It is so crazy you said this!!! I just typed this out and came to post a new thread but decided to combine ours. Yes, it's a little gritty compared to others but it's new. Yes, mine gets tighter at about 80% but only a little bit. Both of these improved over a few days of obsessive opening and closing. I also like the lock sticking a tiny bit, my grip unlocks so easy. Maybe yours is tighter than mine though. Give it a week or two.
My 940-1 Experience
Let's start by saying I love the knife and like the company. The Benchmade warranty is great and I fully trust they will take care of legitimate problems. The handle is flawless, blade is centered, opens and closes smooth and is exactly what I wanted. It is the new king of my pocket and can't see that changing soon. It kicked a Sage 2 out that was my edc for about two years.
Every coin has two sides, what is the other side you ask? The blade grid was embarrassing. I kind of expected this, Benchmade has LOTS of complaints about very expensive knives sharpened poorly. If the edge was placed against the side of a DMT the middle section had about .5mm of space. This made sharpening the middle 1.5 inches nearly impossible without removing YEARS worth of precious s90v. Also, one side in the same area had, no kidding, a 45 degree angle. I love 65 degree inclusive angles!
After sharpening things are better. There is still a very ugly section that isn't as sharp, but it will come out over the years as I sharpen. It really makes me mad that BM lets this happen. MANY other brands can hand sharpen a knife much much better. If you get a good BM grind, consider that an accident. They seem to go for ugly uneven bevels. This statement is based on seven BM's I've received, six were pitiful compared to Kershaw or Spyderco.
Also, I ordered from BladeHQ. I asked specifically to check for this before shipping. With BM's UPP in effect, BladeHQ gets A LOT more money for each BM sold. With the extra $50 they got, check the f***** blade before shipping it! Needless to say, no more BladeHQ purchases. The one well ground BM was bought from cutleryshoppe and I know it was inspected, we talked on the phone while Jeff did it.
Flame Suit On: Why didn't you send it back to BladeHQ or BM? Well, I have zero faith BM can grind a blade. I hand sharped and there is NO WAY an experienced person hand sharpens that bad if they try a little. BM would hog off years of metal fixing it anyways. BladeHQ fooled me once, shame on them. They won't fool me again. I went the BladeHQ to save $3 shipping, lesson learned!
S90v sharpens easily on DMT's. I fixed most of the edge in 15 minutes and that is reprofiling all but the worst spot on the blade. I used XC and C to set the bevel, then 2000 grit wet dry to clean it up a little. Most of the blade, minus the wretched section, will whittle hair.
I really love how the knife looks and performs. After a week I'm totally love with it. I am not in love with BM's pricing or quality but for this knife I sucked it up. The knife is so light and compact yet when open cuts like a larger blade. I know the edge grind “doesn't affect usability” but I wanted everyone dropping 260+ to know what my experience was like. If you don't mind sending a BRAND NEW knife back to the factory, playing the swap out game or dealing with flaws then totally go for it. I accepted dealing with the flaws. It still cuts great, looks amazing, carries like pocket lint and is backed up until BM (pray it never does) goes out of business form poor QC and pricing.
Pictures will come soon, just need to upload.
Knowing BM replaces blades is much peach of mind. Hell, if it bothered me enough I could just have got a new blade right away... as ridiculous as it sounds.
Again, a great knife from a good company that will last a lifetime and never disappoint! (other than initial quality)
