Dull Benchmade?

I have received a handful of dull knives in the time that I have been collecting knives, some from respectable makers such as Benchmade, Spyderco and Chris Reeve.

It is slightly annoying to have to sharpen a brand new knife, but it happens.

In my experience though, the massive majority of Benchmades come with great edges.
 
I only have 1 Benchmade, a 907 D2. Bought brand new from retailer a year ago...decent, but would not cut paper cleanly. Recently, I noticed a small chip in the edge, so I sent it to LifeSharp this month. Benchmade got rid of the chip, but I wouldn't call it sharp...it shaves a few hairs if you scrape pretty hard, and leaves jagged marks when cutting paper.

My Spydies and Chris Reeve are razor sharp.

Well, I'm going to send it to Tom Krein for a Regrind...to turn it into a slicer.
 
about half of the Benchmades I have purchased have been dull. I sent one back for sharpening and it was returned in the same state...dull.

I just expect it and consider it a bonus if the $100++ knife I get happens to be sharp.:rolleyes:
 
My 710 came pretty sharp but over time I found that it was becoming difficult to touch up on my sharpmaker. Only then did I realize that the edge angle was not really set up for the 40 degree sharpening so had to spend a LOT of time putting on a 30/40 degree micro bevel.
 
I don't know what you guys are talking about I got my 42 the other day and it's like the sharpest knife in the world. I can easily whittle hair with and and push cut paper like a dream.
 
tomsch said:
My 710 came pretty sharp but over time I found that it was becoming difficult to touch up on my sharpmaker. Only then did I realize that the edge angle was not really set up for the 40 degree sharpening so had to spend a LOT of time putting on a 30/40 degree micro bevel.
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All Benchmades are sharpened freehand at the factory. Edge angles vary.
 
I always have the same problem with Benchmades. They're too damn dull out of the box!
 
The mini-dejavoo I had was very sharp. Too bad the liner lock was super dangerous. I didn't cry when I lost it, probably saved my fingers.


To be fair to Benchmade, I have had custom hand made knives that have arrived dull as well.
 
It hasn't been that many years ago that when you bought a new knife very few of them where sharp and certainly not shaving sharp. If you are going to be a knife user/collector you owe it to yourself to learn how to put an edge on a knife. It's not rocket science and it not all that hard to learn. It just takes a little practice and a few decent stones. I would hate to admit I had to depend on some else to sharpen my knives. So guys learn how and then you won't be satisfited with factory edges. You can beat a factory edge with just a little work.
 
All of mine have been sharp but I would not say they were "shaving" sharp. I will keep this in mind as I have some coming.
 
My 730 series Ares (now discontinued) knives all came sharp out of the box. Sharp enough to shave. The 921 I gave as a gift was sharp also, as well as the D2 Nitrous Stryker I got a few months back.

The Stryker was actually sharp enough to whittle a free hanging strand of hair. To be fair, the hair may have been caught on the steeper angled portion of the serrated edge. But still...:eek:
 
knifenut1013 said:
The dullest knife I ever received was a BM 760, edge was about 40 deg per side and had a burr big enough you could scrape with it.
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My 760 was the same. My 950 at least shaved, but I was more impressed with the geometry of a .014" thick edge at 13 degrees per side, since the first thing I do is rebevel and resharpen my knives anyway. At 10 degrees per side the 950 has a nice, small bevel, while at 15 per side my 760 had comically wide bevels until it was reground by Tom Krein to a .012" think hollow grind (removed the tanto as well) that did M4 justice. It is too good of a steel to have such pathetic geometry. It also gets sharp really easy, but the guy that sharpened my 760 at the factory apparently never got the memo M4 likes acute and sharp edges.

Mike
 
IMHO, there is really no excuse for any quality production knife to come out of the box with a reasonably sharp edge. All of my Benchmades purchased NIB were acceptable sharp, the ones that went into my pocket were destined to be sharpened to my liking regardless. I have found Benchmade to be inconsistent in sharpness, they vary from the somewhat rough edge on my 710-801 to the screaming sharp 552M2-600. Every Spyderco I've bought new have been very sharp with one exception- an H1 Tasman.

If it isn't sharp to my liking, I sharpen it until it is :)
 
sizzler said:
The mini-dejavoo I had was very sharp. Too bad the liner lock was super dangerous. I didn't cry when I lost it, probably saved my fingers.
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I have this same knife and it seems to be very well built. What makes the liner lock so dangerous? It came from the factory very sharp also.
 
all my benchmades were from 4yrs. or longer back. all had good bevels & razor sharp. thanks for the input, i probably wo'nt buy anymore b.m.s. have about 12 high grade tacts & have been going to g.e.c. & queens lately.
 
frontiersman said:
I have this same knife and it seems to be very well built. What makes the liner lock so dangerous? It came from the factory very sharp also.
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Try holding it in various tight using grips and wiggle the blade, you'll see. The liner is weak and because of its placement it is very easy to accidentally disengage while using the knife. Had a few near misses with mine. It is a known problem and I believe there is a fix for it on YouTube involving paper in between the scale and the liner.

Watch the clip too. It easily catches on the hem of a jacket and lifts from the pocket. Easy on, easy off. I hope whoever found mine is enjoying it.:cool:
 
I have been carying mine for about a year and have not had any lock problems. It did have some blade wiggle from the factory but I tightened it a little more and locktited the pivot screw. I work in a factory so it gets used in alot of strange positions. You are right about the clip though. It doesen't take much to flip it out of your pocket. Sorry about the hijack.
 
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