BM Quality Opinion Survey

Would have to say my BM mini AFCK is amoung the best quality production folders
I have. It has been used and abused over the
last couple of years and snapped open hard a thousand times. Yet the lock up is still tight with negligible lateral or fore/aft play in the blade. With occationaly "Break Free" lube at the pivit,it opens and closes smoothly. It is a quality knife that will cause me to buy more Benchmades.
 
I can't believe all the teeter/totering on this, but that just backs up Mr. Glessers statement. I have had 4 custom butterfly's with narry a problem, the eclispe was very handy and worked well, the stryker was great! the emerson was very tough, the centofante auto smooth, though I liked the black vs the gray more, the gray showed dirt too easily, and now I like to get an AFCK with M2 plain edge, if only I could find one. As I drifted down these posts, one thing kept surfacing, the M2 AFCK's were very good. I'm a real fan of tool steel for knives and can't wait for one of these.

my .02
 
Guys

I own a CQC7, AFCK, a Axis and a host of others and I think their quality is very very good. The Axis is my fave and am looking forward to a Spyderco Military or Police model using that lock.

I think the competition is tough between Spyderco, Benchmade and Cold Steel and they all are turning out very good products at a good price, ----- Just think of where we were 5 years ago and look at the choices we have now ... Just a thought.

wll

[This message has been edited by wll (edited 07 March 1999).]
 
got 350bt a while back.paid too much for the knife in the first place thinking it was like the 3500 series of autos which i like very much.own 25 or 30 bm's all autos and never had any probs.
this 350 is a piece of you know what.the handles are plastic.the liner lock pushes down into the handles so far i have to use my other hand
thumbnail to move linerto left in order to close knife.should i send it back to who i bought it from or to benchmade?​
 
I have a friend who just bought an AFCK. The blade rubs alittle on opening and the clip was loose. I felt bad, like it was my fault. All this time I'm saying how great my Benchmade's are, and then he finally gets one, and its a lemon. Oh well. He is able to trade it for a new one where he bought it, so it will work out.
Blades
 
I've purchased about 10 different Benchmades and have had to return only one in for repair. and I got that one back within 3 weeks. I've found you can always get a lemon no matter what brand you buy. I've had to return a Spyderco and an EDI for repair as well. Like Sal says, thats what the warranty dept. is for.
My biggest complaint with BM is the sharpness, not all seem very sharp. There is nothing more annoying than having to resharpen a brand new knife.
Walter
 
Well, I've had my BM975 now for quite a while. I can't say anything bad about it. It's sharp! Locks up tight! And I like the way it looks too! I can't really say that it takes abuse. I don't abuse my tools. But, I've cut a lot of things... wire, seat belts, ect.ect.ect. and although I've haven't had to stab any enemy sentries lately, the lock has never failed.
 
I have purchased 3 Benchmade folders in the past 18 months or so: a Leopard Cub, a mini-Spike, and a mini-Stryker. All three are very well-designed, functional, nicely crafted knives. However, only the Leopard arrived very sharp, and even that wasn't exactly hair-popping. Furthermore, the blades on the Leopard and Stryker were both slightly crooked, in the sense that when closed the blades aren't perfectly parallel to the liner. The Spike has a plastic spacer between the halves that arrived with a small chip. I sent it in to Benchmade for repair and sharpening. It was fixed and returned very quickly, though their sharpening didn't really improve it much.

A friend of mine has a mini-AFCK and a full-size one. The only problem he reported is that the large AFCK had a liner lock that tended to bind a bit when locked, requiring a fair amount of effort to release the lock. It has since loosened up somewhat from use.

So, I'd say I'm a happy customer overall, and I will buy from them again, but they could use some work on quality control and a better sharpening strategy.

-Brett


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brett@rahul.net
www.rahul.net/brett
 
I currently own 4 Benchmade knives.

Sentinel, AFCK, Mini AFCK, and Stryker.

My only problem has been with the Sentinel. Initially the liner lock traveled too far, way past the center of the blade.

I returned the knife for adjustment.
1) It came back with the same amount of liner lock travel. I spoke to Customer Service and was told that the large amount of travel was acceptable, and in part a result of the curvature of the ramp on the blade where the liner lock engages. I question the reply regarding the design (e.g. curvature of the ramp) being a contributing factor to what I perceived as a problem.
2) Upon return of the knife I noticed several parallel scratches in the blade which were not present when I returned the knife for service. I again spoke with Customer Service,and was informed that the scratches could have been caused when they sharpened the knife prior to return. I wanted the blade changed, and asked if they would consider replacing the original satin blade with the BT2 coated blade. They agreed, if I payed $30.00 for the black blade. This I did, and the knife has been OK ever since. It is interesting to note that the new black blade locks up squarely in the middle without too much liner lock travel.

I have HIGH PRAISE to date for the AFCK which I carry daily.

Carl L. Green
 
While I have run into a few less than acceptable pieces, I do have a BM975 that is still tops in lock up and no wobble whatsoever.
I do not think the company is going downhill although I do feel they shcoud tighten up on QC a bit more.
Still a company I would like to continue doing business with, especially with the release of the fixed blade model, the Nimravus. Three cheers to Benchmade and Allen Elishewitz.
 
I have six BM: AFCK, Emerson, Sentinal, Leopard Cub, Gent, Mini-Stryker.

The Stryker is a plainedge blackened blade. I had to send this knife back to BM because there was too much play between the liner lock and blade. I received it back from BM in fair condition, but the lock still doesn't lock the blade in as strong as I would like it.

I sent my Sentinal back to BM because the two piece scales on the clip side kept hanging on to my pocket whenever I would draw this knife. I received it back from BM satisfied.

Overall I would rate BM VERY GOOD!
 
Well, I posted a week or so ago that I had an Axis lock coming in the mail, and I would try to get back in and report on it. Well, it came, and I was less than impressed with the edge, to say the least. To be quite frank, I was downright disappointed in the quality of the edge (only the edge; the rest of the knife is superb). It would _sort-of_ shave hair off your arm, if you held it just right. But, you could basically run your thumb down the edge (the middle of you thumb), and it felt pretty much like a butter knife. Yeah, I know, that doesn't make much sense, but that was the way it was. In comparison, the Eclipse (Ascent 830) that I mentioned in my other post has an edge that will not only shave, but bite like crazy if you run it across your thumbprint. I will only do that lightly with the Eclipse. With the Axis, humph, no problem.

So, now I am waiting on the Sharpmaker to come in the mail. I have already tried sharpening on the tools that I use with my other knives, but they are too broad for the recurve, and I'm going to mess up the edge geometry if I keep it up without the proper tools.

Needless to say, I'm disappointed in the knife; after all, what is a knife without an edge? Nevertheless, I have ordered a second Axis, because I like the knife design, and the blade profile, that much. I'll just get a chance to brush up my sharpening skills with this first Axis.

O_D
 
My two Benchmades are just fine, for what it's worth.

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"If you come to a fork in the road, take it"
 
Although this is an older topic, I would like to remark on something that occured to me the other day as I was fondling through my collection.

I have a BM 705 McH+W Axis and a 720 Pardue Axis(actually, that one's been traded) that are incredibly well done and when bought on line at a discount, great values IMHO. Maybe it's the Axis locking mechanism, but both of these bad boys are rock solid, no play in the blades, and came scary sharp. I personally can see the difference in quality in comparison to my other BM's which include an early Sentinel(wobbly blade, lock is real hard to release)a 350SBT (dull out of box) and an Eclipse (the hands down most difficult to open lockback I've ever used).

But these Axis models reek of quality machining efforts. At least mine do. If you've been hesitant to get one, you should check one out. I traded off my Pardue Axis, but I'll never let go of my 705BT "Vortex". I would highly recommend one of these little knives to any one who wants a BM for small chores. This is the most buttery smooth opening Benchmade I own, perfect in all respects out of the box. And it's not like the lock's gonna fail... Maybe Benchmade has made some efforts to improve. Anyways, I still like them- even if I've had my fill of 'tacticals' for now. Black G-10 only goes so far for my tastes. And I'd never, ever, ever, buy a Mono-lock or whatever it's called now. I'm sorry, but that knife was good the first time, and it's name is Sebenza. Gripe, gripe, gripe.

To their credit though, my 850 Pardue is one of my all time favorite knives from any company. And it was perfect out of box as well. In fact, it's probably ounce for ounce the most attractive-while-still-being-tough knife I own.

If Benchmade can maintain quality standards, then I'll keep buying them.

clip

 
My 970 is oft-carried, however, the G-10 scales aren't flush with the liners and the result is the occasional "bite". -Shouldn't happen on a $90.00 to $100.00 knife, right? Also, the pivot pin seems to work itself loose every now and then.
-Redleg out.


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"Blessed is the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle..." excerpted from Psalms 144.

[This message has been edited by Redleg (edited 28 December 1999).]
 
I have about 7 Benchmades, the oldest being a Spike, the newest is a 705 bt, the most used is a very early example of the AFCK.

All my Benchmades have been near enough to perfect that I have no complaints. The only inconsistency that I have seem is in the sharpness of the knife NIB. Some have come very sharp, some have been less so. This however is a problem I can fix myself far easier than sending the knife back to the factory.

My only direct dealings with Benchmade occurred when I removed my AFCK from my pocket and discovered that the clip was hanging lose, and one of the three screws was missing. I called Benchmade to get a new screw, and the lady I spoke with assured me that she would take care of the problem. Within Two weeks I had an envelope in the mail containing four new screws, and a new pocket clip, all at Benchmade's expense, not even any postage due.

As far as I am concerned, Benchmade makes an excellent product at a fair price, and goes as far out of their way to take care of their customers as could be reasonably expected.


Mike
 
Well from my own experiences owning Benchmades I have no complaints. When there is a problem; people make mistakes/machines break; BM Customer Service has a good reputation for correcting the problem.

1. 710 Axis Lock. Have had it since Dec 25th and haven't found a QC problem yet. Grind is even and sharp but not Spyderco sharp.

2. 910 S Stryker. Bought it when it first came out. DULL and uneven grind. The Liner lock was perfect and is still in good shape after much use.

3. 910 SBT Stryker. Newer make. Clean straight grind with razor edge. Definately improved blade process. Liner lock is as good and secure as first one I owned.

4. 800 AFCK SBT. Christmas gift for my brother. Given the once over and couple evening work out. Locked up solidly and blade did not rub liners like I have heard of other examples.

5. 875 Sentinal BT. Grind was even and razor sharp. Sharpest of my BMs. Liner lock traveled over tang w/ in year of moderate opening and closing and blade developed lateral play. Knife wasn't used, just opened. It's at BM right now.

6. Full-size Spike. Even, sharp grind. Liner lock hasn't moved in over a years use. No blade play. Trouble-free.




[This message has been edited by V-1 (edited 28 December 1999).]
 
I have to echo what Outlaw_Doughboy said about his Axis being dull. My 710 also felt like a butter knife. So dull I immediately returned it to BM with a $5.00 check for sharpening. First time I ever paid to have a new knife sharpened . . . hope it's the last!

The 710 still isn't back. Was shipped from BM factory on 12/17, UPS delivery here scheduled for 12/24, here it is 12/28 and still no 710. Obviously got caught up in the Christmas rush.
frown.gif



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ralph
 
I have a BM Mini Stryker (from Staba-San
smile.gif
) and it is smooth as silk. The blade is perfectly centered and there is no play in either locked or unlocked position. This albeit having been used before I got it. It has quickly become my new favorite daily carry. And as long as I can keep my wife from grabbing it from me, I guess it will remain on that status until I can get a Sifu. The only knife we have that is smoother in action is the SpeedTech Synergy.

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The impossible I can do right away, miracles take a little longer.
 
Well, the UPS truck rolled in with my 710 late this afternoon. Even after the factory sharpening job, it still doesn't seem to be real sharp,
mad.gif
but I have been comparing it to a large Sebenza I received in mid-December and that may not be a fair comparison
rolleyes.gif
. Guess I'll work on thinning the shoulders a little with the 30 degree angle on a Sharpmaker 204 and then finish the edge using the 40 degree angle.
wink.gif
(Per the Joe Talmadge FAQ on sharpening.)

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ralph
 
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