Benchmade's reputation

Astronaut FX said:
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.
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You make several good points, especially about the vocal minority phenomenon.

I have little to add to this discussion beyond that I own two Benchmade knives (Foray and Crooked River) and have zero issues with quality. The Foray is my favorite EDC knife and has been in my pocket everyday for over one year, I love this knife. I read so many negative things about Benchmade QC that I almost started counting myself lucky that I bought two knives which were excellent with no issues. I suppose this shows how easily a company's reputation can be tarnished by anonymous, largely unsubstantiated posts.

I assume that when there is smoke there is fire, so maybe it is true there are QC issues. If so, I hope the company takes it to heart and makes changes accordingly. Otherwise, you can't put too much stock in what you read online; anonymity tends to bring out the worst in people. I am very moderate when it comes to brand loyalty, but I do notice there are some fervent brand loyalists in every forum that lay it on a little too thick and, conversely, there are always some people who seem to just want to provoke people who enjoy the brand. I must admit, I had a good laugh when I read the "mini 940" thread, where the poster went on-and-on about why a mini-940 was needed, then ended the threaded by saying he would never buy a Benchmade knife because of QC issues... which begs the question, why does he really, really want a mini-940 to be available?? :)
 
I thought it started as viral marketing from a competitor and then became something people just repeated.
 
BM customer service I believe is the best in industry, knives styling are a little too conservative, the best models are all discontinued for some reason

I think BM is not well positioned strategically, it used to be the premium go to but since MAP pricing and the subpar models year after year and spotty QC that pop up once in a while its in an uncomfortable expensive yet not exciting market segment.

Spyderco is well on its way of pricing itself out of the stratosphere after taking the MAP play book from BM, although it has lots of interesting modules. Sal kept on feeding the "profit margin has not increased in years" cool-aid and the spydernuts kept on repeating that line whenever anyone dare question its price.

Cold Steel have jumped into a niche market of super hard use with super steel at bottom dollar value spot and is my current favorite.
 
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Sometimes you have to look at your own individual business case. I heard that the BM customer service is great, but that doesn't help me much being in the Netherlands. The same goes with the whole discussion about MAP Pricing and profit margins. You can spin it all you like, but the end price is the end price and that's a big part in the business case. The profit margin is irrelevant.
 
I don’t see how being in the Netherlands makes a difference to customer service, I’m in the Uk and I find the customer service second to none.
 
I think there are batches that get screwed up sometimes. I tried to purchase a new 940-1 around 6 months back and everyone I got in the mail when I inspected it the washers weren't sitting flush to the blade. The washers should sit flush to the liners and the blade. If you held the knives up to some light you could easily see gaps between the washers and blade. This obviously caused blade play. This couldn't be corrected with tightening the pivot because the gaps were not even all the way across. Something was obviously off with the tolerances of some or all parts. I went through around 5 or so before I gave up. Yeah I guess the average person might not notice this but as a person who is a bit of knife connoisseur that's no beuno for a knife at that price point. I'm a Benchmade fan and mainly own Benchmades so don't think I'm a hater but there are still some issues that need to be corrected. Fortunately the customer service has always been very top notch in my experience and has corrected any issue I have sent. I just don't feel I should have to send in a $100+ knife for servicing before I even use it. Again I'm a benchmade fan and recommend the bugout almost daily to someone looking for a lightweight edc.
 
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godzilla78 said:
I don’t see how being in the Netherlands makes a difference to customer service, I’m in the Uk and I find the customer service second to none.
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Because International Shipping and Customs can be quite a hassle. (A package just took 3 weeks to get processed through customs and it was just some backspacers).
 
Three weeks, what other knife company would send those bits out foc, parts, clips? Would Spyderco?
Like I say I’m in the UK and one of the main reasons I love BM is the customer service and the fact I can use my knife as hard as I like without worry.
No other brand in its class gives me that reassurance.
Maybe I’ve been lucky.
 
godzilla78 said:
Three weeks, what other knife company would send those bits out foc, parts, clips? Would Spyderco?
Like I say I’m in the UK and one of the main reasons I love BM is the customer service and the fact I can use my knife as hard as I like without worry.
No other brand in its class gives me that reassurance.
Maybe I’ve been lucky.
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Agreed. The customer service is what sets Benchmade apart in my opinion. If I do something stupid to screw up my knife I just send it in and it comes back like new usually with little to no charge. That assurance has been enough to sway my purchases from other brands.
 
ALL of my Benchmade's have some sort of blade play......
Two Adamas's with up and down play.
Crooked River with up, down, left and right play. Plus it came with a very embarrassingly dull edge.
HK 14715 with up, down, left and right play.
Full size Griptilian with up, down, left and right play.

Trust me.....I've tried everything with these knives to snug them up....to no avail. The play just doesn't go away. Its a damn shame as I really do like these knives, but sadly they almost never get carried due to the mentioned blade play. I get disgusted with them, and leave them in the case. I should really just sell them off........
 
b00n said:
Because International Shipping and Customs can be quite a hassle. (A package just took 3 weeks to get processed through customs and it was just some backspacers).
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All above has nothing to do with benchmade,maybe start picking on you're own country's customs first,
I also live in Canada and had no issues whatsoever with the company,they've been outstanding and have always pulled through,
 
scottyj said:
ALL of my Benchmade's have some sort of blade play......
Two Adamas's with up and down play.
Crooked River with up, down, left and right play. Plus it came with a very embarrassingly dull edge.
HK 14715 with up, down, left and right play.
Full size Griptilian with up, down, left and right play.

Trust me.....I've tried everything with these knives to snug them up....to no avail. The play just doesn't go away. Its a damn shame as I really do like these knives, but sadly they almost never get carried due to the mentioned blade play. I get disgusted with them, and leave them in the case. I should really just sell them off........
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That's all you have to do,better than sitting in a drawer,
I don't carry a lot of my benchmades.but I sure do love looking at them,and play around with them.
But they don't sit in a drawer,
The ones I've had before that weren't played with are now gone.
Only to be replaced with another benchmade .lol
 
Yakkiebush said:
All above has nothing to do with benchmade,maybe start picking on you're own country's customs first,
I also live in Canada and had no issues whatsoever with the company,they've been outstanding and have always pulled through,
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I am not blaming BM for bad bureaucracy and slow processing (or any company for that matter) what I am saying is that those extra steps are something I (and others overseas) take into consideration during a purchase. It's very simple logic to me.
Company A Knife: I like the design, the price is about on par with competition, Steel isn't the latest and greatest I like the design, people frequently complain about QC issues, Warranty/CS is great but needs to be send overseas
Company B Knife: I like the designs, the price is similar to company A, more modern steels, I like the design, people rarely complains about QC issues, warranty/CS is subjectively as good, needs to be send overseas as well

Who do you think I go with? The one where you frequently hear problems and the likelihood of having to either return to dealer OR send overseas? Or the one where you hear almost nothing in comparison?
I for one have decided I will not get a 2nd BM after getting my first today. I am pretty sure I can get it to function and look decent enough, BUT I shouldn't have to deal with it because on NO other knife I got had that many little "IDGAF" signs. In part I blame BM's construction, in the sense that "more parts means more stuff can be misaligned". (Just a quick summary: Bedlam 860, the Crusher/Backspacer was loose, uneven grind, some blade play, gritty lock action and off center to the point that the blade almost scratched one liner. Nothing that I feel like is the end of the world, especially if I paid ~175$ or whatever it costs in the US, but it's essentially 225Eur / 270$ euro here, and for a 200$+ knife I just expect more, since everybody else seems to be able to do it.)

International Shipping/Warranty Service is being taken into consideration by me and others when it comes to buying knives, the less you hear about having to send a knife in (for whatever reason), the more likely I am going to buy it. Warranty/Customer service who does good work is all well and appreciated, but I don't think it's a good sign if you go "Oh, I can just buy that knife, if it's bad I can just send it to them to get fixed" I prefer to go with a "Oh yeah, I like that knife, it'll be fine like the last one."

Anyway, just explaining my point of view here.
 
Anyway , I'm so smitten with my Rukus II Automatic that I ordered another one. It will be arriving today. I'm hoping this second one is just as perfect as the first.

I think I'm getting hooked on automatics. I tried a Protech months ago and it was ok. But this Rukus II just outclasses it imo.
 
Yakkiebush said:
That's all you have to do,better than sitting in a drawer,
I don't carry a lot of my benchmades.but I sure do love looking at them,and play around with them.
But they don't sit in a drawer,
The ones I've had before that weren't played with are now gone.
Only to be replaced with another benchmade .lol
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You're right. I'm gonna list them locally, and or put them out at a garage sale.
 
I can't speak to the higher-end Benchmade knives, but the two Griptilians (full-sized and a mini) I own have been nothing but spectacular. I've worked the piss out of the full-sized with no issues. I will say that neither of mine have perfectly blade centering, which used to be a staple of Benchmades (no wobble though, even after heavy and hard use) . Here in the US I've also found their customer service to be the best in the biz.
 
I'm happy to report that my second Rukus II Automatic is perfect just like my first one. Great build quality and superb fit & finish.
 
b00n said:
I am not blaming BM for bad bureaucracy and slow processing (or any company for that matter) what I am saying is that those extra steps are something I (and others overseas) take into consideration during a purchase. It's very simple logic to me. [...]
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If I should ever need to send a knife in to Benchmade for servicing or warranty, not only will it take very long, but I'll have to pay postage (and probably taxes on the return trip too). This can add up to a lot of money. I'm not blaming Benchmade (or any other company) for this. Short of establishing a service center in the EU, there isn't much they can do. However, it is part of the 'individual businesscase' I was referring to a few posts back.

Although establishing a service center in the EU does sound like a great idea, now that I mention it...
 
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