New Benchmade 940

Sorry to hear OP. Glade I lucked out with mine as the centering is perfect.
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Stumpy72 said:
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.
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Sorry to rain on your parade, but...

I have posted the text below in the "Benchmade falling behind" thread, but I feel that in this thread, it is directly applicable.
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Now, I am going to pick this number out of thin air, but say 1 out of every 100 have a flaw significant enough that ZT, Spyderco, (insert brand here) does mark them as such, and prices them accordingly to cover manufacturing costs, and make their profit from the "correct" models.

Which means that a few things are possible, regarding Benchmade, they include things like they;
A) are some form of mass production mega-machine that the likes of which has not been seen, within the confines of the knife industry. And they just don't have the employee volume to check the massive volume they produce.
B) have a smaller second production plant or at the very least, a productions shift worth of personnel thats entire job revolves around the disassembly and reassembly of QC rejected knives.
--The next one is (hopefully) less likely, though it does have the most circumstantial evidence backing it--
C) QC was directly told to be more lenient with what passes their standards.
D) Item "C" would be backed up by a higher warranty likelihood, and would result in the company being more lax when it comes to denials of warranty replacment/repair due to acknowledgement of "C" and their requirement to do so, otherwise risk reputation.
E) Item "D" would then make the company look better in the publics eye; since the general public would view this as the company having a "Good Warranty" when all it Could Be is (not definitive) the company hoping that knives with issues are bought by customers that;
F1) don't know better
F2) don't care enough
F3) care but don't want the hassle
F4) are willing to accept the knife as QC Passed, therefore it must be OK.
F5) won't purchase from the brand again.
G) this would result in more knives making it out of the plant that are sub-par by our standards, and (unfortunately) considered OK by company standards.
H) All of this second portion would result in us knife nuts saying that Benchmade has to make up ground for a lesser than expected (at this price point) F&F standard.
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I know that this is all conjecture, but it all seems to be a bit too convenient...
 
I've bought all my BM's in a B&M and all have been "fairly" well centered. The store owner goes over all the BM's when they come in, checks them over and loosens up the pivots as BM cranks them tight for us up here. As far as my 940 goes, I like it so much I'm working on a 943 next.
 
I am getting sick of all the "send it back" statements. I get it that it is the right thing to do, but for me it would be impossible. Anytime I buy something overseas I know well in advance that it is not going back no matter what! That's why I preffer to buy of the exchange!
 
OP: Give the ZT0450 or 0450CF a look. I, too, had issues with the BM940. I went with the ZT0450, 0450CF & 0460 and never looked back. Plus, there are no Omega springs to break!
 
sabre cat said:
Come on, you make it sound as if broken springs are a huge issue. Just isn't so.
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Its an issue. Not a huge issue. But it can and does happen.

Edit: just don't use an axis lock as a survival knife.
 
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A broken spring may not be a "huge issue", but--old school fool that I am--when I pay >$180 for a folding knife, I expect that the blade will be properly centered. We’re not talking about a SenRenmu here. I forgot to mention it in my original post, but I opened/closed that 940 a few times. The Axis lock button was sticky from the start and then it jammed and wouldn’t operate at all--unless I exerted pressure on it with my thumb and index finger simultaneously. I guess this must be what BM calls “ambidextrous operation”...

Overall, what seems obvious to me is:
1--Nobody even did a quick QC visual once-over of this knife. If by chance somebody did, they must have been blind to miss the wildly off-center blade.
2--Nobody even did a quick QC test of the Axis system functioning of this knife--unless sending out knives with stuck-up and jamming Axis systems is their QC standard.
3--The reason nobody did either of these two simple, quick QC verifications is because somebody was asleep at the switch, because nobody cares &/or because they have no QC. I don’t know which is the case, but it doesn’t matter. As some old philosopher once said, “Excuses don’t count--results do.”

I’m thankful the vendor unhesitatingly took that knife back and that my BM “customer experience” didn’t cost me anything worse than some frustration--which is OK, because I’ve had and continue to have far bigger problems in my life. Coincidentally, I’ve been looking at the ZT 0450. I think that’s how I’ll apply my account credit.
 
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Stumpy72 said:
I’m thankful the vendor unhesitatingly took that knife back and that my BM “customer experience” didn’t cost me anything worse than some frustration--which is OK, because I’ve had and continue to have far bigger problems in my life. Coincidentally, I’ve been looking at the ZT 0450. I think that’s how I’ll apply my account credit.
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I like the 0450 a bunch, but just a heads up: while the two knives look to be very similar in size, the 940 feels a lot bigger in use. If you set them beside each other closed, they look really pretty much the same, but in hand when cutting stuff the 0450 isn't nearly as comfortable to me, and it feels noticeably smaller.
 
Mo2 said:
Its an issue. Not a huge issue. But it can and does happen.

Edit: just don't use an axis lock as a survival knife.
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Having used axis lock knives for a lot longer than I've been visiting Internet knife forums, I've been blessed with good omega spring luck, apparently.

That said, just in case you are ever trapped in a survival situation with only an axis lock folder and both omega springs break, let me suggest a simple fix for you: grab a twig that's the same diameter as the hole behind the axis buttons, open the knife move the axis bar into the lock position and stick the end of the twig through the hole, pushing it towards the fatter end of the twig until it wedges in place, then snap the excess off on either side. Presto chango, it will stay locked until you grab another twig and poke the first twig-plug back out.

This takes about thirty seconds (most of which will be the time spent grabbing a twig) and it works on most axis lock models (a few, like the 707, don't leave much room behind the axis buttons), I tried it on a knife that I took apart and pulled the springs out of when there was one of those semi-annual "OMG BENCHMADE SUX CUZ SPRINGS WILL IMPLODE" threads a couple of years ago. With the way the axis lock works, there isn't any force exerted to push the axis bar back even when strong force is applied to the spine of the blade, in the closing direction, so all you need is something to keep the axis bar in the forward position. Alternate you could feed a bit of cord through the hole and tie it or whatever.

I feel like it's important to get this info out there, what with all the times that both omega springs break on the same knife and it's the only knife that someone has and they're trapped in the wilderness. I know this probably won't happen during my lifetime, but just in case . . .
 
Once you get a good one, it’s worth it. It can take 2 or 3 tries to get there however.
 
sharkattacksw said:
when it happens to someone else, it's a minor issue. When it happens to me/you, it's a bigger issue.
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I have to disagree. It's a minor issue, period. Both springs have to snap before the knife is down. Just what are the chances of that happening? True, it can happen but let's be realistic. Chances are against it.

An Axis Lock is my main folder. Has been for a few years now. Plus, most of my friends use Axis Locks. One friend of mine is very rough on his. If someone is going to damage an Axis Lock in some way, it would be him. Another has a Ganzo clone. Not one of us has ever had any issue with Omega springs. Never. Also, I have never come face to face with anyone who has complained about spring problems. Not once.

Of course, Benchmade is not perfect. No company or product ever is. However, I find it interesting that the only place I ever hear complaints about Omega spring problems is here on BF. I can't help but wonder why that is. We read about some people having numerous issues with spring problems. Both springs breaking at once. Or, broken springs on many different knives owned by the same individual. Sure, it can happen but, statistics would dictate otherwise.

I will surely let everyone here know when I have an Omega spring problem. In the meantime, I can't help but feel that most of these issues are the result of poor knife maintenance, environmental issues or, just plain operator error.
 
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Stumpy72 said:
...I forgot to mention it in my original post, but I opened/closed that 940 a few times. The Axis lock button was sticky from the start and then it jammed and wouldn’t operate at all--unless I exerted pressure on it with my thumb and index finger simultaneously...
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Just how many fingers do you normally use to operate an Axis Lock? Only one?
 
sabre cat said:
Just how many fingers do you normally use to operate an Axis Lock? Only one?
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Benchmade said this wasn't the problem with them breaking from what I remembered in a thread last year.

Also on the post above that one... bladeforums is far from the only place I've heard complaints about them breaking and there is even a 3rd party that sells omega spring replacements. Why even do that if it's not something that occurs. My omega springs haven't broken yet, but my friend has had his broken. It's a moving part. It's susceptible to failure. But not everyone will. It certainly does happen.
 
Mo2 said:
Benchmade said this wasn't the problem with them breaking from what I remembered in a thread last year.

Also on the post above that one... bladeforums is far from the only place I've heard complaints about them breaking and there is even a 3rd party that sells omega spring replacements. Why even do that if it's not something that occurs. My omega springs haven't broken yet, but my friend has had his broken. It's a moving part. It's susceptible to failure. But not everyone will. It certainly does happen.
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Oh, I'm sure BF is not the only place that has complaints about broken springs. Just the only place I've seen it.

And, yes, it does happen. No question. However, don't you find it strange that some owners will have two or three break and others will never have a break in their lifetime? I can't help but question how much is the knife design and how much is the knife owner. Especially when a person has issues with more than one knife.
 
Mikel_24 said:
I am getting sick of all the "send it back" statements. I get it that it is the right thing to do, but for me it would be impossible. Anytime I buy something overseas I know well in advance that it is not going back no matter what! That's why I preffer to buy of the exchange!
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I have researched my @$$ off on how to make omega springs and am going to buy the spring steel and the fancy jeweler's pliers to make my own off Amazon. Since I live in canada, I won't be sending any $250 knife to BM just to have our border clowns steal my knife on the way back. So, fix it myself, I will.

I have a few BM's and absolutely none have given me a lick of trouble, but if any do, I'll have to get out the WIHA's and go to 'er. Oh and any who says that the 0450 is better than the 940, not as far as I'm concerned. The 0450 is a nice toy, but not nearly in the same league as the 940 (AFAIC).
 
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