Opinions of Benchmade

BaliMaster5 said:
By "they" I am referring to anyone with 2 eyes and common sense.

Both of which you appear to be lacking.
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Uncool. Why not simply state your opinion of Benchmade without insulting other forum members?

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My only Benchmade is a 551, and quality-wise I can't see anything wrong with it. Pretty decent knife for $65. :thumbup:
 
MTHall720 said:
I have been reading about Benchmades for months now and have been truly puzzled by the fact that many love them, others hate them, some seem indifferent. My current hypothesis I am working on is that perhaps some models appeal more than others for a variety of reasons. This year I got my first BM in ages. The 710. Love this knife!! Just got my second BM today thanks to my wife. It is the 581 and am very excited about it too.
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Same problem every knife company has, from Chris Reeve to M-Tech. Whether it's quality, materials, price, or national origins, someone will like it and someone will not.

Or we wouldn't have so many different knives available, or Bladeforums to come to for discussions. :)

One problem Benchmade has is that there is no forum here to settle some of the arguments, with a company rep to clear up misconceptions. That leaves the same arguments to come back again and again.
 
I have a couple of US-made Benchmade knives. I also have a couple of their imports. In each case I have found them to be well made. I consider them worth the price I paid for them.

I've tested five Benchmade blades for hardness. Each one has been within the hardness specification published by Benchmade.

The only problem I've ever had with one of my Benchmade knives was a broken clip. I emailed them and they sent me a new one. When I have had questions and emailed customer service, I have received prompt replies, even when my question necessitated a response from their product development manager.

I consider Benchmade one of the standards of the knife industry.
 
I love all my Benchmades. I have a Gold Class Grip, BM 42 and 43, and an HK Ally. Haven't found a flaw in any of them. Benchmade, Spyderco, and CRK and the only folders I buy. There's definitely other brands I'm interested in but I've put the buying on hold for awhile. Actually check that, one of the edges while not dull, wasn't the sharpest put of the box.
 
benchmades are ok, but like you line up your benchmades next to your spydercos, and then your benchmades just start looking like cheap "tacticlol" type stuff while spydercos become legends.
 
950 Rift- first expensive knife and I was thrilled. Still am. Don't carry it every day, but I do when I am off and out and about. Little dull from the factory (cut paper though), and I let some dick at a gunshow 'put an edge on it for me' with a paper wheel. I spent 2 hours getting a proper edge back. Centered perfectly, no side to side or vertical play, and I can snap the blade out with a flick of the wrist.

530- F*&cking love this knife. Thin, light, and comfortable. Super sharp from factory, snaps open, blade centered no vertical or side to side.

Grip 1- Sharp as heck, perfect in the hand, centered, no play. Work knife, and I finally managed to break the tip off by prying. I have used that knife to pry, scrape, cut, slice, dig for a year and it finally failed. It will be going back to BM with $25 to replace the blade.

Grip-2- Super sharp, flicked open from the get go.

Mini-Grip- too small for comfort. Sold it due to being to small.

Sold several 710's and a few Grips retail. All perfect and sharp from the factory.

Sorry about your luck, but maybe you should try again.
 
JeremiahWeaver09 said:
benchmades are ok, but like you line up your benchmades next to your spydercos, and then your benchmades just start looking like cheap "tacticlol" type stuff while spydercos become legends.
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I wouldn't go quite that far...

Benchmade does make some very nice knives, no doubt. Spyderco does too. I don't own any Kershaws, as they don't really seem to make lefty friendly models, but they also seem to make nice knives.

Maybe Benchmade just isn't your style. And that's cool. I've had several Spyderco knives that everyone else raves about, but which I've disliked. I generally find the aesthetics of Kershaw/ZT's to be absolutely horrible. But I have no doubts that my dislike of them are anything but purely subjective judgements--my own personal opinions.

On the other hand, I usually prefer to EDC CRK's over almost anything else. The blue ZDP Stretch sometimes makes an appearance in my pocket, and if the Umnumzaan didn't look like it was a statement to stave off questions of my hetero street cred, I'd probably carry it as much as I do my Sebenza. Yet, at the end of the day, I think back fondly on when I could carry my BM 943 everyday. I have way too much sentimental value attached to it to carry it around. I'm considering picking another one up--to me, the Sebenza is just a replacement for what was just about the perfect EDC knife for me.
 
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In all honesty, I have never been 100% satisfied with ANY knife I have bought. Benchmades do have some issues but no more than any other company. When I get a knife I always disassemble, clean and lube it. If it needs a sharpen, guess what, I sharpen it. If the blade is off center or too tight, I play with the pivot, I loosen the grip screws and push the scales in opposite directions and re-tighten them (hard to explain, there was a link to this method of correcting off center blades at one point). If the knife came with teflon washers I replace them with phosphor bronze. I actually enjoy doing these things, and when I am done I have a knife that lives up to my standards. I think the only time I would be upset with the quality of a knife is if it was a custom or semi-custom, or something really bad like improperly cut tang (in a frame or liner lock).
I feel like a lot of the criticisms with Benchmade wouldn't be there if they were cheaper. I see a lot of things go without notice when the knife doesn't cost so much.

Really the point of my post was just to add a data point and maybe offset some of the Benchmade bashers. Benchmade rates near the top in my book.
 
Thanks for getting rid of the trash (Balimaster5), and Esav, Thanks for my signature :D

Gotta be the funniest, most true statement I've heard in awhile. And those abound around BF!
 
Just the latest version. :) I've read that from a lot of members here, when someone worries about out-of-the-box sharpness. In fact, we've had many people complain about a good steel not holding a good edge, and it turns out, the original edge was so thin, and the heat treat so hard on it, it was brittle. Sharpening past the original edge gets to the good steel properly heat treated.

Benchmade's obtuse edges avoid this brittleness and allow the buyer to decide what kind of an edge to put on the knife. You can always thin a thick edge. It's harder to thicken up a thin edge.
 
Well said.
I love my BM's...even if I do have to reprofile them.
People also exaggerate and complain about the smallest bit of blade-play with Axis locks, when it really doesn't affect performance.
 
I've had the same luck sharpening my Vulcan with diamond stones. I can get it to hold a functional edge, but it still won't cut papaer or shave hair, no matter how much time I spend on it.
 
I can't seem to be able to get the quoting to work here but the comment about benchmade looking like a cheap tactical knife next to a legendary spyderco seems to be quite off. Yes spyderco knives are great but Benchmades are definitely not cheap looking/feeling. Every benchmade I have ever handled has felt up to my standards and I have had issues with more spydercos than BM's. (definitely not knocking spyderco down they are also great)
 
While I am your typical Spydienut I am not a prude and when a knife speaks to me then I don't care what it is within reason. I have one BM left in my collection and it feels and works so well that it's a lifer.

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DR.BOOM said:
I can't seem to be able to get the quoting to work here ...
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It's easy. At the bottom right of each post you will find Reply With Quote. Click on it and you will get a reply box with the quoted post at the top. You can edit out anything you don't need from it, and post your own reply to the rest.

If you want to quote multiple posts, go to the quote " sign with a plus + next to Reply With Quote. Use the quote " sign with + for each post to be be quoted except for the last of the series: use Reply With Quote for that. You will get a reply box with all the quotes stacked up, and you can answer each directly under it.
 
Esav Benyamin, thank you. I had done it before but I am stuck using my iPhone only and got a little confused. Anyway thanks again.
 
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