Disappointing First Impressions

Originally posted by archieblue
I've found the majority of Benchmades I've played with to be all-around pretty sickening. Crappy grinds, a lot of crappy materials, very skimpy on the fit and finish. CRKT makes better knives for half the price.

I've never seen a Reeve that was not on "par" with everything I expect every time.
Click to expand...
The Benchmade that I grew to appreciate in the 1997-1999 time frame went waaay south as their popularity and (ostensibly) production volume grew in the 2000-2002 time frame. Their QA/QC did NOT keep up with production. Sad.

Emerson's production line has had problems also. But my recent CQC8 production model is, except for that cr@ppy paint finish on the pivot screw, a much better built knife (albeit, a small run for Surefire).

Chris Reeve is just the opposite... through his attention to detail, he was able to scale up production and keep his quality at least as high as it was in 1997 time period all the way here to 2003. It's all in the focus and attentiveness of management.

But indeed, they are very different operations operating at different price points and with different market niches ... high-end production or semi-custom for CRK, and straight production house at BM.
 
I was a bit upset with the pocket clip on my MOD Keating. It bends too easily and allows the knife to fall off my pocket. Should have better design for a $150 knife. I attached a spyderco clip and started using this as my edc.
 
almost all the comments boil down to Quality Control. There is no excuse for sending out a product that is not inspected under controlled conditions.
Custom made, production, mass produced, does not matter. Quality is paramount to the reception of the product. reproducing Quality is easy once a system is ingrained into the manufacture / testing of the product. if you recieve a poor quality knife, call up the manufacturer and ask for the Quality Control Department. See what happens next.
 
I don't want to start a war with the Emerson supporters out there but the two that I had really disappointed me. I had a P-Sark and a Raven and both had poor fit and both had off center blades. I also didn't like the fact that the pivot on both would work loose after opening and closing several times. I don't have that problem with any of my other blades. The P-Sark disappointed the most as I really liked the style of the knife.

I have been most impressed by my Sebenza and the three models of Microtech that I have. I have also gotten good results from most of my Spydercos and Benchmade models. I just ordered and received a Spyderco Native III and was disappointed in the way it felt in my hand. So many rave about the Natives but it doesn't do anything for me. Not a fault of the knife but it doesn't fit me.
 
Originally posted by Buzzbait
I was appalled by the cutting abilities of both my Benchmade 730 (which I traded away) and my CRKT M-16 spearpoint.
Click to expand...


Did you have one of the early M-16's or the newer most recent ones.

I have one of the early ones and the blade is just shy of 1/8" thick, (.115) the blade grind comes up above the centerline of the blade. The blade is .875 wide and the bevel is .500 wide allowing for a thiner edge

Mine cut pretty good right out of the box.

The newer ones the blade grind was changed and the width of the bevel is narrower, (probably around .375) which would tend to make the bevels steeper and possibly the edge thicker.


Drew
 
Disappointments :

1. Emerson knives (new production). I really thought they were hard core, but they felt weak in hand. The blade moves even when in locked position. The older one (Emerson/Benchmade CQC7) is great. The lock is solid.

2. Lonewolf knives. I played with the Loveless design, and I'm pretty disappointed. The fit and finish is really bad. There's a visible gap between the back lock and the bolster. Even Spyderco does not have this problem and heir knives cost less.
 
Originally posted by beluga
Disappointments :

1. Emerson knives (new production). I really thought they were hard core, but ...
Click to expand...

:confused: :surprised:

:nah, just kidding:

:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top