Benchmade LFTi - BM760BK (large pics)

amroc

amroc

Joined
Jan 4, 2009
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433
Working in a brick and mortal knife store has it's perks. I get to play with a number of blades everyday without having to purchase them! So, I am going to review quite a few knives, mainly Benchmades at first, and pretty much any new knife we get in store.

To start, we have the BM760BK, or in layman terms the LFTi.

I was excited to get these in store, but upon playing with them I wasn't as happy with them as I thought I would. I liked them, don't get me wrong, but not as much as I would have hoped.

Let's start with a few pictures, and I'll describe what each one is.

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Here, we've got a picture of both of the LFTi's my store got. Aren't they pretty? Nice big slabs of blasted Ti, with some holes drilled in them. The nice distinct Lum tanto tip (not a perfect 45º)

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Close up of handle.

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Now, the locks look good, but not quite. The left one has issues with locking up. There was blade play right out of the box. Not just side to side, but up and down. This would be a knife I would send back if I were to get it. The blade on the right locked up nice and solid, no blade play, but was quite difficult to flick open.

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As with most frame locks, you have to worry about over extension. This is how Benchmade solved that problem. There is a little nub of the frame lock that hits the pocket clip, making it so you cannot over extend. Great idea IMO.

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This is a picture to show both blades. #531 was hair popping sharp right out of the box (also happened to be the one with the lock issues), while #534 was sharp, but not hair popping.

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#531 also had issues lining up straight when closed. It rubbed against the non lock side (issue with loose pivot and blade play?)

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#534 was a little better, not as much rubbing, but still there.

knives

Straight out of the box #531 had the BK1 coating rubbing of on the inside of the frame. This is not a good sign!


Overall, I liked the knives. Now for just what I wrote down in notes!
#531- Loose, easy to flick open pivot. Hair popping sharp. Issue with lockup. Side to side play, and up and down play. Frame lock to short? Stop pin to far back?

#534- Tight pivot. Awkward to open. Have to flick hard. Not hair popping, but still fairly sharp. Solid lockup, no blade play.

Hope that helps!
 
I'm rather disappointed to be honest. Quality issues aside, I wasn't expecting such an Americanized tanto design. I know Lum pioneered it, but then Cold Steel bastardized it, and the LFTi looks much more like the CS bastardization than the sexy-as-hell Lum style.

The LFTi raised my eyebrows when I first saw it, and looked like it might be a must-have, even though I've moved away from framelocks. Now though, I have no interest whatsoever.

Thank you for the nicely detailed first look though.
 
I have one coming.

I like the Blackwater vesion I carry every so often.

I was hoping the scales would be a bit thicker, though.

Looks like the one with lock issues will wear in well. Only time would tell, though.
 
Planterz said:
I'm rather disappointed to be honest. .............. Now though, I have no interest whatsoever.

Thank you for the nicely detailed first look though.
Click to expand...

+1
What a disappointment with the quality from BM. :mad:

If I remember right from earlier posts, some of the 710 M4's had some issues too.
Maybe with the poor economic situation, BM cut out final inspection ?
 
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This was the only Benchmade in 2009 catalog that looked interesting.

Really sloppy fit & finish on these. I'd hate to buy one from an online dealer to have one with blade play and the blade coating flaking off like that.
 
I also see a bit of a belly on 534's cutting edge . . . I wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't adjacent to 531
 
Somebody should check out the Q.C. department and make sure everybody is awake. The 760 was going to be a "must have" benchmade for me, I'm disappointed. Nothing irks me more then off centered blades, that rub. This issue would definitley make me think twice about an internet buy with these type of QC issues.
 
Not too enthused with this one. We have them at our B&M shop, too, and the design just doesn't do anything for me. The ones we received are spot-on quality-wise, but it doesn't change the fact the it's just kind of bland. Oh well. There are plenty in their lineup that I'm quite pleased with. The Nagara, for instance, and the Gold Class Shoki.
 
The one I got locks up tight and it took a simple tweek of the pivot screw to center the blade. Opens and closes smooth, also.

The blade has a bit of belly, but then so do my Blackwater plain edge versions.
 
I have handled 2 of these and both had flawless fit & finish. They were both extremely smooth and were shaving sharp.
 
I got mine in earlier this week. It was benchmade dull, but ground well. The finish was good. Alignment is near perfect, with the only flaw being a non problem. The framelock was so difficult to release at first untill I broke it in that I thought I would damage it releasing it. If it wasn't for the clip acting as a limit on the lock it might have suffered damage.

Yes, I'd rather have it too tight than too loose. The knife itself is pretty stout. It'll never be a great slicer due to it's thickness unless sent off to be reground. I doubt I'll do that as I have enough super thin edged slicing type knives. Joe
 
Thanks for the review and pics. Since these are just coming out your timing is pretty good. While I don't own one of these (yet) I've been waiting for reviews. I like the placement and reason for moving the clip over the BlackWater design, it does concern me that these are leaving the factory mis-aligned and "Benchmade Dull"...that should not be happening.
 
I like the knife overall. The balance sheet is in the black, in my book J. Karp. When I talk about it being dull, it's subjective. I have high standards for sharpness, which not too many companies besides Kershaw, Spyderco, Microtech and a few more really qualify to me as usually being.

Benchmade is sometimes sharp, sometimes not. This knife isn't as sharp as the 710, or the Gaucho put out in the same steel. The thicker stock has a little to do with it, but it still could have been sharper. A simple strop brought it up to hair shaving sharp, so the grind wasn't off, or bad.

I think they just get overloaded at times when producing larger runs like this ( 1000 pieces), and it shows in things like the alignment, and final sharpening. All stuff easily corrected because of the excellent materials, and good basic engineering & design.

I'm glad I have mine, but I'm more impressed with the Gaucho, to be honest. Out of the 3 in the M4 steel series so far I think it's the best finished. Recall there were a few people beefing about the 710M4 too, but it sure didn't stop people from grabbing them up.

Once again, I say yes, get one. It's not perfect, but it's a good basic knife that will be a good hard use folder, or a good collector in the long run. If there's a small problem with the one you order, it's easy enough to correct as it's a very sound knife from a quality company that will stand behind their product.

I do love M4 too. This stuff just wants to be sharp. It responds to stropping better than any steel I've seen, even the classic BM M2. Good stuff, this CPM high speed steel. Joe
 
How good is the BK coated M4 for wear and corrosion? I wouldn't expect the blade to rust, per se, but certain knife testers, the "late" Cliff Stamp among them, noticed that the effect of corrosion on the edge of the blade, in certain circumstances, would be as though the edge was rapidly dulling or blunting? Is the BK coated M4 resitant enough to suit edc pocket carry, with normal tasks which may include slicing juicy (acidic) fruit (rinsed soon after), or triming of damp underbrush (dried shortly after), while maintaining a useful working edge?
 
Damning a whole design due to ONE reported bad example? I'm not sure I understand the logic of that...
 
ohmyheckinslc said:
How good is the BK coated M4 for wear and corrosion? I wouldn't expect the blade to rust, per se, but certain knife testers, the "late" Cliff Stamp among them, noticed that the effect of corrosion on the edge of the blade, in certain circumstances, would be as though the edge was rapidly dulling or blunting? Is the BK coated M4 resitant enough to suit edc pocket carry, with normal tasks which may include slicing juicy (acidic) fruit (rinsed soon after), or triming of damp underbrush (dried shortly after), while maintaining a useful working edge?
Click to expand...

I've been using my M4 Gaucho regularly, including cutting fruit, without any particular issues.


Do like BT more than BK, though.
 
I know the BK1 on my Kulgera isn't coming off from normal use. I use it to cut food, boxes, plastic, you name it. I don't use it on super tough things though that often. I use it, but don't abuse it. I was wondering how well CPM-M4 holds up. I have two knives with that steel in my store and I want to try one out.

Thank you!
Greg
 
I picked up a lightly used M4 Gaucho in trade a few weeks ago and have been using it regularly for daily chores like opening mail, cutting boxes and rope. I got it a little dull so sent it up to Lifesharp and it came back with what I call a "sticky sharp" edge. Pops the hair off my arm and goes through rope like a hot knife in butter. So far in three weeks the blade has not dulled although the BK finish has scuffed in a couple of places, and the aluminum scales are losing a bit of the finish. M4 is some pretty good stuff, can't wait to see how different the 760 Lum is in comparison. ...Joe
 
I got mine today. It is centered and locks up well. Not real sharp out of the box but it is a clean knife. NOt a bad deal for a titanium framelock with coated M4 blade. Just my 2 cents.
 
Joe, try stropping that Gaucho on some leather that's loaded. You should see a big difference quickly. It responds better to stropping than any high carbide steel I've ever tried.

I've been grabbing up knives in this steel when possible. I like it better than old M2 benchmade, S30V, and most everything else now available. It's easier to sharpen than ZDP by a longshot too.

The Gaucho is a very nice cutter for the money. It might be the one I get sent out to be professionally thinned out. The steel can take it, so I'm going to take advantage of it. I might even send it for hardening afterward, like the other poster did with the M2 blades. Joe
 
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