I have three Benchmade knives. A Bone Collector, regular Griptilian, and now a 710 m390. The Bone Collector came immaculate and razor sharp, the Griptilian had a MINIMAL horizontal blade wobble that was gone with a minimal turn of the pivot screw and still opens like butter, and the 710 had the blade MILDLY off center, also fixed very easily with a torx wrench. Nothing that I haven't seen from other companies as well, nor something that either they or the retailers that I purchased them from wouldn't have been happy to rectify free of charge should I have chosen to go that route. I've read about shoddy fit and finish and dull, unevenly ground blades in past years of Benchmade but never seen anything like that in person at the knife/gun shop. The ease of use with the Axis lock is fantastic, but the springs do add in just one more thing that can go wrong with a folder, and I am a big fan of frame and back locks.
I would give them a 6.5 out of ten when comparing ALL knife companies, but I think comparing production to custom and pseudo-custom companies might show the productions in a poor light. It's a little like comparing large batch blended Whiskies to 12 year+ single malt Scotches. They both produce some delicious flavors and get the job done on a Friday night. There's just something that makes that Friday night even better when you have a couple fingers of an 18 year old peety libation in your glass.
For the production big Three of Benchmade, Spyderco, and Kershaw/ZT as far as their folders go on a 1-10 scale I'd be hard pressed to rank them one above the other based on my experiences. They are all very responsive when contacted, and stand by the products they put out. I own the three Benchmade with current plans to buy two more in the relatively near future, quite a number of Spyderco, several Kershaw and the ZT's that hog a whole lot of pocket time. My personal favorite is the Zero Tolerance side of Kershaw, so I might give them a personal edge in the ranking(my 0300 has even been used to pry/chisel/torque a sliding bolt lock out from the wrong side of a heavy wooden door and frame when some half incoherent drunk jackass couldn't figure how to open the door he had locked at the bar I work at) :
Kershaw/ZT: 9.5 because of the ZT'S, and for the range of offerings at all prices, and the willingness of customer service to go above and beyond even when something is not normally covered under warranty.
Spyderco : 9.2, with a great range of products and stellar customer service.
Benchmade: 9.15, with a wide range of products, wonderful customer service, though a bit more stringent on what is covered with warranty (I imagine that they were burned in the past, and adjusted their policy based on the experience with some schmuck ). Just a small ding because if one of my omega springs ever snapped, I'd rather be able to receive replacements and do it myself rather than mail the knife out, not that I forsee breaking one, much less two at a time in the near future.
Can't speak to many of the other companies out there, but these three companies have been impeccable in my experience, and I'll continue to give each one my money several times a year.
Huh. Long post. Damn boring work nights.
