Benchmade quality

Sharp & Fiery said:
Also OP, find a CRK on the exchange for a few hundred and you will never buy another BM.
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There's no reason why they can't co-exist ;)

I'll admit, I'm not a fan of a lot of Benchmade designs but this Contego is an absolute beast and I don't love it any less after getting my Inkosi. The M4 holds an edge forever, ergos are great for me and it's made to be used. Not much that I can complain about it.
 
Chevy vs Ford again :)

I also have a lot of Benchmade, Spyderco, Reeves, ZT and others. I’m not brand fixed I buy the designs I like and don’t buy the designs that do nothing for me.

Honestly they all are nice knives and none of them are perfect 100% of the time.

Personally, I’ve had so few small issues over the years I could only maybe remember two or three minor fit/finish/lock issues out of several dozen knives bought.
 
I haven't bought a Benchmade in a while, but I have quite a few and they are all excellent in quality.

I've used my Rukus 610 hard -- including a lot of chopping -- for many years as an EDC, and it's still rock solid. Not many knives can do that. I quickly destroyed the blade of a large Cold Steel Voyager doing the same thing.

In addition, my limited experience with Benchmade's customer service has been very good. I like Spyderco, Zero Tolerance, CRK, some Cold Steels and others a lot, but my Benchmades are always right up there with the best.
 
I'm generally not a brand loyal person to begin. I sold all my Benchmades ~2014 because of quality issues and price gouging and MAP.

Recently, they have been supporting the wrong kind of politicians. In "restructuring," they dropped both Doug Ritter (major knife rights dude) and H&K. Their loss, as Hogue picked both up, and IMO, make a better knife.

I own and have owned production, semi-custom, and custom knives. The only production company I keep coming back to is Spyderco. I've owned a ton, and have yet to need to send one in for service.

I have four currently;

First gen Gayle Bradley
Manix 2
Domino
Yojimbo 2

Personally, I did not find the Sebenza to be the bee's knees.
 
Back when I wanted to by a BM I went to a local sporting goods store. I dunno if it was just that store or if BM sends all it's rejects to Canada? But every knife I tried except the a Griptilian had bad vertical blade play. The salesman told me it wasn't an issue because after buying the knife I could send it in at they will "fix it" :rolleyes: For one, who the heck want's to spend that kind of money just to instantly warranty it. And two being a Canadian why would I want to risk my brand new knife getting seized by a over zealous boarder agent?

At another store they had a slightly older liner lock flipper style. I think maybe a 320? Again I wasn't that impressed by the thickness of the liner and felt like it was a bit crude for such an expensive knife.

I eventually did get a BM, but their politics left a bad taste in my mouth. :thumbsdown:
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
R RCFL

The pocket clip on the Sebenza is one of the most secure pocket clips on the market.
Maybe its time for a Sebenza and a belt sheath? Then there will be no pocket for it to get lost out of?
Why not own a great tool? I dont buy Black & Decker brand because im afraid I’ll drop my drill. I buy Hilti tools cause they are best for the job.
Do yourself a huge favor, and spurge for that sebbie. If you hate it, someone will buy it off you. :D
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Funny, I just got my first sebenza 21 a couple weeks ago. I love the knife very much and wont ever be getting rid of it, but I think the pocket clip is it's only real weakness. Since it rides on the lockbar any real good spring tention makes it a bear to open. And if you weaken it, it doesn't hold very securely. I figure the inkosi has better clip placement but I'm not sure. Yet...
 
RCFL said:
This may have been bounced around in the past and if so, please 'scuse me and let me know and I'll delete the message. We'll both move on to something else.
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Just to let you know, it has. Off to some other manufacturer you should happily go.

That one was easy.

Ol' Vel, giving hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless and clues to the clueless.
 
Kaibab270 said:
Funny, I just got my first sebenza 21 a couple weeks ago. I love the knife very much and wont ever be getting rid of it, but I think the pocket clip is it's only real weakness. Since it rides on the lockbar any real good spring tention makes it a bear to open. And if you weaken it, it doesn't hold very securely. I figure the inkosi has better clip placement but I'm not sure. Yet...
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Its actually not the clip that causes to much tension on the lockbar. Its the lockbar tension itself...do an experiment...remove the pocket clip, and see if that lockbar is still super tense. :)
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
Its actually not the clip that causes to much tension on the lockbar. Its the lockbar tension itself...do an experiment...remove the pocket clip, and see if that lockbar is still super tense. :)
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I'll have to give it another shot. I've messed with the spring tention a little but I dont remember if I tried it without the clip all together. If it's not the clip then I'm gunna bend the crap out of it. I like a very tight clip. Anyways i dont mean to derail the OP's thread so on that note, the black finish on my benchmade clip is terrible. I dont even carry it and the clip looks 10 years old.
 
cbrstar said:
Back when I wanted to by a BM I went to a local sporting goods store. I dunno if it was just that store or if BM sends all it's rejects to Canada? But every knife I tried except the a Griptilian had bad vertical blade play. The salesman told me it wasn't an issue because after buying the knife I could send it in at they will "fix it" :rolleyes: For one, who the heck want's to spend that kind of money just to instantly warranty it. And two being a Canadian why would I want to risk my brand new knife getting seized by a over zealous boarder agent?

At another store they had a slightly older liner lock flipper style. I think maybe a 320? Again I wasn't that impressed by the thickness of the liner and felt like it was a bit crude for such an expensive knife.

I eventually did get a BM, but their politics left a bad taste in my mouth. :thumbsdown:
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As longtime member Mqqn once said:

"If you make it right, you won't have to 'make it right'."

That's my philosophy, if I buy a brand new knife, if it's subpar, it goes back to the store.

I avoid brands/models with known QC issues.
 
gadgetgeek said:
When comparing apples to alligators
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LOL. I always thought it was apples to oranges. Alligators sound like a more interesting match up.

BTW, did you know alligators love marshmallows:
?

And for what it's worth, I love my BM's, warts and all.
 
It's true, Benchmade has shot themselves in the foot many times over the past few years but, what can you do about it? Nothing.
I don't think BM went out of its way to offend the average knife owner. There is no question many have been offended by BM's actions, though. Myself included.

Personally, I have never had a major problem with anything from Benchmade. I love their Axis Lock and would consider another if needed. However, there is very little produced by BM that I really need. More importantly, there is even less of their products that I like enough to purchase.
 
blades&wrenches said:
LOL, nice!

I wrote Benchmade off a while back due to inconsistencies in assembly/F&F. For what you pay, they need to do better. They’re nice enough when you get a good example, but there is better out there.
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Agreed. And much of it is coming from overseas.
 
Some benchmades are overpriced as hell. But saying they cant match up to other companies is a bit of an exaggeration. They arent that much more expensive, especially on the secondary market that most of us enjoy.

Quality does seem to be a hit or miss sometimes though. I've never personally had any, but I've seen tons.
 
On the Benchmade knives I own I can find no real issue with outside of one lose pivot that needed some loctite, and a couple with center a hair off. For me the brand has been good, I do think you pay a little extra for the Butterfly but I tend to wait for sales and or buy off a Vet discount site that brings the price down into a reasonable range. I have several models still on my wish list and for the most part I like the looks of where they have been going with the new models.
 
I think majorly messed up losing HK and Doug Ritter to Hogue. Doesn't bother me, the new RSK seems to be a much improved version of the griptilian. It's on my to buy list. Too bad there is no spydiehole sheepsfoot version.
 
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