Decided to give a 940 a try

I want so badly to love this knife. The blade shape, size, weight, axis lock, everything about it is amazing. The knife inertia opens so well that I can carry it as a standin for a waved knife for self defense.

My only problem is my 940s pivot is such that it is always either too loose and thus has bladeplay, or too tight that it will not open with that amazing axis lock action all my other BMs have.

I know I know send it in, but I'm in Canada so sending knives is a pain in the ass, I always worry the customs agents won't let them back in if they don't crank down the pivot so tight the knife can barely open before they ship it. I guess I should do that anyway though because as it is it just sits as wasted potential on such a great knife. What a disappointment.
 
Now for the wait. Not only to have it in hand, but to see if I got a good one, or will I have to return it.
Hey 'medik,

Some stuff to read (lots and lots) to distract you from waiting. From another post I made in another thread just last night. Today is my first day with this bad boy :

Got my 940 in the mail today from the forum. LNIB. Nearly perfect centering, blade drops free, smooth action. Guess I got lucky.
Will be my new EDC

I look forward to the day I can say that.
Good to hear it is so nice.

That day is today !
Got my 940-1 Carbon fiber, S90V, in the mail today.


I ordered it during the eclipse. The smokey blade finish kind of is a reminder for me of the strange dark light during that time.

I couldn’t not get this knife I finally was literally compelled.

The combination of the carbon fiber, the deep blue posts and the handle shape became a combination that I simply had to have in my pocket.

It finally became just a matter of time. Like the space probe(s) Voyager I just kept going by one planet or another to get more and more momentum until I was up to speed to get where I wanted to get.

Substitute me for the probe and my day job for the planets and the 940 as the destination.

To be fair to all the vendors here I won’t say which one I finally ordered from but beings I went with a real knife store with enthusiastic knife people on their end (I phoned in the order) I was able to request that they look over the actual knives before they shipped and I am very pleased with my purchase :
  • Blade well enough centered; barely off doesn’t bother me at all.
  • That little line at the transition to the tip is barely/slightly angled; matters not at all and I can easily fix that if I ever decide to.
  • Blade is sharp enough; some bur (much more than my blurple Para when it arrived) but shaves one direction and will shave both directions as soon as I debur with a couple of extra fine diamond stones.
  • This was important to me; the blade is not ground too much near the choil. There is no recurve and there is plenty of material there.
  • Pivot/blade did not drop . . . oiled the pivot . . . still did not drop . . . adjusted the pivot screw the tiniest fraction of a turn/couple of degrees. DROPS FINE
  • Smooth and consistent through it’s swing.
  • Lock smooth and not too firm THANK YOU GUYS YOU WERE EXACTLY RIGHT ABOUT THAT ! ! ! I’M SO PLEASED.

Fit and finish all that I could have hoped for.

I was surprised at how light this knife is. WOW ! Ha, ha, ha if I look at the reviews on amazon I BET there are people there complaining about how “toy like” it is and complaining about how it is too light and that they sent it back because there wasn’t enough “""""quality””””” there. They actually say that about the Spyderco Dragonfly etc. Dumb sheeets.

Yah, I won’t be complaining that way THAT’S FOR SURE.

The price :
  • I have been going back and forth. Nick says it is too much.
  • I went full price so I could have a real store behind me if I just got a lemon or there was some issue. Yah I know . . . Benchmade warranty and stuff but still.
  • You know what ? Carbon fiber handle, milled for partial liners (not just stuck onto full liners or faux carbon lam on top of some other material), SIX individually placed screw anchors in the carbon fiber for the clip screws.
  • Long enough screws for attaching the liners to the scales (Nick I respectfully disagree with you here). I would much rather have the screws protrude a little inside the knife than have them too short (I have a knife were they don’t even reach the full depth of the liner thickness). Screws only come in so many stock lengths it isn’t like there is a choice unless the screws are custom cut for the knife (the other option is thicker scales).
  • High vanadium alloy blade steel takes a fancy heat treat (costs more to do).
  • Stone washed blade finish.
  • Darkend blade finish (I forget what that is called).
  • Very desirable blue posts . . . OK that was worth the price right there right ? ? ? ?
  • The lovely axis lock. WITH THE LIGHT (correct in my opinion) SPRING ACTION.
  • Blade tip well protected (think: lots of thought and experience went into the design) worth paying extra for in my book.
  • Parkerized clip (I hate the painted scratched up thing . . . I didn’t have to request an optional parkerized clip).
I may be crazy but I feel like I got ~$270 worth. There is no other knife out there that I want that I would pay that much for. Now maybe some things in my head that I might pay that much for if it would suddenly appear but you have all read my posts, threads and rants.

How would I change it ? What don’t I like ?

I am considering starting a new thread or sending a note to Benchmade . . . this is super trivial . . . I would ask for or suggest they maybe ADD a model choice, the 940-1 Osborne . . . POINT ONE :
dif = thicker handle but same exact shape.
Could call it “The Fat Boy”. Don’t discontinue the original OBVIOUSLY just add a fat handle option.

Bottom line (at least so far) I am so happy; THANK YOU BENCHMADE.
 
I know I know send it in,

Actually no . . . I was thinking "Bust that bad boy open and find out what the 'sup."
Just pretend you are in the Wild Wild West USA or the Jungle, (you no doubt have your Canadian version) no body else for hundreds of miles and you have to make it work to survive . . . and you have to make it work well to live well (the last is my two cents).

A little research, a couple tools . . . don't forget the slicky. Be Sherlock; what clues do you see ? Bent stuff ? Wear patterns ? Missing shim ? (might need a shim to make up for a machining error). (lets assume being lost in the Jungle still has internet and Fedex service;) (after all we are not barbarians here).:)
 
The 940-1 is the only knife I can bring myself to carry these days. I also have the 1501, (and a couple of mini grips), and in fact prefer the 20CV steel, but... The feel of the CF scales, the darkened blade, the weight and balance, it's all subtly better on the -1. My example is perfectly centered, (there was a tiny bit of blade play that disappeared when I tightened the pivot maybe 1/10th of a turn) and the grind is pretty good, not perfect, but good enough. Just love everything about this knife though.
 
I've been a long time fan of Benchmade and owned over 30 models, but somehow never picked up a 940. That will no longer be the case when my 940-2 arrives tomorrow. I can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.
 
I have the 940-1 and 940-1601. I ordered the 940-1701 immediately after seeing it. Reminds me of Spider-Man with those scales and the black and red look great. Just waiting for it to finally get here.
 
Yah . . . today was about the worst day at work I can remember. It was like I was caught in a freekin' Monty Python skit.
The only thing that got me through it was those little blue spacers winking back at me.
I figured at least I could Harikari and put my self out of misery.
suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucked
(except for the 940) ;)
 
Well, it finally arrived.

With baited breath, I opened the shipping box and pulled the BM box from within.

I noticed the seal had not been broken, so I got some dice and rolled them.

Apparently, it worked. I can't find anything wrong with it.

lvj0Hwc.jpg


c8hUwrR.jpg


K4i27Dy.jpg
 
Well, it finally arrived.

With baited breath, I opened the shipping box and pulled the BM box from within.

I noticed the seal had not been broken, so I got some dice and rolled them.

Apparently, it worked. I can't find anything wrong with it.

lvj0Hwc.jpg


c8hUwrR.jpg


K4i27Dy.jpg
Nice. I put on a deep carry clip (I ordered one for my mini grip but BM sent me two) and the 940 just disappears in my pocket. Really like this knife.
 
Actually no . . . I was thinking "Bust that bad boy open and find out what the 'sup."
Just pretend you are in the Wild Wild West USA or the Jungle, (you no doubt have your Canadian version) no body else for hundreds of miles and you have to make it work to survive . . . and you have to make it work well to live well (the last is my two cents).

A little research, a couple tools . . . don't forget the slicky. Be Sherlock; what clues do you see ? Bent stuff ? Wear patterns ? Missing shim ? (might need a shim to make up for a machining error). (lets assume being lost in the Jungle still has internet and Fedex service;) (after all we are not barbarians here).:)

So far I haven't busted it open beyond taking the pivot and blade. I am wary of those Omega springs.

If I was roughing it in the wilderness with this knife I would do nothing to fix it because with the axis lock a little blade play is only a nuisance and won't cause potential lock failure. Therefore it only bothers me at the level of an anal collector and has no effect on function. To be honest I could also just dial it in so that it is tight to open with no play but still functional.

What bothers me is I kow how amazing this knife is with a properly fitted pivot that doesn't allow bladeplay but at the same time is the freedropping axis action we all know and love.
 
The green and black looks great! Please update once you've carried and used it for a while.
 
My 940-2 arrived yesterday and it is perfect in every way. The blade is dead centered, bevels and edge perfectly even, and the action is smooth with no play in any direction when open. It has a large-ish blade without feeling like a big knife and it is so slim it disappears in the pocket.

Why did I wait so long?

The only thing I would change is the color of the standoffs. Does anyone know if Benchmade would send out a set of the blue ones from the 940-1?
 
Great choice! A fine blade for sure. I've decided to give the 94X series a try, once again, this time in the form of the 940-1701. Between the 20CV blade, C-TEK inlay, and red accents it speaks to me. I'm a sucker for red.
I've had a 940-1, a 943, and 2 940s but they didn't stay long. One of the 940s was an immaculate example even, but I didnt like the aluminum handles...same with the 943. And the 940-1, as nice as they are, just couldn't get the blade centered and it bothered me...a lot. Hopefully the 940-1701 arrives without issue. Such a looker and I've got high hopes this will be the one I keep.
 
My 940-1 was not 100% when I got it. It had a really uneven grind and what the techs at BM called "oversharpening," basically a sort recurve effect, but clearly not intentional. I sent it back and they made it right. Now it's my favorite knife in a long history of Chris Reeves, Spydercos and other Benchmades.
 
My 940-1 was not 100% when I got it. It had a really uneven grind and what the techs at BM called "oversharpening," basically a sort recurve effect, but clearly not intentional. I sent it back and they made it right. Now it's my favorite knife in a long history of Chris Reeves, Spydercos and other Benchmades.

Glad to hear Benchmade took care of you and made things right. In my opinion an off center blade is one thing (and something I can deal with), but a mis-sharpened blade is something else. Believe it or not I once received brand-new-from-the-factory Small Sebenza that had that oversharpened recurve.
 
Received this one in the mail today. A perfect knife. Not one thing wrong with it including centering, horizontal or vertical blade play or uneven sharpening. I really like this. Happened to stumble upon a YouTube video about this model last week. I didn't know this model was available until then.

i-CzZ4kWH-XL.jpg
 
Does anyone know if Benchmade would send out a set of the blue ones from the 940-1?
Yah . . . when pigs fly. I asked for a new blue one for my 710 (comes with blue ones) I said I would be glad to pay for it.
I was told that would void my warantee. I said "Cool. Void my warantee and send me a spacer."
They still wouldn't do it.
 
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