Benchmade's reputation

I got another great example of a Benchmade in the Grizzly. Thanks Benchmade for the great products. Cheers
 
I've been a fan of Benchmade since 2005. Yes there have been flaws in my purchases, but in only one case could they not remedy the problem and chose to build a new knife of my choice. I've owned other brands and they had issues too. But knowing this is a production company and not custom offerings lends them come credibility. Yes they do sharpen the blades by hand, and yes their customer service is at the top of my list, still. Send a knife in for servicing and they always have pleased me; and they often toss in replacement parts. Let's put it this way. I've had few if any regrets in my purchases, and have a good collection dating back a bunch of years. :)
 
I've not gotten a lemon Benchmade NIB. Seen some questionable BM but they were second hand so I can't blame BM for the issues.

That said, I think they produce nice, well made, but very over priced knives.
 
I have only a small handfull of benchmades in my collection. 2 are perfect. No play yet very free. Edges are great as well. Of those two one was purchased at a store and one was ordered online with the caveat that it be inspected for qc issues. 1 (knifeworks exclusive m390 blue black g10) came with blade play unless the pivot was tight to the point the action was very stiff. I fully disassembled and cleaned the knife. I also tried to polish the washers on a granite surface plate. This did not help nor did it make it any worse. I sent it to benchmade with a handwritten letter explaining the issue in great detail. It came back months later with the same issues. I sold it at a significant loss. I do feel that when done right they are worth every penny dictated by MAP. To be honest im not sure that my sample size is great enough to reach a meaningful conclusion. On another note a local dealer has some in stock. I have been trying to buy a 940 from them but have never seen one in stock that didnt have bladeplay. They also stock a $1200 gold class with the same issues. I have been hearing that they are getting better as of late and the qc is improving.
 
Also worth mentioning that I feel like the action is quite subjective, the Axis lock has quite a lot of contact compare with other locking systems and this sometimes takes a bit of use to bed in to my liking, I buy Benchmade adjust it to preference, use it locktite and leave it, to me this is part of the charm, and part of the Axis lock, I always feel a new Benchmade takes a while to adjust to me.
 
I have a collection of 35 different Benchmade knives with the oldest going back to the mid-90's. I've seen minor QC issues on some of them and no QC issues on others...and trust me, I'm picky about knives. I've yet to buy any of the 2018 production but I hear from people I trust that the QC seems to be top-notch currently.

To a large extent I think that the "Benchmade QC Crisis" is largely escalated by YouTube reviewers and forum posters. Somebody shares their personal "gripe" and others will connect to it with negative feelings. It's a human nature thing. We have a tendency to pile on with emotional responses and love to feel validated by others. People are far more prone to speak out about a criticism than to praise a success. It's that "squeaky wheel" thing.

Has Benchmade QC lagged behind their two natural rivals: KAI and Spyderco? Yes.
Is the degree of the gap greatly overstated? Yes, especially of late.
I've actually noted more QC snafus and fit/finish issues on recent Spydercos while several Chinese Kershaws this year have been excellent (for a $30 knife, of course).

In my opinion, you can buy Benchmade with confidence. Also, in my opinion, they're offering some of the most compelling new knives over the last couple of years.

You can safely ignore those who speak about any kind of issues in absolutes whether it's knife QC or the weather.
 
I don't yet own any BM knives and despite the issues I hear about I do still want to get them but I somewhat dread the experience. To compound it further the latest issues I have been hearing is not just that they have a QC issue but that their CS/Warranty department is receiving items and sending them back out as bad as they came in. Combine those with the fact I am most interested in the exclusive BM options it makes pulling the trigger on a $150+ knife very difficult.
 
Almost all my EDC knives are BM. I'm a lefty, a big fan of the axis lock, and many BM designs in general. My experience, owning 11 different models, all bought new:

Mini Grip 556-1 - Came very sharp, slightly uneven grind.
Grip 551-1 - Came perfect
Anthem - Came very sharp, grind was ugly out of the box (both sides look different, grind not even consistent on one side. This one is boxed up, going back for a new blade)
943 - Came perfect -
North Fork - Came very sharp, very slight uneven grind on one side as it curves towards the tip
Crooked River - Came perfect
Mini Crooked River - Came very sharp, similar slight variance in grind on one side as with north fork - I wish BM would offer the mini in the customizer.
Nakamura 484-1 - Came perfect
Bugout 535 - Came perfect
Valet 485 - Came perfect
Foray 698 - Came very sharp, slight inconsistency in grind on each side (Side note - i totally messed up the pocket clip on this. I emailed BM to buy a new one, they sent me one for free)

Of the 11 listed above, 5 had inconsistencies in the grind. However, all are sharp and serve the purpose well. The only one that really frustrated me was the Anthem, as it's the most expensive. The rest of the build on these knives was great (fit and finish, blades were centered, etc). I do wish BM would improve the hand grind QC (or maybe not hand grind at all?). However, I have handled many knives from friends, and in stores, of different brands. While those experiences are just as anecdotal as my list above, I've seen variances in most brands I've encountered (blade centering, gritty action, imperfect grind, fit and finish problems). It's very very difficult to gauge consistency based on internet forums where people love to complain.
 
Wowbagger said:
The edges aren't a big deal with me because I plan on reprofiling anything I get and if the edge is just perfect (my last Spyderco, a Para2CamoS30V, (thank you, thank you, thank you) I bust out the balloons and chocolate cake.
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Aren't those done on the sharpening robot?
 
A lot of interesting posts in this thread so far. I'd say a significant portion does recognise the things said in the OP, but it does seem to have been improving lately.

I'm pleased to report I just got my mini crooked river in the mail and at first glance everything looks to be in order. I did ask the store to inspect the knife prior to sending it to me, though, which they were kind enough to do.
 
Reputations of companies in the internet era can be a dicey proposition.

  • People sometimes make judgments, good or bad, based on small sample sizes, sometimes even a single example.
  • Opinions or personal experiences posted online are sometimes taken as gospel, when there should clearly be a healthy dose of skepticism.
  • People with agendas (pro and anti) are often the ones making the most noise, drowning out the average users’ experiences.
  • In the case of EDC knives, we don’t necessarily all define quality in the same manner, nor do we all have the same expectations of knives. A true user may have very different expectations than someone who uses them as expensive fidget spinners. A novice may not know what to look for with respect to assessing quality.

This all makes it very difficult to discern truth from fiction. This may seem obvious to some, but to a surprising number, it isn’t.
 
I currently own 40+ Benchmades, and have been collecting them for around 25 years. I do agree that there are occasional QC issues, and that can be frustrating. Demand for their knives has skyrocketed (now around 350+ employees, whereas a company like Spyderco is still around 100 I believe), and it's clear that they are doing their best just to keep up. That being said, at least from my n of 1 personal experience, they have always gone out of their way to make me happy, despite not knowing whether I have 40+ knives or 1 knife and never plan to buy another. Their customer service in my experience has always been a solid A+, which means a lot to me. There are other brands that I like but, at least in one case, there is a huge "hole" in their customer service from my experience. I value Benchmade's great customer service, and that contributes to some of the value that I feel like I'm getting.

If you are very particular about blade centering, action, grind or whatever else (which I am), I'd suggest trying the knife in person or buying from a store with a good return policy. My personal bottom line is that Benchmade seems to be a great American company. Some of the issues discussed in this thread seem to be manifestations of the growing pains that they seem to be experiencing. And, as I'm all for supporting an American company with great service, I'm willing to send a knife in from time to time as needed. Again, just my personal experience, and I do see the perspectives of others here.

Michael
 
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Have bought at least 50-100 +? NIB Benchmades throughout last 5 years. Never had a problem with any of them out of box, and nothing after using cept pivots needing tightening and loctite. If you are incapable of taking out pivot, adding loctite, retightening pivot to your desired tightness, you may want to avoid Benchmade. I have too apply loctite every year (less) or will have blade play. I'm fine with that, It does seem like some models are more prone to having to reapply loctite tho then others. I also add loctite to other companies knife i have, just so more solid. I've had MUCH worse experiences with locks/pivots from other companies. Emerson, Spyderco, ZT, ect. I can't think of a company or model I'd consider, perfect. I do think Benchmades prices are quite high for what you get tho. I think that way of most companies these days.
 
I've been disappointed by BM more than once. So I stopped buying BM's for a while. I just bought my first one in years and I have to say......it's absolutely perfect. I've exsmined it thoroughly and it's flawless. This makes me very happy. I shall be buying more BM's. Hopefully the perfection of my new Rukus II Automatic is not a fluke.
m7cNsFt.jpg
 
Wolverine666 said:
I've been disappointed by BM more than once. So I stopped buying BM's for a while. I just bought my first one in years and I have to say......it's absolutely perfect. I've exsmined it thoroughly and it's flawless. This makes me very happy. I shall be buying more BM's. Hopefully the perfection of my new Rukus II Automatic is not a fluke.
m7cNsFt.jpg
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Looks sweet!
 
I own 6 Benchmades currently, and have owned around 10 in total. No issues with any of them, besides minor pivot adjustments on 1 or 2. I'm really beginning to think the QC problems are in the minority, they just happen to be louder because most people dont make threads about how good the knife they got is.
 
basmca said:
Aren't those done on the sharpening robot?
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Heck if I know.
I have received one or two Para's and a S110V Manix that were done by the intoxicated, blind robot. Rolled all along, dull, too wide an angle to be an effective cutter. Heck, even Ankerson thinned and reprofiled his Manix S110V quite a while back and it made buckets of difference in how many ropes it would cut.
Granted the name Manix may conjer up for some images of brick splitting and car door surgery so I suppose they have to allow for that.
My advice is if one has a Manix grind it about half as thick behind the edge and then lay the angles back from like 22° or 20° to around 15°. The difference is startling as far as both easy of cutting AND edge retention. Mine wouldn't hold an edge for beans at the factory geometry.

Yeeeeeaaaaahhh . . . Mr Robot has good days and should have stayed home days.
 
Wowbagger said:
Heck if I know.
I have received one or two Para's and a S110V Manix that were done by the intoxicated, blind robot. Rolled all along, dull, too wide an angle to be an effective cutter. Heck, even Ankerson thinned and reprofiled his Manix S110V quite a while back and it made buckets of difference in how many ropes it would cut.
Granted the name Manix may conjer up for some images of brick splitting and car door surgery so I suppose they have to allow for that.
My advice is if one has a Manix grind it about half as thick behind the edge and then lay the angles back from like 22° or 20° to around 15°. The difference is startling as far as both easy of cutting AND edge retention. Mine wouldn't hold an edge for beans at the factory geometry.

Yeeeeeaaaaahhh . . . Mr Robot has good days and should have stayed home days.
Click to expand...
Intoxicaed blind robot....hahaha.
 
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