Benchmade Quality

M

McGuyver

Joined
Aug 18, 1999
Messages
30
Has Benchmade quality improved? I recently sold both a Sentinel and an AFCK that were several years old. I sold them because I thought that the quality was not up to par, especially given the price. I am interested in the 720 Axis lock. It looks good, but is the quality consistent?

Do they really merit being more expensive than say a Spyderco?
 
If you get a chance, just check any knife you buy thoroughly. In my experience, Benchmade can be inconsistent. If you inspect a knife before you buy, you can get a real winner. The latest Axis Locks I have seen had a wonderful fit and finish. I think you will be happy if you get one.
 
If you get a chance, just check any knife you buy thoroughly. In my experience, Benchmade can be inconsistent. If you inspect a knife before you buy, you can get a real winner. The latest Axis Locks I have seen had a wonderful fit and finish. I think you will be happy if you get one.
 
I just bought a 720 and was able to handle 4 or 5. All showed consistently good fit and finish. The mini AFCK's on the other hand that I looked at were not as consistent with the liner lock engagement being all over the place on the 4 examples I examined
 
When Benchmade gets it right it's good, but they don't always get it right. My 710 is a beaut, oen of the tightest lock-ups. But I had a Sentinel I had to send back because the tang wasn't long enough to fully engage the liner lock. My AFCK was great, but the blade on my Stryker has started to lean to one side. IMO, check out BMs if you can first, but when you do get a good one, is it ever good!

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"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n"
John Milton
There are only two types of people; those who understand this, and those who think they do.
 
My unscientific sampling has shown current production Benchmades to be more consistenly good, out of the box, than what I experienced a couple of years ago when I was sending a bunch of them in for warranty service.

And when you do have a QC problem, they'll fix it.

All knife manufacturers are fallible, and I've shipped knives back to the service departments of very respectable companies.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
I bought an M2 Stryker recently that was perfect in every way. Honestly , I have never
come across a bad one , although I know they
exist.
 
well I'm still bitter because I picked up a mel pardue double edge only to find out that the swedge is ground wrong. I took it back and another 4 more were ground wrong. the sixth one I looked at was ground right.

also on there "were so perfect" ad the one there is also ground wrong
smile.gif
 
The BM 720 restored my faith in Benchmade after two less than inspiring experiences (mini AFCK and the Eclipse). Very nicely fit and finished.
 
Hi, here's some input from The Netherlands, the place were you have to pay $200 for a plain edge Benchmade AFCK. Well I bought mine from Discount knives (perfect service Brian has) some 15 months ago and it performed beautifully until I saw 2 cracks developping in the aft black plastic spacer.
I emailed benchmade and quickly got a reply saying to just send it in, don't worry about return postage and just tell them what I found to be "wrong".
I sent it over and 3 weeks later received an Airmail insured package (postage $15 !!) with a note saying they replaced the spacer, TiN liners G10 gripplates and Clip + all screws. The only thing left that was original was the Blade and they polished it over and unlucky me resharpened it.
It took me a good hour and a half with my Lansky Diamond hones to get the angle back correctly on both sides to Lansky's 25 degree.
In short, I have no real experience with variances in their knives but I find the Benchmade garantuee PERFECT.
That's all folks from The Netherlands, keep them sharp, Bagheera

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The 710, 720 have restored my faith in Benchmade as well (is this a reoccuring theme or what?!).

I had bad experiences with just about every BM liner lock I bought (early production Sentinel, M-2 mini-AFCK and a replacement for a 330). That's 3 out 5 older knives (the other two were an Eclipse and a full sized AFCK - they were both excellent).

My new 710 is just about perfect and FWIW all of the BM's I've handled lately (liner/frame locks included) seem up to par.

Either way, you should always thoroughly examine *any* folder from *any* maker (custom or production) before laying down that hard earned cash...

Jon
 
We performed a folding knife test and found that the large Benchmade Ascent was failing the whack test with regularity. Every knife we had in stock would fail, each time it was tested.

We posted these results here, discussed it with Benchmade, and now just a few months later that problem has been fixed. In my opinion, that's exactly what should happen: Identify the problem and fix it.

Spark

So, in my eyes

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Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Benchmade also replaced the spacer on my AFCK. They claimed the original material wasn't holding up so they replaced it with a Delrin spacer which worked fine. They also cleaned and sharpened my knife and returned it, all at no charge. The lock on that knife is superb. After all the opening and closing (no snap open's) for three years, the liner still engages the blade in exactly the same place. I sure wish I hadn't sold that knife!

Bruce Woodbury
 
I received my new M2 mini-AFCK the other week... The fit is good, the blade has no play, the blade is very sharp and the pivot is much smoother than my Spydercos.

Erik
 
I recently purchased a 710 that had two types of G10 handles. The clip side has the newer type handle with the rounded edges, while the opposite side has the older, squared edges. The clip is the old style, and the springs seem weaker (one broken, maybe?) than newer Axis locks. I sent to Benchmade immediately. We'll see how it turns out. I never thought I'd have to QC the Axis, but ya never know. It seems this one was made during the transition to the newer models (although it is a 1 of 1,000 G-10 model). HMMMMM.

Later,
Chris
 
I went to a local knife store today with the intentions of buying a plainedge pinnacle. The store had three in stock and all three had cosiderable blade play. They had one in stock that was partially serrated and it locked up tight as a drum, but I wanted plainedge. I then decided that I would look at the AFCK's. I have an older one that is perfect. I thought I might pick up one in M-2. The liners on several of their stock moved over almost to the other side. The liners also seemed thinner than the ones on my older AFCK (I could be wrong about this because I wasn't carrying my AFCK at the time). I ended up getting a 710 that was perfect. My older benchmades (AFCK, 970, and 975) were perfect. I always think that ideally one should handle a knife before it is bought. I also realize that in alot of cases this isn't possible. It just seems that the Spyderco's I have been buying lately seem to be above par with benchmade.

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Dennis Bible
Knoxville, Tennessee

I forgot to mention that the 720s they had in stock were perfect. These are very nice and on my list of must haves.




[This message has been edited by shootist16 (edited 13 December 1999).]
 
I recently biught an M2 stryker it acvtually just came in yesterday and it was kinda defected the blade is leaning off too one side just like you stated earlier and it isnt that sharp and the liner lock is kinda wazy any suggestions on what I could do to make it better?

PLEASE EMAIL ME AT

Hero47@juno.com


THANXXX
 
All the 720s that I have handled have been of the highest quality. I had the chance to recommend one to a very nice lady out Christmas shopping this weekend. I checked all the ones in stock at the store we were at, and all were consistently good. Her husband is in for a pleasant surprise come Christmas morning.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
I, too, have never had a problem with a BM
knife...and I've bought several over the net.
 
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