Benchmade Vex: another not-quite-right cheap knife

C

Carl64

Joined
Apr 3, 2005
Messages
1,830
So I passed on Gerber's Armor, and picked up a Vex. I was in a hurry, so I just bought it.

It has 2 major flaws:

1. The ball detent sticks out further than the width of the washer. That makes the blade really tight, and the ball starts to wear down because it is jammed against the blade so hard. I fixed it by sanding down the inside of the G10 slab under the moving part of the liner.

2. The pivot can't be tightened "just right." The blade is either really tight when opening, or if the pivot is loosened enough to fix that the blade wiggles left/right when open. It is caused by liners that aren't perfectly straight as well as the common blunder of a blade/washer thickness total exceeding the width of the spacers in the handle. Both can be fixed carefully. Mine says "first production run," so maybe they will have this figured out eventually.

Then a few observations...

The washer layout is kind of goofy. One side has a brass washer, and the other side has a combination of a teflon and whatever that gold-colored metal washer is on top of it. It's weird to have different metals on either side. The teflon one is likely included because teflon is a little bit squishy, and can help hide poor manufacturing tolerances. But in this case it isn't enough to make up for the error.

The G10 slabs feel good, no splinters hanging off on the outer sides. The edges are only slightly buffed though, so it has a square feel to it.

The liners are about as thick as a Benchmade or Emerson, and along with the blade have a dark gray finish (the blade is not actually black). Looks good.
 
These are basically the Benchmade Byrds - interesting that they are running the steel so soft compared to how they handle steels in general. It would be nice to see companies work out such issues before the first production run, that is what prototyping and feild testors are for, not the general consumer market.

-Cliff
 
I personally think Benchmade does the hole better than Spyderco (ala AFCK, Vex...), meaning the knives are more pleasant visually. I will be recieving a sample shortly and I will report on it. There was recently a thread in the main forum. I recall the comments being generally positive.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
interesting that they are running the steel so soft compared to how they handle steels in general.
Click to expand...

That almost kept me away. Benchmade is funny with hardness though. They run n690, 440c, 154cm, and s30v at 58-60. D2 is the only one that is a notch higher, and this is the only one that is dropped 2 notches.

By the way...
This knife is actually labeled "7Cr14MoV" on the blade, while Benchmade says it's "8Cr..." on their website. Another dign of great quality, not knowing what the heck you are selling.

It would be nice to see companies work out such issues before the first production run, that is what prototyping and feild testors are for, not the general consumer market.
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Yes it would, but I was almost being sarcastic about them fixing it in the future. I wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer wasn't even competent enough to understand what was wrong, or else just didn't care enough to fix it. If most buyers are satisfied with it, it also won't be the first time a faulty knife design passes by most people's "good enough" standards, even though there is really no good reason not to just choose the right size parts.
 
I've handled one today. Overall impression is good, action a bit stiff. I've noticed non-matching washers, too.
 
is really something else.

I WISH that it was made in the USA, but it isn't. I was curious, so I picked one up.

1. Mine centers perfectly, and I was able to "tune" it to personal preference. That is, I PREFER there to be some drag on the blade.

2. Fit, finish and function have been flawless.

3. The knife came pretty darned dull, especially for a Benchmade, but I hit the leather wheel with it, and it pops hair, without any touchups, for over a month now. Cutting has been on cardboard, paper, and some food(steak, burritos, chicken).

4. I think that the contoured clip is genious.

5. The washer/bushing setup is weird looking, but seems to work fine.

6. I think the Byrd line is fairly unattractive, but Sal has always been about performance over aesthetics. I can say that I think the Vex hits on all cylinders, and if the steel is a little softer, hey it is a $60.00 MSRP knife, with a street price of around $45.00, and should perform just fine.

7. If steel choice was optional, I would elect for CPM 154CM, uncoated, so I am with you guys on that.
 
I would like to see a head to head comparison of the Vex steel to the Byrd steel, considering they are similar, but the Byrd's steel is run much harder. It would seem the Byrd steel would sharpen easier, hold an edge longer, and have more edge stability. I have been very impressed with my Byrd's performance, it would be nice to see a good comparison vs. Benchmade's competitor to it.
 
Kohai999 said:
3. The knife came pretty darned dull, especially for a Benchmade, but I hit the leather wheel with it, and it pops hair, without any touchups, for over a month now. Cutting has been on cardboard, paper, and some food(steak, burritos, chicken).
Click to expand...

Mine was about as sharp as I could demand any knife be out of the box. Sharper than my Byrd Meadowlark. I haven't put it to use yet though.

I often tighten pivots so there is just enough tension to keep the blade from feeling like it is going to jump ahead of my thumb when opening. Not much resistance at all, but some. I sanded down the washers to almost be perfect. I would keep working to make it absolutely perfect but I got tired of doing it (you have to do it slowly and carefully to not go too far) and at this point the resistance from the imperfect washer size is not much more than what I would tighten it to on purpose. Good enough. :)
 
Is that, at street prices, the Vex is twice that of a G10 Byrd, and in Endura 4 territory.

I'd say the E4 is by far the better knife at that price (OK, so it has zytel handles, but it does also have nested metal liners).

If it cost the SAME as the byrd (or very close) I'd say it might be worth it.

I have a cara-cara G-10 and it's a tank.

D
 
kel_aa said:
I personally think Benchmade does the hole better than Spyderco (ala AFCK, Vex...), meaning the knives are more pleasant visually.
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Any difference functionally?

Carl64 said:
This knife is actually labeled "7Cr14MoV" on the blade, while Benchmade says it's "8Cr..." on their website. Another dign of great quality, not knowing what the heck you are selling.
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These designations are composition related, moving them around, if it is actually the case and not just a typo, does change the steel significantly. The differences between 440A, 440B, 440C would be similar to moving from 7Cr13 to 8Cr13 so you really would want to be clear about the steel.

The hardness issue as always is one of the most hyped and misunderstood cutlery aspects. Yes, our 56/58 HRC knives are vastly superior to the 55 HRC fantasy cutlery by a huge amount, but no it would not make any significant difference if it was raised further.
Utter nonsense. You see the same gains, generally in a linear manner aside from carbide embrittlement regions which are not present in those steels in those tempering regions.

I like those types of steels (low carbide) for knives which are to be used very sharp for precision cutting. For rougher work (not impacts), then higher carbide steels usually are a better choice, but they cost more. Of course this is critical on the low carbide steels being hardened optimally and used in the correct geometries, if this isn't the case they they are horrible as it anything which is misused.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Any difference functionally?
These designations are composition related, moving them around, if it is actually the case and not just a typo, does change the steel significantly. The differences between 440A, 440B, 440C would be similar to moving from 7Cr13 to 8Cr13 so you really would want to be clear about the steel.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Arguing with Cliff about knife steel is a bit like arguing with the pope about interpreting church doctrine, but then I get in trouble at church all the time anyway. So here goes...

Cliff are you sure about that statement?

The elemental content for AUS 8, the most simialar steel I could find specs for says: Carbon is 0.7-0.75, and Chromium is 13.0-14.5. That implies that both the 13 and the 14 would still be within the same spec.

I agree that it is unsettling to not know exactly what steel is being used. It raises questions about quality. And it makes me very unhappy. But I am not sure that the change would be as drastic as a change from 440A to 440B. I am not altogether certain you could tell the difference in the field.
 
The 440 series would also be very similar in extremes, the tie lines would switch for example if you went to the min/max ranges, that is why I cited them as an example. Note that the smaller the elemental composition the larger the change you will see. A 0.1% carbon difference makes much more of an effect on a 0.7% steel than a 1.5% carbon steel.

-Cliff
 
Cliff said:
Any difference functionally [Benchmade hole and Spyderco hole]?
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Benchmade can choose between thumbstuds, thumbdisks, holes, ovals, etc, while Spyderco has banked it all on the hole. Between the thumbstud and the hole (I haven't tried disks or ovals), I rate holes to be the best. It slips the least, is easier on the skin, and interfers with the material/sharpener the least. But the first two advantages can be negated by flick openings, made possible by a weak detent linerlock or Axis lock, for instance.

As far as Benchmade opening hole (AFCK, Vex...) verses Spyderco opening hole, to which Spyderco models are comparsions appropriate? In general the more "out" the hole is, the smoother the action, and weaker the detent, the easier it is to open. The Native, a humpless Spyderco, has similar dimensions and resistance to the Vex, and both are not as easy opening as I would like (I would decrease the resistance before bringing the hole "out"). When you begin to hump the blade, you are then trading looks, weight, easy of carry, and blade profile for ease of opening. The Military makes a bigger impression in the pocket than the AFCK, for instance. In terms of usage, I have not found the hump to be a detriment nor of advantage. (But I don't buy that the bigger hump makes for a better "thumb ramp" line. On who's bushcraft or ergonomics manual is such promoted?) Again, being easy to flick changes the equation.

What is the optimal amout of "hump" and consequently the blade profile? For instance, the Spyderco Stretch is humped but the blade drops back down in front of the hole, as opposed to the Military which is straight right to the tip. The Swamp Rat has no hump and is straight at the spine but has a higher point than the AFCK and other blades. I don't know. Maybe I'll have a better opinion after I try out the passaround Swamp Rat and the 2007 Benchmade Dejavooo.
 
I figured the hump was there to move the hole up in order to leave a width of steel between edge and hole, especially for the saber and low hollow ground blades.
 
kel_aa said:
When you begin to hump the blade, you are then trading looks, weight, easy of carry, and blade profile for ease of opening.
Click to expand...

Most things do have tradeoffs, the opening hole also has much better security if it is left very sharp, but at some point will actually cut the skin so you can only go so far. Nice point about the torque advantage of the hole in regards to position relative to the pivot.

-Cliff
 
Overall, the fit and finish of this knife is pleasing for a Chinese folder. The steel is exceptionally soft and considering Benchmade hardens their steel considerably, this is surprising. The knife's design really resembles something of the 1990s, maybe even the 1980s with its boxy cut and handle. This isn't the worst and isn't the best either. For a street price of 40 bucks, you can definitely do better.
 
In related news, I noticed some of their other new Chinese models (like the new Pika) list the hardness as 58-60 rather than 56-58.
 
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