Benchmade

A.P.F.

A.P.F.

Joined
Mar 3, 2006
Messages
7,132
One manufacturer that I don't think get's enough press in the forum(s) is Benchmade. I am amazed that I don't see more praise for the Grips, 710, and the Rift. My personal favorites are the Ritter Grip and the Rift. Both are tough and well made and both came sharp out of the box. So, does anyone else feel that Benchmades are a good deal?
 
I have 4 Benchmade products (943, 581BK, 550Custom-D2/BK, 275BKSN) and love them all. Not quite a bargain but a graet product at a fair price.
 
They seem to get plenty of love around here. The knives you mention are well-regarded on BF, and deservedly so. I'm partial to the 710 and Rift.

IMG_2097.jpg

Griptilian.
 
Here lately I've been carrying nothing but Benchmades. I have an 810 Contego, 730-1203 Ares, 520, 15030 Bone Collector, and a 741BK Onslaught. I absolutely LOVE the 730-1203 Ares, and the 810 Contego. I carry those two every day. The cpm m4 and m390 steels are excellent steels. I use them a lot. And, all it takes to get them shaving sharp is just some stropping after several uses. I have found that if I keep them shaving sharp, I really don't have to go through the trouble of a full blown sharpening session. And, the one time I did run through a full sharpening session for them it was easy using my sharpmaker, and the diamond rods. I am really not sure why I've seen folks mention they are difficult to sharpen. I have no problems with that.

The axis lock is my favorite locking mechanism now. I can open and close my axis lock knives without worry of getting nicked by the blade, or having any stickiness like you might have from a ti frame lock, or getting lock rock, or any other of the many problems I've had from ti frame locks. I have had ZERO problems from any of my Benchmade axis locks. I can't say that about some other brands I've had. My Spyderco's run a close second to the Benchmades. I do have a Para2 that has a bit of blade play that I've not been able to adjust out, but it's very minor and hasn't affected function at all.

I will probably be trying to aquire a 950 Rift in the near future, as it's on my list of must have knives. I love the blade shape, handle shape and the lock. I'd love to see it in another run of cpm m4 or m390. I'd snatch one up in a second if they made a run in those steels. I missed out on the forum knives, and really can't afford the high price tag I've seen on them here lately. But, If I could get one at a lower price I'd sure be trying to gather up my pennies.

The Benchmades do seem to go for higher prices than some of the other brands. But, in my experience, they are worth it. Great materials, great designs, great function, great reliability, life time warranty with good service. What more could you ask for.
 
I forgot to mention that on each of my Benchmades the blades grind lines on the edges were perfect. No unevenness. That's another area other brands fell short on, including Spyderco.
 
Just peruse through the "EDC" thread and you'll see lots of 710s, Grips, 910s, and other BMs.
 
I'll admit I've been a benchmade hater in the past. I grew up literally a 5 minute walk from benchmade and everybody I knew had a benchmade and had never heard of spyderco. So I was anti benchmade just to be a contrarian. Always been a fan of the axis lock though and even though it's a small thing the little black microfiber bag that comes with benchmade is a nice touch.

Negatives would be I don't like 154cm much and I do think they are a little over priced but of you can get a good deal and get knives made with other steels than I am really liking their product at the moment.

One big reason is customer service which is top notch. I recently purchased a large skirmish and a lfti at a local pawn shop. Both were kinda beat up but overall good especially for the deal I got. I took them into benchmade and it was just a great experience. When I went to pick them up 2 days later they were like new (in function both still had visible wear to the ti) they had replaced screws and washers and cleaned up the skirmish. The lfti had been cleaned and both were razor sharp plus they threw in 3 microfiber bags for free
 
I also carry BM's quite a bit. They don't have a lot of designs I like (neither does Spyderco or Al Mar or ZT), but the ones I like get a lot of carry. Right now, I have 2 Rifts and 2 small Bone Collectors. I use them enough so that I got a backup of each one. I have carried and liked a mini-Barrage and a mini-Ritter. I really like the ambi feature of the AXIS lock because I use my knives left-handed more and more (right shoulder/arm trouble with age). I lean toward purely utilitarian designs without a lot of funky blade or handle shapes. Clean and smooth is my thing. I also like to stay within a 3" to 3.5" blade length for EDC. And I even like 154CM as an EDC steel, at least for my uses.

Like mley1, I've also noticed that BM's edge grinds are much more consistent than the recent Spydercos I've bought and that's something that I look for just like I do blade centering. I don't care if it doesn't affect the knife's function... it affects my opinion of whether the tool is made with pride or profit as the bottom line.
 
They make a lot of very nice knives. I'm a big fan of the 710, 530, Bedlam, Contego, Onslaught and Adamas. And their prices are a bit high, but if you find a dealer that sells under MAAP the prices fall right into line with other companies.
 
Big benchmade fan here. A couple of my favorites include the 730 Ares (especially in m390), Ritter mini grip (especially with cpm-m4 and custom scales), and the 950 Rift.
 
The best steel they offer on the 940/943 models is S-30-V. You can't buy spare parts like Omega springs. The 710 is recurved. Outside of that, they're OK.
 
I do not feel that Benchmades are a good deal.

I've had three (two Presidios and one Alias), two of which (One of the Presidios and the Alias) have required trips back to Benchmade for repairs. Those two are also the two most expensive knives I've bought to date (I paid around 180$ for each...not much by some peoples' standards, but a lot more than what I'm used to paying). One of those two, the Alias, was never actually fixed by Benchmade when they had it and still needs to go back. I sold off the first Presidio after it needed multiple omega spring replacements, but bought another one at a clearance price (around 100-120$) a while later, and the second one at least is still serviceable. The quality of the second one is nothing to write home about, though, as the blade is way off centre and it has blade play in every direction that can't be removed without tightening the pivot to the point where it won't open anymore. Add to that liners that aren't even flush with the scales, and you've got a knife that isn't even a match for my 14$ POS Ganzo in terms of quality.

So, yeah, my experience with them has been that they're overly expensive for the quality they deliver, they put out a good number of lemons (2 out of the 3 knives I've bought from them), and that the company's repair service is quite shoddy (they didn't bother repairing the Alias that I spent 20$ to ship to them, then wanted me to shell out again when I told them about the issue). Plus, as others have mentioned, they refuse to ship out small parts like Omega springs for repairs, which is fine if you just live down the road from them and can ship a broken knife to them for under 5$, but when you live in a different country and have to pay 20$ for each trip, it really, really sucks. :thumbdn: I've probably spent 60-80$ on shipping alone due to defective Benchmades.

In a nutshell, I've had better quality, better value, and MUCH better service from other companies. Your experiences may vary, but my experiences with Benchmade have been almost entirely negative. :thumbdn:

On the plus side, what drew me to the company in the first place was their exceptional designs. I have to say, the Presidio is, on paper, a perfect knife for me. It uses one of my favourite steels, has a blade shape that suits me, and has the single most comfortable handle I've yet seen on a folding knife. It's a shame that I had so many problems with the mechanism of the first one, and that the second one is so poorly assembled, or they'd have been fantastic knives. :(
 
Love the 710 & Rift but the Contego is my new favorite blade, second only to the AFCK.

Dollar for dollar I don't think there's any better deal out there today then the Benchmade Adamas and Contego. For the money they offer outstanding value and quality for the price.
 
I do think you see lots of appreciation for benchmade on the forums. Just a while ago there was in fact a thread dedicated to benchmade praise.
Most of my knives are benchmades, so I understand I'm a little biased, but I think that the AFCK was one of the best production folders ever made.
 
They were my first entry into the upper echelons of decent knives and I still have a soft spot for them. Although they don't have any models that currently strike my fancy, I'm always on the look out for newer 950 variants, which is my favorite model.
 
I like ther knives, but the companys policy is in some cases kinda annoying, for exempel, for me in Europe its no problem to get spare parts for my auto, but for people in the states they refuce to fix it for you if your not police or military even if you own one totaly legal, and they also wont send parts, i see that as realy bad service.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top