Question to all the 940/940-1 fans

bikedaddy75

bikedaddy75

Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
397
I posted a while back that I picked up a 940-1 at a good price and was lucky enough to get a first production model, #32 of 750. My intentions where to put it up for now and be glad I got low #, cool knife, but lately I have been wanting to carry it since a standard 940 has been my EDC almost 3 years the 940-1 is just a supped up version of what I know I like. I have already had a few offers of $100 above what I gave but thats not quite hitting the lottery. I was curious how other Benchmade nuts treat their low production#, first editions of any model, do you put it up with hopes of making some money in the future or just use it and be glad for what you have?
One side note that has been discussed lately is QC, my blade is off center to the left quite bad, the screws in the middle of the scales that hold the steel liners to the scales stick out quite a bit on both sides toward the blade when closed, my 940 is flush fit, and last the knife blade had a large bur on the edge and was quite dull initially, but a little stropping took care of that. The knife is going to go back to Benchmade to be fixed, but to use or not?
 
Use it. "First Productions" usually wont yield any more $ than a standard production version. They are actually less desirable to many. There is the chance that some collect "FP's", and may pay a premium, especially is its a desired #. I wouldnt call it money in the bank however. "Limited Editions"...something different. "First Editions"...? Only heard that term applied in literature.

Sending back to BM is the right call. They will sort you out.

Use it. It will become more valuable to you personally.
 
Sell it for the $100 profit. I can offer you a decent price on a new non FP model.
 
umm, yea, what they said.

Seriously, I may have misspoke. Honestly, these guys would know more then me for sure. I would and have taken advice from Neoron on more than one occasion.
 
I'm filling out the Benchmade paperwork right now to return the 940-1 and a M4 mini-grip (both new) to get the bugs sorted out and I will be using my hot 940-1 when it returns, thanks for chiming in everybody.
 
I agree carry it cause i got one of the first productions and don't care for the writing on the blade so i traded and bought another with out.
 
I'm new to this knife thing but I know when it comes to new model cars , guns ,etc , etc. I like to set back and wait for them to work out all the bugs before I buy. I guess that doesn't apply to knives ?
 
Not so much. Knives are pretty simple compared to cars, phones and firearms. The issue isn't being a beta tester, it's piss-poor QC.
 
You can remove the laser engraving if you don't like it.

If you can sell a first prod for $100 more over standard and the hassle doesn't bother you, might as well do so and pocket the cash.

As a general rule First Prod models don't add much value and in some cases hurt value. The only time you will see a big premium is if you have a knife with a low number of numbered items, from a run which is not a full scale production run. Most of that value comes from limited availability more so than First Production. Given the 940-1 is full production, First Production won't mean much here.

Sorry to hear yours had bad QC. Unfortunately, this seems to be happening more with Benchmade than it has in the past, and it's not acceptable. It's even less acceptable given we are talking about a $300 knife here. And with all these QC issues the 940-1 is seeing, this knife is going to fail if Benchmade doesn't do something.
 
Indeed, serial numbers, first production runs, 1 of 10K adds nothing to the value or collectability unless that is your primary item for collecting. If you are getting an offer of $100 over what you paid, I'd dump it as you are not likely to get much more.
 
I personally find the first production writing on the blade extremely tacky and try and avoid them. If someone really wants to pay you $100 more than you paid I'd sell it ASAP.
 
Well the 940-1 and my mini-grip M4 are both heading to Benchmade now and before I mailed it I called Benchmade and talked to 3 different people, all of them where polite and helpful as you would expect from a reputable company, but I keep hearing about everyone else's QC issues and it shouldn't be so for an American made knife company, especially one that just raised its prices.
 
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