BenchMade Quality

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KnifeBelly

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Mar 7, 2017
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Some Benchmade knives seem amazing, but youtubers like Nick Shabazz have stated that Benchmade's Quality Control can leave much to be desired...

I've never handled a Benchmade knife and I'm concerned about sinking too much money in doing so. Does anyone have any recommendations based on their own experiences? I'd love to hear them.
 
Some good, some bad. The Infidel is definitely not their brightest moment but they have to appeal to a more booming customer base.
 
I would say that it is true. I got a griptillian that the blade would rub on the handle. Short story, i had to send it in twice cuz they didnt fix it the first time and paid for my shipping. Now its all good though.

What im trying to say is that while wuality control kinda does suck their customer service is polite and will get you sorted.
 
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The ones I've owned had issues like dull factory edges and centering. But one could say a knife is meant to be sharpened and centering doesn't affect the function. In the end I wouldn't hesitate to buy one that catches my eye.
 
Guess I'm lucky. My first was a full size grip 550. It was so amazing to have an axis. It was done to perfection so I ordered a 940bk and carried it for about 5 months it was so flawless my wife had to talk me into carrying it and using it i was trying to sade queen it for some reason probably because it was the most expensive knives I ever bought. She told me if I mess it up she'd just buy me a new one. After a while I wanted the best of the 940. So I ordered the 940-1. Another perfect knife. Light as a feather. It's still my excuse after a solid year and a half looks new still. I took it to things remembered at the mall an engraving place and had ' Your my best friend' on one side and 'I love you dada' as requested by my 6year old for father's day. It was kinda hard at first to engrave on the quality steel but I thought oh he'll you only live once and benchmade gives new blades for 30 bucks. Anyway I also wanted the 710 so I got one and it was great also. The few my other psycho knife friend has are 100% also. But I hear it's an issue for some. Just had to post my experience. Benchmades price tag is a tough pill to swallow and I doubt I'd buy any 2017 blades but I still like the older models 810,943,adamas,small hidden creek, bedlam, and many more.
Good luck.
Oh and the last thing is buy from anybody and if not right send it in. The warranty is uniquely bomb.
 
I think the anti-hype about Benchmade quality has been drastically overstated. There are a few people out there who complain about the quality control on Benchmade knives and they manage to do it very loudly. :). People who are satisfied with the quality of their Benchmade knives generally aren't going to argue vociferously about it. A few loud voices create an "impression" and an "impression" leads to an internet myth. A singular experience with one knife becomes a statement for an entire brand. Not a very analytical, rational or impartial way to develop an opinion.

I've owned more than 25 Benchmades over the years. The minor quality issues I've had with them have been no more significant than other similar manufacturers. I think the weakness of Benchmade is when they have quality issues they tend to be obvious; off center blades, dull edges. Fortunately, those flaws are are easily corrected by an owner with a little elbow grease and/or skill. These are production knives made in the USA, afterall. I've never had a Benchmade that wasn't "right" or couldn't be made right with a little initiative on my part.

The Benchmade "Quality Myth" is largely a tempest in a teapot.
 
^^^ Great post brother.
I also think those 'claims' are blown out of proportion.
If we are to believe what's been posted, Omega springs are shooting out of every BM knife ever produced.
I have ~ 30 BMs, about half second hand, and haven't seen one broken spring. All my knives are flicked obsessively!!
Also don't understand how people say blade play is normal with Axis locks, not on any of mine.
The last 6 or 7 new ones I bought had fantastic edges on them also. Heard a million times how all BMs are delivered butter knife dull. Crooked River, 761, Cutlery Shoppe Exclusive Rift, KSF Exclusive 908 & a Mini Reflex have been my most recent, and brand new, purchases. Every single one push cut phone book paper out of the box. Screaming sharp!
No fanboy here, just stating my experience with them.
Joe
 
Some of you should work in a production place.. I have - as an engineer daily trying to prevent , find reasons for , and correct production problems. Yes , some have called me hard nosed but unless you work hard at it you'll see quality continue to drop !
The best I've seen was when ,making spaceship things was when an astronaught spent just 30 minutes walking through the factory. Quality Jumped !!
 
Tere has been a lot of complaint about Benchmade QC on forums and in videos but as far as I am concerned I never had to complain.
At the moment I own a 943BLK, a 940-1, a mini griptilian, a large griptilian and all have a good quality level.

I think the bad buzz with BM QC is amplified by some reaction to their price policy.... not saying they don't have problems, every production company have, but so far I have seen nothing that put a red flag on BM for me.... except their prices...:)
 
palonej said:
^^^ Great post brother.
I also think those 'claims' are blown out of proportion.
If we are to believe what's been posted, Omega springs are shooting out of every BM knife ever produced.
I have ~ 30 BMs, about half second hand, and haven't seen one broken spring. All my knives are flicked obsessively!!
Also don't understand how people say blade play is normal with Axis locks, not on any of mine.
The last 6 or 7 new ones I bought had fantastic edges on them also. Heard a million times how all BMs are delivered butter knife dull. Crooked River, 761, Cutlery Shoppe Exclusive Rift, KSF Exclusive 908 & a Mini Reflex have been my most recent, and brand new, purchases. Every single one push cut phone book paper out of the box. Screaming sharp!
No fanboy here, just stating my experience with them.
Joe
Click to expand...

This is basically my Benchmade experience in a nut shell, though I will say that my experience with out of the box sharpness (which doesn't matter to me, I sharpen everything anyway) has been poor. I've purchased many new Benchmades that were too dull to cut paper.

If I had a complaint about Benchmade it would be that their pricing change made a lot of their knives a lot less appealing. At this point I think that buying them second hand really is the way to go.
 
Agreed Greg. I'd have to say around 15% -20% less is what I think would be fair.
Joe
 
I've had hit and miss QC with Benchmade. The good thing is that they have a great warranty, so you can buy with confidence, IMO.
 
Something similar to the Omega spring thing happened to SIG just because of a few flaws in a few pistols. Suddenly every SIG p226 in the world was a fall apart piece of junk, regardless of the thousands working without a hitch.

If it's made by man, no matter how good it is, it can break. Bad runs of any product can happen. However, the issues like blades rubbing scales and bad sharpening jobs are unacceptable. For Benchmade money I expect someone to visibly and carefully inspect every knife. None of my BMs ever had an issue. I quit buying Benchmade around 2010 because for my needs I found I can get other knives of sufficient quality for cheaper, so I can't speak to post 2010 quality.

They do have a warranty so I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I've never gotten a lemon from benchmade. But buy from a reputable dealer. My biggest complaint is them going to MAP which makes the value of some of their knives questionable.
I've had to send in my Grizzly Creek in three times for broken springs, got it back within a week and put a new edge on it. I've always had to fiddle around with the pivot because it'll get wobbly or be too ti ght.
 
MarkN86 said:
Something similar to the Omega spring thing happened to SIG just because of a few flaws in a few pistols. Suddenly every SIG p226 in the world was a fall apart piece of junk, regardless of the thousands working without a hitch.

If it's made by man, no matter how good it is, it can break. Bad runs of any product can happen. However, the issues like blades rubbing scales and bad sharpening jobs are unacceptable. For Benchmade money I expect someone to visibly and carefully inspect every knife. None of my BMs ever had an issue. I quit buying Benchmade around 2010 because for my needs I found I can get other knives of sufficient quality for cheaper, so I can't speak to post 2010 quality.

They do have a warranty so I wouldn't worry about it.
Click to expand...

Nick doesn't bag on them about omega springs he bags on them about bad grinds, un-centered blades, and blade play. *shrug*
 
I have 3 Benchmades and I couldn't speak more highly of them. No quality control issues, but I buy mine from a local dealer and check them out first. I've broken 2 pocket clips, and their customer service is awesome. I just emailed them what knife I had and my address, and they mailed them to me, no questions asked. I wouldn't hesitate to order one if you don't have a dealer. To me, their warranty is worth some extra cost, depending on the knife.
 
I personally have not had any issues with the benchmades I've purchased but I also headed the advice of forum members and some of the more well respected youtubers and bought local, or 2nd hand on the forums so the original owner was able to evaluate it for me before I bought it.

Unfortunately, quality is one of those things that you don't hear much of until it's a problem and since they've had some problems recently, you're hearing about it. The quality issues are higher than they should be but the big concern for people is that you're paying a little extra for a benchmade because of the quality so when we get the smaller defects, it's a bitter taste. Sure, most are easy fixes but we shouldn't have to do the fix. Of course, there are always those that will get our with being inspected since 100% inspection is often very costly for production environments unless it can be machine expected, like a metal detector in the food industry but even they allow some to pass through.

To me, the axis lock and after purchase care that benchmade gives is worth it to me. Between the lifesharp program and their willingness to replace blades (at a cost), I feel confident in purchasing a knife that is designed to be maintained, and repaired so it should last me a really long time, even if I abuse it on occasion.
 
My experience is limited but I'd like to share. In total I have bought four Benchmade folders in the following order for last two years or so: 810-1401, 710-1401, 940-1501, and lg ritter grip in M390 (all knifeworks exclusives). Except the 710, all were bought directly from the dealer. The 710 had slight side-to-side blade play and the blade was a bit off centered when I picked it up here from the Exchange. With some adjustment, however, it has been dead centered with zero blade play and open/close smoothly.

Except with some uneven bevels (which is not uncommon for most production folders maybe except Hinderer and CRK), all the other three have been flawless from day one.

So, my experience with Benchmade has been very positive, on par with ZT and Spyderco.
 
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