your the other screws, but don't kill em.

Now flick away good sir and break in your 707 :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thanks knifebro,
I did indeed check all the screws and I do hear you on the breaking in. I have 3 emersons that are smooth as silk.
The issue with this one I feel, is that I cant live with the off center blade. Also, I would start her off tight, and within 5 or 6 openings it would go back to blade play.
My 710, 810, 581, 300sn are all perfection and they all took a bit of breaking in, but never any blade center issues.
Just not feeling right about this one.
Cheers
 
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