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POLL:BENCHMADE KNIVES, WHATS THE WORST ONE YOU'VE GOTTEN, DON'T BE FINICKY NOW.

R

rage

Joined
Mar 19, 1999
Messages
124
HELLO FOLKS, i just read the post about benchmades warranty service, i'd like to know, what is worst benchmades knife you've gotten, was it really in bad condition as soon as you took it out from the box. Let me say this, Benchmade knives are very good, in my opinion, they are probly my favorite knife company, because I love there designs, among my favs, AFCK, Axis, and Pinnacle. I have several benchmades and gotta say, benchmades are not microtech, microtech is perfect, perfect in grind lines, and very close tolerances, but i HATE them now, in my opinion the Socom m/a is just for show, i've had many socoms fail terribly, so have my friends, none of my benchmades ever failed, i agree benchmades are not made with the best fit and finish, the G-10 is often sloppy, there are visable mis grinds on the liners, and all over sometimes, not everything is straight, the screws often strip, but never once did one fail on me, maybe ya'll are being way to Finicky about fit and finish, and not fuction, the function on these pupps are awesome. I agree you should get what you pay for, well, nothings perfect, NOTHING. I use my benchmades for self-defense and utility, i trust my life on my AFCK sometimes, it will never fail me, but it does have slight mis-grinds, who cares, buy a Microtech then, make sure you get plenty of Ace bandages for your fingers though :-) I mean, you must respect Benchmade for there hard work, sure there are hits and misses, but the misses will never fail, i'll take a miss knife rather than a socom, no kidding. Over about 50 benchmades went through my hands over i'd say the past 3-5 years, none have failed the spine whack test-please dont make me name em all. Oh yea, i dont send my knives back to warranty that much, but i did a couple times years back. The first was a model 970plain edge, the assemble screws stripped out and i wanted it fixed, at that time they were being dis continued, I spoke to Angie, and she sent me a 910 stryker for replacement, i'm much happier wit the 910. The next, and last was a model 830 ascent-early models, the spring for the lock was so weak, they sent me back a newer type spring that was solid, and replaced the whole handle, ah, i liked it, but wound up giving it away, i just hate that model, oh, i got it for a gift, i really didnt want it, but ah, i took it. Ok, thats it for me, i am what you would call mechanically inclined, and was takin my tonka trucks and radio apart when i was 8 years old, all my life i've been takin things apart, that how i musta got good at fixen my own benchmades, oops, so i voided the warrany, so what, i bought the damn knife, i'm gonna do what the hell i want to do with it, well, give me youre experiances with em, the knives, where they really in bad shape, or are just to Finicky about something being perfect.
 
Rage, i have two Bm knives: a Bm910 sbt and a BM 9100 auto. Both these knives are wonderful knives and I cant see anything wrong at all with them. By the way i am looking for a good used Bm 710Axis plain blade and or a BM750Pinnicle with plain blade. Email me if you have either one for sale. I will probably post my wants in right forum.
 
The only problem I ever had was with the Stryker. It was an ergonomic problem though, not a manufacturing problem. The position of the thumb stud was just totally out of whack for my hand. I could not open this knife to save my life (no pun intended). Sold it and got a Sentinel that opens like a lightening bolt. Also have a Mini Reflex and Model 750 that I love. No problems with the knives at all. Yet. Granted, my knives don't get alot of abuse either.

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"May you live in interesting times"

AKTI - A000389
 
As one of the poster's in the other thread I can tell you from my experiences with Benchmade that MOST of their knives are pretty good out of the box. Notice that I said most, this is because that I have seen poor alignment, uneven grind lines, blades that are in no way "razor sharp", etc.

I have NOT seen any lcok-up problems.

I have carried a Leopard Cub (which I have tuned to be lightning quick,with no blade play) for years and have confidence in it, I have also recently been carrying an AFCK, which is a great knife , but needed to be sharpened when new.

I think that most of the problem lies with their quality control. If they can not make a run of knives and have them all come out as acceptable, they need to re-vamp their methods. Also it is obvious that their warranty service is lacking, as attested to by the numerous complaints in the other thread.

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
 
Well, of one's I've bought myself, that AFCK with the unchamfered blade hole was the worst. But My friends all buy them and I was a real knife store parasite for a while, so here are a few "treats" I've seen:

970's that required a leatherman to disengage the liner-lock.

970's where the liner did not rise or engage the tang in the fully open position.

Assorted models where the lock traveled to the opposite scale while allowing slight up-down play in the open blade.

970's from the factory with rust in the pivot area.

800's that hit the spacer with the blade tip.

An 800 where the detent did not engage the blade even when fully closed.

Leopard Cubs (625?) that have tangs so roughly ground that they make an audible bump-bump-bump as the blade opens (like a car going over those milled road surfaces).

Sentinels where the "scales" stuck sharp corners over the edges of the liners in uncomfortable spots. FWIW, you can see this same problem on the real Elishewitz on the cover of Blade, Nov. '96.

Every Ti-bladed 970 I've seen sounds and feels like it's full of sand when opened.

More uneven grind lines than I can count.

As much as 1/4" blade length difference between factory-fresh knives of the same model. Spikes were especially bad in this area.

I'll say it again. Benchmade makes some of the finest factory knives in the world - sometimes.

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-Drew Gleason
Little Bear Knives
 
I think I may have figured out why many of us get duds out of the box when mail-ordering. I think we send them back where we got them (not to the company for warranty replacement) and they re-sell them, taking the chance that the next fool won't have eyes in their head or hands that can detect the imperfections. One time I sent a 970 back because the G10 scales and titanium liners were misaligned, and two months later upon ordering another for a friend I swear I received the same one. It's a gamble. You pay a heck of a lot more to pick out the perfect one (usually, but not at gun and knife shows as infrequent as they are around here). Food for thought.
 
I'm going to send my leopard to Benchmade to be sharpened. I got a Spydie Sharpmaker for my birthday, today :-) Brought everything to a razor edge except this Leopard. Does anyone have a good idea?

Also the grind lines are uneven, but you really have to look and I don't think that'd effect the performance.
 
I have collected a number of Benchmades over the years. My first was a full size Spike, I get the feeling that I am almost the only one who really likes this knife! It is my favorite kitchen knife, and my second favorite carry knife.

Second knife was a Crawford Leopard Cub. This is my dress knife. I couldn't ask for nicer little knife to carry in polite company.

Third was an early AFCK which after 4 or 5 years is my number 1 carry knife. Fourth was a CQC7, this is my least favorite Benchmade. I don't like the one sided grind! I have used the CQC7 hard however and it has worked well. I normally carry it when I have reason to believe I may damage the knife. I have chipped the blade and broken the point at one time or another but the knife does get used hard if not often. The liner lock on the CQC7 can be hard to release if the blade slams open but not so hard as to require a secondary tool to close.
Fifth I guess is a new Nimravous (sp?) The knife was not as sharp as my old benchmades were out of the box, but that is easy to fix. It takes and holds a very nice edge.

Most recently a model 350SBT Not as sharp as it should be but again easy to fix. The 350 is not the flagship of the line, but for what you pay it is a good value. I really like the shape of both the blade and handle.

I have never sent a Benchmade back for service. I have never had trouble sharpening a Benchmade, or getting one to hold an edge. I have never had any hint of a liner lock failure with the "spine whack" test, and I have hit them hard enough to feel that I was approaching abuse. Even the little Leopard Cub and the 350 pass with flying colors.

In short, I have either been very lucky, or I am doing something wrong, either way I am a happy camper!

MNH
 
I've had an 800SBTL for about 3 weeks now, and the only complaint I have is blade play front and back from squeezing the handle tight. If this continues after a few months, I'll start bitching, but for the meantime, I'm more than happy with my purchase.

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Shawn
"Earth has its boundaries, but human stupidity is limitless."

 
I have only two BM - CQC7 and Stryker. The only thing I did not like was the bead blasted finish on the CQC7. Othervise I am happy with them.
 
My first BM was a plainedge Panther. There has never been a problem except out of box it wasn't too sharp...easy enough to fix on my Sharpmaker.
My second was the 800sbtAFCK. I had this knife for a year, unhappy because the blade was crooked and kept rubbing the liner regardless of adjustment. I sent it into warranty the second time and got it back Wednesday...a totally new knife! They sent me the upgraded version 800sbt, and I'm happy with it...sharper, better cutter than the original, too.
My third BM was a Eclipse/Ascent 830S. The rocker bar and backspring seem weak and there is slight play, but I don't care enough to send it in...it gets only a little use around the house and doing some yard work. I kind of like it but it's my least favorite BM knife.
The fourth is a 350BT Mel Pardue. It's a great little gentleman's knife. Oddly, after cutting some thin cardboard, some of the BT2 coating came off. It seems the coating in this knife is not as durable as that on my AFCK...? Otherwise I like it.
I bought my most recent new BM last Saturday at a gun show...the 812BT mini-AFCK plainedge. It's a bit hard to open, but only because the thumbhole is very small. But I really love this knife, and along with my replacement AFCK, is my favorite BM knife. But I really checked out the mini-AFCK before I bought it. There is very slight contact between blade and spacer in closed position, but it's not affecting the blade or performance, so I'm not fickle on that.
Jim
 
As you know,I have good BM`s.If I didn`t,I wouldn`t be here.I`d have their 800# on speed dial and wouldn`t rest until I was satisfied.As I am who I am,I could make their lives most uncomfortable.For everyone else;I recommend that you talk to BM. They are the ones who can help you;not this forum,which I suspect that they do not read.I have found them to be most accommodating,and I can be arrogant and irritating.Ask anyone.Talk to Travis Noteboom.He`ll help you.An angry COL. is not a pretty sight.I`ve had no real problems,and I argue policy with Les.He hates that.

--I checked the BM forum and rage didn`t go there first.Isn`t there something wrong when you do not exhaust the available resources in order?-Poor policy at best.---------------


[This message has been edited by ghostsix (edited 23 July 1999).]
 
I think Benchmade makes a great product. I own both the Spike and the Axis. I too love the Spike, and it was my first BM. I think it's one cool knife. I had to send my Axis back to the factory for a minor problem, and it was promptly returned 3 weeks later.
I've had problems with Spyderco also, so every maker has some problems.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy more, and my Axis is also my favorite. I paid more for my mini-socom and it's not half the knife as the Axis.
 
I think Benchmade takes alot of undeserved heat here on the forums, almost without exception it seems to come from crazed MT devoties. To compare a $125-$175 knife to one
sold by another manufacturer for twice as much is not fair or realistic.
I own a number of Benchmade knives and have only had one that I had to return, it was a 9100SBT that right out of the box hade considerable up and down play in the blade which I returned back to the dealer. The defect in the Stryker was from an obvious flaw in the machining of the blade where it engauges with the locking pin, but I have four other 9100 knives that are fine and I feel the stryker are BM's best auto model.
I do have a AFO that arrived with a discolored bead blast blade in the area of the BM logo, rather than return the knife I just took down the "stain and roughness of the B.B. finish by using an large pencil eraser and blended the finish out well. The blade on the AFO now has a nice smoother finish and I didn't lose the BM logo.
My only real complaint with BM now is that it hasn't come out with any new auto knives to replace the ones that it's discontinued over the past year. I would also like to see a return to colored handles being offered. The one thing that BM had going for them with respect to auto knives was the variety of choices, this is no longer true.
Back around the start of this year I heard some rumors that BM would be getting out of the auto knife business, but haven't heard anything since then. Does anyone know if this is true?
 
I believe Benchmade merely said that they would be concentrating more on MA folders this year, although I may be wrong.

Also, someone said that some blades are 1/4" shorter than others of the same model? That wouldn't be Benchmade's problem, maybe the store got an abuses and used one that had been reground...

Any way, I would love to see the 3500bt with a BG-42 blade and the new style of safety devise, like on the AFO. That would be a big hit.

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"All of our knives open with one hand, in case you're busy with the other"
<OVAL OFFICE JOKE>
 
I have a mini styrker with the black coating and partial serrations and it works great I have never had a problem with Benchmade or its knives and probably never will.
 
Rage - I have several qustions for you;

1. Why would you ask this question on the forum? What good did you hope would be gained from it?

2. I would rate Benchmade as being certainly in the top 10 or even the top 5 of the knife manufacturers in the world.

Though I don't think that "being mechanically inclined" qualifies you to run a knifemakeing facility of more than 100 employees; I would be curious to know what company in your mind is so much better as to be a model for the "rest of us manufacturers" to seek to emulate?

sal
 
Wow...Is it just me or does anyone else think someone just had a bad day at work? I personally don't think Rage meant any harm at all in his post, just being informative and honest. I like Benchmades myself, and Ive also had problems with some. I do like to hear all the good and bad news just for my info regardless.




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~Keith~

 
I've noticed that sometimes people get 'excited' about how I pose a question. Sometimes when I'm trying to be supportive I phrase a question that gets interpreted as a veiled attack. It has happened when I start my question like this topic began, with a lot of qualifying about how you like something, but... I want to know if there is a 'problem' with...

I think it's a cultural/regional difference. From my perspective I'm saying "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's a real problem here, let's talk about it." Some people hear what I said as "I'm being an open minded guy, and I think there IS a big problem here, and my opinion is more important than yours."

Not only do some people hear something different than I intended, they interpret the way I said it as deceitful and/or pompous and it makes them mad. Of course I'm a real nice guy (just ask me) so it amazes me when I insult someone. It's interesting how questions can evoke unintended reactions. I come from a harmless question asking culture.
 
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