Why aren't Benchmades sharp out of the box?

J

JayBird

Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
132
I just got a new Benchmade Ares 730. I love the design, size, lock...but it was what I'd call "dull" out of the box. Really took some effort to shave hairs on my arm.

Does this knife need the same treatment as the BM710 to thin the edge a little (see FAQ article on "Getting the most out of the BM710")?

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Jay
 
May be:

A. Some people think that BM intentionally does it to keep a thicker edge which will be more resilient to chipping than a thinner edge.

B. Some people think it is poor quality control. It is rooted in the economic theory of "dimimishing marginal returns." Perhaps, they run so many knives off the assembly line that the final product is compromised. If a BM knife sharpener is only allowed 2 minutes to sharpen a knife, it isn't going to be as good as if they were allowed 5 minutes.

C. Perhaps they are avoiding product liability. Like that old hag who sued McDonald's for millions because she was stupid enough to hold a cup of hot coffee between her legs while she drove a car.

Lastly, you'll inevitably see someone post a reply saying, "Who cares what the knife is like out of the box? I can sharpen it better anyway." These are people who excuse companies and give them license for manufacturing sub-par goods and services.

As consumers, we have to demand the best products that companies are able to produce for the money.
 
The edge of a blade is always a tradeoff between durability and sharpness.

If Benchmade had put a ten-degree edge on your knife, then you could shave easily with it. But, it wouldn't be a durable edge and you'd be complaining about how quickly it went dull. Furthermore, it you dropped it or otherwise abused it even slightly, it would chip and you'd be complaining about that.

So, they have to make a compromise. If your edge is sharp enough to shave hairs on your arm with some effort, then it's probably about right as a compromise for a general-purpose user. That's about where I'd like it to be for day-to-day utility use.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
If other companys in Benchmade's price range and even below it can have sharp knives out of the box then Benchmade should not have a problem putting out a sharp knife.

 
JoHnYKwSt,

It would be nice if all companies would try their darndest to put extra effort in their workmanship.

However, remember that BM probably outsells most other sport knife companies.

Therefore, they have to produce a lot more. Furthermore, they maximize output and reduce costs by spending less time -- i.e. sharpening -- on each knife that comes off the assembly line.

I don't know. This is just a hypothesis.

 
It's been discussed before about Benchmade sharpness, what I find disconcerting is the variance between knives from them, some come razor sharp, like the Nimravus cub but others come as downrightdull and one of the ideas I thought about was some were made or finished by different people? There can't be one person watching or sharpening all of their knives and some people are just better at sharpening than others...

G2

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"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions!"
Take the time to read your Bible Now, don't be left behind...

G2 LeatherWorks
 
It may be dull, or it may be that your not used to a knife thats sharpened to that angle. I just got a new 750 and my first thought when I took it out was that it was dull. It didn't shave or slice paper. Then after closer inspection of the blade I remembered that BM sharpens their knives to a pretty blunt angle. I held the blade at a steeper angle and it would shave quite well. It still wouldn't slice paper but thats due to the thick edge. It wasn't as sharp as it could have been though because the edge was very noticeably scratched instead of mirror polished. I think what most people experience is an edge that doesn't perform very well due to its geometry and but not really a "dull" edge.
After a few hours redoing the bevels and polishing it, my 750 will now knock the tops of the hairs off, and its not sharpened to an extremely thin edge . I can't give an exact angle because I sharpen free hand.

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It'll feel better when it stops hurting.
 
Why does it matter? The first thing I do with every new knife, is sharpen it. Don't you?

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Fred
Knife Outlet

I just knew someone would say this. No comment.

 
"Why does it matter? The first thing I do with every new knife, is sharpen it. Don't you?"

This makes a lot of sense, by literally giving you a feel for what the knife is made of, and what it can be made to do.

But if I did that with my Shabaria or Sebenza, for example, they would be splitting air molecules by now.

Some blades do arrive just that sharp, because they aren't meant for chopping but for slicing.

I think Benchmade may be right not to overdo it, but consistency would go a long way to make this look like a considered policy!?
 
Every Benchmade I've ever bought was sharp.I tend to go with the consensus that different BM employee's have varying degree of sharpening skills.I think this is probably what results in the sharpeness being inconsistant between their knives.Even one person can vary,especially when you have a large output like Benchmade.Still though there should be no excuse.Regards,Ralph
 
Of the five BMs I've bought,The shapness has drastically different on each knife. One was truly sharp, one didn't even come to an edge on the whole blade!!! The rest fell in between in varying degrees.

Of the four "liner-locks", two were solid, one rather flimsy, the other is passable. The lockback was solid. Two had to have the pivots loc-tited. It's doubtful that I will buy another.

Paul
 
All I can say is to e mail Benchmade, and complain if you are unhappy. I also encourage a visit to their forums.
All my knives are Benchmades, and all were sharp to varying degrees. I do know it's an area that they are working on, and as far as I am concerned, BM has the best "working" knives on the market. I'll continue to buy, no matter their sharpening misgivings.
by the way....Benchmade has a Bob Terzoula design due out in January....should be a good one!
 
Friends,
Don't you think we are starting another thread quite like George Orwell's "four legs are good, two legs are bad"?

Chuck is completely right, the edge can be sharp or strong but never sharp and strong. You always can rebevel the edge thinner if you need sharper edge and thicker if you need stronger one. Manufacturer simply can't to satisfy anyone, so they do their job according some main conception to satisfy the most of customers.

As to BM knives, yes, their edges are a bit thicker than the ones from another brand named manufacturers. This causes them to be stronger. Even "so-so shaving" sharpness is more than enough for daily cutting chores. Of course you can start the competition "Who has the sharpest knife in the world?" and sharpen your knife sharp, sharper, the sharpest, as sharp as it's possible and then even a bit sharper
wink.gif
But try to observe how long this super sharpness will last in real world cutting chores? I'm ready to beat that your knife will lose supre sharpness and become just normally sharp after you will open some cardboard boxes and/or sharpen some pencils.

All my BMs came shaving sharp with the single exception. I got my Ares directly from BM booth at IWA'2000 gun show in March. I don't know how many people played with it during four days the show lasted, so I have no wonder it was "less than shaving" sharp. No problem, I got it shaving sharp using my DMT whetstones within few minutes.
On the other hand, almost all my BMs fall into "tactical knife" category and the edge strength is equally important as sharpness (if not more important).
My Osborne was extremely sharp out of the factory box. This is rather gentleman's knife than tactical, so I'm going to keep it super sharp and even a bit sharper
biggrin.gif

 
If Spydeco and Microtech can send thier knives razor sharp,why can't Benchmade? That is one reason why I quit buying them.why spend $100+ on a knife and then it is dull

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Ray
 
Being able to shave is a function of the edge alignment and polish, is it not influenced significantly by the bevel angle other than the effect that Matt described about the angle needing to be increase on your shaving stroke. If you are under this angle when you try to shave then the blade will have to in effect shave the hair when it is not under tension, which reqires an extremely sharp edge.

If you buy a Benchmade and it is not sharpened well then it is because the person who did it either does not care or does not know any better. Yes Benchmade does leave their angles thick but thick angles can easily shave if sharpened properly. The more polished and aligned your edge is, the more durable and longer it will stay sharp as well (assuming you are push cutting or chopping).

If you want it changed, and think that NIB Benchmades should have a sharper edge (which is reasonable unless you are buying a second/reject) then you should probably post on Benchmades forum.

-Cliff
 
I own 5 Benchmades and I line up on Chang's side of this argument. Three edges have been excellent(or at least decent) and two of them poor even considering the thicker bevels. One was so poor that it should never have left the plant. It took a long time to get it right but again the point is I shouldn't have to. I don't believe there is a company policy of stronger thicker bevels or if there is then they screwed up on the other three.
 
It really depends on what you call sharp or something, becuase I've owned about 30 Benchmades over the last four or five years, and they all had good edges on them when I got them in my opinion.
 
I just got my Benchmade 730s (April knife of the month) in all black. I found this one on Ebay. I was very impressed with the edge on it. It will grab and cut hair as I run it over my arm, but not touching the skin.

The grind lines are clean and even.

By the way, I love this knife. It is my first Axis lock and it is smooth. Very solid lockup. This is my new standard carry.

Clay

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"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt
 
One of my brothers picked up another Benchmade, and while he likes it well enough he said that the biggest problem with it is that it's not nearly as sharp as one of his other ones that I sharpened for him.

It's nice to have a sharp knife out of the box but it's not a big priority for me, as it's possible to dull a knife in a few minutes of use/abuse and will need to be sharpened anyway. A good factory edge usually means it just makes it easier to sharpen, but a few do serve as good examples of different methods and results. I'd like to see makers offer better sharpening guidelines and systems as most people don't seem to know how to get a decent edge on a knife.
 
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