Benchmade 741 snapped @ thumb hole

D

diversionmary

Joined
Sep 27, 2006
Messages
320
I bought a BM 741 last night and am geeking out in anticipation.

I just found this russian page where someone snapped their new BM 741 @ the hole. :eek: If Google Chrome translate is accurate, he was trying to center his blade, which was rubbing against the left liner.

3176137.jpg


Here's the page
 
Wow I tried Google translate and that was hard on the brain:confused: but I gather that this is sort of what we call in the bike industry as a JRA story, "I was Just Riding Along when the frame broke in two". There is no way that he snapped the blade by just pushing on it with his fingers to center the blade. Most likely he wedged it in on something and tried bending the blade that way.
 
unky_gumbi said:
...There is no way that he snapped the blade by just pushing on it with his fingers to center the blade. Most likely he wedged it in on something and tried bending the blade that way.
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+1

That knife had to have been securely wedged/stuck between something and then yanked on. I wouldn't believe anything else unless I saw it with my own eyes.
 
unky_gumbi said:
Wow I tried Google translate and that was hard on the brain:confused: but I gather that this is sort of what we call in the bike industry as a JRA story, "I was Just Riding Along when the frame broke in two". There is no way that he snapped the blade by just pushing on it with his fingers to center the blade. Most likely he wedged it in on something and tried bending the blade that way.
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I agree, but the characteristics of the "Onslaught" do not exactly make for a strong blade.

-A large hole in the thickest portion of the steel.
-Broad (edge to spine) blade.
-Thin blade (3mm)
- And of course, the long blade and handle allow for much more leverage.

Obviously, this applies to any maker with such a design, not just Benchmade. I do, however, question the wisdom of the blade thickness choice. It's the main reason why I didn't buy one.

EDIT: Later in the thread, somebody posted a picture of a Spyderco Salt with a bent, not snapped, blade. Perhaps the 741 was in an "experiment" of sorts?
 
I agree there is no way he was just trying to center the blade in a traditional way. If it really did break while centering the blade he probably clamped the blade in a vice and yanked on it. The Onslaught really isn't designed as a hard use knife. It can withstand quite a bit, but in my eyes its more of a large edc/slicer. It was modeled directly after the late Bob Lum's design and it is exactly how the man himself designed it. Minus the axis of course.
 
JRA, that's great! In the computer business, things happen spontaneously. No one ever instigates, things break all on their own.

I do wish the blade was thicker, but I'm a sucker for large folders with axis lock.
 
Darthsoaker:

Why would a broad (wide) blade result in a weak blade? It seems like the wider it is, the more metal and stronger it would be. Just curious the logic behind that?
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Darthsoaker:

Why would a broad (wide) blade result in a weak blade? It seems like the wider it is, the more metal and stronger it would be. Just curious the logic behind that?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily in this case, but in overall strength.

exampleh.jpg


One can easily imagine the circled area being more sensitive to use (or, more likely, abuse).
 
unky_gumbi said:
Wow I tried Google translate and that was hard on the brain:confused: but I gather that this is sort of what we call in the bike industry as a JRA story, "I was Just Riding Along when the frame broke in two". There is no way that he snapped the blade by just pushing on it with his fingers to center the blade. Most likely he wedged it in on something and tried bending the blade that way.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: +1 Well stated unky G
 
unky_gumbi said:
Wow I tried Google translate and that was hard on the brain:confused: but I gather that this is sort of what we call in the bike industry as a JRA story, "I was Just Riding Along when the frame broke in two". There is no way that he snapped the blade by just pushing on it with his fingers to center the blade. Most likely he wedged it in on something and tried bending the blade that way.
Click to expand...

That's precisely what happened. He was just riding along when his knife broke. How dare you doubt him? :p:D
 
Rough and brief translation (they are using a lot of slang):

OP
-He got this device in his hands. Its one of a 1000. What I liked was how it feels in hand. Its a huge knife (he called it a tool shed or a shed, to underline that its a big knife). Somehow, it reminds him of spyderco chinuk I. It fits fairly well in the pocket. And when you unzip your pants in the bathroom, the pents don't fall off. Going from liner lock to axis lock, was in his honest opinion not a good thing. For those who doesn't know the prototype of this device (he keeps on referring to the folder as a device) was custom Lum forester. And it had a liner (Lum forester). Although he admits that liner opinion is probably caused by his habits and what he is used to, and in the end (after prolonged use) liner lock will also get messed up. He did not like the design of the axis itself. He would prefer to have a regular spring (sorry this is my technical shortcoming, I don't know what they are called, the springs in a form of a tube) to a spiral spring which the knife has (sorry once again I don't know the technical term for a spring that reminds a snail shell, coil spring?). He didn't like the plastic insert but says for $170 its forgivable, but for how much he paid for it, its not. His verdict, large, brutal, interesting knife with its own small shortcomings.

then there are bunch of questions what was meant by the springs.

Then someone mentions that they are afraid of knives with holes in them.

Les-noy said:
Yeah I had 741, and the blade is thin.
He said that today using his thumbs he was trying to center the blade by pressing them in the area of an axis bolt, and the blade snapped. (i never had a benchmade, so I wouldn't know what he is talking about) He likes the handles and feels sorry for his loss, but in his opinion the knife is only good for spreading caviar on bread.

there is a few coments which aren't essential.

Someone says that if it did happen then its a factory lemon and should be exchanged by BM no problem.

Andrew L2 asks Les-noy where was he trying to deform the knife (center it) and what was he pressing/trying to do.

Les-noy says he was trying to center the blade by applying the pressure on copper washers.As it helped with his other BMs

Andrew L2 asks weather the bolts were loosened before, because when he loosened his bolts and pressed on the blade on the BM710, after tightening them again the blade was centered. The 710 is still going strong.

Les-noy says he did everything the same way. In the past that procedure fixed his 710 and 806. In his new 741 the blade was pressing on the left liner. After loosening the bolts and pressing on the blade, the blade was centered. But after tightening the bolts, it went to the left again. the second time he tried to do that again, the blade snapped.

He said that the knife died without cutting anything.

Lots of people say he should get it replaced by the warranty, as it appears to be a lemon.

he says he isn't going to send it back because can't explain why he disassembled reassembled the knife or what he was doing with it. First thing he did was change the washers around, because thought they were of different width, but they weren't.

Someone suggest he doesn't mention his actions to BM

He says maybe he'll do it, but he likes the handle and might order a custom blade made for it from the local masters, as a knife show is coming up.

then discussion goes of to why holes are bad/not so bad. Spydercos, military models.

And they called Busse over priced crap...thats my cue to create an account there and violently protest, if anybody wants more translated I can.
 
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This is funny , there was a thread few days ago about how good Benchmade and Spyderco has weak blade because of the hole . :D
I still haven't seen Spyderco broken around hole area , I am sure someone did it but I havent seen it yet.
 
tjsulli790 said:
Stupid is as stupid does.
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+1 :thumbup:

So many times, I've often thought how profound these words are. So simple, so direct, so succinct, and so applicable to SO MANY different things.

There should be a forum unto itself with that very statement as it's title... :D
 
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