Dear Benchmade,

I too have experienced numerous Benchmade qc issues. I have owned 6 new Benchmades this year, and 5 of them had some kind of issue ranging from blade play to off centered blades. My wife bought me a new Small Summit Lake that had to be sent in for repair due to blade play and an off centered blade. Benchmade ended up sending me a new knife, needless to say, I am a very pleased customer. I agree that these qc issues shouldn't happen so frequently, especially considering the price tag on these knives. If Benchmade isn't careful, these constant issues could start driving their customers away.
 
I've been holding back posting, letting this thread go where it will before I reply. I might be biased, being a big Benchmade fan and having a large collection. With that said, I too have seen the QC go downhill in recent years. These are the kinds of things that happen during a rushed assembly. Deadlines, employee performance standards (x number of units assembled in y amount of time, which is silly because everyone operates best at a different pace). I have no insight whatsoever into Benchmades lines, but do have management experience in a production environment, and have corrected issues such as this.

I disagree about the QC being as bad as some make it sound however. Not only do I have a large collection, but if I do get a knife that I feel is not within reasonable QC standards, I'll go to several of my local shops and play with every one of the same model they have in stock, just to note if it's limited to that line. More often than not, it's limited to the one I got, but sometimes it's the majority of that model.

I don't mind, but would rather not have to, disassemble and align parts (done too many blade centerings, and not just anal-retentively off-center, but an RCH away from rubbing the liner). The 5400 was an extreme example. The 483 is impossible to center without too much pressure on the pivot screw, making thumb deployment painful after repeated use. I own two of them, and have played with several others.

My non-scientific estimate regarding legit QC issues is 1 in 10 (10%) - it should be 3 in 100 (3%) at most, in any production environment. Jimmy said he's passed along our feedback, so let's give them time and let them take corrective action. That won't help with current production, nor stock already shipped - results will be in the future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DMG
JohnD586 said:
I've been holding back posting, letting this thread go where it will before I reply. I might be biased, being a big Benchmade fan and having a large collection. With that said, I too have seen the QC go downhill in recent years. These are the kinds of things that happen during a rushed assembly. Deadlines, employee performance standards (x number of units assembled in y amount of time, which is silly because everyone operates best at a different pace). I have no insight whatsoever into Benchmades lines, but do have management experience in a production environment, and have corrected issues such as this.

I disagree about the QC being as bad as some make it sound however. Not only do I have a large collection, but if I do get a knife that I feel is not within reasonable QC standards, I'll go to several of my local shops and play with every one of the same model they have in stock, just to note if it's limited to that line. More often than not, it's limited to the one I got, but sometimes it's the majority of that model.

I don't mind, but would rather not have to, disassemble and align parts (done too many blade centerings, and not just anal-retentively off-center, but an RCH away from rubbing the liner). The 5400 was an extreme example. The 483 is impossible to center without too much pressure on the pivot screw, making thumb deployment painful after repeated use. I own two of them, and have played with several others.

My non-scientific estimate regarding legit QC issues is 1 in 10 (10%) - it should be 3 in 100 (3%) at most, in any production environment. Jimmy said he's passed along our feedback, so let's give them time and let them take corrective action. That won't help with current production, nor stock already shipped - results will be in the future.
Click to expand...

Hopefully your right, the qc issues are being blown out of proportion. I have been on other forums and other folks seem to be having issues with quality as well. Maybe Benchmade has a large employment turn over and they are forced to hire and train a bunch of new employees on the job in order to keep production moving. Hopefully, they will get things sorted out.
 
There's no denying the QC issues at Benchmade and good CS/Warranty is not the solution. I have around 65 Benchmade knives going back to August 2005.

However, I had issues with ALL of the Benchmade models I purchased in 2014 and this was after the MAP enforcement of late 2013. So, I was paying more and getting less! It got so bad that in August 2014 my 710-1401 had not just the usual blade centering and blade play issues but the blade grind was asymmetrical. I pretty much gave up on Benchmade then. Since August 2014 I have purchased only 6 Benchmade knives (in 2 years and 9 months). Two in 2015, three in 2016 and one in 2017.

Hopefully, Benchmade will address the persistent QC issues and soon.
 
I'm not trying to turn people away from benchmade, in fact I personally love their designs and choice of materials. The only thing I dislike is the execution of their products.

Why spend so much money/time promoting and developing a product and then executing it so poorly when time comes to release that product? It's frustrating to the consumer when you state that a particular knife (781 Anthem) takes soo much time to make and that it's so difficult to assemble and then release said knife with horrible quality.

Every single YouTube video I watched from Benchmade concerning the 781 stated that it takes a lot of time to make each particular knife. Hence the higher price. Then, when release day comes they totally contradicted themselves by having extremely poor execution.

I don't expect perfection, but if you're going to increase your prices, please UP your execution on quality. A pocket clip that needs fine tuning? Fine. No loctite? Fine. Horrible bearing action is kind of ridiculous and horrible blade centering? I mean if it would have came with any of those fixed I would have been fine. The fact that it didn't though is a total turn off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mo2
W_cole said:
I don't expect perfection...
Click to expand...
You are being gracious.

This is not intended to ne a troll statement, but at the price point of the 781, I kinda DO expect perfection. Honestly , my personal tolerance for imperfect execution evaporates at an even lower price point, FWIW.

If we as a community don't expect it, we sure as heck are not going to get it.

Amen to everything else you've said in this thread.:thumbsup:
 
4mer_FMF said:
If we as a community don't expect it, we sure as heck are not going to get it.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I don't want to pile on this thread, but it is frustrating to see prices continue to climb without improvements in material and/or build quality.

I would like to think that this 'reactive' practice of Customer Service and Warranty support, in the long-tail, is more costly to their profitability than putting in proactive measures to resolve quality issues, however we are probably the niche minority. I would imagine that the bulk of their customers purchase their products through big box Outdoor/Hunting/Sporting stores and may not notice QC issues that we can so easily identify.

Regardless, if you price a good as a premium, the marketplace expects a premium product. I look forward to the day that I don't have to write out the 'Magna Carta' in the Order Notes box to check for Blade Play, Blade Grind, and Centering for a Benchmade.
 
sutherland said:
Agreed. I don't want to pile on this thread, but it is frustrating to see prices continue to climb without improvements in material and/or build quality.

I would like to think that this 'reactive' practice of Customer Service and Warranty support, in the long-tail, is more costly to their profitability than putting in proactive measures to resolve quality issues, however we are probably the niche minority. I would imagine that the bulk of their customers purchase their products through big box Outdoor/Hunting/Sporting stores and may not notice QC issues that we can so easily identify.

Regardless, if you price a good as a premium, the marketplace expects a premium product. I look forward to the day that I don't have to write out the 'Magna Carta' in the Order Notes box to check for Blade Play, Blade Grind, and Centering for a Benchmade.
Click to expand...

I 100% agree with all points. If the majority of their customers were complaining they would be doing more about it. Bottom line is if you compare their fit and finish to their completion. They are a significantly behind.
 
Benchmade is starting to remind me of another brand called Bali-song that had to close its doors because of bad quality control. I'm sad to say that there going down the same road. They used to be my favorite brand and they were a milestone in my knife collecting. Benchmade was the first knife I paid over 50 dollars for but now I will only buy a Benchmade from a brick and mortar store and even then it has to be a damn good knife for me to buy it.

So dear Benchmade please fix your quality control so that me and many others can love your knives once again.
 
Last edited:
Picked mine up today from my local shop. They had two, one had an off center blade and was noticeably gritty. Luckily the other was dead center and pretty smooth, both had the pocket clip not touching the scale so it must be by design. I got a good one but it's sad that when a small knife shop gets two in stock only one is acceptable. Like others have said, at this price range BM is in CRK territory and QC issues from them are few and far between.
Untitled by Danny Nystrom, on Flickr
 
Seneca18 said:
Picked mine up today from my local shop. They had two, one had an off center blade and was noticeably gritty. Luckily the other was dead center and pretty smooth, both had the pocket clip not touching the scale so it must be by design. I got a good one but it's sad that when a small knife shop gets two in stock only one is acceptable. Like others have said, at this price range BM is in CRK territory and QC issues from them are few and far between.
Untitled by Danny Nystrom, on Flickr
Click to expand...

How is the edge bevel / grind on your Anthem?
 
I came to this thread actually looking for pics of my buddy Joe P's Anthem. I know he got one, but hadn't seen it plastered all over BF as I would have expected. I was glad to see his pics, to read his comments, and was happy he got a good one and loves it. There are several interesting and thoughtful posts here ranging from positive to negative. Good to hear from members like Joe P, Joe K, Ram, Rev, and others. JohnD586's post is a good read, given his production management background. A few thoughts of my own--

The Benchmade wing of my collection approaches two dozen knives spanning roughly two decades of production. Clearly I like 'em. My F&F experience has been generally positive. Off-centered blades seem to be more of a problem for BM than other makers, and I've had 4 or 5 like that. All but two were correctable. One I sold--my 940-1's blade was clearly tweaked and I've heard that there was an issue with warping during heat-treat of BM's S90V. I got that one a little better, my buyer improved it slightly more and subsequently sold it too.

I've had no blade-play issues that couldn't be resolved by adjustment, lube, and a little washer polishing/sanding here and there. I can force a tiny amount of vertical play in my de-assisted 581.

Each maker has it's own niche for F&F and I think for things like lack of machine marks and polish Spyderco and ZT are clearly a step ahead of BM. My LE BM's--908BK-1501, 710-1401, Ritters--are the best of the lot, but overall I've found the quality of BMs offerings to be acceptable at their price-points and a few to be exceptional.

To be clear, the majority of my knives go through an additional QC process as they've been purchased from the Exchange. BF sellers are generally very trustworthy and open regarding flaws in their offerings, so those I buy here have been additionally screened.

This brings me to some thoughts--all conjecture--about BM's process in what's becoming a wall of text here. It strikes me that there's no hand-fitting/finishing when the knives are assembled, otherwise how could some of the poor examples that have been documented leave the shop? I also wonder about the overall quality of the machining as the various parts are manufactured. Is there QC along the way before assembly? If several parts in any knife are each at the low end of their individual tolerances, the resultant assemblage will be substandard. If a large percentage of assembled knives hit QC in such a state, do standards at the end get lowered to avoid having to discard too many pieces? If indeed there are issues with the quality of BM's releases, then the problem likely traces back throughout manufacture and is not limited to final inspection.
 
So I have a question event though I haven't really ran into all these QC issues like alot of people, is this a side effect of the Axis Lock and the way it functions vs. other locks used on the market?
 
barmettlerjosh said:
Benchmade is starting to remind me of another brand called balasong that had to close its doors because of bad quality control. I'm sad to say that there going down the same road. They used to be my favorite brand and they were a milestone in my knife collecting. Benchmade was the first knife I paid over 50 dollars for but now I will only buy a Benchmade from a brick and mortar store and even then it has to be a damn good knife for me to buy it.

So dear Benchmade please fix your quality control so that me and many others can love your knives once again.
Click to expand...

Same here, my first expensive knife was the Benchmade Mini Barrage, second was the Griptilian. I would hate to see them go out of business, but if the competition continues to get it right and they don't, Benchmade will go the way of the dodo bird.
 
It's pretty bizarre to see all this pissing on BM in their forum. I got a perfect Impel a few months ago and a perfect 530 last year. Their QC is great and I work in QC :).

It's pretty clear and pretty sad some of you like to bitch to hear the sound of your own voice. Why pay $400 for a knife from a company you don't like, had previous negative experiences with, if not just for the opportunity to bitch, moan and be noticed...go out and use your knives :)
 
brownshoe said:
It's pretty bizarre to see all this pissing on BM in their forum. I got a perfect Impel a few months ago and a perfect 530 last year. Their QC is great and I work in QC :).

It's pretty clear and pretty sad some of you like to bitch to hear the sound of your own voice. Why pay $400 for a knife from a company you don't like, had previous negative experiences with, if not just for the opportunity to bitch, moan and be noticed...go out and use your knives :)
Click to expand...


Well I'm glad you have two examples from benchmade that met your standard concerning QC. Just for the record, I do go out and use my knives; so please don't make assumptions.

Maybe to you they have great QC but I'll stick with my own personal experiences and the vast majority of people commenting stating that they don't have Great QC.

I didn't start this thread to "bitch and moan" I started it to raise awareness to Benchmade about their QC. Sure, you got 2 good ones but what about me? The last 3 I bought were horrible. The numbers are already contradicting what you stated.

This thread has raised awareness to Benchmade and thus been a productive/honest thread; until now. All those smiley faces can't cover up that stupid and ignorant post you have posted. Who are you to say we don't use our knives?

Welcome to the Blocked List, Bud.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top