Can I request an unsharpened knife from the Custom Shop?

marrenmiller

marrenmiller

Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
1,765
Like the title says, has anyone ever asked the Benchmade Custom Shop to provide an unsharpened knife rather than have them put an edge on it?

I ask because I'm at the end of my wits dealing with Benchmade's awful factory edges and at this point I'd rather just grind the entire edge in myself so that it gets done correctly. I just got back a custom barrage in S90V from their warranty department and it had an atrocious edge on it that's taking me hours to fix by hand on my DMT plates. To even out the edge, I have to grind a bunch of steel off, thickening the edge and shortening the lifespan of the blade.

I just don't know why they can't do this correctly. I shouldn't need to send a $300 knife back to them to have them sharpen it right.
 
marrenmiller said:
Like the title says, has anyone ever asked the Benchmade Custom Shop to provide an unsharpened knife rather than have them put an edge on it?

I ask because I'm at the end of my wits dealing with Benchmade's awful factory edges and at this point I'd rather just grind the entire edge in myself so that it gets done correctly. I just got back a custom barrage in S90V from their warranty department and it had an atrocious edge on it that's taking me hours to fix by hand on my DMT plates. To even out the edge, I have to grind a bunch of steel off, thickening the edge and shortening the lifespan of the blade.

I just don't know why they can't do this correctly. I shouldn't need to send a $300 knife back to them to have them sharpen it right.
Click to expand...
They need to stop hand sharpening knives and move to a jig that will yield consistent bevels.
 
loonybin said:
They need to stop hand sharpening knives and move to a jig that will yield consistent bevels.
Click to expand...
Exactly. If they can advertise some knives as having a "Select Edge" with a more acute edge angle, clearly they have some systems that can help ensure an even and consistent edge on their knives.

The cynic in me thinks it's because Benchmade is clearly aware that their fanbase by and large doesn't know to expect better.
 
Holy crap, I find it absolutely hilarious that we've come to the point of asking for knives with unsharpened blades (this is coming from someone who literally just put in an order for a custom M4 Mini Grip five minutes ago, so it's a little tongue in cheek).
 
marrenmiller said:
Exactly. If they can advertise some knives as having a "Select Edge" with a more acute edge angle, clearly they have some systems that can help ensure an even and consistent edge on their knives.

The cynic in me thinks it's because Benchmade is clearly aware that their fanbase by and large doesn't know to expect better.
Click to expand...

Or they don't care. Which is generally the response when you bring up sharpening issues on this forum. You get told - "you bought it to use, USE IT!" But as you pointed out, by fixing the poor sharpening job you removed a ton of material that now eats up the life of the knife because of how thick it's ground. It's going to wedge sooner than later now. I want a cutting tool to cut well and when I pay the ever increasing admission price for a Benchmade I expect it to be made well which includes ground and sharpened correctly.

@Cypress can chime in on his issues with Benchmade and the fanboys who constantly tell us that we're wrong expecting a knife to be sharpened well.

And it's not that we're not fans of BM. We are, but we just can't justify the price to quality these days. I have defended them in the past because I like them and hadn't had huge issues but after getting a couple of questionable custom shops, I was tired of it.
 
BMCGear said:
Or they don't care. Which is generally the response when you bring up sharpening issues on this forum. You get told - "you bought it to use, USE IT!" But as you pointed out, by fixing the poor sharpening job you removed a ton of material that now eats up the life of the knife because of how thick it's ground. It's going to wedge sooner than later now. I want a cutting tool to cut well and when I pay the ever increasing admission price for a Benchmade I expect it to be made well which includes ground and sharpened correctly.

@Cypress can chime in on his issues with Benchmade and the fanboys who constantly tell us that we're wrong expecting a knife to be sharpened well.

And it's not that we're not fans of BM. We are, but we just can't justify the price to quality these days. I have defended them in the past because I like them and hadn't had huge issues but after getting a couple of questionable custom shops, I was tired of it.
Click to expand...
Amen. I'm still a fan of Benchmade, and I don't think any of us would buy custom shop knives if we weren't. But sometimes I don't know why I should be passionate about their offerings if it feels like they aren't passionate about making them.

This particular knife went back to their warranty department once before for vertical blade play, and I didn't even ask them to fix the tang on it that they straight up forgot to grind and polish smooth (just did it myself to save the hassle). They didn't fix the vertical play and instead shipped it back with fewer parts than I sent it in with. I'm frankly afraid to send them anything now.
 
S
marrenmiller said:
Amen. I'm still a fan of Benchmade, and I don't think any of us would buy custom shop knives if we weren't. But sometimes I don't know why I should be passionate about their offerings if it feels like they aren't passionate about making them.

This particular knife went back to their warranty department once before for vertical blade play, and I didn't even ask them to fix the tang on it that they straight up forgot to grind and polish smooth (just did it myself to save the hassle). They didn't fix the vertical play and instead shipped it back with fewer parts than I sent it in with. I'm frankly afraid to send them anything now.
Click to expand...
Shame... I have 2, a 550 and 556 and I'm afraid to send them for sharpening.
I'm more of a SAK guy.Problems with Custom Shop Knives is Not good! Thanks for this thread.
 
The OP post kind of says it all concerning the quality of BM sharpening.

I would like to get some more BMs, but threads like this make me nervous to do it.
 
I just got a new BM for Xmas. Had a perfectly ground edge and a needle sharp point. You could barely tell it was a right-handed cutler :)

Rather than bellyaching, if BM sux for u take your $ to another brand.

If I have a new knife with a poor edge, I fix it myself or bring it to the local shop where it costs $6. They took a Northwoods Scagel and put a scandi grind on it, cuts great and is easy to sharpen.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top