Why Buy Benchmade?

BenchCo Spydermade said:
If you don't care to have you knife be made from higher quality materials n steel then for you it is a perfectly good knockoff. If your a person who is somewhat knowledgeable about and interested in higher quality knives it's not the same at all. I do have $20 knives that I think are great...for $20. When they were all I had they were awesome. Then my dad gave me a kershaw ram, what I consider my first high quality knife. It ruined me. I never knew knives could work so well.

Still like my old ones but now I know the difference and I think its worth it. Eventually I'll know the difference in having a $300-400 knife, but for now I'll just assume there r all ripoffs. Lol


There is also the issue of integrity. I think there's nothing wrong with affordable cheap sturdy knives being made. However, when you use other use people's designs to purposefully make a knockoff, your wrong. They should use their own designs.
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I know, believe me. I was just having one of those cheeky moments. I'm pretty sure I invented the BM Fanboy, the internet, and the question mark.
 
I am not limited to what I buy. I stay with Benchmades because I like both the knives and excellent customer service. I have my Volli up for warranty servicing and expect that on the return trip back here it will be properly tuned and sharpened as they always have been. Problems with repairs are rare, and have been very few over the years.
 
I received my first BM for Christmas from my wife. She had me order it from Derrick( one of my long time enablers). Just simple tan griptillian. It has been in my pocket everyday and honestly has taken the place of my Buck 110 that I have had a life long love affair with. I like the shape of the handle on the grip, the flat grind, the steel seems to hold an edge decent enough and not too hard to touch back up. My 17 you daughter has fallen in love with my grip and I'm thinking of picking her up one or a mini. I wasn't into Benchmade before the whole price thing so it really doesn't matter to me since I don't know the deals I missed. All I know is I like my grip.Might eventually get some nicer handles for it, we will see.
 
Ssnik said:
OK. So what you are so rudely telling me is benchmade has decided to change MSRP to MRP. Like Apple. So large companies like WalMart can't buy hundreds of thousands of copies and make their profit on a $.01 per item markup while a small mom and pop store has to charge more because because they have to make a profit on every knife they sell to stay alive. So wherever you go a BM knife should be the same price.
I don't have a problem with that.
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Some flaws in your argument:
1) Using hyperbole ( a $.01 profit on every item) does not help your arguement. No one did that with Benchmade knives.
2) Every Authorized Benchmade dealer must have a brick and mortar storefront, so they'll all have the same kind of overhead (property taxes, utilities, inventory stocking, insurance, etc.). The difference is the B&M-only stores who choose not to sell over the internet frequently sell at MSRP (not even at MAP), and wouldn't discount at all. Every single one I've encountered said they had no intention of getting more inventory because what they have wasn't selling, and complained about other dealers selling them for less (yet wouldn't even give a 10% discount off MSRP). Guess what? Sell them for a competitive price and they might actually sell some! Even the dealers selling at a discount were making a profit. No one expects them to sell the knife at a loss, but if your business model requires you to sell everything you have in inventory at MSRP, then you have a problem with your business model. That is what put them behind the 8-ball. I guess they whined enough about other B&M stores who also sell over the internet and offered a bit of a discount, so now everyone is stuck with knives that shot up in price almost 30% or so overnight. No increase in QC, no increase in quality of materials or workmanship, just an increase in price.

Professor said:
Come on, the knockoffs' mystery steel is perfectly capable of cutting tape and cleaning fingernails. Just needs a good sharpening afterward is all.
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I think you're understating the quality of the knockoffs, there. They are perfectly capable of sharpening a toothpick before needing to hit the stones.

Ssnik said:
I understand you don't want to discuss this further, but I have two things to bring up.
Perceived value drops when you have internet retailers selling on eBay and Amazon at cut rates. By fixing the price you stop this practice and you keep your brick and mortars in business giving good customer service.
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Interestingly, every time I looked on eBay or Amazon for a knife, every dealer selling new for a "buy it now" price was right at MAP or higher. Sure, you might be able to snipe one in an auction format, but buying outright would cost more than buying from someone like Knifeworks or one of the other authorized dealers who offered not only a discount, but also awesome customer service.

As for perceived value: their value fit with the discounted price when you consider F&F, materials, QC, etc. Their QC has had issues -- especially their uneven bevels that require a complete reprofiling to get them even -- which is what drops the perceived value. Before, they were a good value for the cost. Now, they are overpriced for what we get. If they improve their base steel from 154CM to something like CPM-154 (small but substantial change) and improve their QC, then the value of what we get for our money might coincide again.

With the exception of a couple production knives (Contego is one), and limited/exclusive runs (which were never discounted), I just don't see Benchmade knives being worth the current MAP. I'll keep buying Benchmades because I need a fully ambidextrous knife like the Axis lock (tried a caged ball bearing lock from S'co, but don't like it), but with the exception of limited/exclusives, I won't be buying new. I'll find my Rift, 32 Morpho, and 275 on the secondary market where the price will more closely match the quality.
 
loonybin said:
Interestingly, every time I looked on eBay or Amazon for a knife, every dealer selling new for a "buy it now" price was right at MAP or higher. Sure, you might be able to snipe one in an auction format, but buying outright would cost more than buying from someone like Knifeworks or one of the other authorized dealers who offered not only a discount, but also awesome customer service.

As for perceived value: their value fit with the discounted price when you consider F&F, materials, QC, etc. Their QC has had issues -- especially their uneven bevels that require a complete reprofiling to get them even -- which is what drops the perceived value. Before, they were a good value for the cost. Now, they are overpriced for what we get. If they improve their base steel from 154CM to something like CPM-154 (small but substantial change) and improve their QC, then the value of what we get for our money might coincide again.

With the exception of a couple production knives (Contego is one), and limited/exclusive runs (which were never discounted), I just don't see Benchmade knives being worth the current MAP. I'll keep buying Benchmades because I need a fully ambidextrous knife like the Axis lock (tried a caged ball bearing lock from S'co, but don't like it), but with the exception of limited/exclusives, I won't be buying new. I'll find my Rift, 32 Morpho, and 275 on the secondary market where the price will more closely match the quality.
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I think you have stated practical BKC enthusiast's stance. I agree completely here in the reasons why I buy Benchmade. I have been progressively disappointed in waiting for my favorite knife characteristics. Limited run may be similar business model in some exclusive automobile. Remember even Ferrari as ultra exclusive car manufacture is now a part of Fiat, general public production car company.

I think limited production of 500, 1000 may have some appeal, but it will produce negative incentive to a knife buyer who have just discovered BKC. What they should do with LE that is no longer available for them?

As you mentioned, 810-1401 is good combination of those aspects. It is better than LE, yet it still is semi limited. I am not fully persuaded that I have to pay double to have a nearly identical design with different steel. I do like M390 over M4 on 810, but I think they should have it done with a model such as Rift (only has 154CM). Call it new model like 950-A.

MFL

I wish BKC would start using CPM in place of 154 or D2 and calling it something like Rift 950-A would be more welcome news.
 
loonybin said:
I think you're understating the quality of the knockoffs, there. They are perfectly capable of sharpening a toothpick before needing to hit the stones.
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Knockoffs are a sore subject with me :mad:

I don't care what company is getting copied. There are large numbers of knives that are being copied. Even Chris Reeve knives are copied, and according to the man himself, they are decent copies, but obviously not up to the same level as the real knives...

Buying a knife that is obviously copied, especially one that they have stolen the useage of the company name, is what I would call being an accomplice to committing a crime...
The company that used the design and name, knows full well they are stealing, and most people who buy those knives, also know they are a stolen design, but because they can buy a similar knife for a lot less money, they don't have a problem with it.

I wouldn't care if someone made a copy of a knife that was so good, even the maker had trouble telling if it was a fake, and I could buy them for $5.
I still wouldn't buy one... Having principles, and morals, is worth a lot more to me than one might save on a knife.
 
338375 said:
Knockoffs are a sore subject with me :mad:

I don't care what company is getting copied. There are large numbers of knives that are being copied. Even Chris Reeve knives are copied, and according to the man himself, they are decent copies, but obviously not up to the same level as the real knives...

Buying a knife that is obviously copied, especially one that they have stolen the useage of the company name, is what I would call being an accomplice to committing a crime...
The company that used the design and name, knows full well they are stealing, and most people who buy those knives, also know they are a stolen design, but because they can buy a similar knife for a lot less money, they don't have a problem with it.

I wouldn't care if someone made a copy of a knife that was so good, even the maker had trouble telling if it was a fake, and I could buy them for $5.
I still wouldn't buy one... Having principles, and morals, is worth a lot more to me than one might save on a knife.
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I agree. I won't buy copies, especially when they try to pass them off as the real thing. Even the brands that just copy the design and call them something else are beneath contempt. What is frustrating is that some of those companies make decent quality stuff. All they need is a decent designer to come up with something original and they could end up being competitive.
 
loonybin said:
I agree. I won't buy copies, especially when they try to pass them off as the real thing. Even the brands that just copy the design and call them something else are beneath contempt. What is frustrating is that some of those companies make decent quality stuff. All they need is a decent designer to come up with something original and they could end up being competitive.
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That's what I could never figure out. Why not just start up their own company, with original designs ?
I guess it is quicker, and a little more certain using copied, successful designs...
 
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