Benchmade=Dull, Why?!

Aidansdaddy17

Aidansdaddy17

Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
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I want to love you Benchmade....you have some amazing designs within the knife community....but...What is with your QC? That was all supposed to change. Fit and finish issues along with super dull knives/factory edge issues. Sure, I have had problems with Spyderco at times. It's just they usually arrive so much sharper, sometimes crazy sharp! I am afraid to open or order Benchmade anynmore for fear of getting a really dull knife. On top of it they are hard to then resharpen or get sharp without a lot of work! Am I the only one? Youtube, forum and other reviewers have the same complaints. Isn't anyone listening to us? Sorry. :yawn:
 
It's just kinda always been a thing. I got used to it with my last few Benchmade purchases. Sometimes you luck out and get a sharp one, other times you gotta have your sharpening stone ready right outta the box. Not much we can do about it. At least you get some sharpening practice in!
 
Agreed, I find one of the most important attributes I like to look for in a new knife is how good there bevels are from factory.
 
P2P said:
Agreed, I find one of the most important attributes I like to look for in a new knife is how good there bevels are from factory.
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My 806D2 came not only with some of the most uneven edge bevels I've ever seen (save for my first CUDA Maxx 5.5), the actually saber and swedge grinds were unfathomably lopsided. It didn't stop it from becoming one of my favorite folding knives ever, but seriously; my cat could'a done better with a cinder block.
 
This month I got my first used (collection) Benchmade and yes, the knife seems to be never used before but the knife edge is quite dull.
Of course I should go with a new one to be sure.
At the moment it's compensated by the awesome axis lock.
What about the "life sharp" service?
 
The best guarantee of life-long sharp knives is to learn to do it yourself. Sometimes that means touch it up from time to time with a Sharpmaker, sometimes it means use a diamond stone to reprofile a thick edge.

I think part of Benchmade's problem is they realize it is easier to thin a thick edge than to beef up a thin edge, so they send their knives out ready for the buyer to decide how he wants to sharpen them.
 
They overbuild the blade for durability sake. Grinding a quality edge probably involves more man-hours than the entire rest of the knife manufacture and assembly combined (just a guess). Makes sense that they're "good enough" rather than fantastic, being made in the USA (for the most part) they have to keep labor cost to a minimum. This doesn't explain why other US mfg knives seem to have better (far better in most cases) edges - Spyderco, Buck, Kershaw - for the same relative cost per materials. As a company they should address this - not only are many of their edges fairly dull, but uneven as well. It makes their fantastic heat treat something of a liability because it means that much more work to fix any issues.
 
basetta70 said:
...What about the "life sharp" service?
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I've used LifeSharp several times... for brand new BM's, I might add. I've found that it's a crap shoot when I buy a new BM so I decide whether I really want the knife enough to possibly have to send it in. I can sharpen and I can even reset obtuse edge angles if I have to. I'd just rather the factory do it for me so I can start with something easier to maintain.

I've had good luck so far in the 3 or 4 times that I've used LifeSharp. The knives have come back sharper than they were O-O-B and ready for the Sharpmaker.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The best guarantee of life-long sharp knives is to learn to do it yourself. Sometimes that means touch it up from time to time with a Sharpmaker, sometimes it means use a diamond stone to reprofile a thick edge.

I think part of Benchmade's problem is they realize it is easier to thin a thick edge than to beef up a thin edge, so they send their knives out ready for the buyer to decide how he wants to sharpen them.
Click to expand...

Esav is right on the money. One can always take more material off of the blade. I'd prefer to be able to make the choice of the type of edge I want on my knife. Some days I even wish that knives would come with only the primary grind, so that I can select the bevels myself from the start. Only on some days though.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The best guarantee of life-long sharp knives is to learn to do it yourself. Sometimes that means touch it up from time to time with a Sharpmaker, sometimes it means use a diamond stone to reprofile a thick edge.

I think part of Benchmade's problem is they realize it is easier to thin a thick edge than to beef up a thin edge, so they send their knives out ready for the buyer to decide how he wants to sharpen them.
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That explains it right there. :)
 
Cynic2701 said:
Only on some days though.
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Some knives do have such a thin primary grind, maybe a high full flat grind, it almost doesn't matter. If my Spyderco Militaries came with no secondary bevel, it wouldn't take long to add one.

The advantage of a thicker primary grind coming without that bevel is it would be more fun to convex it. :)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The best guarantee of life-long sharp knives is to learn to do it yourself. Sometimes that means touch it up from time to time with a Sharpmaker, sometimes it means use a diamond stone to reprofile a thick edge.

I think part of Benchmade's problem is they realize it is easier to thin a thick edge than to beef up a thin edge, so they send their knives out ready for the buyer to decide how he wants to sharpen them.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, but when a company sends out knives with less work in them (it takes time to put a proper edge on a knife) they should be charging less and not more for the knives. That's my only real beef with Benchmade - if I'm going to have to settle for a knife that comes with little to no edge on it... why am I paying more than I am for pretty much any other production brand (even if it's a knife that is made from the same materials and roughly the same size)?

I've had my issues with Benchmade in the past, but to be fair, I've owned Kershaws and Spydercos that had problems too - it happens. But Benchmade is pretty consistently the highest priced of the big 3, and also fairly consistent when it comes to not putting any sort of working edge on a knife. To me that saves them time/money and the price of said knives should reflect that.

I'm still looking at a couple of Benchmades, so I'm no hater, but it still just hurts a little to pay extra for less.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The best guarantee of life-long sharp knives is to learn to do it yourself. Sometimes that means touch it up from time to time with a Sharpmaker, sometimes it means use a diamond stone to reprofile a thick edge.

I think part of Benchmade's problem is they realize it is easier to thin a thick edge than to beef up a thin edge, so they send their knives out ready for the buyer to decide how he wants to sharpen them.
Click to expand...

I just sent in a new 755 MPR to the LIFESharp service (M390) and they did a very good job for me. My 806 with 390 came very sharp. It's kind of hit and miss with them, but at least they will sharpen it with their service, for life.

No, I don't own a Sharpmaker...yet. I always hate to spend that $100 for the SM and some diamond stones when I could buy an M4 Gayle Bradley for the same money. If I used my EDC's hard and had to put an edge on them often, it would make sense buy the SM. But I can go a YEAR on an edge like a M4
or M390 or 20CP without it getting dull. I switch my EDC's around quite a bit, obviously.

And I've never gotten a Spyderco yet that isn't Yellow Pages sharp.
 
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Cynic2701 said:
Esav is right on the money. One can always take more material off of the blade. I'd prefer to be able to make the choice of the type of edge I want on my knife. Some days I even wish that knives would come with only the primary grind, so that I can select the bevels myself from the start. Only on some days though.
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This is correct and sharpening is one of my hobbies but....it could be wrong when you advice on the box "HANDLE WITH CARE Benchmade knives are packaged extremely sharp".

If I will show Benchmade what is for me extremely sharp there would be surely a mass suicide in Oregon :D
 
Hilarious! Good points all around. Again, you should not pay a premium price for a knife and then the day you get it turn and mail it back to the manufacturer(Lifesharp cost+shipping) to get your knife sharp. Should arrive sharp! WTH:confused:
 
Mass suicide...Huh?
Customers have always had issues with BM's factory edges, but they have gotten much better in the past year or two.
I also agree with Esav because it's much easier to remove material than to add. (GEC does the same thing)
I expect to put my own edge on a new knife when it arrives, but it does help when that knife is already sharp. That's why everyone loves Spyderco.
And if you want to be a real knife nut...you should probably learn to sharpen.
 
I doubt Benchmade ships their knives out with less-than-razor-sharp edges on purpose. It does give us the chance to profile them a little more to our liking, but I'm not convinced it's necessarily a good thing. I mean, sure, most of us here know how to sharpen our knives quickly and easily, but the public at large? Although, If I'm not much a knife enthusiast to begin with and just want a great knife, I probably wouldn't know the difference between what Benchmade ships and what their competitors are putting out.

Which is rather sneaky when you think about it. ;)
 
No, I don't own a Sharpmaker...yet. I always hate to spend that $100 for the SM and some diamond stones when I could buy an M4 Gayle Bradley for the same money.
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It's like owning multiple guns, but not having a cleaning rod or safe. You'll enjoy your collection more if they are cared for, and the Bradley will still be around in some form.
 
of the 6 benchmades I have, I've only had to touch up one, at least three of them came hair popping sharp, although part of that could be that of those 6, 5 of them are LE's so maybe they spend more time on them?
IMG_2347.jpg
 
My mini-Ritter (made by BM) had a very nice edge. Very nice grinds with no wire edge.
 
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