Is this acceptable from $200 knife?

Since we are already disregarding the OP's impressions on what should be 'acceptable' for $200, perhaps we should ask the question of Benchmade.

Benchmade,

Is this what we should come to expect from Benchmade? At $200, should the consumer come to expect a knife with:
- poor centering
- sloppy edge grind
- sticky axis locking mechanism

So, instead of people expressing their 'ideas' of value and what 'one should come to expect', let's see what Benchmade has to say about what WE should come to expect from them.
I'm new to the knife world ,I have a few spyders,a few kershaws,
But my favourite knifes are benchmade.
Now most of mine are second hand and I love them.maybe notassharp as new,
But never much problem,
I have a delica4 and it is a pain in ass to open and close,nothing beats the axis,
So in otherwords if you're not happy with you're knife send it back for repair or change you're
Brand .simples.
I know i may sound harsh.but I've never had a bad one yet.
 
The only benchmade I've had a problem with is a 484 nakamura. The blade won't lock up tight on it. I bought on eBay.

I have a few 484's and haven't experienced any issues, not that it's impossible to have an issue with any product...

Not saying this is the case, but consider that the person you purchased from on ebay may not be an authorized dealer (most are not), and there are a lot of counterfeits on ebay (I see them, and report them, daily). Would you know? For sure? I wonder how many complaints are from people buying counterfeits from non-authorized dealers? Food for thought.
 
What this all boils down to is what do you, and Benchmade, consider "acceptable tolerances". The off-center blade photos I've seen are truly "anal" (as was put earlier in this thread). Unacceptably off-center would be 25% or 75% of center, not 10%. Many are looking at these as highly collectible works of art, rather than the tools they are. Works of art are 10x to 100x more expensive.

Keep in mind that Benchmade knives are hand assembled, and hand sharpened. No human will ever be perfect. You really need to re-assess your idea of acceptable tolerances knowing there are hand-made steps. I appreciate slight imperfections in hand-made products. Maybe I'm lucky, but I own a sharpening system, and can make both sides of the blade perfectly even when the time comes to sharpen it. In the meantime, the blade cuts very well, as intended. The angles aren't nearly as important as some believe, and I doubt they could tell the difference in a blind test. If you are that "anal" though, get a sharpening system, get the strops, and put a perfect mirror finish on that edge.
 
I used to be very bugged with uncentered knives and uneven bevels. With cheap knives, I just lived with it assuming par for the course. When I started buying $200-$300+ knives and realized many of the same issues were still quite common, I was pretty dismayed. But discovered that these issues are also some of the easiest to correct on my own (well, mostly).

Centering could usually be corrected with a Torx driver. And if I was going to buy knives in that price range, and cared about the final bevels, I better get busy learning to sharpen and re-profile. So now, maybe 30-40% of the knives I buy go right on the KME for a profile. The rest are "close enough", and can wait until it needs a sharpening. An even bevel not only looks pretty, but makes it much easier to keep sharp with light touch-ups or strops.
 
I think that's a poor reflection on the dealer, to say the least, and I wouldn't hesitate to pull the plug, (at least your connection...) and move on.;)

And on complaining, once again we're beating a dead horse. I used to have OCD symptoms until I discovered I actually liked using my Benchmades. Imagine that!:cool:
 
Then there needs to be short responses. My question of "is this acceptable from a $200 knife?" Needs to be responded to with "yes"

I wasn't really "complaining" as much questioning and clarifying expectations.

As I mentioned, this is my most expensive knife... unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I got the knife bug again. I hadn't bought a knife in almost 2 years. Then I ordered that Griptilian less than a month ago....

999_DB00_E_D057_43_FA_AD18_B21259_B8_CE65_16578_00000_D2_F0_C6934_F6.jpg


Since then, I have also bought:

- Spyderco Delica

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- Kershaw Leek
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- Spyderco Pacific Salt full serration
SP91_SYL_LS1_R.jpg


- Benchmade 940-1501
308_CDBE9_A756_4_D68_AD42_4_B3_D3850_C8_A2_16578_00000_D2_B897_A6_BCB.jpg


- Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in M390
4_C742_B89_0_CFF_410_E_9508_187_CA5_C8_F5_A6_19224_00000_F41_F4_F9_C863.jpg



I sent off the Griptilian and 940 (and a couple of others) for sharpening/reprofiling...

IMG_6153.jpg


then I got annoyed that I won't have them (or have a Benchmade, rather) for a couple of weeks... so this morning I pulled the trigger on a Mini Grip Ritter M390!

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Now I really really need to stop!

I have DOUBLED my collection over the last couple of weeks, adding all great knives!

But my point honestly is that I wasn't complaining or whining or badmouthing Benchmade. I kept that Grip and bought 2 more Benchmades within just a couple of weeks! I am disappointed these "premium" knives aren't "perfect" from the get go, but they are amazing knives regardless.
 
IMG_6317.jpg


IMG_6324.jpg


What about this?
Not quite rubbing the scale, but pretty darn close.
I tried to loosen the screw, tighten the screw, flip washers, nothing changed it...

Not quite what I was hoping from $130 knife either... How do I fix that?
 
Also tried to tighten pivot screw, then wedge something between blade and scales on the tight side then loosen and tighten scale screws then slightly loosen pivot screw... still nothing.
 
(copy/paste from my response in that other thread)
Jimmy talked about holding the knife in hand and pushing the blade against a table in the direction that it's off (which he described as seeming "backwards").

WOW, I did this and got my blade centered GREAT! didn't even realize this was an option and took all of 10 seconds! I just held the handle in my hand and literally pushed the flat side of the blade against the table in the OPPOSITE direction of where I need it to go... seems very backwards, but sure works! I had to slightly loosen pivot screw after that... now pretty much a free-falling blade (still needs a little breaking in), zero up/down play, and minimal side/side play... I'M HAPPY FOR SURE!

Before/after:
IMG_6324.jpg


The casualty:
IMG_6327.jpg
 
My thoughts:

A 200 dollar knife should have pretty even grinds. I get they're hand sharpened and things may vary but with some of the obtuse grinds I've seen I would say it's not so much a human error as it is a sharpener rushing through the process to get done or make a quota. Take your time and do it right the first time.

Order your knives from a dealer that will inspect the knife before sending it out. Knivesshipfree has done this several times. I ordered a Benchmade from them once and had them email me letting me know that both of the knives had flaws that I wouldn't be happy with. They offered to inspect other knives or refund my money.

I also don't get the comments "it's a tool, use it." Yes, it is a tool and I do plan to use it. I don't mind centering being off some because that is usually fixable. But a knife being ground bad, no, that's not ok. If a knife isn't made correctly to begin with and involves me having to fix something or send it in that's a QC issue. So much so that Benchmade will fix it for you. They're not saying "it's a tool, use it" they're saying "oh crap, my bad that shouldn't have left the shop with that grind. Let us take care of that for you." Which is great but do it right the first time and you'll see less of that. The price continues to go up but the quality has stayed about the same. This forum has more examples of that than any other, it seems.

Benchmade was my gateway into more expensive knives. I don't currently own one but I'm considering a Proper. My old man is a lefty so I got him a 556 and he loves that knife. With time the knife has become really off center and I plan on correcting it the next time I see him. He doesn't want to take it apart as he can't see real well so I'll give it a good cleaning, a new edge, and adjust the pivot.

I like Benchmade. I think their Lifesharp warranty is incredible. I just wish that the knives were inspected a little better before being boxed up. When you spend 200 on a knife you shouldn't be met with complete disappointment of a bad grind.

Also, it's really cool to see a Benchmade mod active on this forum. Helping someone fix their centering and giving feedback is great. Kudos to Benchmade for having a presence on the forum.
 
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