Benchmades are actually not overpriced

Yo Mama

Yo Mama

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I hear this all the time, but is it true?

First they are USA made, guaranteed for life, will take care of you. Let's just start with there are not many companies making a US knife at the same price point I'll go into. There are many US manufacturers, but pricing goes up quick!

Second, materials are top. Steel and handle materials are not exotic maybe, but unless you want to spend more I feel the materials add up to a good value. I recently got a 940-1, for the s90v with cf and axis lock with a great design, I feel I got the value for the price for sure.

So taking that, at entry level a griptilian is still about 100 bucks. For a USA made knife, again with decent materials.

A basic bugout about 130ish. A 940 at 180ish. A fricking Presidio for 140ish! Crazy how many options there are for a knife to last a lifetime 100 to 200 dollars.

Other options for more money, you get better steel jumping into m4 and the like, so you pay a little more.

I'm not a fanboy, and only own 5 Benchmades, I've had issues with some that they fixed, and I wish they had more models with thumb holes. But I just hear that they are overpriced all the time, I think there was a time maybe they were, but with the cost of knives rising over time across the board seems that Benchmade prices are still reasonable and affordable.
 
I tend to agree for the most part, they also make a lot of contoured/3D machined scales for their knives, in the same price range that their USA made competitors are offering slab scales with minimal chamfering.

There does tend to be groupthink whenever Benchmade comes up. People either love them or hate them for various reasons, and tend to keep parroting the same talking points over and over. Some people seem to have never had a good Benchmade from the factory, or they've never gotten a bad one. Some people have broken dozens of omega springs, or never broken one. And on it goes...

One thing I noticed when Les de Asis passed away, was how many people said Benchmade was their first "high end" knife, and to many non-knife people, a Benchmade is almost a grail knife, the highest of the high end of the knife display at the local hardware or outdoors store. It's a brand that a lot of people have opinions about, and people are not apt to change such long held opinions.
 
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Silent H said:
I tend to agree for the most part, they also make a lot of contoured/3D machined scales for their knives, in the same price range that their USA made competitors are offering slab scales with minimal chamfering.

There does tend to be groupthink whenever Benchmade comes up. People either love them or hate them for various reasons, and tend to keep parroting the same talking points over and over. Some people seem to have never had a good Benchmade from the factory, or they've never gotten a bad one. Some people have broken dozens of omega springs, or never broken one.
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Lol so true.
 
*Hogue has entered the chat*
You can do a direct comparison between the 20CV/G10 Griptilian and the Hogue/Ritter RSK. The Hogue has far more complex machining on the grip and is 20-40$ less than the Grip. Plus, Hogue, in my experience, has done the axis lock better than BM. My Mini Adamas already has vertical play and I’ve barely used it. My RSK still has zero play and I beat on it. That’s not isolated either. I’ve owned 6 BMs and the only one without play is my M4 Bugout, this includes a non-axis model: AFO 2. Don’t get me started on automatic cost vs. an amazing company like Protech.
 
Murdamook said:
*Hogue has entered the chat*
You can do a direct comparison between the 20CV/G10 Griptilian and the Hogue/Ritter RSK. The Hogue has far more complex machining on the grip and is 20-40$ less than the Grip. Plus, Hogue, in my experience, has done the axis lock better than BM. My Mini Adamas already has vertical play and I’ve barely used it. My RSK still has zero play and I beat on it. That’s not isolated either. I’ve owned 6 BMs and the only one without play is my M4 Bugout, this includes a non-axis model: AFO 2. Don’t get me started on automatic cost vs. an amazing company like Protech.
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I do like the RSK & mini RSK better than the grip. But not due to prices I just feel the overall design is slightly better
 
Booba1000 said:
I do like the RSK & mini RSK better than the grip. But not due to prices I just feel the overall design is slightly better
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But how are you not figuring price into that equation? Same materials, better quality and QC, plus you like the design more. Seems to me like you’re getting a knife you like more for significantly less.
 
Advertised price of the Crucarta PM2 is 175ish. It does not have a cerakoted blade, that is true. But the knife is 40$ less than the new Adamas Mini and almost 60$ less than the large Adamas.

I believe that there are knives in BM’s line that are reasonably priced. The s90v/CF Bugout seems to be right around the same price as the sculpted CF/s90v Spyderco. Then again, Spyderco’s prices have gone up too.
 
Murdamook said:
But how are you not figuring price into that equation? Same materials, better quality and QC, plus you like the design more. Seems to me like you’re getting a knife you like more for significantly less.
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How is hogue's warranty?
 
Murdamook said:
But how are you not figuring price into that equation? Same materials, better quality and QC, plus you like the design more. Seems to me like you’re getting a knife you like more for significantly less.
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Materials are the same. 20cv & G10. I don’t because even the Hogues cost more I’d still prefer them
 
I'm still not real happy with them about how they handled their MAP implementation - no warning, effective immediately, and right before the holiday shopping season. But looking through old posts, that was around November 2013? I should let it go at this point.

Last time I bought a new one from a dealer was when the 710D2 was being discontinued and closed out for pre-MAP pricing - $120 a pop in early 2017.

Maybe time to use some REI credit and get a Bugout. Feels like more of a deal that way.
 
kreole said:
Grip was $65 before MAP. Now $120ish? Every model from pre MAP has had those increases.
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Right, but lets compare to Spyderco Para 2. A strong competition debated for all time. But at the entry level have identical prices.
 
DavidABQ said:
Buck Knives. That is all I have to say.
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One of the few left! Buck offers great options. The Sprint in cf is amazing! The Marksman, Vantage, 110, Paklite, and Mesa are treasures in my collection. Buck offers so much and their prices seem to remain affordable compared to the going market.

I also can't wait for the Onset to come out!!! Waiting patiently it will be mine!

That said, Buck is only one company. Sadly one of the last of its kind.
 
Silent H said:
There does tend to be groupthink whenever Benchmade comes up. People either love them or hate them for various reasons, and tend to keep parroting the same talking points over and over. Some people seem to have never had a good Benchmade from the factory, or they've never gotten a bad one. Some people have broken dozens of omega springs, or never broken one. And on it goes...
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Honestly I think that happens for brands that has a non-trivial price points.

I’m a spyderco kind of guy myself, and I’m sure there are some who complain about the prices.

Benchmade has some sweet stuff, and frankly I remember lusting after Axis Lock benchmades when a decade or so ago, there aren’t other similar locks around.

Different people will appreciate different things. There’s lots of nice brands around with nice designs. And sometimes people won’t understand it, until either they spent a lot of time with it, or just never will.
 
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