Benchmade....not the sharpest out of the box,in my experience.

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JTR357

JTR357

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I have to say,of the Big Three(Benchmade,Kershaw & Spyderco),BM lacks in this one & only this one field.
I have the BM950,930,710,635 & a mini rukus(also referring to others that were sold or traded).The 710D2 was the sharpest out of the box,but not scary sharp in the slightest.
Benchmade's F&F,quality craftmanship,ergos & CS are right up there with the best of them.

Spyderco is #1 in this catagory.For instance,when I get a new spidey,I know NOT to touch the blade with my finger,from experience,I'm afraid to say:o.Spyderco knives are ALWAYS hair popping,shave the hair off a fly's ass sharp.

Kershaw would be the second sharpest out of the box of the three.My S30V leek is like a pocket scalpel;).ZT0200,Chive,JYDII,Shallot & every Kershaw I've bought were all shaving sharp out of the box.

Benchmade would be last of the three.I just got the 930kulgera yesterday(5/8/08).I loved everything about it as stated above.To somewhat of a dissappointment though,I was able to run my finger over the blade(no pressure) with no bite whatsoever(something I would never attempt with a spidey).The same went for most of the other BM's,with an exception to the 635 & 710.I've sharpened the 930 to my liking,but why should I have to do that on an unused,BNIB knife??

Anyone else notice this?Why don't they ship their blades super sharp,like the other two?:confused:
Are they afraid of a lawsuit?Something wrong with their geometry?

Thanks for reading my minor rant:)
John
 
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I have noticed this same problem from time to time, but not lately. The best edge is the one you put on yourself after the new knife arrives. Factory edges are ok but you can do better. I agree Spyderco does better as far as sharpness goes but their QC is a little lacking at times. They are all production knifes made by humans so there you go.
 
i just ordered a 930. JTR can you tell me if the blade and handle is well weighted and how many days did it take from ordering to arrival?
 
5211 said:
i just ordered a 930. JTR can you tell me if the blade and handle is well weighted and how many days did it take from ordering to arrival?
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5211,The weight/balance ratio of the handle & blade are superb.You won't be dissappointed.I got it from Knifeworks in Fla.From there to NJ,took about 4-5 days UPS ground.
 
arr ok. question. i've never sharpened a knife b4 ? how do you do it and how can you make sure you're doing it right without ruining the knife
 
My Benchmade's and Sypderco's have been pretty much the same in sharpness----won't ever touch another Kershaw.

My BM's and Spyder's are sharp----but I can get Vic's and Case CV blades absolutely ungodly sharp.
 
JTR357 said:
I have to say,of the Big Three(Benchmade,Kershaw & Spyderco),BM lacks in this one & only this one field.
I have the BM950,930,710,635 & a mini rukus(also referring to others that were sold or traded).The 710D2 was the sharpest out of the box,but not scary sharp in the slightest.
Benchmade's F&F,quality craftmanship,ergos & CS are right up there with the best of them.

Spyderco is #1 in this catagory.For instance,when I get a new spidey,I know NOT to touch the blade with my finger,from experience,I'm afraid to say:o.Spyderco knives are ALWAYS hair popping,shave the hair off a fly's ass sharp.

Kershaw would be the second sharpest out of the box of the three.My S30V leek is like a pocket scalpel;).ZT0200,Chive,JYDII,Shallot & every Kershaw I've bought were all shaving sharp out of the box.

Benchmade would be last of the three.I just got the 930kulgera yesterday(5/8/08).I loved everything about it as stated above.To somewhat of a dissappointment though,I was able to run my finger over the blade(no pressure) with no bite whatsoever(something I would never attempt with a spidey).The same went for most of the other BM's,with an exception to the 635 & 710.I've sharpened the 930 to my liking,but why should I have to do that on an unused,BNIB knife??

Anyone else notice this?Why don't they ship their blades super sharp,like the other two?:confused:
Are they afraid of a lawsuit?Something wrong with their geometry?

Thanks for reading my minor rant:)
John
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Beats me. I put little emphasis on OOB sharpness. First thing I do with any new knife is resharpen it. I don't trust any factory edge and I usually want to modify the edge angle.
 
When I first started gathering knives it was my concern as well as to how sharp out of the box the blade was but now its so easy to put a super edge on a knife its the first thing I do. But for the thread I agree Spyderco and most Kershaws come with a great edge. But again we are splitting hairs between these three companies. ;)
 
5211 said:
arr ok. question. i've never sharpened a knife b4 ? how do you do it and how can you make sure you're doing it right without ruining the knife
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Great sharpener for no-experienceHere
Also what knarfeng said is sound advice.There's a lot of info here!
 
F3X said:
When I first started gathering knives it was my concern as well as to how sharp out of the box the blade was but now its so easy to put a super edge on a knife its the first thing I do. But for the thread I agree Spyderco and most Kershaws come with a great edge. But again we are splitting hairs between these three companies. ;)
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I've been sharpening things on an Arkansas 12x4 flat stone,free hand since I was 12yrs old.I started on a lawnmower blade & worked my way up.Dad taught me well.That's not what this thread's about

Nowadays I use a sharpmaker for touch ups.It's just so easy & quick to use.
That's not what this thread's about

Basically,I want to be able to take the new knife out of the box & use it,without sharpening it.
I think Benchmade should take the time to put a fine,honed,razor sharp,perfect edge on each & every knife they put out.
Spyderco & Kershaw do it all the time(for less money:rolleyes:)
This is what this thread's about

Thanks for the input F3X ;)
 
5211 said:
arr ok. question. i've never sharpened a knife b4 ? how do you do it and how can you make sure you're doing it right without ruining the knife
Click to expand...

Is that a typo,or are you a pirate?;)
Just kiddin' ya:D
 
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Sharpness out of the box isn't that important to me, as long as the bevels are even and shallow.

The Tenacious that I recently bought was very sharp out of the box and yet the $330 Sebenza was as blunt as a butter knife.

Benchmade went through a period where knives weren't very sharp out of the box, but the newer ones that I have bought have been.
 
I have to say I have only 2 kershaws that came out of the box shaving sharp, the energ-2 and an old aluminum handled tanto liner lock. And I have owned about 13 kershaws, My damascus leek, groove, and storm came pretty dull but I still buy them because they are great knifes with excellent fit and finish.
 
If they're still selling well with less-than-impressive edges, they shouldn't change that part of the operation.

I want Spyderco and Kershaw to hire Warren Osborne away from them, though. ;)
 
My Benchmade came sharp enough to shave. Not hair popping, but it did shave. I consider that sharp enough to use right out of the box. More importantly, the blade had a nice profile and could be resharpened at 30 degrees inclusive without any excessive reprofiling work. I appreciated that. I don't have any complaints about the factory edge. For the typical knife consumer, the BM factory edge is better than what will be maintained on the knife. For people who are more particular about their edges, there is always the Edge Pro, water stones, strops, etc. etc. You are going to be resharpening pretty soon anyway, so it's not much inconvenience to start off with a honing. However, a major reprofiling is more annoying to me (which I have had to do on new Kershaws, but not recently).

I think of the factory edge about the same way I think of the packaging that the knife comes in. It makes an impression at the time of purchase, but on a user knife it is soon forgotten and other aspects of the knife become far more important in the long run.
 
I agree. when I sent my Presidio auto back for an omega spring replacement, I made certain to put a piece of tape on the blade that said "please do not sharpen".

I still don't own any spyderco's. I have had a mili on the top of my list for months now. Just keeps getting bumped.... bought a mtn bike, vacation to bermuda, need a new backpack. anywho....
 
It would be nice to get a knife that is sharp out of the box, but I have yet to find one. I really don't judge knives by how sharp they are out of the box, since I have to sharpen them all anyway.
 
someone sent me a needs work and it came shaving sharp out of the box. i had to shine up the edge a little on the cardboard buffing wheel to make it scarry sharp but i was well pleased with it.
 
I would agree that Spyderco runs the sharpest factory edges, including the Byrds. That said, I have never received a bad factory edge from Benchmade or Buck for that matter. In fact, the only bad factory edge I have received was a Kershaw SG2 Blur - go figure.
 
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