un-retire original BM AFCK?

T. Erdelyi

T. Erdelyi

Joined
Feb 3, 2001
Messages
32,359
I bought a BM AFCK when they first came out, Black G-10 satin finished ATS 34 blade, now I carried this blade as my work knife for 15 years I've built new spacers replaced screws did everything I could to keep this knife workin'.

One day I noticed that the liner lock moved a little under stress so I decided it was time to retire it, besides I had a brand new BM 730 Ares with these crazy black and purple g10 scales I'd bought awhile back that needed some pocket time.

Fast forward to today, I pull out the old AFCK and notice the bar still slips a little under stress so I take it apart and I notice the tang has a little rounding instead of the sharp angle that should be there, I take my diamond needle file and scrape the hump off the tang, what ever it was it was hard like epoxy,(probably was, considerin' it was a work knife), reassemble and the lock up is back to where it was long before,(about 65% now).

So my question is this, do I send it back to BM and have 'em tune it up,(replace screws, and and original spacer) or just order the original replacement screws and keep my home made stand offs.

I wanna continue to take this knife out as it was my favorite flipper of all time and use it but I'm concerned that if I send it to BM they'll wanna replace or credit me for the knife, . I just don't wanna take a chance of losin' this knife as it has a lot of sentimental value as well as bein' somewhat scarce.

I'll post some pics later, so what would y'all do if you were in my shoes?
 
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I wouldn't definitely confirm with a phone call that they won't try to replace it with a different model and send a note with it also.

Edit: wouldn't should be would - rushing around as wife's chauffeur...
 
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BM would never retire the knife w/o talking to you, I'd send it in w/ explicit instructions.
 
ryxlyx said:
BM would never retire the knife w/o talking to you, I'd send it in w/ explicit instructions.
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Good suggestion. If they can clean it up, resharpen, replace screws, and a clip it would be great. They wouldn't keep it and offer you something else without talking it over with you.
 
Ahhhh, I too have an original AFCK in ATS34 from the early 90s. I bring it out of retirement every once and a while.. The liner lock is still PERFECT.. I've sent it back maybe 2 times.. and each time the knife is just as good or better.. The action is still smooth.. Plus its the best feeling knife in hand for a folder I've ever had.. Nice long blade...

Sounds like you've put a lot of time into upgrading and altering the knife... so do you want to keep your personalized knife or have it back to "stock".. that seems to be the question.. BM won't KEEP IT, so... I'd say, unless the blade has side to side, keep it home and love it for the next 15yrs...

Cheers!
 
I have mine on my desk in front of me. No idea why they ever stopped making this model. With that said, they have almost become legendary. I think that BM could sell a bunch of them today at a slight premium just because everyone has been hearing about them for years.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
I bought a BM AFCK when they first came out, Black G-10 satin finished ATS 34 blade, now I carried this blade as my work knife for 15 years I've built new spacers replaced screws did everything I could to keep this knife workin'.

One day I noticed that the liner lock moved a little under stress so I decided it was time to retire it, besides I had a brand new BM 730 Ares with these crazy black and purple g10 scales I'd bought awhile back that needed some pocket time.

Fast forward to today, I pull out the old AFCK and notice the bar still slips a little under stress so I take it apart and I notice the tang has a little rounding instead of the sharp angle that should be there, I take my diamond needle file and scrape the hump off the tang, what ever it was it was hard like epoxy,(probably was, considerin' it was a work knife), reassemble and the lock up is back to where it was long before,(about 65% now).

So my question is this, do I send it back to BM and have 'em tune it up,(replace screws, and and original spacer) or just order the original replacement screws and keep my home made stand offs.

I wanna continue to take this knife out as it was my favorite flipper of all time and use it but I'm concerned that if I send it to BM they'll wanna replace or credit me for the knife, . I just don't wanna take a chance of losin' this knife as it has a lot of sentimental value as well as bein' somewhat scarce.

I'll post some pics later, so what would y'all do if you were in my shoes?[/QUOTE

As someone who owns no BM's - you have me curious about this piece now. Pretty cool story IMO. No doubt I'd order what I need and do it myself. Definitely if you would, throw up some pics of this piece, I wanna check her out. Copy that?:thumbup:
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Here are some pics as promised.

DSCF6589_zps6a445f5b.jpg


DSCF6591_zps166e1198.jpg


DSCF6593_zps0db50348.jpg


DSCF6599_zpsd9e6e5e0.jpg
 
The old 806 and its smaller brother the 812 were great knives along with some others BM has retired. I almost think they have retired some of their best models.
 
Nice knife. I had one just like it with a faulty liner lock. Benchmade fixed it for free, even though I was the second owner.

But, honestly, you might want to try one of the newer, sprint runs. I don't know what prices are, but you can get an AFCK with an axis lock, spyderhole or stud, and a steel like M4 or M390. Those are exceptionally good knives.
 
jdm61 said:
I have mine on my desk in front of me. No idea why they ever stopped making this model. With that said, they have almost become legendary. I think that BM could sell a bunch of them today at a slight premium just because everyone has been hearing about them for years.
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Great post. I would love if they would bring it back as a regular production piece again.
 
I would send it in and request new screws, and if they don't have the backspacer, then maybe standoffs. I personally would also ask them to NOT sharpen it. I had a discontinued bali I sent in for a new tang pin that came back with a lot of steel missing, and the edge was fine when I sent it in. Otherwise the CS/warranty has been pretty good to me.
 
I'll send 'em an email tomorrow with pics and see what they say, this was my first real higher end folder, I bought it from the Cutlery Shoppe in Idaho many moons ago, I've been flickin' it open all day, I forgot how silky smooth the action was and how each it is to do a drop wrist flick from closed with out usin' the thumb hole.

The weight of the blade is perfect for flickin' and the overall balance is perfect. When Chris designed this knife he was designing the perfect folder not only as a tactical self defense folder but also a perfect utility knife as well, like I said before I used it as a work knife for a long time.
 
I also have an original AFCK given to me by a dear friend in the 90's that I carried on active duty for many years. Retired it just like you have and also take it out from time to time to look at and reminisce. A lot of memories associated with that knife so I completely understand your concerns.

Couple of years ago I considered sending it in for a "Tune up" of sorts. Just to see if could be restored to some of it's former glory. Like you I took it apart and cleaned it up and gave it a real good once over and after looking at it, aside from the normal wear you would expect it was still in sound condition. Opened smooth as butter and the lock up still rock solid. Still, I wondered if BM could replace some screws, maybe replace the emblem stickers or some other cosmetic work to bring it back to new or like new condition.

Anyway, I called Benchmade CS to talk to them and see what they might be able to do and what it might cost. In the end I decided not to risk putting it in the mail and losing it.

What I recommend is you call BM and ask to speak to a technician in CS, they know what parts they have on hand or don't have. Tell him what you would like done and not done. Be very specific and see what he say's and take it from there.

Don't worry, they won't replace your knife or anything major without talking to you first. However, whatever you do though, don't just send it in. Call and talk to them first. This way you know what to expect and there won't be any surprises. Should also take care of any concerns you may have.

Best of luck!
 
pbcg said:
I also have an original AFCK given to me by a dear friend in the 90's that I carried on active duty for many years. Retired it just like you have and also take it out from time to time to look at and reminisce. A lot of memories associated with that knife so I completely understand your concerns.

Couple of years ago I considered sending it in for a "Tune up" of sorts. Just to see if could be restored to some of it's former glory. Like you I took it apart and cleaned it up and gave it a real good once over and after looking at it, aside from the normal wear you would expect it was still in sound condition. Opened smooth as butter and the lock up still rock solid. Still, I wondered if BM could replace some screws, maybe replace the emblem stickers or some other cosmetic work to bring it back to new or like new condition.

Anyway, I called Benchmade CS to talk to them and see what they might be able to do and what it might cost. In the end I decided not to risk putting it in the mail and losing it.

What I recommend is you call BM and ask to speak to a technician in CS, they know what parts they have on hand or don't have. Tell him what you would like done and not done. Be very specific and see what he say's and take it from there.

Don't worry, they won't replace your knife or anything major without talking to you first. However, whatever you do though, don't just send it in. Call and talk to them first. This way you know what to expect and there won't be any surprises. Should also take care of any concerns you may have.

Best of luck!
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Wow, thanks for the reply, that's what I wanted to know, I had a similar issue with a similar company, I won't mention their name but I sent knife in and they decided was unsafe, destroyed it and because was discontinued gave me a factory store credit to the tune of 3X what I paid for it, I did get two other knives I had wanted but was disappointed that my knife was destroyed. (On a side note due the generosity of Dave H, a member no longer with us Dave gave me the same knife from his collection to replace mine, this now means more me than the original, RIP Dave)
 
I would send it into BM, say you don't want it replaced and you don't want credit, you want your knife back.
If you want to keep your stand-offs, tell them that as well.
Then they'll just replace the screws and sharpen it up and fine tune it and send it on back to you.
 
I'm glad you found value agin in that old knife. You've really got an OLD one, it doesn't have the little round nuts set in the g10 handle for the screws to thread into.

I bought five AFCK's once upon a time (liner locks, ats34, round holes). It was my favorite folder at the time and BM was discontinuing it. I didn't know they would come out with several other varieties of AFCK later on.

I only have three complete AFCK's now (one in unused factory-new condition. Still has it's original factory edge).

I have one main/user/former-edc AFCK that I still carry for certain purposes. Just for the hell of it, here are all the mods I did to it-

I replaced the backspacer with aluminum posts.
Ground the "serrations" off the lock.
Ground away some of the liner and handle opposite the lock to make it easier to unlock the knife with the pad of my thumb.
Drilled a couple of holes in the thumb-side handle for better grip when "flicking" the knife open (though I stoped doing that years ago).
I made a thumbstud out of a couple of washers (the kind with the rubber washer attached to them. They come in a size with a rubber washer that fits perfectly into the thumb hole), a threaded post and a bolt. I had become unhappy using the hole.
Ground a choil at the end of the edge for better sharpening (full plain-edge AFCK).
Knocked out the little metal butterfly logo disks in the handle, sanded them clean, then glued them back in place.

I carried this knife for several years and used it every day at work but I became unhappy with the amount of "flex" that the AFCK has (just dosen't feel SOLID). This "flex" is the result of one of the pivot washers being really small and not providing the blade with any real side support. For that reason (and because I now favor smaller folders) I'm not as attached to my AFCK as you are to yours. I replaced mine with a Bradley Alias as my edc years ago. Basically I consider my AFCK to be disposeable. It's one of my "I don't care if I lose it or mess it up" knives.

I hope all goes well with your AFCK. And remember, anytime you ship something you take the risk of it being lost or stolen. And if the knife is sentimantal to you, insurance won't matter.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
Wow, thanks for the reply, that's what I wanted to know, I had a similar issue with a similar company, I won't mention their name but I sent knife in and they decided was unsafe, destroyed it and because was discontinued gave me a factory store credit to the tune of 3X what I paid for it, I did get two other knives I had wanted but was disappointed that my knife was destroyed. (On a side note due the generosity of Dave H, a member no longer with us Dave gave me the same knife from his collection to replace mine, this now means more me than the original, RIP Dave)
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This has been a very interesting thread, what's a fair ballpark price for this knife in good (not mint or BNIB) condition? This may be one I put on my list for future purchase. Sounds like it'd be a good Benchmade to own.
 
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