Benchmade QC issues?

My mini Ritter is off center enough that it rubs the liner. Has horizontal blade play even with the pivot cranked down. It’s from the stop pin being too long that another member mentioned.
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This is after taking it apart and doing my best to center it. Granted, there’s enough blade play I can push it to the other liner, but it won’t stay there.
 
I remember that thread. That Infidel is ridiculous with that grind. Definitely a 2nd in my book. I understand that lemons can come from any company, but in my experience, I've had more perfect knives from other brands. I also understand that some of these issues don't really affect the function of the knife if you use it for its intent. On the other hand, like some others here, I'm extremely picky when it comes to blade centering, lockup, fit/finish and action of a knife.
 
M. Johnwell said:
My mini Ritter is off center enough that it rubs the liner. Has horizontal blade play even with the pivot cranked down. It’s from the stop pin being too long that another member mentioned.
iUrWFd2.jpg

This is after taking it apart and doing my best to center it. Granted, there’s enough blade play I can push it to the other liner, but it won’t stay there.
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If the knife is not that old, send it back to Benchmade. I hear they have excellent customer service. Maybe they can fix it for FREE.
 
I only have three Benchmade knives but overall I am very happy with this company. My Crooked River is perfect. My Foray has the aforementioned "left beef" but is otherwise a great knife that I am very rarely without. I just purchased a Bugout and used it quite a bit this week; the grind is slightly asymmetrical and the clip is quite tight but it is a great user and I'm now a big fan of this blade. I should mention that for all three knives, I bought the first one I looked at.

I'm sure there is merit to many (most?) of the Benchmade QC horror stories, but I've yet to see an example firsthand. I am going to stick with them, I really like their knives (not their prices though) and my experiences have been really good.
 
I had a couple with blades that were off center, but not rubbing the sides at all.
On two fixed blades, I had to sharpen the tip to get it to my standards.

But I have had to rework the tip on many knives from many companies.

Most of the Benchmade knives I've gotten have had perfect centering and very nicely done tips.

It is one of the brands that I feel confident buying "sight unseen" over the internet, although being able to check the knife in person is always preferable with any brand.
 
marrenmiller said:
If you can't find pictures or videos, you're not seriously looking. They're absolutely everywhere.

I've personally seen some of the kinds of nasty QC people are talking about. Benchmade is capable of making a nearly perfect production folder, but it occurs too infrequently from my experience to make purchasing a Benchmade nowadays a solid bet. Out of my 6 or 7 knives from them, a few have had issues including a touch of vertical blade play from undersized pivot barrels, horizontal play that can't be fixed without making the blade too tight to open, seriously uneven edges that were difficult and annoying to fix, and completely unfinished blade tangs that grind on the Axis lock bar and make opening and closing rough and difficult (this last one was on a custom built knife, incredibly enough). I've heard their recently made knives are getting better, but that hasn't quite been my experience so I'll reserve judgment until I see the state in which my new Presidio 2 arrives.

Regardless of what the actual rate of issues is, it sure seems a lot higher than with Spyderco or other high-end makers.
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Words not pictures,.slight blade play isn't a serious Qc issue. Things like I've heard doesn't really say or prove anything. Was just looking for some examples. Sure you can find some people on here chiming in but 99 percent are just words. Not even a picture that they even own a Benchmade.

My experience Benchmade makes a great product.
 
Jordan@DLT said:
I look at a ton of Benchmade's daily, for the most part the fit and finish is on par with other brands at their price point. Being slightly off center and slightly uneven grinds are the most typical issues, but they are not significantly more common than in other brands in my experience.
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Nicely put. I think the same.
 
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Heard about the BM infamous QC issues which actually prevent me from buying there stuff for awhile but I was into the bugout hype so I decided to try my luck.
Pretty bad grind. Almost a chisel grind lol. I could catch my nail on a 90 deg part. It’s quite the accomplishment for such a thin blade. But the blade was 90 percent centered so I reprofiled myself. Also tuned the action to improve.
So I guess I’m part of the problem. I should return it so they realize they have problems in their production.
But honestly I feel they must know. It must be more profitable to release all and run a good warranty. We may be a more picky bunch than their average consumer.
It’s ok with me because there are many brands out there for me to buy. Did I learn my lesson? Nah there is no lesson to be learn for me. Just if there is something I really want I will have to use a good dealer. People overseas cannot use BM warranty unless they want to pay ship both ways kekeke. I had another brand that did that, that’s great customer service.
 
Had this shipped to me when I ordered a Bugout. Returned and exchanged for another. This was about a year ago when the Bugout first came out. I have bought many knives since then, but not one of them has been or ever will be a Benchmade.

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It’s a good thing they have excellent customer service. They need it more than several companies.
 
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DRLyman said:
Had this shipped to me when I ordered a Bugout. Returned and exchanged for another. This was about a year ago when the Bugout first came out. I have bought many knives since then, but not one of them has been or ever will be a Benchmade.

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DRLyman DRLyman , is it me, or is that bugout actually missing a washer?!?
 
I really like Benchmade. They make great EDC style knives in a variety of sizes and slim profiles. I have come to like Benchmade designs more than most other companies, although lately there are only a few that I like. I have about 9 benchmade knives, and some are a little off center, but not very much. And its not on my top priority list being a knife user, not inspector. All of mine are good examples with no blade play. No comment on the sharpened edge symmetry, as I don't care much. I can fix some of those issues when I sharpen it myself.

Benchmade designs fit my EDC preferences more than most any other company, and centering is low on my QC checklist. So I happen to have more Benchmades than any other brand, and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Bladeplay is my primary concern, and I don't seem to have much trouble on that front, even after having tried more than 20 BM's over the years.

NOTE: I do now own any Benchmades manufactured within the last 2-3 years.
 
The idea that there are no QC problems at BM just because there aren’t any pictures of it is asinine. I believe that’s a logical fallacy called the appeal to ignorance. It’s bittersweet to see this thread starting to fill with those pictures.

Just because there aren’t any pictures of broken down Yugo’s doesn’t make them a reliable car.
 
Thanks to those who are actually posting their own pictures. While I haven't had issues from benchmade, if I got some of the things posted above, I'd be pissed and sending them back. Particularly that chisel type grind. No excuse for sending that one out.
 
DRLyman said:
Had this shipped to me when I ordered a Bugout. Returned and exchanged for another. This was about a year ago when the Bugout first came out. I have bought many knives since then, but not one of them has been or ever will be a Benchmade.

i-Xn7cgjm-X3.jpg
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Ohhh... That's a bad one.. The dreaded "longpin"?

I think that is the cause of a lot of the side to side bladeplay problems on BM knives.
 
Makael said:
Words not pictures,.slight blade play isn't a serious Qc issue. Things like I've heard doesn't really say or prove anything. Was just looking for some examples. Sure you can find some people on here chiming in but 99 percent are just words. Not even a picture that they even own a Benchmade.

My experience Benchmade makes a great product.
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Funny, I saw this and thought, “I bet this is the OP” sure enough.

If your so assured of your thoughts on Benchmade. Why even start the thread?
 
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Jordan@DLT said:
I look at a ton of Benchmade's daily, for the most part the fit and finish is on par with other brands at their price point. Being slightly off center and slightly uneven grinds are the most typical issues, but they are not significantly more common than in other brands in my experience.
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For the record, should I interpret this as a, “yes, to a certain degree, more issue on Benchmade than other brands.”? Just not to a significant margin?
 
P2P said:
For the record, should I interpret this as a, “yes, to a certain degree, more issue on Benchmade than other brands.”? Just not to a significant margin?
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No discernable difference between them and other comparable brands when it comes to fit and finish issues.
 
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