I absolutely loved my Vicar, the third replacement of which Benchmade kindly suggested I return to them, permanently, once again demonstrating they are a powerhouse of customer service excellence and consistency. I will provide further elaboration after addressing your question.
The problem you referenced was not experienced by me, as the factory edge was sufficiently sharp and the grind was as close to perfectly symmetrical as one could hope for. However, a very skilled sharpener, with whom I frequently talk shop, did in fact tell me he struggled and for the most part failed to achieve the extremely sharp edge he attempted to put on his Vicar. He claimed the difficulty was the thickness that lurked relatively close behind the edge that he had underestimated and as such was forced to remove far more steel than anticipated and desired. I saw the final product. Looked like shit. But he blames himself for not adjusting his standard protocol to the geometry of the blade and grind.
As to my quick succession of Vicars, I encountered what I and presumably others deem to be a more significant issue. The lockup and the engineering gaff that I have long since forgiven, due to Benchmade making absolutely certain I was not only beyond happy at the conclusion of the saga, but also because Benchmade exhibited unprecedented honesty and integrity rather than insulting my intelligence with absurd explanations in an effort to save face or assign blame.
Upon receiving my first Vicar, I marvelled at its design, details, ergos and uniqueness. However, after making very light use of it, easily noticeable lock rock surfaced within a week. It was persistent and uninterrupted. Ahhhhhhhh. But an adjustable stop pin I thought simply needed to be turned, in order to achieve an earlier lock up. To my shock, dismay and genuine confusion, I quickly determined that the adjustable stop pin had initially been set to achieve the earliest lock up possible, as all the remaining faces of the stop pin were LOWER and closer to the center point of the pin. Knowing of Benchmade's ordinary engineering prowess, I thought this HAD to be a defective adjustable stop pin. Why? Because why in the world would they consciously elect to not have the faces progressively be designed HIGHER and achieve earlier lock ups, which If done right could help combat the lock rock caused by the rapid galling from the titanium / steel Interaction between the lock bar and the tang. Why include a multi faceted stop pin, the design of which not only failed to offset lock rock, but exponentially increased it, if used. Keep in mind, the knife was at the time of purchase, one of Benchmade's most expensive non gold glass / non limited production knives.
Customer service was with me 100%. No attitude.
No judgements. They promised a happy ending without flinching or hesitating. They told me to send it in and they would do that voodoo that they do so well and take heroic measures if necessary to remedy the issue. After a quick turn around, a brand new Vicar with perfect fit and finish was back in my hand. The lock up was rock solid.......for a week. Once again, it began to behave like a seesaw. Ahhhhhhh. The stop pin is adjustable and last time HAD to be an anomaly. Nope. Same exact bewildering engineering. Genius idea. Laughably absurd implementation. A hexagonal stop pin that had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, due to the other 5 faces causing a later lock up from the initial lockup by reason of them being progressively lower and closer to the center point than the face of the initial lockup. Wtf. Perhaps people enjoy the variaion in clickety clack sounds of the blade rocking back and forth over ever increasing distances caused by an adjustable stop pin purported to instead offset and help elimate lock rock? Lol.
l liked the knife and wanted my loot to remain with benchmade. So after a pleasant chat with customer service, I was hoping third time would be the charm, despite my instincts and common sense strongly suggesting otherwise, once learning that the culprit adjustable stop pin was an intentional design choice, as incredulous as I found that revelation to be.
Vicar 3 arrived. Sheer perfection in every regard. With the notable exception once again of the lock pin guaranteeing eventual and irreversible lock rock. The other 5 settings once again proved to be mind boggling. All they had to do was the opposite. Namely, each setting should be HIGHER from the center point than its predecessor. Doing so would help combat lock rock. And when all six faces have been utilized in due time and if lock rock still persisted, well, i have no idea, quite frankly, because what seems like common sense was instead reversed and as such doomed to be an abject failure and painfully puzzling. Lol.
In the end, I still refused a refund and kept my loot on deposit with Benchmade, to apply toward the 761, the design of which I liked considerably less than that of the Vicar.
Oh boy. Next up is the saga involving my 761. The stop pin and lock up, I was told, was the flawless product built from the lessons learned by Benchmade from the Vicar's failings. To be continued......
