How To Help picking a bench made

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david77

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I was settled on valet with m390. But I keep going back and forth on various steel types. Read m390 is prone to chipping? I live in PNW. I don’t sharpen knives, I can use electric sharpening at work and get one eventually, or would sending it back to be sharpen work. Also I’ve read some people say BM bezel sucks and needs sharpen. This would be my first over $50 knife. Current knife is a buck spitfire but I’ve never cared for it’s opening system. Oh and has to be manual knife since I carry inside my pocket concealed. Might also pick up an zero tolerance 0450cf for fun. It has a s35vn steel. Forgot to mention it’ll be for edc, cutting stuff open, maybe defense if need be [poster banned. spam removed.]


Thanks in advance
 
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I never had M390 chipping on me (I had some from ZT)
For Benchmade they know how to make good steel.
I like s30v made by BM, it is less expensive and it really performs well
 
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image.jpg I agree with Therom,picked up full sized grip with S30 v love it. Came perfect. But my 940 also s30 v with aluminum scales horrible grind. Best if can go somewhere and pick out knife. Or a place with great return policy
 
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david77 said:
I was settled on valet with m390. But I keep going back and forth on various steel types. Read m390 is prone to chipping? I live in PNW. I don’t sharpen knives, I can use electric sharpening at work and get one eventually, or would sending it back to be sharpen work. Also I’ve read some people say BM bezel sucks and needs sharpen. This would be my first over $50 knife. Current knife is a buck spitfire but I’ve never cared for it’s opening system. Oh and has to be manual knife since I carry inside my pocket concealed. Might also pick up an zero tolerance 0450cf for fun. It has a s35vn steel. Forgot to mention it’ll be for edc, cutting stuff open, maybe defense if need be.

Thanks in advance
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Don't use the electric sharpener at work. They remove way too much steel and generally don't get the knives all that sharp.

If you have to look elsewhere for sharpening I'd recommend sending it back to Benchmade for their Lifesharp service or having it done by a professional 3rd party.

Why not learn to sharpen though? There are a ton of products on the market that make it super easy to manually sharpen your knives. If you'd like some guidance on inexpensive sharpening solutions feel free to email me at tlesharpening@gmail.com. There's a lot of YouTube videos out there for instructions and product reviews too.

I haven't found Benchmade's m390 to be particularly chippy. If you're digging the Valet I'd say go for it; be aware though that it's a very small knife.
 
I have about 15 benchmades total and my favorite edc go to is always the 940 or 943. Just love the size, light weight, fits my hand perfectly. After a set of custom scales from doat it's perfect
 
can't go wrong with a griptillian in s30v imo...I've put mine thru some pretty hard use and it holds up well
 
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Do know that the Valet is kinda tiny in hand... If you're checking out the 0450, but sure to check out the Mini Crooked River as well, which I find to be a better knife for my hand. Regardless, Bugout gets my vote for EDC.

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I have, or had, large and mini Griptilians, 940-1, 943, proper and Bugout from BM
For high end edc the 940-1 is the best, however it is the Bugout that I kept
 
I have the BM 550-1 in cpm20cv (Crucible's version of M390) and I have been very happy with the knife. No chipping and it has very good edge holding.
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Oh yeah, NEVER use that electric sharpener at work!
 
Stick with $50 knives until you can reliably sharpen them. Having an expensive knife you can’t sharpen is like having a car that you can’t fill with gas. Then go m390, it’s great, and definitely stainless enough for the PNW.
 
My go to is always the Mini Crooked River.

Or the 940. Or the upgraded griptillian. No bad choices here.
 
david77 said:
Read m390 is prone to chipping?
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Nonsense.
Help picking a bench made
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Before I opened the thread I was going to recommend the 940-1 for a perfectly excellent Benchmade experience . . . then I saw . . .
This would be my first over $50 knife.
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. . . well it would be wayyyyyy over $50 but I'd still say save up and get that.
PS : Oops these are my photos of the knife with no thumb stud. I took it out to sharpen the knife. The 940 DOES come with a thumb stud.
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IMG_4842.JPG
 
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Buy the Benchmade. You will not be disappointed.
Make it your full time EDC. Awesone feeling to carry a great knife around plus you get so much use out of a knife like that. Also sharpening is a lot easier than people will tell you. It takes a little patience and knowing your steel but you can get great results cheaply. Good luck!
 
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