My new Benchmade is not sharp

The edges from Benchmade are evidently all over the place. All the ones I've bought new were at least shaving sharp. I've had a couple of blades replaced and these were also extremely sharp. The edge angles were quite obtuse on some of them, but they were sharp. My Griptillian and Pika had about 25 degree angles, but my Delica also had a relatively obtuse angle, to the point that it needed to be rebeveled before the Sharpmaker would work.
 
Most of the Benchmade knives I have had sharpness varried from dull to extremely sharp. All except for one I have taken to the stone and re beveled. BM makes a good knife but their standard of sharp varries from sharp to dull and they are not the only ones that come that way. So if you are going to expect a new knife to be sharp be prepard to do your own sharpening work.
 
There's an old adage that says: "If you want something done right, do it yourself"

and there's another that says: "some complain even when hanged by their own new rope"
 
BladeChick777 said:
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.
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I've heard that too, but I always take things like that with a grain of salt. Especially when I hae no familiarity with the person writing it. It might be true, it might be that person talking out their ear, or it might be someone that just whines about everything and this week, Benchmade is on the list. You get what I'm saying, right? :)
 
I never considered that important. Do not even ever check. If I use it - I will sharpen it sooner or later. If it came not particularly sharp than obviously I will do it rather sooner. If I do not use it (and I have many knives I have never used) - what would I care! So I do not have any feeling about that issue.
I usually look at the edge though. How thick/thin it is. And I am OK with BM edges - I do not have any complaints.
 
Shawn7656 said:
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:
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If they're being sold online, they need to advertise if the knife was a display piece (if the dealer even has a retail store). That being said, you usually don't see many display or demo knives for sale through online dealers.
 
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.
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I sent back my brand new folder; it wouldn't even cut my skin if I dragged the blade over it, or pressed on it. Not acceptable. They told me that they will put a "factory-edge" on it before they send it back. They are a great company; they just don't sharpen their blades like spyderco.
Sonny
 
My 557 Mini Grip came fairly dull out of the box... my 746 is razor sharp.

I think my Mini Grip was sharpened on a Friday at 4:59pm.
 
This guy once told me that heart disease was the #1 killer in America, and I was like "how would you know, you're not dead."

I've had more BMs that came less than sharp than those that came pretty darn sharp, but there have been some good ones. That all goes out the window after a couple minutes of cutting anyway.
 
Noctis3880 said:
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.
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Noctis, I have 2 of the JW Smith SD-3's, one is S30V, the other is S35VN, and both came the same way you are describing. I used my shapmaker and progressed from the diamond--gray--white and now both are much sharper and the bevel is a little higher than before.

Man, JWS makes one of the slickest folders around. The fit/finish is just amazing.


Forgot to mention BM.

I think the sharpening problem was something that Benchmade addressed and it's knives are coming to the consumer with very sharp edges.

I have purchased BM knives for the past 10 years, and I cannot say that I ever got one that wasn't very sharp. The last one I got, the 275BK Adamas is a big knife with a thick blade and a saber grind, yet it came out of the box as a laser.
 
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Yeah i ve had a couple come dull out of the box. I remember reading that it is not uncommon. I guess they feel the buyer wants to put his/her own favorite type of edge on their knife, which I did! I now have a beautiful convex edge on my 14205!!
 
My Nimravus (which is about seven years old now) came with the worst edge I have ever seen on a production knife, it looked like they just took a few swipes on a 80 grit belt sander.
 
I went back and read the rest of this thread and it makes me think that my level of sharpness is not up to some of you folks here. I said I have been buying BM's over the past 10 years and they all came sharp. I'm talking about a dozen or so knives. I consider the knife sharp when it will pop hair off my body when I check for a shaving edge.
 
This is common with benchmade. Often times, people perceive them as not sharp because the angle of the bevel isn't very acute, and they often polish the edge so much that it is not toothy enough to bite into things. They make their edges to provide a longer lasting working edge, instead of a hair splitting sharp/yet fragile edge.

-Freq
 
Happens. If it's a good knife (materials, blade profile, lock, grips, etc.), just sharpen it. Must of us enjoy sharpening anyway, probably sounds nuts, but I'm actually GLAD when I buy a good knife and have the opportunity to sharpen it and make it better. Now if I bought a $300 custom knife that was dull, THEN I'd be upset. But a middle-of-the-road production blade, if it's well made: no biggie. Keep and sharpen!
 
it could be the luck of the draw when you get a benchmade. i have seen some that were fairly sharp but i also see a lot more that are dull out of the box. i get a lot of new benchmades sent to me for resharpening.
 
Let me explain what I mean by "not sharp".

It will cut paper but not cleanly. It will not shave arm hair.

I looked at it under a loupe and it doesnt have a bur just a dull edge. Go figure.
 
Really depends on who puts the edge on at BM. They are known for their almost non-existent bevel; it just needs a simple re-profile!

Here's an after and before picture (I know, it's backwards heh)

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TP cutting sharp now!
 
I bought a 710 D2 even after inspecting it in the store. It had a clean edge bevel but was not sharp. I made a post on here ages back about what a PITA Benchmade's D2 was to sharpen.
 
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