BM life-sharp service

D

dtownknifekid

Joined
Dec 21, 2006
Messages
1,155
I recently dropped my BM 210 tK activator on concrete and the edge is badly chipped and I was wondering about benchmade's lifesharp service. How well do they sharpen the knives? and would they sharpen out the chips? or would I be better off sending it to someone on the forums to get the chips out and sharpen it at 30 degrees inclusive?

Thanks in advance
 
Kinda marketing BS in my opinion. Get a good sharpener and save on the shipping.
 
BM's LifeSharp policy, marketing or not, is a good thing. They do good work, I can attest to it (notwithstanding those few who've not had the greatest sharpening experience with BM). However!...... you pay shipping both ways and it'll take them a minimum of two weeks (3 is more likely).

I would send it to Richard J and pay him what he asks. It'll probably be cheaper and quicker, and almost definitely sharper. I have a 210tk (it's around my neck, under my shirt, on top of my t-shirt, every single day). If I were you, I'd ask Richard to take it down to about 25 to 28deg inclusive. Then, once the chip is gone and the edge is ground the way you want, learn how to sharpen it well for future needs. (Maybe you already know how to sharpen but are daunted by the chip?)

I don;t know how your accident happened, but mine came unsheathed one day while I was wearing it. Luckily, it did not land in a manner to harm the blade or edge. I tightened the tension screw all the way down and was still not satisfied. SO, I took the little O-ring out of the tension screw and sanded it down on a piece of 320 grit sandpaper stuck to the bench, using my finger on top to maintain pressure while stroking it. That was well over two years ago and it has not come unsheathed since.
 
Last edited:
I know how to sharpen, but right now I lack the skills/equipment to take nasty chips out of a recurved knife. I only have medium down to ultrafine sharpmaker stones and the knives ship free honing system with sandpaper and a strop, and I am still learning how to use it.

So basically, Richard J it looks like you will have some new business, at the end of August, when I know I will be home to recieve my knife. I may even send more then one.
 
I've had BMs come to me blunt right out of the box. That in itself does not give me much confidence about the quality of their sharpening service. Granted I've never tried sending a knife in but I guess that's my reasoning for not doing so.
 
if you're up for a road trip, i'm in ohio. i can teach you how to sharpen with the wheels if you want to get a set.
 
dtownknifekid said:
I know how to sharpen, but right now I lack the skills/equipment to take nasty chips out of a recurved knife. I only have medium down to ultrafine sharpmaker stones and the knives ship free honing system with sandpaper and a strop, and I am still learning how to use it.
.......
Click to expand...

I kindly figured that was the case. In fact, I think you and I have discussed sharpening (or maybe knives) in the past, so I thought probably the chip was out of your league. Depending on the knife, chips are definitely out of my league! The Snody 210 is such a nice blade shape design, I wouldn;t even begin to tackle a large chip. Plus, there really isn;t much blade to work with. Send it in to Richard and just tell him when you'll be home to receive it.


Loneriderz said:
I've had BMs come to me blunt right out of the box. That in itself does not give me much confidence about the quality of their sharpening service. Granted I've never tried sending a knife in but I guess that's my reasoning for not doing so.
Click to expand...

Loneriderz, maybe there've been a few dull ones like the occassional lemon that comes from any production widget. But.... I've yet to receive a new-in-box Benchmade that was not very sharp, if not razor sharp. Plus, I've used the Lifesharp service - they do well if you have the patience to wait for the return of the knife. With that said though, most guys like me can;t have their knives sharp enough.... it's a constant endeavor to have the edge so sharp that it "scares" the blood out of anything "cut-able" (((:D)))

No factory knifemaker that I know of sends knives out that sharp, so we're stuck working the edge to that level on our own.
 
Richard J,
thanks for the offer I'd love to take you up on that but I currently am unable go on such a trip because I still only have a learner's permit. I think I'll send you the knives and payment in a couple of weeks. I might try to schedule a time to learn how to sharpen once I get my license, which will hopefully only be in about a month.
 
Richard does great work, as when my back was gimpy he thinned my Superhawk out really thin how I wanted with his 1/2" wheels and got the knife really sharp. I bought a set of 1" wheels myself due to the great results and quick turn around (and cheap price) Richard gave me. To thin out my Father in law's Superhawk I may send Richard that knife as well, since I don't have 1/2" wheels and want a thinner edge than the Sharpmaker can give me. Richard definately does you right when you send a blade in for a sharpening.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top