Dear Benchmade,

[Joshua J.]

I love Spydercos but let's be honest, at least one of the big reasons to move the hole to the trademark is to grasp onto any further protection they can get from other knife companies using it as a functional feature on their knives. The fact that the hole wasn't used on past fixed blades shows that in the past, Spyderco viewed the hole primarily as a utility component. Certainly, they could sincerely think of it as a bona fide mark that represents they're brand now, but interestingly when the functional aspect was protected, they didn't think it was all that important for brand recognition for their fixed blades.

IIRC the point that pushed Sal over the edge (to putting holes in fixed blades) was when he heard that there were Mexican knifemakers doing it "because it was a sign of quality".
I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a trade mark.
It's not like all the other shaped holes are any less functional anyway.

Oddly enough, I've learned that the opening hole is more annoying than it's worth a lot of the time. If you're cutting deep into something, the hole binds in the material. It can get stuck pretty bad if you're not careful.
I love thumbstuds, as long as you don't have to put your thumb on them. The idea of an external stop pin is genius, it's virtually impossible to get all gunked up.
So what is my preferred opening method? The flipper of course! It's fast, fun, and acts as a guard to keep the blade from chopping your fingers off.

 

[Kaizen1]

IIRC the point that pushed Sal over the edge (to putting holes in fixed blades) was when he heard that there were Mexican knifemakers doing it "because it was a sign of quality".
I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a trade mark.
It's not like all the other shaped holes are any less functional anyway.

If other makers and manufacturers use the hole as an opening method, does it count as using Spyderco's trademark?

 

[Roger999]

Dear Benchmade,

You will have many more loyal customers and see your profits increase if you

1. Bring back the AFCK

2. Offer the Griptilian in G10

3. Start using more flat grinds

4. Do away with most thumb studs and use holes...you know like spyderco?

5. Actually sharpen the knives you sell so your customers don't have to sharpen their new knives.

6. Stop using hollow grinds....forever

7. Offer the Axis lock on every knife you sell

8. Offer a better selection of steels

Did I miss anything fellas?

Why not just buy a Spyderco instead of making a benchmade into a spyderco?

 

[Roger999]

IIRC the point that pushed Sal over the edge (to putting holes in fixed blades) was when he heard that there were Mexican knifemakers doing it "because it was a sign of quality".
I'm pretty sure that qualifies as a trade mark.
It's not like all the other shaped holes are any less functional anyway.

Oddly enough, I've learned that the opening hole is more annoying than it's worth a lot of the time. If you're cutting deep into something, the hole binds in the material. It can get stuck pretty bad if you're not careful.
I love thumbstuds, as long as you don't have to put your thumb on them. The idea of an external stop pin is genius, it's virtually impossible to get all gunked up.
So what is my preferred opening method? The flipper of course! It's fast, fun, and acts as a guard to keep the blade from chopping your fingers off.

I've found the opposite, the thumbstuds get ground off when I'm reprofiling and they block the knife from cutting through long and wide materials, for example cutting a block of cheese, if they put the thumbstud further away from the tang, the thumbstuds block the knife from cutting deeper into it.

 

[orthogonal1]

I've found the opposite, the thumbstuds get ground off when I'm reprofiling and they block the knife from cutting through long and wide materials, for example cutting a block of cheese, if they put the thumbstud further away from the tang, the thumbstuds block the knife from cutting deeper into it.

Those are valid considerations.

However, some knives use the thumbstuds as a bladestop and the studs no longer inhibit the length of usable edge as you discuss.

But, then again, getting a knife with a longer blade is always a niffty option .

 

[tirod3]

Maybe because it is a cheap, Chinese-made knife? And from what I read around forums the Tenacious, which is also a cheap, Chinese-made knife, is way better than the Vex.

Cheap is relative term - compare the Vex or Tenacious against a Buck Tarani at $65 with 420 steel and FRN grips. I'll buy cheap everytime.

And since the specs are IDENTICAL between the Vex and Tenacious, the only thing I could suffer would be not having Spyderco's admittedly better fit and finish - which is useless and nonfunctional. I bought the Vex to use, so preferred the TiN blade and clip treatment, which is virtually scratch free after months of wear and use.

If the OP wants to get the listed options, compromises have to be made. I did, I bought a knife made better than a US product for less. Again, lead me to the cheap.

I can't wait for someone to start offering cheap chinese parts for AR's. A sopmod stock, upper, or free float handguard for 50% off - to specs, like Spyderco does so well - is a good price. Claiming country of origin is cheap goods - well, that's an old joke here. What do we type on, what HDTV do you watch, where does your wristwatch come from? Do you go barefoot?

Cheap Chinese stuff. Lead me to it, I like getting my money's worth.

 

[dericdesmond]

Dear Benchmade,

Please do not send back a 60 degree edge on blade finished with an 80 grit wheel when... :barf:
you were original sent a knife with mirror polished hair whittling 30 degree edge. That was not what I meant when I only asked for a pivot adjustment.

& no, I was not impressed with how 1/8" off the entire edge could be ground off with just 30 secs on your 80 grit "finishing wheel". But yes, the enormous blur that was left on the edge did help prevent me from cutting myself (or anything else for that matter.)

I appreciate the "privilege" for paying for such "service."

scooby :grumpy:

THATS BS! I have friends who run a shop and whenever they send a knife to BM they tape the blade up and write, DO NOT SHARPEN for this very reason. Sorry to hear that man. I would almost go as far as comparing that to having your woman felt up by a retard.

 

[dericdesmond]

I forgot to add to the list,

11. Start giving your customers finger protection. Safety should always be first IMO. I cant recall ever seeing a benchmade that if it had the lock fail, wouldnt totally destroy your phalanges. I think my old gravitator was close though. That was a nice knife.

Has one failed on me? Nope, because I will not risk using one.

 

[KBobAries]

...

5. Actually sharpen the knives you sell so your customers don't have to sharpen their new knives...

The Sequel I just got back last week DEFINITELY falls into this category. I have several Benchmades but it's been a while since they were purchased and I don't remember what they were like out of the box.

I sent the knife in for a general tuneup and it came back incredibly smooth and cleaned up but when I checked the edge I did scratch my head a little. Oh well, a few strokes on the Sharpmaker and it's as good as ever. Not a big deal.

I don't think it's just a BM thing because a NIB Spyderco purchased a few weeks ago on the web was immediately returned to the factory to be converted from a butterknife into a useful tool.


Dan

 

[Joshua J.]

If other makers and manufacturers use the hole as an opening method, does it count as using Spyderco's trademark?

Custom makers have to license the round hole, and are limited in the number of knives per year that can use it. Some manufacturers have licensed the round hole as well, (Boker used it on a few models).
If you don't want to license the "Spyderhole", just make it a different shape. There's more manufacturers than I care to list doing that. Apparently they all think it's a reasonable trademark.

 

[rodloos]

If you don't want to license the "Spyderhole", just make it a different shape.

I have a Gerber that has a "slit" instead of a round hole for opening, yes I can get the blade open with it, but *definitely* not as smoothly or easily.

 

[M2HSSR-910SBK]

IMO it would be nice if BM would bring back the 730

+1 Agree'd 100%. This is my favortie BM to date.

 

[Amaranth]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LorenzoL
Maybe because it is a cheap, Chinese-made knife? And from what I read around forums the Tenacious, which is also a cheap, Chinese-made knife, is way better than the Vex.

I purchased the Tenacious and Vex at the same time. When I received them, the differences were glaring -
Tenacious - Drilled for clip at all four "corners".
Vex - Drilled only for ambidextrous carry, but not Tip Up and Tip Down

Tenacious - Steel liners drilled to save almost three quarters of an ounce of weight (.7 ozs) , Vex not. Okay, so not a killer, but it's just another nice touch that BM decided to leave out.

Tenacious - Fit and finish excellent
Vex - F&F not bad, but all the metal pieces had rounded edges, making them appear stamped, not machined, and giving it a cheap appearance.

Tenacious - Semi-glossy satin finished blade
Vex - Green-Brown coating on the blade.

Tenacious - Spydehole gives awesome leverage, making deployment lightning fast.
Vex- The hole's lower placement makes access more difficult, deployment ok.

I will give credit to Vex for locking up solidly, having no blade play, and being full flat grind. But why is it selling for 7-8 bucks more than the Tenacious, which is significant at the low-end price point?

To me it seems like Spyderco said "Let's make the best knife we can for the money, and offer it to our customers at a value price."
Benchmade seemed to say, "Let's make a knife for the lowest cost possible, and price it as high as the market will bear!"

 

[orthogonal1]

...

To me it seems like Spyderco said "Let's make the best knife we can for the money, and offer it to our customers at a value price."
Benchmade seemed to say, "Let's make a knife for the lowest cost possible, and price it as high as the market will bear!"

Do you really think the Vex represents a knife made "for the lowest cost possible"?

If so, you really need to go out and handle more knives to gain some perspective.

 

[The Government]

I was kind of shocked to see my first benchmade, the Osborne 940, come out of the box with the edge it had. It was also my first S30V steel. I thought, okay... maybe this is just the texture of sharpened S30V (my optimism)... Or maybe (my intuition) benchmade sucks at sharpening knives. For 120 bucks, you would think they could put a serious edge on that thing. Any serious knife maker should try and impress the consumer with the sharpest edge possible -I am not talking about simple hair popping sharp -I want a 120 dollar knife to split atoms. "Hair popping sharp" is too ambiguous of a term to really mean anything, but that is a topic for another thread.

 

[tsuba]

Dear Benchmade,

I want more balisong (maybe a collaboration with Korth) and a karambit... no two, a folder & a fixed !

Thank you for all your design, past, present and future !

 

[Roger999]

Dear Benchmade,

I want more balisong (maybe a collaboration with Korth) and a karambit... no two, a folder & a fixed !

Thank you for all your design, past, present and future !

Benchmade does make balisongs......

 

[Condition 1]

I'm one of the minority that actually likes the Noryl GTX scales of the Grips.

They are light, tough and ..grippy!

There is no down side to the "NARLET" GTX.

This is not your grand pappys palstic. It's bomb proof. (I'm getting tired of the term.)

I don't think it's just a BM thing because a NIB Spyderco purchased a few weeks ago on the web was immediately returned to the factory to be converted from a butterknife into a useful tool.
Dan

Suprising to hear this. It's a first for me and I'm a Benchmade Guy.

 

[tirod3]

The BM has it's method of finish, yes. We are used to seeing squared edges and flat features on knives that give the feeling it was finished by hand on a grinder.

Exactly. The knife was assembled and finished as an assembly. BM had each piece individually finished, then assembled. All the rounded off parts mean each was individually done. I view that as having more hand work, not less. It bites less, too. No 90 edges on all sides of the scales.

Relieving the liners is an individual thing, it would be nice if they had done so. For the trade off, the TiN coating - that grey stuff - is atomic grade bomb proof in daily use. I have rubbed the clip up against concrete blocks, metal work benches, and dozens of other things, it always wins, and isn't scratched. The double finger grip pattern works in use, too - people complain about clips all the time, but nobody praises the Vex for fixing their problem.

The TiN on the blade is very slippery, won't stain, scratch, or rub off. I've got a BM CQC 7 from the day, and the first time I used it on a fiber shipping tube, the teflon wore off to the metal. I've been cutting double corrugated antifreeze boxes with the Vex for months, nada, no scratches or wear.

Spyderco can make a great knife, but BM makes a better one for somebody who uses one daily, rather than wearing one because it will deploy faster - a major mall ninja combatives plus.

For those of us who don't wear the bling goggles, the Vex is a great user for a guy needing a working tool. The Tenacious falls short with no TiN, an obstrusive clip, and more finish than function. It's should be cheaper.

Again - OP - look at the BM lineup, the listed features are there. Take time to observe and understand why knives are shaped the way they are, not how the marketers portray them. BM really can't say the Vex is better than a Blue class knife - it would show the public too much honesty.

 

[dericdesmond]

Spyderco can make a great knife, but BM makes a better one for somebody who uses one daily, rather than wearing one because it will deploy faster - a major mall ninja combatives plus.

That is simply the dumbest thing I have ever read on here. Thank god for the ignore feature.