My experience of Benchmade quality control

S

Slowstarter

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Mar 21, 2006
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I´ve bought 8 Benchmade knives over the past two years. And I have noticed that many complain about BMs QC. So I made this list with my issues with my BM knives. So this is my Benchmade Quality control list...

Benchmade 556 Mini Grip:
Not scary sharp. No other problems what so ever.

Benchmade VEX:
No problems what so ever (made in China).

Benchmade Nitrous Stryker:
Not scary sharp. Blade not centered, loose pivot screw that creates bladeplay over time.

Benchmade Nitrous Stryker Mini:
Not scary sharp. Loose pivot screw that creates bladeplay over time.

Benchmade Nagara:
No problems what so ever (made in China). (By the way, this is the fastest opening, non assisted, folder I´ve ever seen).

Benchmade 710 D2:
No problems what so ever.

Benchmade 707 Sequel:
No problems what so ever.

Benchmade 551 Mini Grip. NRA S30V version:
Loose pivot screw that creates bladeplay over time.

So, only 4 was sharp and without issues, and 2 of them are made in China! I´ve fixed the loose pivot screw with Teflon-Tape and I´ve sharpened the dull ones with my Sharpmaker so the only knife that I can´t fix is the big Stryker. Don´t know how to get the blade centered. It´s not an option to send it in, cause I live in Europe and it´s a P.I.T.A to use the warranty. So what´s your experience with BM QC?
 
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I've had some BM's come less sharp than I'd like. Otherwise, I have no complaints with their overall quality these days. If I go back 10yrs or so, I've had some stripped out screws and iffy liner locks, this happened when they had a turnover of people and an increase in orders, but customer service was very effective in resolving the issues. They are my preferred production company by far.
 
I don't really care about the factory edge and pivot tightness, because no matter what it is, I'm going to change it as soon as I get it anyway. A good factory edge makes my job easier, though.

The only complaint I have about Benchmade quality is that the grinding on the blade is often not precise. The lines on one side of the blade may not line up with the ones on the other side.
 
Obviously we'd prefer all our knives to be perfect out of the box but if the problem is fixable using readily available items, I don't consider it a significant issue. This includes sharpening, applying threadlocker, or using torx screwdrivers. Out of 10 Benchmades only 1 had what I would describe as a significant issue: My 943 has just enough blade play to scrape the liner when opening/closing, and I can't seem to resolve it.
 
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I am at least at 50/50 on issues with the BM's I used to own that were purchased brand new. I stopped buying new BM's a couple years ago.
 
I've had 5 Benchmades pass through my hands, still have 3 of them. Gifted the others. Quality control is great in my experience, not one problem with any of mine. As for the dull edges, I've had them. But I reprofile the day I get a new knife so its not a problem.

What's funny are the people who can't sharpen to save their lives are the ones who complain the most about the dull edges.
 
10 Benchmades (from 1996 through 2009 was the last) and 1 problem. A mini-Skirmish whose blade was off-center causing the edge to strike one of the barrel spacers upon closing. Quite a little knick in the blade, there was. I took it apart to verify the problem, sent it in to BM, and they repaired it and sent it back. It took them almost 3 weeks from the day I sent it, but I was satisfied.

Sharp they were, each and every one (maybe one was a little shy, I don;t recall now).
 
None of my Benchmades were particularly sharp, though I don't care much about factory edge sharpness anyway. I do care about edge thickness though, and unlike their old reputation the last 6 Benchmades I've bought had very thin, high performance edges that were between .014"-.017". Those knives included 2 mini Grips, 2 Rifts, an Onslaught, and my 805 TSEK. The only exception was my 760 which had a massively thick edge ground at 60 degrees inclusive (not very good use of M4 IMO). Quality wise most were excellent but 2 were terrible. My 760 was rubbing the liner it was so off center and I must have tinkered with it for 4-5 hours and could only get it somewhat centered. Tom Krein did a great regrind on it, and even he couldn't get it set straight. Also, I like Spyderco's heat treat on M4 much more. The other knife that was off was my 1 of 50 M4 Rift. It had terrible blade play to the point I didn't think it could be fixed. Benchmade quickly made it right though, and now my only complaint is the heat treat on the M4. I am very happy with the rest of my Benchmades, most notably my 805 in M390. The fit and finish are tremendous and the .014"-.015" thick edge is perfect for letting the M390 strut it's stuff. My Onslaught also has wonderful fit and finish and a wonderfully thin edge and grind to make it a top notch slicing machine. Overall I am very happy with my Benchmades though when I got bad ones they were really bad. Their customer service was nothing but great though, so at least they took care of me when I did get a bad apple.

Mike
 
None of my Behnchmades came sharp enough for me. I've had over 10 in the past couple of years.
I think you can solve the centering by readjusting the pivot, also the stopper pin on the Stryker might have something to do with it, so you might need to fiddle with that one.
Honestly though, you've got no serious problems with any of your Benchmades.
Peace. :cool:
 
Due to their poor QC (plus other things) I've pretty much given up on BMs, unless I can handle and inspect them first.
I don't expect 100% perfection, and recognize some things are not obvious and can slip thru....thats what CS is for and BMs CS is great.
But I've received too many items with OBVIOUS flaws that would not have made it best even a modest QC inspection. My conclusion became that they either don't inspect or don't do it very well.
 
Don't worry geeduck. You're in good hands. Remember, Benchmade makes a LOT of knives

My history... don't remember them all, but more or less:

BM 9050 AFO
No complaints here.

BM 535SBK
Everything was perfect. However, I noticed that when I put pressure on the thumbstud to open it, the back side of the blade just barely glanced the side of the handle. It was very minute, but overtime, I could see a slight discoloration on the BK coating of the blade.

BM 940 (x3) & 943 (x2)
Perfect 100%. Razor sharp.

Benchmade 710 (x3)
These never came that sharp. Rarely could I shave my arm hair. Centered, no blade play, however, the pivot screws would loosen constantly (fixed with Loctite)

BM 635
Very nice. No blade play, smooth, centered.

BM 790 (x2)
Biggest problem here. First one came with blade touching the liner. Second one came with minimal blade play and blade off centered. I managed to fix both problems.

BM 805-1101
Perfect. Blade wasn't scary sharp, but pretty sharp.

I know I'm missing a lot here, but you get the general gist.
 
its a good thing i read this thread..... i was checking out the mini-auto stryker and the mini-reflex auto
 
I have 1 benchmade it is a 940 in D2, the blade is mostly centered, and it was sharp out of the box. I dont think benchmades are my knife though.
 
I have got quite many BM knives in my collection. Can not tell the number from the top of my head - probably something around 20. And honestly do not recall any issues at all until lately - with BM 760. The framelock was so soft that it would not hold the blade properly - was significant up-and-down blade play. I just disassembled the knife and used some force to make the lock stronger - bent the spring a bit. So the problem is completely fixed now - with my knife. I wander if they got the signal from consumers and if they do anything with the design-process to prevent anything like that happening again. To simply relay on QC in that kind of issue would be a mistake IMO. I believe that the framelocks in my BM 755 and BM 790 are also quite soft - though they do function properly, so that is not a quality issue.
If I like a knife from BM, Spyderco or Kershaw I buy it online without thinking twice about possible quality problems - did not have any serious issues with neither of them.
 
556: Seems perfect but came dull
890: uneven springs
890: uneven springs and poorly ground scales
940: Grind lines jacked up on the spine of the blade (one side varies from the other where the stock tapers to the swedge and the reverse tanto line is crooked)
I'm losing faith quickly here
 
I can say, a coworker is a die-hard Benchmade fan, and I have been severely underwhelmed with the last few he's brought in for show and tell. It's pretty sad when my $20 Kershaw blem is a more well constructed knife than his $400 special edition Benchmade. It's just something about them that doesn't sit right... the fit and finish just isn't there for me recently. I do really like older benchmades I've seen though.
 
I'm in the process of RMAing a Ritter. Seemed like a nice enough knife but the blade was touching the scales, and for that price it shouldn't. At least the vendor has been great about the whole thing.
 
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