benchmade sucks?

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to the op....benchmade doesn't suck. being as large as they are sometimes things get through qc, no different than any other large manufacturer.

designs are designs, i like about 1/3rd to half of what they do the other 2/3rds to half i don't care for, but shows they have enough offerings to appease a large swath of buyers.

pricing, well that's another issue. some are fine by the sometimes higher than competitors prices for as close to apples to apples as you can get. others aren't fine by it. i myself pick and choose what i like and what fits my budget, etc. they are allowed to priced how they see fit and if the price levels are too far out of whack for the market they'll know when the sales fall off, and like any good business they'll adjust. we can't expect them to leave money on the table though if they have a dedicated fan base that believes they are getting every dollar worth they spent on the product, and it seems to be this way since they aren't lowering prices.....

myself included in this group, as i own at least a half dozen or so benchmades and i find mine an equal value for the money i paid.

so to sum up benchmade doesn't suck at all.....they have some things/policies/strategies/etc. some don't like..... myself included, but so does every large brand.
 
themegajosh09 said:
i was wondering why everyone likes benchmade or it seems like everyone does.
i find that they only have a few desighns i like and the quality doesnt impress me for the money
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Right now I only have two. The 710 and 581. I am delighted with both.
 
Benchmade can keep company with my best...

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jbmonkey said:
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pricing, well that's another issue. some are fine by the sometimes higher than competitors prices for as close to apples to apples as you can get. others aren't fine by it. i myself pick and choose what i like and what fits my budget, etc. ...
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Yes, if the competitors did produce the same knives - I would probably cared.
 
I think Benchmade makes great stuff, but almost all of their knives are priced about $30-$40 above where they should be. You can find knives with higher quality blade steel and handle materials for much cheaper from other manufacturers. I think the 470 Emissary is a good example. For the price of this knife you can get an S30V Ti Framelock from Spyderco.

I love their Balis. Like I said, I think they make some great knives, but for the price you can usually do better with a different manufacturer.

A lot of what they offer is brand recognition. It is like a woman buying a Coach purse vs. a Doony & Burke or whatever its called. They are both essentially made with the same materials, but one is much cheaper because it doesn't have the Coach name.
 
Poez said:
Yes, if the competitors did produce the same knives - I would probably cared.
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huh? i'm missing what your saying here? not trying to be rude or anything, seriously i'm not getting what you are saying?
 
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i bought a Benchmade CSK II and love it! i have used it to baton wood, dig, cut, chop, etc. i even froze it in the freezer and chopped hardwood with it with no ill effects. came with a nice, brown , ambidexterous sheath with a MOLLE strap that works a few different ways. mine is the plain edge, but they also make one with the combo edge.

all in all, darn good knife for $100! --- Eric
 
borrowed time said:
i bought a Benchmade CSK II and love it! i have used it to baton wood, dig, cut, chop, etc. i even froze it in the freezer and chopped hardwood with it with no ill effects. came with a nice, brown , ambidexterous sheath with a MOLLE strap that works a few different ways. mine is the plain edge, but they also make one with the combo edge.

all in all, darn good knife for $100! --- Eric
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Well it's not going to be me that asks wtf freezing it in the freezer has to do with anything relevant to the quality of a cutting tool like Benchmade produces. Did you have your tin-foil hat and fuzzy pink bunny slippers on when you did it? That would make me sit up and take notice!
 
I think they hit the right quality levels for their price point - just that the price point isn't high enough :lol:

Had a bunch and moved them on, mainly . Pretty unimaginative, I have thought. I like the 710 and the Ritter folders though, very much - wish I'd got a 705 when I could have.
 
cziv said:
Well it's not going to be me that asks wtf freezing it in the freezer has to do with anything relevant to the quality of a cutting tool like Benchmade produces. Did you have your tin-foil hat and fuzzy pink bunny slippers on when you did it? That would make me sit up and take notice!
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Lots of knives break when they are cold.
 
Nothing to dispute over if you don't like the design- Everyone has their own cup of tea. But i don't see anything wrong with Benchmade's quality... Sometimes i receive lemons, but an email to them would solve the problem. Recently i bought a Torrent and it has perfect Fit and finish except a loose thumbstud. Emailed them and 2 weeks later i got a perfectly working one. :)
 
themegajosh09 said:
i was wondering why everyone likes benchmade or it seems like everyone does.
i find that they only have a few desighns i like and the quality doesnt impress me for the money
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benchmade sucks?

What kind of baloney are you pushing here? Benchmade along with another company has dominated the market for quality production knives for a long time. Kershaw has entered into the fray and is standing tall along with them. Buy another brand instead of posting that they suck plz. That's BS. :yawn:
 
cziv said:

benchmade sucks?

What kind of baloney are you pushing here? Benchmade along with another company has dominated the market for quality production knives for a long time. Kershaw has entered into the fray and is standing tall along with them. Buy another brand instead of posting that they suck plz. That's BS. :yawn:
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Well, at least he did post it with a "?", rather than a flat statement. ;)

I agree that Kershaw definitely is in there. The basic Kershaw line is innovative and reasonably priced...impressive since many are US made.
The new items from Kershaw/Zero Tolerance hold their own against any production knives.
The upcoming ZT777 is on a par with anything BM makes, including the over-priced GOLDs.

Spyderco does a pretty darn good job of competing too. :D

We're really fortunate there are so many good choices.....whether one likes BM or not.
 
I think their QC sucks. Just about every Benchmade I ever bought had to be sent in for one kind of problem... or multiple problems. They're customer service is novice in their knowledge of their own products at best. I was told g-10 and Ti aren't solid materials :confused: Their detents are legendary for not retaining the blades as well.

I've stopped buying BMs, too much gets lost from the design to the customer and their knowledge of their own materials and procedures is horrid. Their only saving grace is that they will try to work with you to fix the problems they overlook, that is, if you don't mind buying something that's not right in the first place.

Oh, and good luck actually talking to someone who builds or designs knives for them. Their customer service gals feel they have everything completely under control and can't be bothered to let you talk to someone who actually knows how and WHY the things are built they way they are.
Here's the problems I can remember:

First BM: Auto in the 90's, internals broke after firing the thing a couple dozen times (yes! I wish I was deployed at the time!)

Second BM: Apparition in the early/ mid 2000's: lock failed with barely ANY pressure on the spine of the blade and cut the f@%* out of two of my fingers

Lum Tanto: weak detent and faulty lock

Gold class Kulgera: advertisement said black nickel pocket clip, comes with Ti or brushed steel clip.

51: blade would scrape on "non-solid" liners under normal opening

Gold class 32: Same problem as 51 but they were able to fix that one... Also advertisement said weight was 0.00oz...

Gold class 525-81: Was told the bronze colored coating on clip/hardware was an actual bronze coating when its actually some kind of heat treatment that rubs off if you look at it wrong. I was also told they don't do the acid etch on the Damasteel, that Damasteel in Europe does it. So that means they think they get the steel stock from Damasteel, grind the blades, then send it back to Europe for a 2 minute acid bath before sending it back to America for assembly? Also dull as hell BNIB

There were others but I think you get the point. Benchmade is a big company now, not a knife maker. I mean, HD knives, really...
 
DanBo, I can't help wondering why you would drop the coin on 3 Gold class knives, if your experience with BM was so bad.:confused:
 
A.P.F. said:
DanBo, I can't help wondering why you would drop the coin on 3 Gold class knives, if your experience with BM was so bad.:confused:
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DanBoar82, your experience with B-mades rivals mine with Spyderco but not as serious, just enough to tick me off. Off centered blades mostly. :(
 
jbmonkey said:
huh? i'm missing what your saying here? not trying to be rude or anything, seriously i'm not getting what you are saying?
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Apples to apples is not close enough. If BM competitors produced Bob Lum DeJavoo - I would have cared about the price difference. Otherwise - if I like the knife and I like the price - I just buy it without looking at other apples...
But if you like - let's compare. Bob Lum Mini-Dejavoo and, what? Spyderco Chinese Folder? Is that close enough? BM Griptilian and, e-e-e-e- Endura 4? Griptilian has got axis lock and Endura has got a hole in the blade and vertical blade play as any backlock, but OK, very nice knives both. Is BM more pricey, or is that just some ritual saying? ;)
 
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