What should I do about my benchmade?

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FourPoints

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Jul 24, 2014
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Recently my brother and both got a griptilian. My first I had to tighten to get rid of blade play so it hindered the opening. Took it back and tried another. Same problem but a little less, and the blade is off center. My brothers is perfect. 1 out of three? Really

Should I keep returning until I don't get a lemon or just go with something else. We used cabelas gift cards so it must be a model they carry. Thanks for any advice you folks have.
 
Just because the bladeis off center doesn't mean its a lemon. Does the blade rub when opening and closing? Is there blade play? If both of those are answered with a "no" then i'd say everything is fine. Not every production knife has a completely centered blde.
 
I posted this in the main area before seeing this benchmade forum. Sorry bout that.

My brother and I recently purchased a griptilian from cabelas. My first one I had to tighten to get rid of blade play, and now won't open and close quick and smooth. I exchanged it for another and the same problem plus blade is off center. My brothers is perfect. Opens smooth as glass and no play in blade. 1 out of 3?

So I'm wondering if I should keep returning until I find a good one or choose something to else. We had cabelas gift cards so it must be a model they carry. Any advice would be great. Thanks a ton.
 
Benchmades, in my experience, tend to have a very specific sweet spot in pivot adjustment, where the blade is centered, the action is smooth, and there is no blade play. Put blue loctite on the pivot, and adjust it in as small of increments as you possibly can, and test it in each spot carefully. Once you've found the right position, leave it sit to cure the loctite.
 
If you don't know how to fix it than send it back if you're not happy with it, and put a note inside. You could also call Cabelas and talk to customer service and maybe they can hand pick one for you.
 
sweet_hitch-hiker said:
Just because the bladeis off center doesn't mean its a lemon. Does the blade rub when opening and closing? Is there blade play? If both of those are answered with a "no" then i'd say everything is fine. Not every production knife has a completely centered blde.
Click to expand...
I did mention the answers at first. It does have blade play and rubs. I am able to fix some issues, I'm not a knife maker but know my way around a folder, and have built a few. I went back and the gentleman there let me play with the two they had in stock and they seemed to be the same. I realize that not many folders come perfect but for over $100 with the bench made name on it, it should be close. An example is my SOG Tomcat. Cost me $130 new and is built like a tank.
In the meantime I put loctite in and found a sort of sweet spot. Its not as bad now but kind of wish the pivot screw was more of a fine thread. Would make tuning more precise. I can live with an off center blade but have pet peeve on solid lockup.

Thanks for the answers.
 
It seems then it would be time for it to go back to Benchmade so they can make it right. I have read positive comments here on their customer service.

Unfortunately, it seems I've read a few more negative reviews on Benchmade QC as of late. I've seen forum members expressing some unhappiness in this area, particularly after the MAP pricing issue.

Hopefully, they can make it right for you. It's always upsetting to get any new product that is screwed up from the get go.
 
Recently I did blade swap between 810 and 810-1401. 1401 isn't dead center, although it doesn't rub. When I swapped the blade, I found that liner is causing "off center" and not the blade pivot hole.

So, if you can, adjust torx a bit. As tchapman414 mentioned, if it doesn't rub against liner I too think that is not a defect. As always, BKC will be happy to correct it for you, that's for sure.
 
Thanks all. After some fiddling I think I've fixed it. I took it apart and torqued the liners just a hair to solve the alignment issues and that seemed to help the action. After cutting g and flicking and analyzing, it seems to be a pretty decent knife. I didn't feel like waiting a week or two to get my new knife fixed so I did it myself. That's what they would've do e anyhow. But thanks for the replies and hopefully this will be a good edc for me. Have a good one.
 
Driving cross the country we stopped at the Cabela's HQ in Nebraska and it was a lot of fun to look at the Benchmades. They had a good selection including the Grips. A couple I looked at were mildly off-centered but the trick is to learn how to fix that and we have a lot of posts that help with the process. Cheers!
 
I must confess I've never understood the obsession with centered blades. If its a little off I don't see the problem myself. Long as the blade doesn't touch the liner.
 
Cabela's has an excellent customer service policy - they'll take care of you if you can't find a solution, but,
Benchmade's service is world-class, they stand behind their stuff 100%. Send it in, (you have to pay $5 for shipping) and they'll fix it. Give 'em a call tomorrow.
 
Cabela's has an excellent customer service policy - they'll take care of you if you can't find a solution, but,
Benchmade's service is world-class, they stand behind their stuff 100%. Send it in, (you have to pay $5 for shipping) and they'll fix it. Give 'em a call tomorrow.
 
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