On the Fence

Wolverine666 · Apr 11, 2015

I stopped buying Benchmades in late 2013 when their pricing policy decided to not allow vendors to give customers discounts. I've stuck with other brands and never looked back. That is until last week. For some reason I'm really drawn to the 761 and 710-142 GC. I still feel that they're both overpriced. But I kinda like them. I like the sleekness factor of both. IMO they're real gorgeous knives. BM def makes some beauties.

Then just as I was getting past the price issue , I read a few discouraging posts about poor centering , weak detent , etc. for the prices the charge these knives need to be near perfect. If other companies can produce outstanding fit and finish on their knives at less than $120 then why can't BM ? Perhaps it was just a few less than perfect knives that slipped by QC.

I'm hoping to hear some great takes of wonderful quality from other BM owners. I'm trying to give them another chance.

RBid · Apr 11, 2015

I just picked up two BM 551s and have handled a North Fork, a couple 761s, a Valet, etc at KSF recently. I hate the pocket clip on the 761, but none of the above had any QC issues.

PURPLEDC · Apr 11, 2015

While i dont like the 761 for other reasons i found its machining, centering and action top notch. You have to remember everyone i terprets quality differently. And some are completely irrational and in some cases completely uneducated. I cant tell you how many times i see people complain about a certain issue with a knife they feel is defective but the real culprit was their lack of knowledge and how certain knives are made and work.

Leftytwogunz · Apr 11, 2015

I used to have a few benchmades back in earlier collecting days. I have and still do consider BM to be a company
with good fit and finish. There are certainly other companies with far worse F&F.

Were the issues you read about specifically with the two knives you mentioned or just BM in general? I mean, BM
puts out a lot of knives, at a lot of price points. Sometimes people really over exaggerate the issue of blade centering.
For me, as long as the liners aren't scratching off the finish or it's just obviously really terrible I don't put much thought
into it. Weak detent is also kind of a gray area. If the blade is falling open while in your pocket that's one thing but
a weak detent to one person might be perfectly acceptable for others.

Both of the knives that you have selected look pretty sweet for their own reasons. If you are set on one or both of them
don't let a few random reports of off center blades or weak detents dissuade you from giving them a try.

I recently bought two brand new Benchmades from blade hq. One was a fixed blade and the other was a L/E infidel. I haven't
found anything negative about either.

Wolverine666 · Apr 12, 2015

PURPLEDC said:
While i dont like the 761 for other reasons i found its machining, centering and action top notch. You have to remember everyone i terprets quality differently. And some are completely irrational and in some cases completely uneducated. I cant tell you how many times i see people complain about a certain issue with a knife they feel is defective but the real culprit was their lack of knowledge and how certain knives are made and work.

Excellent point. Everyone's perception is different. I probably shouldn't let a couple negative posts about said knives throw me off.

Wolverine666 · Apr 12, 2015

Leftytwogunz said:
I used to have a few benchmades back in earlier collecting days. I have and still do consider BM to be a company
with good fit and finish. There are certainly other companies with far worse F&F.

Were the issues you read about specifically with the two knives you mentioned or just BM in general? I mean, BM
puts out a lot of knives, at a lot of price points. Sometimes people really over exaggerate the issue of blade centering.
For me, as long as the liners aren't scratching off the finish or it's just obviously really terrible I don't put much thought
into it. Weak detent is also kind of a gray area. If the blade is falling open while in your pocket that's one thing but
a weak detent to one person might be perfectly acceptable for others.

Both of the knives that you have selected look pretty sweet for their own reasons. If you are set on one or both of them
don't let a few random reports of off center blades or weak detents dissuade you from giving them a try.

I recently bought two brand new Benchmades from blade hq. One was a fixed blade and the other was a L/E infidel. I haven't
found anything negative about either.

Good to hear. I've been a bit out of touch concerning BM over the last year or so as I've been preoccupied with a few other knife brands. So I guess I was just making sure (with this thread) that BM hadn't suddenly gone to hell in a hand basket. And after doing more research it appears that they are actually doing great with beautiful new models and lots of happy customer reviews. It was just coincidence that when I searched the two models I'm interested in for info on the forums that I came up with both having negative feedback.

But I'm past it and I'm going to pick one of them up in the near future. Now ... which to buy first 😊

miltmaldo · Apr 12, 2015

I picked up three benchmades 940-1 , 484-1 and the 761 since the MAP the fit and finish on all three are as good as you can get . When I purchase them I made sure that they new to check for centering , edge sharpness and an even grind . They are all perfect to my eye . The 761 is a bit to big for my need and the detent is not super strong like a ZT that said ZT knives are smooth but the 761 is the smoothest knife I own . I do own the first production and some people with the second batch seem to be happy with the blade detention .

PiercedBill · Apr 13, 2015

I just love my 761, its been in my pocket since I bought it, and gets used everyday. Haven't had any problems whatsoever. Those 710-142s are absolutely gorgeous, I've been considering one as well

vanslem6 · Apr 13, 2015

The 761 is not even on my radar. If I don't like how something looks, I won't even bother looking at it. With that being said, I was leery when buying my 940. It was, and still is the most expensive knife I've ever purchased, but it is certainly one of my favorites. I carry it over my PM2 more often than not, and wonder what I would do if I no longer had it. The 556 and 531 rarely go into the pocket, but the 940 is usually the one I grab over all others. I guess I'm satisfied as I don't even look through the BM catalog anymore. Lol.

Boozoo Chavis · Apr 13, 2015

Wolverine666 said:
I stopped buying Benchmades in late 2013 when their pricing policy decided to not allow vendors to give customers discounts. I've stuck with other brands and never looked back. That is until last week. For some reason I'm really drawn to the 761 and 710-142 GC. I still feel that they're both overpriced. But I kinda like them. I like the sleekness factor of both. IMO they're real gorgeous knives. BM def makes some beauties.

Then just as I was getting past the price issue , I read a few discouraging posts about poor centering , weak detent , etc. for the prices the charge these knives need to be near perfect. If other companies can produce outstanding fit and finish on their knives at less than $120 then why can't BM ? Perhaps it was just a few less than perfect knives that slipped by QC.

I'm hoping to hear some great takes of wonderful quality from other BM owners. I'm trying to give them another chance.

I've also avoided Benchmade due to their pricing policy but when they came out with the Osborne 940-1 in carbon fiber I just couldn't resist the temptation and bought one. I'll probably go back to spending my disposable income with Spyderco unless they come out with something else I just absolutely can't pass up.