My new Benchmade is not sharp

retzius

retzius

Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
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I picked up a new BM 556 this week. Unfortunately, it's just not sharp.

I'm really puzzled by this one. Upon examining the knife the grind is perfect; nice even bevel, perfectly centered, consistent from heel to tip.

But it's just not sharp and the bevel has large grind marks. It's like the put a lot of effort into doing a really nice grind on a large grit belt.

It will probably touch up really fast on the sharpmaker but it makes me wonder what the point is...

Wierd.
 
My new Griptilian was exactly the same way. It looked like the edge was put on with a 40-grit belt or something. At first I thought it was dull, but then I tried it on some paper and it went through very easily... It's sharp, but a strange kind of sharp, if that makes sense.
 
Benchmade Knives Are Known For Not Coming Sharp Out Of The Box. It's Not A Shock At All.
Fortunately I've Never Had That Issue. But They're Known For This.
 
Had a Mini-Nitrous Stryker show up that couldn't have cut its way out of its box. Took a while on the diamond stones to get it sorted. Was eyebrow raising to say the least.
 
I've had some Benchmades come a little less sharp than I thought was reasonable, but my last AFCK was exceptionally sharp. My Rukus was one of the sharpest knives I've purchased.

Personally, I don't care. I enjoy putting a proper bevel and edge on a new knife -- at the angle I like.

But you can't necessarily "touch up really fast" the edge with a Sharpmaker, unless the bevel on both sides already closely matches the angle of the stones, which is not likely.
 
retzius said:
I picked up a new BM 556 this week. Unfortunately, it's just not sharp.

I'm really puzzled by this one. Upon examining the knife the grind is perfect; nice even bevel, perfectly centered, consistent from heel to tip.

But it's just not sharp and the bevel has large grind marks. It's like the put a lot of effort into doing a really nice grind on a large grit belt.

It will probably touch up really fast on the sharpmaker but it makes me wonder what the point is...

Wierd.
Click to expand...
I totally know what you mean.


BladeChick777 said:
Benchmade Knives Are Known For Not Coming Sharp Out Of The Box. It's Not A Shock At All.
Fortunately I've Never Had That Issue. But They're Known For This.
Click to expand...
How are they known for this, but it's never happened to you?
 
Interesting to see its common to everyone's Griptilian (gold class excluded) but not other models. Maybe it's such a "value" blade it just gets one swipe per side on the belt grinder.

Oh well, just another excuse to bust out the EdgePro :)
 
In the past few months I have ordered two 470 emissaries and a 9051 all of which were hair splitting sharp out of the box.
 
I've Just Seen Where A Lot Of People Had Talked About How Benchmades Don't Come Very Sharp Out Of The Box, And How People Sell The Knives LNIB But Sharpened Once Because "You Know.. Benchmade Out Of The Box.. Blah Blah Blah."
I've Never Had An Issue With It. But Have Heard That Very Many Have.
 
Did you get it from a specific dealer? Maybe a certain dealer sends their knives out less-than sharp.

If you're upset by it contact Benchmade. They'd probably pay to have it shipped in to them and they'd sharpen it to your liking I'm sure. I've never had a problem with Benchmade customer support. They're the best I've ever dealt with, to be honest.
 
DrOpPoInT1110 said:
The sharpness of knives has nothing to do with the dealers. Where'd you get that information from?
Click to expand...
I don't have any information, just a random thought.

I know a local guy that dulls display knives to avoid in-store injuries. It may be possible people have received display knives or returns or something.



I guess I'm just a Benchmade fanboy looking for some reason to take blame off of them :encouragement:
 
To be honest, my John W. Smith SD-3 custom came like that. The grind was nice and pretty all along, but looking at the width of the edge bevel itself you can sort of tell the angle was fairly obtuse, maybe 25 degrees per side or more. Spyderco and Kershaw knives are typically at 20 degrees per side or even less.

So even if the edge is ground to meet at an apex and the knife is technically sharpened, it's not quite as sharp as most knife nuts are used to. And I think that's the catch right there. Most of Benchmade's customer base are likely non-knife people who probably abuse their knives, which makes it necessary to put an obtuse bevel on so the edge doesn't get damaged as easily.
 
Yep, ive had a handful of BM's and the only one that came sharp with even grinds was the 707 Sequel. All the others were relatively dull. Nothing new there, although ive heard on the forums, that BM has gotten their sharpening act together with the release of the Adamas. I hope so, because i dont want to spend time in front of the Sharpmaker fixing uneven grinds with the Contegos M4 blade.
 
I would just like to say that every Benchmade I own came hair splitting sharp...that's what I would like to say. The truth is that for most non-knife fanatics, the factory edges are passable to good. However, when compared to a Spyderco or Kershaw blade, meh.
 
Have owned five or six over the years, only my mini-Grip came with good edge. All the others came dull and with fairly obtuse bevels. Normally I enjoy sharpening, but on 100.00+ knives (with quality heat-treats that make sharpening take a few) I expect a bit more. I've pretty much been turned off to the brand and haven't bought one in a number of years.
 
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