My experience of Benchmade quality control

I have around 11 or so Benchmades and other than the fact that most came with a 'working' edge, I have no complaints. In fact, my 950 and both my M390 710-1's came as perfect as anyone could want. The centering was right on the nose and the finish was excellent.

I have no complaints with my BM experience and will be buying again without hesitation.
 
I have had enough minor problems with BM folders, such as chronically loose pivots, poorly profiled edges, and dull edges that I am reluctant to purchase BM knives without inspecting them first or have a dealer that I can rely on to provide this service.

In addition, BM Customer Service has never responded to any email message that I have sent to their "Customer Service" address, which is a common complaint. The fact that BM won't allow there internet dealers to advertise there actual selling prices makes it less convenient to purchase BM knives.
 
I've had no real complaints about my BM's, except the rattle in some axis lock models. I've had a 710, 806, 805, 550, an Ambush, 730 (my favorite of all of them so far), and 42. The 710 and 550 had a rattle in the lock that went away when they were open. The 710 had a pretty thick edge, but it was from 10 years ago. All the rest had thin edges, and were at least sharp enough to shave my arm. The 805 would whittle hair. Oh yea, the 42 had some issue with casting the Ti handles that left some porosity that was visible on mine, 3-4 tiny little holes near the pivot. I didn't notice until I came here and someone pointed it out.

Sadly, I only have the 550 left. All the others got sold off, for various reasons.
 
I was about to get either an onslaught or a 940 but now am starting to second guess that.
 
I have to put blue Loc-Tite on the BM pivot screws. That takes care of blade wiggle on the BM's.
 
gwlee said:
In addition, BM Customer Service has never responded to any email message that I have sent to their "Customer Service" address, which is a common complaint. The fact that BM won't allow there internet dealers to advertise there actual selling prices makes it less convenient to purchase BM knives.
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While BM QC may be spotty or non-existent, the CS is normally very good.

Howerver, many folks have had the same problem about no responses to emails. Personally, I have sent several messages from problems to basic questions and never received a reply.

The recommended method is to phone them. They have some nice, very knowledgable folks who do a very good jot at CS.....probably because they get so much practice. :D
 
SteeleySawyer said:
I was about to get either an onslaught or a 940 but now am starting to second guess that.
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The 940 is my favorite BM, but mine came with an rough, uneven blade profile. If you want one bad enough, I suggest selecting a good one from a local merchant are making an agreement with an internet dealer to hand select one for you.

Out of the box, mine came had an unpleasant chalky feeling to the handle, which is a common complaint about the 940. I scrubbed my handle with dish soap and a pot scrubber, which took care of the problem without marring the handle.
 
SteeleySawyer said:
I was about to get either an onslaught or a 940 but now am starting to second guess that.
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These kinds of threads will do that, won;t they? Don;t miss the point of the thread in the responses though - chances are overwhelming your BM will arrive in fine shape. If not, it will be taken care of by BM.
 
I can highly recommend the Onslaught, as mine came pretty much flawless and it is a great slicer not just for a very large knife, but a great slicer even compared to most much smaller folders as well.

Mike
 
Similar experience on the no response to email regarding a customer service request, so I called and got a terse young woman on the other end that wanted me to set up an account just to order a replacement torx screw. I declined, called back the next day and got a more level headed gentleman that took my info and promised to send out a new set,that was two weeks ago and still haven't received anything.
 
gwlee said:
The 940 is my favorite BM, but mine came with an rough, uneven blade profile. If you want one bad enough, I suggest selecting a good one from a local merchant are making an agreement with an internet dealer to hand select one for you.

Out of the box, mine came had an unpleasant chalky feeling to the handle, which is a common complaint about the 940. I scrubbed my handle with dish soap and a pot scrubber, which took care of the problem without marring the handle.
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Wait, the handle isn't supposed to have that "chalky" feeling to them? I kinda like it. How is it supposed to feel?

Will washing it get rid of the chalky feeling and make it more smooth and glossy?
 
The only problem Ive had with my benchmades are that the pivots never stay tight, so I am going to pick up some locktite soon to fix the problems
 
This thread is amazing really. So on one side, you have those who think Benchmade sucks, and would never buy another one again.Then you have those who think Benchmades are the best thing since apple pie. Then there's the poor guy who's never had a Benchmade and is trying to get some good feedback and now is straddling the fence, which has just gotta be making his balls hurt.. :D :rolleyes:

FWIW, I have a nim cub, mini-grip and a grip, and while none were super sharp out of the box, they're still well built knives.
 
My last 6 Benchmade's were;

1-3 AFO II's
These were perfect out of the box, and all three came with a hair-poppin'
sharpness.
4- Rift AutoAxis
Again, this was perfect from the box, with the same sharp edge as the
AFO II's.
5- Onslaught
This one had an uncentered blade that I fixed in about a minute or two.
Otherwise it was good.
6- Large Bone Collector folder
Everything about this one was excellent!

All 6 of mine had great grind lines, were all sharp enough for me, and all 6 have solid lockup with NO blade play in any direction.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I have no complaints with Benchmade Knives.:thumbup::)
 
I have had about 5 Benchmades including Skirmish, Ruckus, Grip, Ambush and 710. I still have the Grip and the 710. Never had any problems with any of them at all. Most went as trades but I wish I had that full size Ruckus back.
 
i have owned over 40 benchmade knives still have about 20ish maybe 1-2 were not as sharp as i had liked.. all i had to do was return it and it was sharpened no questions asked (thats what a lifesharp warranty is for) i just got a ritter mini grip and it was absolutely perfect no blade play and razor sharp before i knew it i shaved half my arm lol... i own many knives from benchmade kershaw spyderco SOG gerber case crkt boker zt and buck

all have great customer service imo otherwise how would they stay in business never had a problem on a resharpen or repair/replace


benchmade is known for their great service
 
Well, regarding the last 3 or 4 posts, they really tell a tale: there really isn;t anything wrong with BM that isn't wrong with any other company. The squeaky wheel gets the grease or, in this case, the thread.

I don;t doubt that the fellows here have had problems with their BM knives, but really, what isn;t told in these types of threads are the overwhelming majority of cases where the knife arrives perfectly ground and flawless. Anecdotal stories abound in every facet of life - heck, if it wasn;t for anecdotal stories, politicians wouldn;t have much to campaign on! ((:D))

Let's remember that no matter how many members there are in BladeForums, there are thousands of others out there buying Benchmade knives without a hitch. And that's not to mention that there may be hundreds if not thousands of BladeForum members who haven;t responded to this thread - and whose BM knives are probably flawless.

I own too many fine BM knives to be deterred by the occasional knife that slips by their QC department. I know because I've had one or two that arrived less than perfect, but I know the company and their product, and I don;t think their QC has changed any. The ones that slip by are the anomalies.
 
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Here's another thought: I ordered and received a nice little Frontier Valley patch knife from Blind Horse knives. The knife arrived ground very nicely, but the elk shed scales were very uneven, leaving a weird, unbalanced, feeling in the hand. I could have sent it back, or called to complain, or come on BladeForums and started a thread. I really should take a picture of how uneven they are.

BUT! There were already two threads extolling the beauty of the BHK knives. I knew mine was just one that slipped by their QC - it was not indicative of their standard quality. Besides, I've grown to like it so much now that I would have regretted sending it in and getting a "perfect" one.

There's a bad apple in every basket, probably. But the rest are still good.
 
StretchNM said:
Here's another thought: I ordered and received a nice little Frontier Valley patch knife from Blind Horse knives. The knife arrived ground very nicely, but the elk shed scales were very uneven, leaving a weird, unbalanced, feeling in the hand. I could have sent it back, or called to complain, or come on BladeForums and started a thread. I really should take a picture of how uneven they are.

BUT! There were already two threads extolling the beauty of the BHK knives. I knew mine was just one that slipped by their QC - it was not indicative of their standard quality. Besides, I've grown to like it so much now that I would have regretted sending it in and getting a "perfect" one.

There's a bad apple in every basket, probably. But the rest are still good.
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thats a great post and people need to realize many of your points
 
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