New Benchmade 940

Stumpy72

Stumpy72

Joined
Jul 5, 2018
Messages
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Just received my new Benchmade 940. Much like a little kid on Xmas AM, I opened the box and what should to my wondering eyes appear but a knife with the blade so far off center that it’s about one human hair width away from being in contact with the show side scale. The tip of the blade doesn’t even line up inside the purple spacer. It lines up with the end of the show side scale. The BM box was tape-sealed when I got it, so this one is on BM and not the vendor.

Somebody please help me out here..... Is this the kind of quality product that BM quality control stamps the BM seal of approval on and ships out to turkeys like me these days? Or--is it an aberration the likes of which is almost never seen? This is my first new BM blade, so I honestly don’t know.

One way or the other... this dog is going back to where it came from real soon. Damn good chance it’s my last BM, too.
 
Hi Stumpy,

Welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear you had issues with your 940. It seems to be a hit-and-miss thing with them on the centering. Try checking that the pivot is not just very loose. For instance, if the blade is free-falling and has some side to side play it's a good bet you can tighten the pivot which might help the centering a bit. I just recently received a 940-1 which was slightly off-center and tightening the pivot fixed it right up. Hope that helps!
 
Off centered blades are normal in my experience. My Crooked River was the same. In the Benchmade subforum here there's a sticky at the top of the page that tells you how to center it.
 
What a shame. The 940 is such a great design too. I used to hate it. Thought it was a butt ugly knife in every respect. Then I handled one.

I am worried that if I send in my griptilian for a new blade, I'll get a problem like the OP.
 
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Thanks for the tip about blade centering advice in the BM forum. I hadn’t looked there before and I didn’t know that off-center blades are the Benchmark norm. If I’d known that I was signing on for a tour of duty as an amateur DIY knife tech, I wouldn’t have bought a BM. Oh, well. The vendor was very helpful and this one is going back. Lesson learned.
 
Stumpy72 said:
Just received my new Benchmade 940. Much like a little kid on Xmas AM, I opened the box and what should to my wondering eyes appear but a knife with the blade so far off center that it’s about one human hair width away from being in contact with the show side scale. The tip of the blade doesn’t even line up inside the purple spacer. It lines up with the end of the show side scale. The BM box was tape-sealed when I got it, so this one is on BM and not the vendor.

Somebody please help me out here..... Is this the kind of quality product that BM quality control stamps the BM seal of approval on and ships out to turkeys like me these days? Or--is it an aberration the likes of which is almost never seen? This is my first new BM blade, so I honestly don’t know.

One way or the other... this dog is going back to where it came from real soon. Damn good chance it’s my last BM, too.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately Benchmade’s business model seems to be send out knives that should have never passed quality control; those who care enough will send their knife in.

Do try tightening the pivot screw though. Sometimes that solves it.
 
Yea their QC is lacking. My 940 had blade play out of the box. It won't drop freely because of how tight the pivot needs to be.
 
sabre cat said:
What a shame. The 940 is such a great design too. I used to hate it. Thought it was a butt ugly knife in every respect. Then I handled one.

I am worried that if I send in my griptilian for a new blade, I'll get something like this.
Click to expand...

Sabre cat, don't hesitate to send in your grip. I bought a new grip a few years ago that had an off center blade and lock stick. I sent it in to BM CS and it come back perfectly centered, no lock stick, and the sharpest "factory" edge I've ever recieived. They ended up replacing pretty much everything except the blade. I'm my experience, BM CS has been excellent even if their knives don't come perfect from the factory.
 
Stumpy72 said:
Just received my new Benchmade 940. Much like a little kid on Xmas AM, I opened the box and what should to my wondering eyes appear but a knife with the blade so far off center that it’s about one human hair width away from being in contact with the show side scale. The tip of the blade doesn’t even line up inside the purple spacer. It lines up with the end of the show side scale. The BM box was tape-sealed when I got it, so this one is on BM and not the vendor.

Somebody please help me out here..... Is this the kind of quality product that BM quality control stamps the BM seal of approval on and ships out to turkeys like me these days? Or--is it an aberration the likes of which is almost never seen? This is my first new BM blade, so I honestly don’t know.

One way or the other... this dog is going back to where it came from real soon. Damn good chance it’s my last BM, too.
Click to expand...

You're not alone. I ordered and returned 3 different 940's until I finally gave up and went with a ZT 0450CF.

The first two 940-2's (g10 scales) I ordered had sticky axis locks and uneven grinds. Blade centering was good.
The last 940-1 (carbon fiber) had an ok axis lock, was centered but had an uneven grind.
 
mongomondo said:
My Crooked River was the same.
Click to expand...

wjANVCD.jpg
 
This is why a lot of people recommend you go into a brick and mortar store to buy your benchmade knives

Sorry to hear about this. The QC has absolutely been lacking lately (and for a few years now it seems)

But on a happier note, the 940 is a gem of a knife. If you get it centered, youll soon realize why its regarded as a quintessential edc knife
 
Wolverine666 said:
Another useful tip for the OP is to request that the dealer make sure the blade is centered on any knife you order. Benchmade or otherwise.
Click to expand...

May work with sometimes but not other times. My recent two purchases from two well known dealers indicate the latter. Granted they were not major defects (one with slight up and down blade play while the other obviously uneven grind lines).
 
mongomondo said:
Off centered blades are normal in my experience. My Crooked River was the same. In the Benchmade subforum here there's a sticky at the top of the page that tells you how to center it.
Click to expand...

Stumpy72 said:
Thanks for the tip about blade centering advice in the BM forum. I hadn’t looked there before and I didn’t know that off-center blades are the Benchmark norm. If I’d known that I was signing on for a tour of duty as an amateur DIY knife tech, I wouldn’t have bought a BM. Oh, well. The vendor was very helpful and this one is going back. Lesson learned.
Click to expand...

This is exactly how I would feel. I get being a tinkerer. I am too. I would have no problem fixing it, but once I'm spending over $100 on a knife, a blade being wildly off center is unacceptable. I'd be pretty ticked if I were the OP.
 
Never buy a benchmade sight unseen. Always inspect in person. Only a few vendors know what to look for, so find out and ask them to inspect it for you before shipping. It's so sad Benchmade has so many qc issues for the cost. Of which is mostly map pricing, so I'm sure the vendors should be happy to give you the best example they have.

If you only have centering issues and you can do what's described in this thread it may help you. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/centering-a-benchmade-blade.1495117/

You would think management would say... How can we mass produce these knives without these issues. But they really don't care about enthusiasts.
 
Stumpy72 said:
Just received my new Benchmade 940. Much like a little kid on Xmas AM, I opened the box and what should to my wondering eyes appear but a knife with the blade so far off center that it’s about one human hair width away from being in contact with the show side scale. The tip of the blade doesn’t even line up inside the purple spacer. It lines up with the end of the show side scale. The BM box was tape-sealed when I got it, so this one is on BM and not the vendor.

Somebody please help me out here..... Is this the kind of quality product that BM quality control stamps the BM seal of approval on and ships out to turkeys like me these days? Or--is it an aberration the likes of which is almost never seen? This is my first new BM blade, so I honestly don’t know.

One way or the other... this dog is going back to where it came from real soon. Damn good chance it’s my last BM, too.
Click to expand...

Yup. Happens all the time. Unfortunately knives like yours are all too common.
 
Stumpy72 said:
Just received my new Benchmade 940. Much like a little kid on Xmas AM, I opened the box and what should to my wondering eyes appear but a knife with the blade so far off center that it’s about one human hair width away from being in contact with the show side scale. The tip of the blade doesn’t even line up inside the purple spacer. It lines up with the end of the show side scale. The BM box was tape-sealed when I got it, so this one is on BM and not the vendor.

Somebody please help me out here..... Is this the kind of quality product that BM quality control stamps the BM seal of approval on and ships out to turkeys like me these days? Or--is it an aberration the likes of which is almost never seen? This is my first new BM blade, so I honestly don’t know.

One way or the other... this dog is going back to where it came from real soon. Damn good chance it’s my last BM, too.
Click to expand...

Send it back, get another.... It's one of the best EDC knives out there. An off center blade isn't the end of the world. I understand it sucks, but they are fantastic knives when you get a good one.
 
I've had seven various 940 series knives, and still have three or four, I think, and none of them has had a centering issue that tightening the pivot back up didn't fix.

This one is my favorite, incidentally:

jYFypd2.jpg
 
Wolverine666 said:
Another useful tip for the OP is to request that the dealer make sure the blade is centered on any knife you order. Benchmade or otherwise.
Click to expand...
This is the only way I'll buy a benchmade online. Knife Works is great about this. I always ask for centered blades, no vertical or horizontal play, and even edge and primary bevel grinds, and I haven't been disappointed yet.
 
evilgreg said:
I've had seven various 940 series knives, and still have three or four, I think, and none of them has had a centering issue that tightening the pivot back up didn't fix.

This one is my favorite, incidentally:

jYFypd2.jpg
Click to expand...
I've never been a fan of the 940 series. But this one looks sick :thumbsup:
 
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