Value? Benchmade 940-2 vs Spyderco PM2

K

kodachi

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Aug 13, 2013
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Just a little thought.

I know many of us are upset about BMC enforcing MAP & higher pricing than other competitors, in addition to QC not meeting standard for its price. I'm not happy either.

I just read one of my fav BF members commenting on the above issue, while I don't disagree with his comment, I see value of BMC pricing a bit differently.

940-2 cost roughly $170 per MAP.
PM2 cost roughly $120.

If I damage blade, wear it out, or just want to get rebladed, it will cost me just $35 + shipping to BMC. Final cost $205 + STBMC. I don't mine use heck outs of my 940.

If I damage PM2 or want reblade it, only option I have is purchasing a new. Final cost will be $240.

Benchmade provides some service not available by Spyderco. I.e. reblade, pocket clips & some parts @ no cost.

I feel like other knife companies silently or mildly enforcing MAP or recently raised air knife price. I personally don't mind paying a bit more for additional services. In a big picture, Benchmade isn't too bad of investment, just not great.

Set aside personal preference, while I'm not happy with MAP & some QC issues, I see 940 being slightly better value for peeps who would do 1 knife for the life or will use hard & reblade x1000.😁

BTW, stop this madness Bench made! Not Ritter, please!
 
Too bad so many people only look at the surface and never look at the big picture. Customer service cost big money and it has to be paid for somehow.
 
yep, customer service is exactly why i dumped 20+ spydercos.... had an endura catastrophically fail from a drop onto concrete, spyderco was next to useless in correcting the issue... had it been a benchmade, it wouldnt have broken first off, and it would have likely been fixed for free!!!
 
Why are you factoring the cost of replacing the blade/knife into the purchase price? What on earth are you doing to your knives that requires those calculations?

The 940-2 and the PM2 are only alike in their blade alloys and both use a proprietary lock. Aside from that, the PM2 and 940-2 are not alike in any way.

If "value" is defined as "you get what you pay for", the PM2 wins that game. Every PM2 I've had has been nearly flawless from the factory and sharp as all hell. Every 940 series knife I've ever bought has had exceedingly-steep edge bevels, uneven grinds, and I have to disassemble the knife and polish things to get the pivot smooth.

Add in the fact that you can get a PM2 in S110V for $20 less than a 940-2, and that's enough to tell me which one has more "value".

Having owned several examples of both, here's my comparison:

Price: PM2
Ergos: PM2 by a long shot, but it depends on what you do with your knives
Lock: Tie. Both can easily be operated one-handed, and both keep your fingers out of the way of the falling blade.
Blade shape: Too different to compare. The PM2 has a weak tip, but excels at finer work. FFG slices like a demon.
Pocket real estate: 940
Aesthetics: Tie (both are lookers in their own way)
Future customer service needs: 940
Pivot smoothness: PM2
Blade deployment: PM2, but only just. Flick a PM2 open with your middle finger and tell me it's not crazy fun.
Fit and finish from the factory: PM2. I've never received a 940 that didn't need me to work on it, but maybe I'm just picky.

It may sound like I'm poopoo'ing the 940, but I adore all of mine. My 940-1 spends more time in my pocket, but my S110V PM2 sees more actual cutting use.
 
I've had half a dozen PM2s (went through a phase), all sold. I am up to two 940s and one 940-2, all three of which comprise my most regularly carried pocket knives. Service options relative to price led me to sell off every Spyder knife I've possessed. As somebody who has snapped a tip and replaced a blade, I find the warranty service Benchmade offers to be far superior.

As far as the knives themselves, again, it's not close. Action-wise, I never got a single PM2 that didn't have blade bounceback when one-hand closing, plus it gobbles pocket real esate for such a short, thin-tipped blade. The 940 has way better action, more compact, great cutter for any use I've needed a pocket knife, and a more refined and stronger lock. The one matchup the PM2 wins is the blade height sticking out of the handle allows leverageble space to pry open a beer cap, whereas the 940 does not. The PM2 strikes me as a 1990's design and construction; super simple two slab g10. I know people like that so cool for them. 940 is just way better for me.
 
Since you're asking about two different brands I'm going to move this to the general discussion area.
 
I'm ok with Spyderco's warranty so it's not a factor to me.

Reblading is a very nice thing but I have never needed it from any brand.

If you reblade your knives as part of owning a knife (???) then its a good deal. But for me, I buy 30 Spydercos and 30 Benchmades, chances are, I see better value and savings with Spyderco overall, even if I reblade one or two BM's.

Everytime I dealt with BM and Spyderco warranty, they took care of me. I contacted KAI for a replacement assist spring and was approved but I never received. It was the holidays and I didn't follow through, just returned the knife (Kershaw Piston, weak asist). But KAI is A+ from what I know.
 
Let's compare three U.S. made folders from Benchmade, Spyderco and Zero Tolerance with S30V blade and G-10 scales.

In terms of price ranked lowest to highest: Spyderco ParaMilitary2 at $123, ZT 0350 at $140 and Benchmade 940-2 at $170.

In terms of quality I'd rank them ZT 0350, ParaMilitary2 and 940-2.

In terms of warranty & customer service including parts and blade replacement I'd rank them ZT, Benchmade and Spyderco (in a distant third).

Benchmade's pricing is not competitive no matter how you look at it.

By the way, my personal favorite is 940-2 simply because it's very light and slim.
 
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At the end of the day sure Benchmade has good customer service and I have needed to use it. Spyderco I can't really say because I haven't needed to use it. That's says it all for me. Pm2 is the far better value over the 940-2 imho.
 
I have needed BM's CS once, and they went above and beyond. Best CS I have ever seen, for anything.
I have needed Spydercos CS once, and I was satisfied with it.

BM's $30 re-blade deal is just awesome, but I seriously doubt I would ever make use of it. Never say never, but pretty unlikely.

I had a 940, gifted it to a mate when I got the 940-1. One 940 is fine for me. And yes I really like it, carry it quite often, awesome slim and light EDC folder that packs plenty of cutting edge, with an Axis lock.
At $170 I think the 940-2, whilst being a truly great EDC folder, is a bit expensive. When I say that I'm thinking of the significantly larger BM Crooked River I got for only $8 more.

I have 9 Para 2's and ain't gifting none of them to nobody :cool: (Doesn't mean I won't buy one for somebody occasionally though)
To me, for an EDC user, an S30V Para2 @ $120 is value for money that is real hard to beat. The balance of materials, lock, blade shape/grind, ergonomics and versatility for the price is outstanding.

I seem to recall reading somewhere some years ago that when the Paramilitary was redesigned and released as the Para2, Sal/Spyderco actually reduced the price as a business experiment or trial. The idea was, if they sold enough Para2's then it was a viable business move. If that indeed was the case, well, we all know how it worked out.

IMO the Para 2 is the better value.

DSC00089_zpsnbbamp9e.jpg
 
wilsonj1018 said:
yep, customer service is exactly why i dumped 20+ spydercos.... had an endura catastrophically fail from a drop onto concrete, spyderco was next to useless in correcting the issue... had it been a benchmade, it wouldnt have broken first off, and it would have likely been fixed for free!!!
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Sounds like Benchmade fanboy-ism over reality. Spyderco guarantees against defects caused from their manufacturing processes, not from the end user breaking it (which you did). Benchmade may have better customer service, but that is an extension of an overly high price on their knives, and the fact that they severely lack in the quality control department.
 
`br4dz- said:
Sounds like Benchmade fanboy-ism over reality. Spyderco guarantees against defects caused from their manufacturing processes, not from the end user breaking it (which you did). Benchmade may have better customer service, but that is an extension of an overly high price on their knives, and the fact that they severely lack in the quality control department.
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They do guarantee them for defect, only if it is indeed determined a defect once sent in. The knife failing from a fall while working isn't something that should happen. I could literally drop a buck 110 form the same distance 25 times and would bet money it won't break. As a result of said incident and the responses I received from spyderco I dumped all but the gayle Bradley and pm2, I'll never own another spyderco lockback. Fan boy me all ya want, the fact doesn't change they wouldn't do shit except sell me one at discounted price which came out to be a few bucks higher than most retailers. it's only the second folder I've ever broken in my life. The first was a Chinese junker 15+ years ago.
 
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In my opinion, value wise benchmade cant really compete. I could get a pm2 in s30v in canada for 140$ while a 154cm griptillian is around 130$. My experience with benchmade though is limited to a 550 grip, which i had to send for repairs two days after getting it. The blade got so off center that it rubbed the handle. On the other hand I never had to use spyderco's warranty services. Just my personal experience... If you are scared of breaking your blade get a kershaw or a zt they have the best warranty services around
 
Not sure why BM has a bad QC wrap, out of the 20 benchmades I've bought new I've never had an issue. Bm also has the best customer service I've ever encountered
 
wilsonj1018 said:
They do guarantee them for defect, only if it is indeed determined a defect once sent in. The knife failing from a fall while working isn't something that should happen. I could literally drop a buck 110 form the same distance 25 times and would bet money it won't break. As a result of said incident and the responses I received from spyderco I dumped all but the gayle Bradley and pm2, I'll never own another spyderco lockback. Fan boy me all ya want, the fact doesn't change they wouldn't do shit except sell me one at discounted price which came out to be a few bucks higher than most retailers. it's only the second folder I've ever broken in my life. The first was a Ching Chong pos 15+ years ago.
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Man, you're hardcore!
 
The better value is the one you will carry and use. If you buy the $120 Para 2, but it sits at home because you don't like it for some reason or another then it's not a good value. Same thing with the $170 940-2. Find something you like and carry it. That simple.

My EDC is a Southern Grind Spider Monkey. Sucker cost me $220 which is absurd for a knife in my opinion. Before this knife purchase I'd never paid even $100 for a knife, nevermind even considering breaking the $200 mark. But I carry and use it every day I'm not at work, so I've come to terms with it. The fact of the matter is I own six knives (plus one brand new one I haven't gotten a chance to use yet). The only knife I use more than the Spider Monkey is my work EDC which I bought used for $70 about 4 or 5 years ago. The other four knives combined cost more than that Spider Monkey, and yet it gets more use than those four by a long shot. So one could argue that it is a better value than those other four even though they are awesome knives too and serve a specific role for me. In the end, most people on this forum have a gluttonous collection of knives and change up their "EDC" all the time. Thus, value is not the forefront of their purchase decisions as they see it more as a hobby and entertainment than as one necessary tool.
 
wilsonj1018 said:
They do guarantee them for defect, only if it is indeed determined a defect once sent in. The knife failing from a fall while working isn't something that should happen. I could literally drop a buck 110 form the same distance 25 times and would bet money it won't break. As a result of said incident and the responses I received from spyderco I dumped all but the gayle Bradley and pm2, I'll never own another spyderco lockback. Fan boy me all ya want, the fact doesn't change they wouldn't do shit except sell me one at discounted price which came out to be a few bucks higher than most retailers. it's only the second folder I've ever broken in my life. The first was a Ching Chong pos 15+ years ago.
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I've sent my Delica to hell and back, dropping it 10 ft off a ladder onto concrete, it's been on tons of vacations, snagged it on plenty of things, hell, it's even been through a washer and dryer cycle and it still works like the day I bought it (after a tear down and thorough oiling). Things happen to knives, it could have just hit at the right spot with the correct force for something to break. I wouldn't expect them to replace it because it broke from anything of the sort, it doesn't make any sense from any business standpoint. It's why craftsman tools went belly up and had to go to China to be produced for a fraction of the costs, too many people breaking their tools and saying it happened another way, or just because they wanted something new and shiny.
 
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