Benchmade pricing seems to have changed

[kyhunt]

Well after reading all these pages maybe I picked the wrong time to start looking at Benchmade.

 

[cchu518]

What they should be doing is mini runs....a "classic" line and making more afck's, nagara's with no HD logos and 750's and the like! And upcharge on their new technology.

 

[rajincagin]

What does a person's large Gold class and custom collection have to do with posting in this thread or not? That was not the point, rather the people that spend over $200 on a knife are not your typical demographic, we are a minority (many manufacturers have already stated this).

Posting in this thread isn't by any means a qualifier of anything more than being an active member and wanting to join a discussion. Benchmade has not had a presence on here for long, it's also hard to judge who ownes what around here. Being new to the forums yourself, you've missed some pretty insane collector threads. You don't seem to be grasping the overall idea conveyed.



Again, no one is saying that. Your going to extremes and presenting very drastic, sweeping examples. The truth is, none of us know what next year will bring, or next quarter. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to place a bet on one thing or another. It's too soon to tell, but pulling the discounts right before Christmas wasn't the brightest idea in my opinion. Had they announced it say on December 1st that starting in 2014 the codes would be disappearing, that might have gone over smoother than the ton of bricks this thread is. If people want to buy them like before that's cool. But, many will think twice and possibly pass.

Like jkarp I too had started only buying the LEs. Not much was grabbing my attention, and it looks like it might stay that way for me.

Uh what? Saying this forum is only representative of the knife buying community is going to "extremes?" That don't even make sense, I guess I'll just stop posting because apparently I'm not smart enough to discuss on your level, oh and yeah, sorry I forgot, new members aren't entitled to opinions, sorry masta...

 

[RevDevil]

Uh what? Saying this forum is only representative of the knife buying community is going to "extremes?" That don't even make sense, I guess I'll just stop posting because apparently I'm not smart enough to discuss on your level, oh and yeah, sorry I forgot, new members aren't entitled to opinions, sorry masta...

Relax there champ, no need to get yourself into a a mess. I was simply trying to offer some clarification and explanation of what I meant. If my post evoked this kind of reply from you, I really don't know what to tell you.

 

[dogboye]

I don't agree that the 14C28N holds an edge as well as 154CM. I have a blur in this steel and have found that to definitely not be true. I'm sure the CPM 154 is another story though.

Now the blade coating on the Blur is in a whole other universe, so was the perfect edge that came on the blade.

Some serious competition out there, time to step up their game at these new non discounted prices.

I guess my experience is just different. Admittedly, the 14C28N is in the Leek and a R.A.M. But they have definitely held their edge as good as or better than BM's 154CM. Not sure why the discrepancy in experiences.

 

[Boogaloo]

I guess my experience is just different. Admittedly, the 14C28N is in the Leek and a R.A.M. But they have definitely held their edge as good as or better than BM's 154CM. Not sure why the discrepancy in experiences.

I wonder if the bm's poor edge retention is simply due to a poor initial sharpening...

 

[Irishtoaster]

I was planning to buy 2 BM 51s and a 940 from KW for 470 or so. Now it's 640 or so which is ridiculous. At 230 a piece for the 51s I may as well be upgrading to a balisong that's 50$ more since the Kimura will be gone by next Summer which is when I can buy them (I live in Europe, the prices here are terrible and there are legality issues for balis in my particular country so they require disassembly and I'll be in the US to buy them) I won't even bother with the 940 at 180 since it's only aluminium. Benchmade has lost 470$ from me if they don't reverse this price increase.

 

[jkarp_53]

I wonder if the bm's poor edge retention is simply due to a poor initial sharpening...

I've found that most knives gain better retention after the first re-sharpening. Here at home my best friend is an Edge Pro Apex. With S30V for example, a 320 grit edge works really well.

 

[richstag]

Haha. Just my luck. As soon as I break away from Custom Eki's and Sebenza's to find the "value" of Benchmade the prices go up.

Too bad Benchmade did this.

Collectors shouldn't be too upset. Just inflated values for resale IMO.

Anyhow, I for one hope this turns around. My like of Benchmade was the fact they seemed to really standout for modern materials, quality and heat treat all at a price the working man may cringe at but be able to afford. Oh well. What do I know anyhow. I'm new to Benchmade.

 

[dfsutton]

Uh what? Saying this forum is only representative of the knife buying community is going to "extremes?" That don't even make sense, I guess I'll just stop posting because apparently I'm not smart enough to discuss on your level, oh and yeah, sorry I forgot, new members aren't entitled to opinions, sorry masta...

You give people from Louisiana a bad name. Will you just shut your mouth and stop trying to argue with absolutely everyone?

 

[dogboye]

I wonder if the bm's poor edge retention is simply due to a poor initial sharpening...

Could be. Not sure. I haven't had to reset the edge on a KAI yet, they cut so well. Just touch them up. Almost all of my Benchmades have had the edge reset, except my last two, a Contego and Rift. Contego has actually been fairly impressive for edge holding, although I've been unimpressed with the Cerakote.

I've found that most knives gain better retention after the first re-sharpening. Here at home my best friend is an Edge Pro Apex. With S30V for example, a 320 grit edge works really well.

Maybe. All my sharpening is either freehand or Sharpmaker. I can't say any of my knives have shown better edge retention after I reset the edge. Maybe cut longer because I tend to make the angle shallower, thinner. But can't say I've noticed edge holding improve. YMMV and all those caveats.

 

[shawn_ray]

Frankly, I'm more concerned about Benchmade turning out quality products, introducing new products, designs and technologies. I see it lacking in all those areas right now and that will eventually hurt it financially.

I agree. It's been years that they came out with a new catalog and a design that grabbed my attention. BM saved me a lot of money in the last 3 years since I don't like any of their new stuff. When they come up with new exiting designs it's usually a gold class and not affordable or at least not worth it to me. Look at the price of the new 586-141 . Ridiculous!

 

[RamZar]

When they come up with new exiting designs it's usually a gold class and not affordable or at least not worth it to me. Look at the price of the new 586-141 . Ridiculous!

Beyond ridiculous... More like financial insanity!

It's difficult to make sense of Benchmade's various decisions the past couple of years.

I had Benchmade restore links to their past catalogs and I went through their "New Products" of past catalogs for the past 3 years. Utterly disappointing!!! Variations on themes or bad acquisitions or bad introductions. Reminds me of an absentee landlord.

I wish Benchmade well but it NEEDS a jolt!

 

[skyhorse]

Uh what? Saying this forum is only representative of the knife buying community is going to "extremes?" That don't even make sense, I guess I'll just stop posting because apparently I'm not smart enough to discuss on your level, oh and yeah, sorry I forgot, new members aren't entitled to opinions, sorry masta...

Lol,chill out, No need to get excited.

Moved to the appropriate sub forum.

 

[fzla226]

Kershaw can really take advantage of this . But all kershaw want to do is make budget knives that are made in China . kershaw can make knives like the Blur , Skyline , leek , and many other for $60 or less why not make newer models and upgrade the blade steel . Better steel makes them more expensive $80 to $125 Ill pay that . I don't think ill ever pay MAP price for a 940 or other benchmade knives . I know they have ZT but not every one like to carry a tactical knife as an edc knife .

The way Kershaw make knives is pretty different from Benchmade. BM make everything to fill orders, their factory is set up so that if a dealer orders 20 green handled griptilians they can make 40 that day and make 20 contegos, and 25 710s, etc that same day. Kershaw do their productions in runs, where they focus on a specific model for a given time. This is because they have a lot of specific deadlines to meet with retailers and such (walmart is probably their biggest customer). So lower volume knives don't make as much sense to them unless you're talking about the ZT knives, which a lot of aren't super tactical anymore, but there does seem to be a deadspot between the 150 or so that ZT knives start at and the 60 or so kershaws regular lines go up to. They do have a lot of limited runs though that fit what you're talking about. Like that CPM 154 blur that you could get for about $100 with a handle with carbon fiber inlays or cheaper with a purple or toxic green alum handle (amazing deal for that BTW) or that BF run of skylines in S30v.

 

[southernknives]

I agree. It's been years that they came out with a new catalog and a design that grabbed my attention. BM saved me a lot of money in the last 3 years since I don't like any of their new stuff. When they come up with new exiting designs it's usually a gold class and not affordable or at least not worth it to me. Look at the price of the new 586-141 . Ridiculous!

I also agree, Benchmade has lost their mind with the Gold Class prices.
Just absolutely absurd. Not knocking anyone who buys one, but I never see myself buying one.

 

[cchu518]

Market forces will rule in this case. Personally though out of the 5 benchies I've ever owned I only purchased one new. I do t think it would affect me. There's plenty of knives in the secondary so long as the hoarder/collectors dont try to do 200% markups which some are known to do.

 

[loonybin]

The Blur, Skyline, and Leek, with 14C28N don't need steel upgrades. IME, that grade of Sandvik is equal to Benchmades 154CM in edge-holding, if not superior. And, in the last year, I bought two Blurs with CPM154, each for under $100. Which is a big upgrade in steel from BM's 154CM. Plus, each had the DLC blade coating, unlike BM's black coating, or Cerakote, which seems to wear even worse than BM's old black coating. No, what I see is BM often offering less than other companies, and now charging plenty more. They use to offer the best value in knives. Now, they're just overpriced.

I have a hard time equating 154CM and 14C28N. The Sandvik steel has no tungsten, vanadium, or molybdenum, so all things being equal (blade geometry, bevel, etc.), it's wear resistance is going to be less than 154CM. The CPM154 is a different matter. I'll take the powder version any day of the week.

If Kershaw would come out with an ambidextrous lock and use 154CM as their base steel, they could really clean up against the Griptilian line. Heck, I'd love to try out a Blur with an ambidextrous lock!

 

[RetiredGuns]

I posted a few knives for trade recently with 2 being a Ritter & 940. Nobody wanted to trade but they sure wanted to buy the Benchmades. The offers were what I would consider low especially given the increased prices. I love to give people good deals, but not $100 for LNIB 940. Lucky for me I guess that the only BMs that catch my eye are 9xxs and mini-grips.

 

[cchu518]

The biggest problem with the mini grips and pricongg is that they are commoditized because there are so many out there. There is usually always going to be a good deal on a mini grip at some point. Plus the 154 they use is excellent already in the plain Jane version.