BM 710-1 Limited Edition M390 Steel

I have received the knife numbered 148 that I had asked Knifeworks for. I'm not impressed with the fit and finish.
The blade is badly ground and edges of the pocket clip are sharper. There is a prominent scratch in the grind lines on one side of the blade.

My immediate reaction when opening the knife was to return it to Knifeworks, but that would mean that I would lose out on international shipping both ways.
I now think that I will keep the knife. I can put a decent edge on it and remove the sharp edges from the pocket clip.
I'll just have to live with the scratch on the blade.

I won't be buying any more factory-new Benchmades, but I'll keep an eye out for second hand classics from the days when Benchmade turned out better knives.
 
Steven Andrews said:
I have received the knife numbered 148 that I had asked Knifeworks for. I'm not impressed with the fit and finish.
The blade is badly ground and edges of the pocket clip are sharper. There is a prominent scratch in the grind lines on one side of the blade.

My immediate reaction when opening the knife was to return it to Knifeworks, but that would mean that I would lose out on international shipping both ways.
I now think that I will keep the knife. I can put a decent edge on it and remove the sharp edges from the pocket clip.
I'll just have to live with the scratch on the blade.

I won't be buying any more factory-new Benchmades, but I'll keep an eye out for second hand classics from the days when Benchmade turned out better knives.
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There was a definite need to sharpen mine out of the box and yes, that clip is rough. However, everything else was perfect and the steel is a dream to sharpen. All in all, I am very pleased with the M390 710 which is why I now carry...my Tri-Ad Recon 1?! I am a lost cause. ;)
 
Both of mine were great out of the box F&F wise and sharp enough to slice paper. :)
 
Ankerson said:
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Awesome job :thumbup:
 
Steven Andrews said:
I have received the knife numbered 148 that I had asked Knifeworks for. I'm not impressed with the fit and finish.
The blade is badly ground and edges of the pocket clip are sharper. There is a prominent scratch in the grind lines on one side of the blade.

My immediate reaction when opening the knife was to return it to Knifeworks, but that would mean that I would lose out on international shipping both ways.
I now think that I will keep the knife. I can put a decent edge on it and remove the sharp edges from the pocket clip.
I'll just have to live with the scratch on the blade.

I won't be buying any more factory-new Benchmades, but I'll keep an eye out for second hand classics from the days when Benchmade turned out better knives.
Click to expand...

Fit and finish was a bit rough on the plain one that I got. Blade barely closes without rubbing the liners. Lot's of G-10 fuzz wasn't detailed off the handle. It's rough, but fully functional, so I decided to put this one into service - no safe queen.
The black one that I got was perfect. Fit and finsh, blade alignment... perfect. The clip was bent out, though. Nothing a vice wouldn't correct.
It's kind of a crapshoot with Benchmade for me. I got a gold class Griptilian and it's a piece of crap as far as fit and finish. The Axis lock binds, blade will not center, lots of rust in the pivot area and it opens in my pocket if I'm not careful.
For the most part I love BM, but they've got a problem with consistency, IME.
 
The one I recived was a DLC blade. Fit and finish are great, the only "flaw" is the blade is slightly off center. I don't consider this a flaw as long as the liners don't scratch up the blade or slow down deploying it. The knife came out quite sharp. I have #250/250 here and #249/250 on the way. One for a user and one for the safe.
 
Bought a D2 version of this Yesterday. This is a very sexy knife

Now I got to go get an Apex sharpener *sigh*. This is a bloody expensive hobby.
 
I have now put an edge on the blade, and removed the edges from the pocket clip. I noticed that was no Loctite on either the thumbstuds or the pocket clip screws. I haven't removed the pivot screw, so not sure about that one.

There's not much I can do about the scratch that the knife came with:



Has anyone else noticed the grind marks on the inside of the liners?..


Overall, I'm glad that I didn't return the knife. Compared to the other four 710s that I already own, in 154CM, M2HS (x2) and CPM-M4, the fit and finish of this M390 was pretty poor - although the CPM-M4 version wasn't great either.

The M390 steel was fairly easy to sharpen and has taken a great edge. I look forward to using this knife.
 
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I don't know if it is just my impression, but BM seems to drop the F&F ball when they do a dealer exclusive run. The dyed scales on the M4 710 are just plain disgusting. The grind marks on the inside of the liners are not excusable, especially since they are not there on the regular production 710s.
 
Steven Andrews said:
I have now put an edge on the blade, and removed the edges from the pocket clip. I noticed that was no Loctite on either the thumbstuds or the pocket clip screws. I haven't removed the pivot screw, so not sure about that one.

Overall, I'm glad that I didn't return the knife. Compared to the other four 710s that I already own, in 154CM, M2HS (x2) and CPM-M4, the fit and finish of this M390 was pretty poor - although the CPM-M4 version wasn't great either.

The M390 steel was fairly easy to sharpen and has taken a great edge. I look forward to using this knife.
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I just got my #136 on Friday. The F&F on mine was perfect, as I didn't have the tool marks on the liners or scratched blade. You must have gotten the one that was made at 4 pm on the Friday before a holiday weekend. Regardless, if it's a knife you'll use, then all that stuff will be forgotten. It is a great knife. It might be worth a call to Benchmade, so they can give feedback to the person that made that particular knife. I hate to be a whiner to customer support, but these companies need to know when their shops are shipping out products without the proper quality controls. And your is probably traceable, since it's numbered.
 
I have over thirty Benchmade Axis Lock knives and most of the factory-new knives that I bought within the last year were made at 4pm on a Friday. It must be Benchmade's busiest time of the week.
 
Well, I got out my D2 710 after several years of not touching it. Slapped a shiny on it and, you know, that 710 is not a bad knife. Thats the thing about having way too many knives. An old one becomes new again when you dig it out of the box after a few years.

Jim, when you are slappin' a shiny (thats Powernoodlespeak), do you work through each stone on the Apex, or skip over some of them?
 
powernoodle said:
Well, I got out my D2 710 after several years of not touching it. Slapped a shiny on it and, you know, that 710 is not a bad knife. Thats the thing about having way too many knives. An old one becomes new again when you dig it out of the box after a few years.

Jim, when you are slappin' a shiny (thats Powernoodlespeak), do you work through each stone on the Apex, or skip over some of them?
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I go through all of them the 1st time.

Once they get dull enough that I just can't touch the edge back up with the tapes I start with the 600 or 320 grit stones and work up from there usually.
 
Steven Andrews said:
I have over thirty Benchmade Axis Lock knives and most of the factory-new knives that I bought within the last year were made at 4pm on a Friday. It must be Benchmade's busiest time of the week.
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I never expect a 100% perfect knife when they are in the Sub $200 price range, there is always going to be something minor or so it seems.

There are exceptions though, but more often than not they aren't perfect.

One can't expect a Sub $200 knife to look like a Sebenza. ;)
 
LorenzoL said:
Jim, the problem is when you get those $500+ knives that are less than perfect.;)
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That can happen every now and then. :D

I have seen customs that cost even more than that with marks or other small things on them over the years.

If one nitpicks they will always find something. ;)
 
Or makers that can't be bothered to put a proper edge on a blade, as if sharpening was below their skills...
 
LorenzoL said:
Or makers that can't be bothered to put a proper edge on a blade, as if sharpening was below their skills...
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Don't get me started on that... :eek:

IMO most factory edges suck so I never expect much and don't judge them by that and I always sharpen my users out of the box.
 
The D2 710 I sharpened just now with the Edge Pro was probably my worst effort. I got it really sharp, and its about 96% mirrored, but there are a few spots that aren't perfect. I spent plenty of time with too. I think that more practice is needed.

Edit: I replaced the tapes, tried again and its pretty good this time.
 
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