Benchmade out of the box sharpness

[Dergyll]

If you look closely at the BMs, they are definitely finished with a rougher edge than spydercos (and Civivis for that matter). They cut, but I would say if you plan on keeping the knife to use, to sharpen it again. The sharpest knife I got from them might be my old contego actually, but pales in comparison to a Spyderco Mule...which was a scalpel.

 

[timberweasel]

I've heard the claim infrequently tossed about here and there about how some manufacturers intentionally ship dull knives so customers may put their own edge on them. With the exception of blade blanks, I think such claims are ridiculous nonsense--the bug is not a feature.

As to the frequent comparison of Benchmade to Spyderco, well here goes:

Being able to consistently put a good edge on a knife is a skill, and like all skills in life, it takes time and practice to develop. According to Wiki, Benchmade has 380 employees whereas Spyderco employs 84. Even if these numbers are out-of-date, I think the ratio is on point and we can safely assume that BM is a much bigger company with the expected higher employee turn-around rate. This might explain why Spyderco is able to achieve greater consistency in both workmanship and QC than Benchmade--their employees stick around long enough to 'get good.' I've had excellent specimens from Benchmade as well, but in terms of consistency, Spyderco blows them out of the water.

Just my 2¢...

 

[awjones]

Thank God I dodged a bullet.

My mini grip was my worst Benchmade, and I have maybe 6 or 7. I wasn’t too chuffed as I figured the mini grip was their entry level knife.

All my others came near flawless and very, very sharp.

 

[soc_monki]

I've heard the claim infrequently tossed about here and there about how some manufacturers intentionally ship dull knives so customers may put their own edge on them. With the exception of blade blanks, I think such claims are ridiculous nonsense--the bug is not a feature.

As to the frequent comparison of Benchmade to Spyderco, well here goes:

Being able to consistently put a good edge on a knife is a skill, and like all skills in life, it takes time and practice to develop. According to Wiki, Benchmade has 380 employees whereas Spyderco employs 84. Even if these numbers are out-of-date, I think the ratio is on point and we can safely assume that BM is a much bigger company with the expected higher employee turn-around rate. This might explain why Spyderco is able to achieve greater consistency in both workmanship and QC than Benchmade--their employees stick around long enough to 'get good.' I've had excellent specimens from Benchmade as well, but in terms of consistency, Spyderco blows them out of the water.

Just my 2¢...

Spyderco also uses robots to sharpen the blades, at the Golden factory anyway. But I've only ever gotten one spyderco that wasn't good enough to me. My Magnitude. It was 2nd hand though. Still, the angle was too high so I lowered it and it's a razor now. Benchmade uses humans to sharpen so you will get inconsistent bevels and differing angles, nature of the beast. I've only had one that was not sharp oob though, which was my 20cv Griptilian. It just took a couple swipes and it was hair popping. My new custom Griptilian is perfect in every way, no play, drop shut, centered, good coarse edge that shaves hair. Absolutely no complaints, and my fourth custom, 14th benchmade, and im perfectly happy with them.

I only wish they would implement SelectEdge on all their knives... My saddle mountain skinner was the sharpest knife oob I've ever seen. And also, obligatory picture of the new Grip.

 

[DMG]

Yeah looks at us now. 90% of cars I see are some sort of crossover vehicle with no gender identity. Which drives the muscle car prices up even further. Yay
Back then you could get a roadrunner with a 383 4 barrel, bench seat, 4 speed and roll up windows for under $3,000. Now (men and women alike) everyone wants to be a soccer mom and drive a crossover, because they’re not sure what’s in between their legs.

And a 2010 V6 Camry, Accord or similar will out accelerate, outhandle and stop faster than that roadrunner. For 200,000 miles.

 

[Alberta Ed]

My Benchmades have all come with shaving sharp factory edges. I generally hone them a bit so they're hair-popping sharp.

 

[TheEdge01]

I’ve owned over two dozen Benchmades and have mixed experiences with factory edges. The absolute sharpest was the AFO2 and the dullest was a Large Griptilian. Regardless of how sharp or dull the factory edge is, I prefer to do my own sharpening anyway.

 

[brownshoe]

I bought a Lerch at Xmas. It was sharp out of the box and the 154cm has stayed that way.