disappointed in Benchmade

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The last Benchmade I bought had a blown out flux capacitor. I threw a banana peel at it and it started cutting straight away. ;)
 
As we go into all this issue once again (and for sure not for the last time - see another thread next week), can we also go a bit ahead of ourselves and clarify this BM very expensive issue? Like what are the knives which are so very expensive - exactly the model, the price point and the equivalent from another well-known manufacturer this knife was compared to? It would be interesting to see what essentially people talk about...
That is just suggestion - to have one topics instead of two for this week. ;)
 
TUF said:
That is pure conjecture. I am retired military and I guarantee of all the Benchmade knives made the vast majority are in civilian hands.

Out of curiosity how many pull through sharpeners do they sell a year compared to the number of knives they sell a year? Don't tell me you don't know since you stated "and thus will use that pull-through sharpener".

I'm not going to argue this point anymore but I will tell you the guy you think is a newb is smarter than all of you rolled together. That's fact.
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I've never known a non-knife person to use anything but a pull-through, or to send the knife back for resharpening, but that's just me. And yes, a majority of nearly all knives(except perhaps the old Ka-Bar) will end up in civilian hands. However, Benchmade has the most expansive line of automatics among "the big three" and given the federal regulations surrounding automatic knives, I would assume they have a correspondingly larger Military/LEO customer base than the other two companies that we're discussing.

Sharpness is relative. That's a "fact". Thing is, if the thing cuts me and I'm not using enough force to split a log, I'd say it's "sharp". For a majority of practical uses, slicing paper is sharp enough. For non-knife people, it'll be sharper than anything they've ever owned.

Besides which, Spyderco factory edges can pop hair, which is something I won't see on my edges until I finish with a 2-3 micron belt, and I'd say that's setting the bar pretty damn high.
 
Both sides have good points here. Benchmade makes good to great knives and has been doing so for years. However, if I bought a new car and had to change the oil as soon as I got home I'd be unhappy with that experience. I wouldn't say the car or company was trash or to be avoided. As long as it ran great etc. for the next few years. But I can see why someone would expect more / better from Benchmade.
Personally, I don't own any BM knives I'm sure I will some day but not really in any hurry to do so.
Just my 2¢
 
dunno about the op but the griptilian i got was pretty freakin sharp...the different grind did make it cut different than my manix 2 though but thats a given. also i think i remember reading that spyderco started as a sharpening company so they take pride in sharp edges. on that not i have been to shops and the knives are usually duller than knives from say the internet probably because they get used or heck ordered dull so random people dont slice themselves open. sharpness aside benchmade sure knows how to make a knife great ergonomics and axis locks are sweeet :D
 
I've had a coworker dig under his fingernails with his old Boa, he had all 4 fingers wrapped around the edge as he did this, the edge had chips everywhere, and I couldn't slice paper with it. Perhaps that's why I have such a high(or is it low?;)) standard of what "dull" really is.
 
four_shore said:
ehh a new knife should be sharp...period.
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What is sharp to you? What is dull? Perhaps we should make that determination first. We may well be arguing two different things.


four_shore said:
to defend my car analogy i can safely say that when you purchase a new vehicle it should drive. after a few months it may need an oil change or a tune up but upon purchase it should do what it's intended for...no?
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Well, some people might be content with the oil that the car comes with or you can be very picky and want synthetic oil and change it immediately upon getting the car. It all depends upon what you deem acceptable and what you deem functional.
 
i'm in full agreement that mostly everyone in here has made valid points. it was simply a debate and i thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. i also agree that the op wasnt very specific in his definition of sharpness and upon a few re-reads i can see where people may have gotten on his case mildly. thanks for the debate!

-dan
 
My first one, years ago, came dull - as did the second one. I bought a Spydie Sharpmaker - it no longer mattered. I now have thirty Benchmades - great knives - US made, too. Oh, never got another new dull one, either. One no-box used knife - a second 630 Skirmish - needed a little help. My latest, a 480-1 Shoki, is like a microtome... scarey+ sharp.

Stainz
 
four_shore said:
the dude has a point though. when you buy a knife...a knife of all things (especially from a reputable company) it should at the very least be sharp lol.
some knife guys on the forums can be ignorant and cocky but the gods honest truth is that you shouldn't have to sharpen a brand new knife. it's comparable to buying a cosmetically pleasing car but the engine is shot. i can sharpen a knife all day long but that was not the ops point.
i get a kick out of it because i've experienced the same thing when i posted about the F&F of my new para 2. I was merely asking some opinions and some guys were coming off as know it all, rude A holes. you shouldn't treat people like they are idiotic. i guess revdevil only buys dull blades from high end companies just so he can sit around and touch them up (that's of course when he's not treating people like morons on bladeforums) lol..

i should also mention that i never purchased a spyderco that was anything short of razor sharp.

;)
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Actually its more like buying a car that has low air pressure in the tires. A dull knife isn't ruined and doesn't need a new blade installed to work again. A knife needs to be sharpened eventually just like the tires are going to need some air added eventually. Saying it is like a blown engine is blowing things way out of proportion.

I haven't read all of this but if the OP was handling demo knives then who knows how sharp they were in the box. I have a box of probably over 50 new knives that I went through a while back and I had more Spyderco knives that wouldn't shave than Benchmade. I just got a Sprint run Spyderco yesterday that had a wire edge the entire length of the blade and wouldn't cut the first hair. Guess I should start a thread about how Spyderco knives come dull. ALL knife companies ship out knives that aren't as sharp as a knife nut would like.
 
please see my last few posts. i openly admitted that my analogies were over the top and revised them. however, at this point we're beating a dead horse. it really does boil down to what people expect when they buy a brand new knife. would you agree that everyone has different expectations?
 
No, I think after learning basic knife maintenance most knife nuts have the same expectations... quality materials, quality heat treat and quality customer service.

I recently got a spyderco that had a wire edge and factory grits are way to coarse for my liking, so now the edge is semi-polished and sharp enough to easily shave (no tugs at the hair, clean and smooth) :D I know the steel is good, so I have no issue with the factory edge being less than I like.
 
well i respectfully disagree with you. this thread has been 50/50 overall so most knife nuts dont have the same expectations. again the op wasn't perfectly clear and i see both sides as valid. skimo, don't forget the fact that every single person out there is different. you certainly shouldn't have to sharpen a new knife. whether you can or not is irrelevant because it is A. new and B. a knife! lol. i'm one of those completely insane people that really enjoys a hair popping edge right out of the box. i do not change the edge but i maintain that edge and sharpen it when necessary.
 
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i have to agree with the op. i sharpen a lot of knives for members and i do seem to get a lot of dull from factory benchmades. they hold a good edge but they must have a good edge to start with. i have even had guys send me their benchmades that they just got back from a factory sharpening to get sharpened. i think they need to have better qc when it comes to sharpening.

here is a thread i started on factory edges. i had a member send me his benchmade that was never sharpened in 6 years. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=819683 post 164 to see the benchmade
 
Today I went to the local auto dealership. I looked at about a dozen cars, but not one of them had a full tank of gas.

I was very unimpressed.









;)
 
I've had a few Benchmades come with an edge that was, to me, less than impressive. Not a huge deal to me, and was fixed by a few minutes at home with my DMT hones. I can say the same about nearly every manufacturer I've ever bought from. Spyderco, Emerson, Kershaw, Ontario, etc, etc. Stuff happens. I buy a particular model for durability, features, feel, etc. The initial edge, to me, is a perishable comodity. Now, if I went to a gunshow and examined 3-4 Benchmades that had, say, crooked blades, failing locks, and stripped out screws...that, to me, would be a pretty major problem.
 
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