Should I send back my 940-1501?

[zddat1234]

I'm a bit of a newbie to knife collecting. I've bought quite a few over the years but nothing particularly expensive. I thought I'd finally buy something decent for around $200 and settled on the Knifeworks Benchmade 940-1501.

There are a few minor (or not?) problems, and I was hoping for the input of people more knowledgeable on this subject regarding whether this is normal or not and whether I should send it back to KW for a complete replacement or to BM for a new blade or whatever repairs they want to do.

First, the blade is not centered when closed.

Second, the bevel is not the same width throughout on either side:

^ width of bevel near tip is wider than at belly

^ width of bevel at tip is wider than most of the rest, and there is a narrowing near the heel

Third: This is my first knife of a higher quality steel, in this case CPM 20CV. The blade finish on both sides looks kind of like someone rubbed some very small wool steel over it. It's hard to get a photo of this because of angles and light and me being bad at photography, but you can kind of see it in the previous photos as well as here if you zoom in:

Anyways, what do you think? Am I being too critical or are these issues that I should be noticing and wanting fixed?

Thanks

 

[Dadpool]

It's a personal thing for sure, and depends at least in part on why you bought it (user vs. safe queen/collection piece, for example), but #1 and #3 wouldn't bother me in a user. #2 might, but probably not; a few sharpenings in the course of use seem like they'd take care of it.

That said, KW has excellent customer service. If you do request a replacement from them, call them up and ask them to inspect it for your specific issues before they ship it out. I recently did that for a knife (the call, not the return), and they sent me a fantastic knife that ticked all of my personal boxes.

If it bugs you now, and still bugs you in the morning, it's probably not going to stop bugging you.

 

[Evany]

The finish on your blade is intentional. It tends to hide small scratches, I think that's why they do it. Good suggestion to see if KW will replace it with one that has a better grind and centering--I always ask them to check for solid lock up as well. The other option is to send it in to Benchmade. They have fantastic customer service and a great warranty program. I don't think you are being too critical and if you do send back they will correct most, if not all, of it. As for the grind, I've seen worse, but if it bugs you tell them about it and they will probably replace the blade for you. From the photos I can see that there is a slight recurve towards the base of the blade, the edge should be flat. That would bother me even more than the uneven grind. My 940-1 came that way and I sent it in. They replaced the blade (told me it was "over ground") and when I got my knife back it was pretty near perfect. You can also correct the centering yourself (there's a few searchable threads about it here), but if it was my knife I'd either have KW replace it with a better one (that will be a lot faster) or I'd send it back to Benchmade and let them fix it when they correct the grind. The 940 is a fantastic knife BTW--I have a -1501 in my pocket right now, it's pretty much my favorite knife.

 

[luke86]

I would send it back or get Benchmade to replace the blade. Sending it back is probably a lot faster. However, I have had an issue with a brand new knife and they offered offer me a free expedited shipping label and expedited return shipping. I had a knew knife in less than a week.

 

[BKC Customer Service]

I'm a bit of a newbie to knife collecting. I've bought quite a few over the years but nothing particularly expensive. I thought I'd finally buy something decent for around $200 and settled on the Knifeworks Benchmade 940-1501.

There are a few minor (or not?) problems, and I was hoping for the input of people more knowledgeable on this subject regarding whether this is normal or not and whether I should send it back to KW for a complete replacement or to BM for a new blade or whatever repairs they want to do.

First, the blade is not centered when closed.

Second, the bevel is not the same width throughout on either side:

^ width of bevel near tip is wider than at belly

^ width of bevel at tip is wider than most of the rest, and there is a narrowing near the heel

Third: This is my first knife of a higher quality steel, in this case CPM 20CV. The blade finish on both sides looks kind of like someone rubbed some very small wool steel over it. It's hard to get a photo of this because of angles and light and me being bad at photography, but you can kind of see it in the previous photos as well as here if you zoom in:

Anyways, what do you think? Am I being too critical or are these issues that I should be noticing and wanting fixed?

Thanks

Thank you so much for the feedback! We want you to be happy with your purchase and would like you to call our Customer Service Team so that we can bring that knife back and get it right. Our number is 1-800-800-7427. We look forward to speaking with you!

 

[Codswallop]

A lot depends on you. I realize the grinds are done by hand and provides some one with a job I’m personally ok with a little variation so long as it’s sharp. The centering can likely be corrected relatively easy on your own if you wish. The blade finish is normal from their tumble process and is on a lot of their models. If your more of a collector and less of a user these can drive people nuts, for me as a user I don’t mind most of this. I would tinker with the centering and call it good. If it bothers you as BKC pointed out send it in they will take care of you.

 

[Evany]

I'm a user, not a collector, but I still expect even grinds, good centering and overall high quality fit and finish in a $200 knife.

 

[zddat1234]

Just an update:

I heard you guys talking about relatively easy fixes on my own, but like I said I'm pretty new to this stuff and I don't have much equipment beyond a few stones. So I sent it back to KW for $7. It arrived there Tuesday, and I got the replacement today. Total turn around time less than a week, and there was + weekend/memorial day in the middle. New knife is perfectly centered and has a much more even grind and no recurve. KW was great, no surprises there. I've since learned this is a fairly common issue with Benchmades. While I'm definitely happy with it now, it'd obviously be best if people didn't have to go through this process so frequently with Benchmade knives.

 

[Bluep00p]

so zddat1234, What did you end up doing?