Benchmade Company Question?

Neo said:
They don't really discontinue their red line but relabel it to Harley-Davidson knives.
Benchmade an all American brand with no conections oversea :D
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No. The statement was that no knife that is made under Benchmade brand will be made overseas.
HK & HD knives are made by Benchmade, but they are not Benchmades. Same as Byrd is made by Spyderco, but it is not a Spyderco.
 
RxEnergy said:
No. The statement was that no knife that is made under Benchmade brand will be made overseas.
HK & HD knives are made by Benchmade, but they are not Benchmades. Same as Byrd is made by Spyderco, but it is not a Spyderco.
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What's the point?

The company is the same, the name on the label different.
 
RxEnergy said:
The point is not to devalue the brand.
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Ok I get your point.

Production oversea isn't devaluing the brand.
Look at Spyderco, some of their better models are made in Japan and Taiwan.
The Byrd line is made by Spyderco but with different tolerances.
Where a product is made doesn't determine the quality but how it's made and how it's designed.

I find it rather hypocritical to claim (or let people think) the "company" (most see the brand as an company) is only American based when it isn't
 
Neo said:
Ok I get your point.

Production oversea isn't devaluing the brand.
Look at Spyderco, some of their better models are made in Japan and Taiwan.
The Byrd line is made by Spyderco but with different tolerances.
Where a product is made doesn't determine the quality but how it's made and how it's designed.

I find it rather hypocritical to claim (or let people think) the "company" (most see the brand as an company) is only American based when it isn't
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All of those Spyderco models you speak of are not made by Spyderco, but commissioned by them. Golden factory cannot handle such a massive production. Later they are sold under Spyderco name.
Every Benchmade knife will be made in the USA by Benchmade at their facility in Oregon. My guess is, that HK and HD feel like that it's OK for them to have knives with their brand name made overseas and they entrusted/hired Benchmade to handle production of those knives.
 
Neo said:
They don't really discontinue their red line but relabel it to Harley-Davidson knives.
Benchmade an all American brand with no conections oversea :D
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They don't?

I quote this verbatim from Benchmade's own 2010 catalog:

It is with this commitment to quality in mind that we announce
that beginning in January 2010, all Benchmade branded products
will be made in the USA at our expanded factory in Oregon City,
Oregon. These products will continue to be offered in our Blue,
Black and Gold Classes. We will no longer offer products in our
Red Class.
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They might still make the knives under other brands, but the bottom line is no more Red Class.
 
RxEnergy said:
All of those Spyderco models you speak of are not made by Spyderco, but commissioned by them. Golden factory cannot handle such a massive production. Later they are sold under Spyderco name.
Every Benchmade knife will be made in the USA by Benchmade at their facility in Oregon. My guess is, that HK and HD feel like that it's OK for them to have knives with their brand name made overseas and they entrusted/hired Benchmade to handle production of those knives.
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If you put the emphasis on Spyderco commissioning knives I would assume the former red class knives were made oversea in Benchmade owned factories?
I know the name Benchmade red class will disappear but where are for example the Harley-Davidson Levitators made?
Different factories than the former red class?

As I said before people tend to see a brand name as an company.
You are correct, the Benchmade brand name will be only made in Oregon.
 
I don't like their new way of selling knives at all. I consider myself a huge fan of Benchmade and have more of their knives than any other manufacture. Having said that, I'm not going to call around asking about prices, my local dealer has stopped selling Benchmade, so this means I am done with them.
 
Benchmade's actions around their pricing this year is a classic example of an old style company not grasping new opportunities from the internet and global delivery potentials. Think of how many designers, sales, and marketing people they could employee with a different go to market method. It rubbed me the wrong way that they were more concerned about their dealers rather than their customers.
 
Benchmade is making sound decisions as far as the well being of their company goes. Most casual knife users consider them the only brand there is when it comes to a quality knife. There decisions will only make that impression stronger. They simply don't care to cater to the pure enthusiast. They actually seem pretty annoyed by us.
 
J85909266 said:
They simply don't care to cater to the pure enthusiast. They actually seem pretty annoyed by us.
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I respectfully disagree.
If you were a member on BM forum and followed discussions there you'd see, that while BM doesn't really participate much, they DO listen. It's been proven on many occasions.
Sorry, but you're wrong.
 
Sep said:
[*]KAI USA is moving into the Wal-Mart crowd, so much that they even begin selling knives here made in China, which is a departure from their previous "made in usa" only strategy.
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Just a few corrections. We've been selling Wal-Mart for a good many years. Everyone of them has been USA made. Correction: We sold the Ace exclusively for one year to Wal-Mart and the Vapor(China made]. Additionally, we've made knives in China for a long time as well.

We've never had a "Made in the USA" only strategy.

[*]Since Kershaw is moving down, it's makes perfect sense for Benchmade to move up.
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Moving down? :confused: You're not making sense.

They must feel crowded down there with Kershaw and Gerber. They discontinue their china made Red Line to be USA exclusive. You see the see-saw here?
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I'm unsure you really understand.
 
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I sent an email to Benchmade when I took thier survey on the website, it asked for input. I gave them some and got a non auto response, meaning an actual person. I thought that was impressive. Benchmade, Kershaw, Spyderco, etc.... they all make great knives, and they all market differently, God bless them all.
 
RxEnergy said:
I respectfully disagree.
If you were a member on BM forum and followed discussions there you'd see, that while BM doesn't really participate much, they DO listen. It's been proven on many occasions.
Sorry, but you're wrong.
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I'm sure they appreciate their fans. I may have worded it wrong.

I think they care more about their current business model than appealing to internet based enthusiasts, and that they don't care to any or put off that niche group, at all.
 
I'm sure Benchmade looks at the considerable time that people from similar sized companies like Spyderco and Kershaw put into the public forums and are happy to stay distanced, unfortunately. I am sure Benchmade still listens like it was mentioned earlier but they're nowhere near the presence of other companies.

Its nice to be able to talk to the higher ups of your favorite companies but with the negativity outweighing the positives for most experiences I wonder how long it will last.
 
In many cases company presence on a public forum leads to a lot of ass kissing.
I'm happy the way things are.
 
RxEnergy said:
In many cases company presence on a public forum leads to a lot of ass kissing.
I'm happy the way things are.
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That happens everywhere but at least you get direct answers to questions. I'm pretty sure if I was in their position I would probably tire of it quickly.
 
I think owners who interact with thier customers know that it can really stroke our ego if they converse with us. The internet has brought that into being, as a line of communication. This produces fan boys, and I mean that in a good way, not derogatory. If you were able to shake Mr. Tony Bose's hand, or exchange some thoughts about product with Mr. Sal Glesser, you will buy thier product over your lifetime, for yourself, and for friends and family. Imagine giving your grandson a Tony Bose knife and be able to say, "Sonny, when the internet was still around (think obsolete like lp vinyl records), I conversed with Tony, and he was not only really nice, he makes great knives. So, I want to give you one of his knives before you grow all the way up." It creates loyalty being able to meet the maker if you will.

Unfortunately, these guys sometimes get harassed by troll spawn wanting to be a knife know it all. I am glad they have thick skins, and stick around. I am sure the forumites eat them up like pirhanas anyways.
 
J85909266 said:
I said multiple times in this thread that I don't like them as a company, and even said why: I don't like the way they treat their peers in the knife community, nor their high and mighty attitude.

The Kulgera story is true, as well, four or five models handled, all of them with bad blade play and off center blades. I also said that I realize that this is not indicative of their entire product line.

Being called a liar is extremely annoying, but I guess there isn't much I can do about in an online forum.
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You’re right. I have no justification for calling you or anyone else a liar without facts to back it up. OK, so it’s an amazing story. Next time I’ll let the reader decide.

Please accept my apology.
 
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