Should Benchmade Move to Ball Bearings?

I will admit I like smoothness just as much as anyone but I don't focus too much on it. I do think people can get too invested in smoothness.

I have owned a few bearing knives and quite a bit of what benchmade has and they are generally both smooth. Shoot, my 940 is the smoothes knife I have ever owned and it dosent have bearings..

People talk about CRKs being soo smooth and I would venture that people would flip if CRKs were switching to bearings. FWIW I wasn't blown away with CRKs smoothness but it didn't detract at all from the knife one bit.
 
I just ordered a few folders.

I was interested in a couple BMs because of the designs. However, since they didn't have bearings I passed.

For the money, I can't justify a $200 folder without a nice feature like bearings anymore.

For the record, I have bought more BM's in my life than any other brand.

Bearings are here to stay. Knife companies, not so much.

I still have many folders w/o bearings that are extremely smooth, and I like them a lot.

I consider a few of them as good as anything with bearings.

However, they were bought a few years ago. Things change. I prefer newer bearing designs now.
 
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Beat to the punch but..the 761 is on bearings and no lie, it feels like it flicks faster than any flipper I own.
 
I was also beat to the punch on the 761.
I got mine a couple of weeks ago and I cannot believe how smooth that knife is! It literally flies open with minimal force!
Amazing knife in every aspect!
Joe
 
Bearings or washers don't make any difference to me as long as it's smooth. I won't pass on a knife I like just because it doesn't have bearings... My 761 is very smooth and it has bearings also my ksf m4 Stryker is on washers and it's just as smooth if not smoother.
 
Daniel_Luzzi said:
I've noticed that, more than any other knife brand, Benchmade knives seem to be coveted for their smoothness and flickability.
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I feel that this obsession over a knife's smoothness and "flickability" is for those who do not use their knives often, but like to sit on the couch and play with them while watching football.

Insipid Moniker said:
No. Added cost with no real added benefit.
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This sums up my opinion on ball bearings for the most part. There are some great, relatively inexpensive knives like the CRKT Ripple which have them. However, the ball bearings don't even a guarantee a sure deployment if the user doesn't make a very deliberate opening on the knife. Take a look at the Spyderco Positron. Way, way more expensive than a knife of its size with its materials should be! The bearings certainly contribute to the cost. The Paramilitary 2 doesn't have bearings, and once broken in it can't really get any smoother. No blade play.

Bearings won't solve the problem. Better tolerances will.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
I feel that this obsession over a knife's smoothness and "flickability" is for those who do not use their knives often, but like to sit on the couch and play with them while watching football.


This sums up my opinion on ball bearings for the most part. There are some great, relatively inexpensive knives like the CRKT Ripple which have them. However, the ball bearings don't even a guarantee a sure deployment if the user doesn't make a very deliberate opening on the knife. Take a look at the Spyderco Positron. Way, way more expensive than a knife of its size with its materials should be! The bearings certainly contribute to the cost. The Paramilitary 2 doesn't have bearings, and once broken in it can't really get any smoother. No blade play.

Bearings won't solve the problem. Better tolerances will.
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Good points. Totally agree.
 
Bearing are for those who don't use their knife in dirty environments (Mom's couch?) and need a bullet point to justify their overpriced pocket jewelry.
 
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