Benchmade Skirmish - disappointed :(

The EXACT same thing happened to my mini-Skirmish last January. Brand new, out of the box, and an hour later I see this nick. I could tell it coressponded exactly with the bottom-most barrel spacer. I sent it back to Benchmade and they fixed the problem. It took three weeks and about $7 or $8 (shipping and insurance), but it's now as good as new. Design flaw.
 
Thanks for the post! i thought i chipped the knife while light use, but i have the same problem,with my mini ! the damage is very small.
thankx
 
I just checked mine and it is ok. I would not have been very happy if it was damaged. Thanks for posting and bringing it up.
 
It is why many of us buy from named brand/good companies, they fix the problem if such a thing happens, nobody is perfect and these things happen. The difference is good companies will make it right at little or no cost to you and I think Benchmade is one of those companies. Contact them (phone, email), and let them know where you are and your problem, I'm sure they will make good ;)

if not let us know!
 
Mine doesnt touch, is perfectly centered and will not budge at all. Benchmade will take care of you I'm totally sure about it.
 
i have a 630 and a 630-503, neither comes close to touching the barrel spacer, that sucks I hope they take care of you.
 
one of the skirmish's i have had would touch the standoff, just barely, it was an early production one though,
 
Benchmade will definitely take care of it for you. They're in the process of swapping a blade on my Griptilian because the logo isn't printed in just the right spot.

That's an extreme example, but they'll take care of any defect with their knives, just like any good knife company should!

I would definitely get that one swapped out. It's great to be covered by a good warranty, but it's always a bummer to get a nice new knife, and find a major flaw like that in the design or F&F.
 
...and FWIW, my Mini-Skirmish was built like a TANK. Great craftsmanship AND design. Every now and then one will slip through. Not to worry. They will fix it or replace it (which is really what I suspect will happen)
 
So,
I'm from Bulgaria. In the mail a have sent to BM I underlined that I live in Europe, and a courier expenses are too high for me (about $30, I think).
I've sent also the pictures with a detailed explanation of the problem. They said: 'send your knife insured with tracking capabilities, be it through the USPS, UPS or another company of your choice and we will repair it.'...:)
I paid for this knife $170, I paid also for the Graham shipping, I paid also the postage expenses from the USA (because a friend of mine sent the knife to me here in Bulgaria), and I do not want to pay a single cent for this knife anymore. I hope you understand this is a question of principle.

Anyway, I have posted this article to get you informed you about the defect - to keep it in mind. I have posted the same in other knifeforums also, and there were comments that this kind of problem is not rare in Skirmish and mini Skirmish. Therefore, it's a design problem for me, not manufacturing

Thanks to everyone who answered me and gave me an advice.
 
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In my opinion, this is more an oversight than a defect. It seems relatively clear at this point that Benchmade didn't leave enough clearance to compensate for a normal variation in manufacturing tolerances. This is the result of jamming such a massive blade in a little handle.

I'll bet if you talked it over with Benchmade and discussed your dilemma, they would work something out.

The skirmish and mini-skirmish is a brilliant knife and easily one of the best Benchmades ever made, and it's worth your time and money to ensure that yours works as it should so you can enjoy it.

As others have mentioned, NGK would probably be more than willing to find a way to compensate you for your shipping difficulties as well.
 
I also had problem with the skirmish but it was only a 1" long scratch running along the grain. I shipped my knife from Canada to Benchmade, in Oregon with tracking which costed about $20.
I feel bratlari's pain,I have additional knives that I have still to return for warranty service.What get me especially mad,paying hundreds from high end production knives and having to pay extra money to ship them to get serviced.It all adds up,$20 here and there,when this money could be used to purchase another knife.What get me even angry is when so companies get you to even pay shipping costs to return your knife or knives which are still not properly attended to,and need further service.

Even though Benchmade says their turnaround time is a few days.My knife arrived back about two months later with a new blade but with a butter knife edge.Which was a little disappointing other than that nothing was wrong and the blue box that I sent the knife in came back in the exact condition when new.What surprised me,the most was that they never charged me a thing,sent my knife free of charge USPS Express Mail which took a few days to arrive and it costed them over $30 to ship.
 
Well, that is not good.

May I suggest two possible fixes since returning looksto be out of the question.

1: Determine how much reprofiling of the blade would be needed to prevent contanct and, if small enough, reprofile the blade. Possibly the equivalent of a good sharpening would do it.

2: The first thing I'd try, would be to clean the stop pin with alcohol or such and simply apply a layer of super glue ("tough as nails" nail polish can be used for a temporary fix) to the stop pin and see if that solves the issue. Not a great fix, but I've corrected a couple of knives with this type of issue using the technique.

I've read about this blade contact issue before and it appears Benchmade simply resharpens the blade to set the edge back - based upon the comments I read, anyway.
 
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