If any moderators are watching, please help benchmade

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goodshepherdknives

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Apr 7, 2013
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297
Hello, i have been a fan of Benchmade for about 5 years and they helped me realized how many great knife companies are out there and now they are my favorite. i have 10 of their products currently and have a slight "beef" with some knives i wanted to be laid out there. In my 710, 550Hg, currently discontinued 930 and 740, the spines on all of them are finished with maybe 120 grit or coarser. i do not think knives over a hundred dollars with nice polished handles and clips i carry sometimes for special occasions should look like this. i can stop my thumbnail in the scrathes theyre so coarse. i told customer service and was told "mine is smooth thats too bad have a nice day". my 10200 ambush made overseas red class has a beautiful scotch brite finish on the spine. and its for tactical/utility, not a nice dress knife. So im wondering if benchmade cares about my situation and would value feedback for improvement and would consider not using the coarsest belt in the shop for a finishing step?
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goodshepherdknives said:
Hello, i have been a fan of Benchmade for about 5 years and they helped me realized how many great knife companies are out there and now they are my favorite. i have 10 of their products currently and have a slight "beef" with some knives i wanted to be laid out there. In my 710, 550Hg, currently discontinued 930 and 740, the spines on all of them are finished with maybe 120 grit or coarser. i do not think knives over a hundred dollars with nice polished handles and clips i carry sometimes for special occasions should look like this. i can stop my thumbnail in the scrathes theyre so coarse. i told customer service and was told "mine is smooth thats too bad have a nice day". my 10200 ambush made overseas red class has a beautiful scotch brite finish on the spine. and its for tactical/utility, not a nice dress knife. So im wondering if benchmade cares about my situation and would value feedback for improvement and would consider not using the coarsest belt in the shop for a finishing step?
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I don't see how this would need to be an open gripe for the likes of me or anyone else to see.

If you believe it's a defect or that craftsmanship is lacking, send it in for warranty, pm the mods.

This is the first I've heard of a spine being too roughly finished. The quoted response sounds atypical of Benchmade customer service.
 
Skimo said:
I don't see how this would need to be an open gripe for the likes of me or anyone else to see.

If you believe it's a defect or that craftsmanship is lacking, send it in for warranty, pm the mods.

This is the first I've heard of a spine being too roughly finished. The quoted response sounds atypical of Benchmade customer service.
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plenty of people express themselves on bladeforums in far less polite ways. i didnt know if it was an attempt to save money by buying less belts, less time in finishing, but its one of those "...really? ..." moments when comparing them to "inferior brands" especially given the price point. and who knows, maybe someone who wanted an expensive knife as a safe queen or a dress knife would care about this also and in their research of knives would find this information helpful? i sent benchmade a picture and asked and have not even recieved a "that is not defective its just how it is" email. and yes it was atypical hence why is got my attention. people arent perfect. it happens. and on the note of people not being perfect, perosnal messages, texts, emails, can all be forgotton about and loss in priority due to business which is understandable. ive made a few knives and making sure the exposed tang and spine are even and finished decently are something ive looked at is all.
 
goodshepherdknives said:
Hello, i have been a fan of Benchmade for about 5 years and they helped me realized how many great knife companies are out there and now they are my favorite. i have 10 of their products currently and have a slight "beef" with some knives i wanted to be laid out there. In my 710, 550Hg, currently discontinued 930 and 740, the spines on all of them are finished with maybe 120 grit or coarser. i do not think knives over a hundred dollars with nice polished handles and clips i carry sometimes for special occasions should look like this. i can stop my thumbnail in the scrathes theyre so coarse. i told customer service and was told "mine is smooth thats too bad have a nice day". my 10200 ambush made overseas red class has a beautiful scotch brite finish on the spine. and its for tactical/utility, not a nice dress knife. So im wondering if benchmade cares about my situation and would value feedback for improvement and would consider not using the coarsest belt in the shop for a finishing step?
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I don't have this experience with any of my Benchmades and I've owned plenty of them. While this forum is a place for enthusiasts, the company doesn't come here very often if at all. So your complaint may or may not be responded to. I would suggest giving their customer service folks a call to discuss your concerns, M-F @ 800-800-7427. I can offer that actually, they really do care about their products - and their record for timely repairs both in and out of warranty is superb and held in high esteem by many of us. Give them a call please, and let us know how it went afterwards.
 
It sounds like you are disenchanted with Benchmade's lack of finishing on their spines, I sir, am disenchanted with your lack of paragraph spacing and poor use of grammar.
 
My Busse Combat is finished at what I can only assume to be 80 grit on the Handle spine. It cost more than 95% of my Benchmades...
 
I pulled my 890 Torrent out of my pocket and took a look at it. The spine of its blade has a coarse grit finish. I feel the roughness with my fingernail but not with the skin on the tip of my finger. This finish doesn't bother me at all and it looks like a nice machined finish. If you have looked at the Torrent you will see that it has nicer blade grinds than many other knives as well as contoured G10 scales with a smooth finish. The coarse grit finish on the spine of the blade doesn't detract from the rest of the knife. I would guess that this finish is intentional and is a part of the design and not a sign of shortcuts or intentional reduced manufacturing time.
 
jkarp_53 said:
I don't have this experience with any of my Benchmades and I've owned plenty of them. While this forum is a place for enthusiasts, the company doesn't come here very often if at all. So your complaint may or may not be responded to. I would suggest giving their customer service folks a call to discuss your concerns, M-F @ 800-800-7427. I can offer that actually, they really do care about their products - and their record for timely repairs both in and out of warranty is superb and held in high esteem by many of us. Give them a call please, and let us know how it went afterwards.
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Hello, i too have also have had very good experience with benchmade customer service, actually probably the best ive experienced to far. i didnt know if anyone else had the same problem i did, and some of my knives are discontinued like all benchmades seem to be within a year or so, so i am kind of worried about not getting some knives back even if its a stupid worry its still kind of there.
 
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i like the machined look of the spine.
Thats how they send out all of their blades, its no warranty issue. But you could probably pay to have them service this aspect of your knife.
 
I have never experienced a problem related to the one you are describing. It sounds less like a warranty problem and more like a subjective, aesthetic issue that you should have noticed when you purchased the knives.

If it is a warranty, call Benchmade's customer service and ask to send an email to someone. Describe your problem clearly in writing. Benchmade will go above and beyond to take care of legitimate warranty issues.
 
goodshepherdknives said:
Hello, i too have also have had very good experience with benchmade customer service, actually probably the best ive
experienced to far. i didnt know if anyone else had the same problem i did, and some of my knives are discontinued like all benchmades seem to be within a year or so, so i am kind of worried about not getting some knives back even if its a stupid worry its still kind of there.
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Benchmade will service anything made, (by them) :D including discontinued models, and we don't have to be the original owners. There are some limitations due to no longer having spare parts in their inventory. But as long as the knife can be serviced they will take care of them. On a side note: when up at the factory, they frequently do more than what we ask for; the techs have often replaced screws, washers, even a blade or two that they just felt wasn't up to their standards. Your worry about getting a rare older model is a good arguement, but I have sent many of mine, old and new, some irreplaceable...and have never lost a single one. So take that for what it is but I wouldn't worry about it either. Hope that helps!
 
goodshepherdknives said:
Is that nutnfancys saying Benchmade jimping isnt sharp or effective its just cosmetic?
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I didn't mean to come off like a total smarta$$. I actually think I know what you're referring to. BM can perhaps chime in to clarify, but I recall the liner edges (both ti and stainless) on my AFCK's, CQC7's, and even '99-era 710's and 705's being far rougher than on current liners. My guess was that this may have been the result of switching from waterjet cutting of liners to laser cutting. Either that, or a finishing technique that is involved currently that makes for smoother edges. Now that I think about it, I think even the flats of the liners are now stonewashed as opposed to being satin-finished back in the day.

Are your knives older-production?

Either way, I was never too bothered with the rougher liner edge finishing. If yours are that rough, and they've still got the parts, I'm sure they'll make it right. Sorry that you're having this issue, and to an extent I understand your frustration.

Prof.
 
Looking at a few of mine I see that the spines have a coarse grain like appearance, I also note it on a few Spydercos. Myself I sort of like it, it looks like a high tech über high grade steel. Finish can be a subjective thing, and a bet a fair number of folks like it that way. Keep in mind this is also the part of the blade that is exposed the most to pocket wear and dings and such. I would hazard a guess the finish is more durable on the spine. I have lower priced knives where the spine is highly
polished so I don't think it would really be a cost saving issue. A finish issue like this is subjective, I bet there are a fair number of people who like it that way, and there are a few who don't. Judging from the reaction here by posters, it seems most either like it or don't care, which does not help you situation. Seeing as it is not a defect in material or workmanship, or a knife out of spec, sadly it is not a warranty issue.
 
On mine you can see the grain of the steel, it has a textured look but not at all course like sandpaper...looks fine to me never even noticed it.
 
The spine on my 940 was probably 120 grit out of the box, pretty annoying for a $200 blade but I just took the opportunity to round and polish it :cool:
 
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