Two griptilians purchased - DULL.

freq18hz said:
Here's the thing, I'm not a knife geek, or a knife expert.

I'm a busy guy that likes to go hiking/backpacking at the drop of a hat when my company doesn't force me to work unpaid weekends. I just wanted a couple knives I could rely on, and I thought that spending the kind of cash I dropped was all the work I needed to do. I didn't realize I needed to shell out a chunk of a change, and put craftwork in just to make the damn things sharp out of the box.

While I can appreciate the time it takes to learn a skill like sharpening etc, I already put a lot of work into researching/selecting what I thought would be an upgrade for the kershaw that was stolen (along with the rest of my survival gear).

I don't use a knife that often, I simply wanted to buy the griptilian, throw it in my pack, and forget about it. Only there for emergencies. I figured I could use it for everything, and even baton with it if I had to in a stranded situation.
I liked the feel of it so much, I bought a mini griptilian at the same time, just to have with me day to day, for the hell of it.

I'm not a knife expert, and I don't plan on using the full sized one, pretty much ever (just for emergencies) and I don't plan on using the mini that I may or may not have with me all that frequently either.

The thought of buying a big sharpening kit is kind of a pain in the ass.

I just wanted two premium, already razor sharp knives, to use at my leisure.

I realize this may offend some of you, who are knife, and metallurgy experts. But this isn't me. I'm worse than a weekend warrior. I'm not even a hobbyist, just a guy that wants a couple sharp knives for his dollars.

-Freq
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Well, you said it yourself, long time lurker, obviously you have an interest in knives, why not just go the rest of the way?

Or, just send em back, hope you get two much sharper ones, and hope you never get in a disadvantage by not being able to sharpen.
 
Its still not right that they came dull, I am assuming you ordered or bought from Cabelas? Bring them back. I have not had the issues that others seem to be having with BM, but its possible with any manufacturer.
 
freq18hz said:
Awesome! I love the trolling!

Ok Ok, I get the POINT, I guess I should learn how to sharpen a knife.
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The point was you need to RELAX, man! You seem to be getting way too worked up about this whole thing. Grab a beer, sit back, and put it out of your mind; the problem isn't going to get solved by stressing about it. ;)

If you're not happy, get in touch with Benchmade or wherever you bought them from and see what can be done.
 
That field sharpener is crap. You need at a minimum a croc stick Bensbackwoods.com has them for 2 bucks I believe, its a ceramic round sharpening stick. I personally carry a red dmt pocket hone and a fallkniven dc3.
 
Dorito Monk said:
The point was you need to RELAX, man! You seem to be getting way too worked up about this whole thing. Grab a beer, sit back, and put it out of your mind; the problem isn't going to get solved by stressing about it. ;)

If you're not happy, get in touch with Benchmade or wherever you bought them from and see what can be done.
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Ahhh.....:cool:
 
I'm relaxed, just annoyed that I have to pay/spend the time to send them back.

-Freq

FYI purchased from a local retailer, cabelas doesn't exist out here.
 
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It is a PIA when you pay your money and you don't get a sharp one. It hasn't been that may years back that most if not all knives you bought came with a edge that wouldn't cut butter. I guess most of the manufactures figured the end user would put his own edge on the knife. Now days they should come sharp out of the box.
But don't let that discourage you. Learn to sharpen your knives freehad or with some of the other devices that are available now. You can beat a factory edge any day if you know how to sharpen properly. You can find plenty of instructions here on the internet. It is not rocket science just good practice.
The Grips are great knives. Good luck.
 
I agree that learning to sharpen is a good thing, but seriously, why should I have to spend more money, and take the time out of my schedule to learn how to sharpen, and possibly trial and error, screw up etc?

I bought benchmade because they promise to keep them sharp.

Also, what about the serrations? Benchmade won't sharpen those, so am I just SOL on those? Because everything I've read says serrations are 10x harder to sharpen that a straight edge. And from what I can tell, lots and lots of people have trouble with a straight edge too, even with things like the sharpmaker etc.

-Freq
 
Im a Benchmade guy and i can say that Benchmades seem to come with a pretty thick edge. Most people i know thin it down a few degrees and they say the knife cuts, literally 2-3x better.
specially considering lots of people say that they still can't get a factory sharpness with a sharpmaker
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With a sharp maker or similar you can get WAY sharper than factory edges from almost any company. Getting a crazy edge can take anywhere from an hour to 2-3 hours. Most large knife companys just cant afford to spend that time with every damn blade.

IMO sharpening a knife is hard! I often end up with a duller knife than when i started, its all in the ability to keep a constant angle among other things. People that have been doing it for years make it look way easy, like they just rub the blade on a stone or a set of sticks, when in reality its a real art



BTW, on the cutting paper note, you need to know how to cut paper. Yes, thats right, i said it. You need to have some technique when doing the paper cutting test. I use to not be able to cut paper no matter how sharp the knife was, i would just tear it. Its not a skill by any means but just a thought.
 
i agree that blades should come from the factory super sharp. but i also know it doesn't always work out that way.

sooner or later we all learnt how to sharpen a knife. sounds like you'll need to learn sooner rather than later. honestly, it really isn't that hard to do.

can i suggest you find a local bootmaker or saddler or some knowledgable bloke who sharpens knives for a living? get them to sharpen those blades for you and ask for a few pointers.

or if there's another forum member here who lives close by, perhaps spread a little intarwebz good-feelings?
 
Where do you live? There might be a chance someone on the forums lives in the same town and might be willing to sharpen them for you. If you live close to me you are more than welcome to come by and I will sharpen them up for you. If you don't want to deal with Benchmade you can send them to me and I will sharpen them for you. I will even put a more acute grind on them and put a high polish on the edge that will cut hairs above the skin for no charge. Only problem is the shipping can get expensive but if you send them first class usps with delivery confirmation you can get it down to about $3.75 each way.

Do you have a bench grinder? If so there are some paper wheels that will put a nice polished edge on any knife in just a minute or two. You will have the sharpest knives in town. About 10-15 minutes of practice on your kitchen knives and you will be able to sharpen just about anything. Could even sharpen your lawn mower blades for a great looking yard.
 
freq18hz said:
I agree that learning to sharpen is a good thing, but seriously, why should I have to spend more money, and take the time out of my schedule to learn how to sharpen, and possibly trial and error, screw up etc?

I bought benchmade because they promise to keep them sharp.

Also, what about the serrations? Benchmade won't sharpen those, so am I just SOL on those? Because everything I've read says serrations are 10x harder to sharpen that a straight edge. And from what I can tell, lots and lots of people have trouble with a straight edge too, even with things like the sharpmaker etc.

-Freq
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Learning to sharpen is a choice, it's well worth it in my opinion.

They will keep them sharp.

Serrations, those are your issue, you know enough of the business to know they won't sharpen serrations, why complain about it?

If you live in Oklahoma City, I'll sharpen for you for free, guaranteed razor sharp.

Like others have said, your knives will dull eventually, what do you plan to do then?

I'm a sharpening nut, it can come dull or razor sharp, I'll probably re-profile at least 90% of the blades I use anyhow.
 
I agree that getting a dull knife from the factory sucks. I haven't had it happen to me luckily, but I have dulled edges that were sharp after a bit. Started off using pull through cheapo sharpeners to get them back to being able to do minor cutting, but missed the original edges.

Now, I am a fellow sharpening newb, but I just decided to jump in and start learning how to sharpen. Bought a few stones, and after mangling the first few attempts, watched a few youtube videos and realized I was doing it all wrong. Kept practicing, and I just got my first edge that can push cut paper onto my Spyderco Tenacious (inexpensive enough that it became my practice sharpener), not quite hair popping, but I got pretty excited when I even got that far. All this in only a couple weeks of just practicing a few minutes every other day. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be a sharpening god like some of these forumites. IMO Sharpening Knives now goes under my "must know man skills". Next up is learning how to shave with a straight razor lol.

Now if you can exchange these blades I would do so, and hopefully get some sharper ones to start with, but, I would grab some stones (Smith's or something under $10), and start practicing on a cheaper knife so that you can work those edges over too in time. Its not worth giving up on some good knives just cuz they came out the box dull, even if that is a bit of a pisser, and shouldn't really happen. Once you get sharp you will be glad you kept em.

Good luck!

Bobus X
 
freq18hz,

I know how you feel man. My last few Benchmades (more than just the plain run of the mill Grips....) were dull as heck.

I'll offer you a solution which has worked for me: Buy Spyderco. =)
 
Even better solution: learn to sharpen knives.

I laugh at any factory edges. It just seems silly to me. Does anybody check to see how sharp their pencils are when they buy them?
 
seems like you're preaching to the converted here.

I remember when I didn't know how to sharpen a knife, doesn't it drive you mad NOT having that skill?
And then when you start there is a constant drive to get a better and better edge.
sharpening is a hobby in itself, for me at least, it's incredibly satisfying!

+1 on learning how to do it yourself
 
I would send them back. There's no excuse for such poor quality control. The more people send them back, the sooner BM will clean up their act.
 
freq18hz said:
I agree that learning to sharpen is a good thing, but seriously, why should I have to spend more money, and take the time out of my schedule to learn how to sharpen, and possibly trial and error, screw up etc?

I bought benchmade because they promise to keep them sharp.

Also, what about the serrations? Benchmade won't sharpen those, so am I just SOL on those? Because everything I've read says serrations are 10x harder to sharpen that a straight edge. And from what I can tell, lots and lots of people have trouble with a straight edge too, even with things like the sharpmaker etc.

-Freq
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This sums it up the best from what you have discribed you a not a knife knut, not even an enthusiast. Your plan was to only use the knives very ocasionally, never sharpen them yourself but just send them back to benchmade to cash it on their lifesharp service, which is why, I am assuming, you bought two. So if that is really your plan and you refuse to learn to sharpen a knife... resort to plan b. Send one back with a note, have it sharpen and when it is returned send in the other one. While this absolutely mystifies me that is you option, if you truely refuse to learn to sharpen (I learned ~5-6 yrs old, it ain't hard) While I have never gotten a dull BM from my experience their CS is quite good, it shouldn't be a problem. BTW I do believe spyderco also has a sharpening service, but as you don't want to learn to sharpen the question is not IF you will have to send it in for sharpening but WHEN
ALL KNIVE GET DULL WITH USE (I know these are NIB but still)
I really think you might want to consider carrying a utility blade, maybe a hatchet/hawk for the wood:)
 
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