Absolutely Disappointed With Benchmade.

[Antonio K.]

Let me start off by saying, I am an enthusiast when it comes to knives. I have educated myself through the knowledge of other people as well as with myself through the years of purchasing knifes. I can tell whether a knife is worth what it actually is and so on.


A couple years ago, I purchased my first "good" knife which was a spyderco Endura 4. I was looking for a quality knife that was priced decently and I was sold on the endura. had it for about 2 years of use and started to get more interested in knives and found myself purchasing a Benchmade 940. why? because all the folks and YouTube and especially the forums RAVED about it saying how perfect it was and how some people would own them for 5 plus years without breakage. Little did I know it would be a nightmare.


Now, giving you the full story in detail would take forever, so I'll shorten it up. I received my 940 with lots of hope and was nothing but disappointed from that point and after. the blade grind came very un-even and the centering was piss poor. Especially for a $180 knife! so I sent it in to benchmades "legendary" warranty department and got it back with the blade still uncentered. I called them and the lady was very nice and sent me a shipping label. Once I got it back the centering was good... until about 3 months went by and a spring broke. There I was again filling out their warranty form and sending it back in. Later received the knife and was told the spring had gotten out of place. This is a premium priced knife??? Anyways, had it for a little while longer and what do ya know? the spring broke again. I called them up and kindly told them how absurd this is and told them to just send me a new knife as I was convinced I had a lemon. They kindly agreed to on a "courteous" fashion to do so. when I received 940 I though the problem was finally solved. around 6 months went by and yet ANOTHER SPRING BROKE! I called them yet again and asked them "am I doing something wrong here???" she asked me questions as to whether I was pulling the lock bar back with 2 hands and if I lived in a humid environment. She couldn't give me a straight answer as to why I kept breaking these damn things. I sent the knife back and then gave it away shortly after.


In between all that time I had purchased more benchmades such as the crooked river, valet, and the foray as well as more spyderco's such as the blue paramilitary 2, and the sprint run manix 2. all of the spyderco's came perfectly centered with a drop shut action and no blade play in any direction! and for a lot less money (except for the manix) Around Christmas time in 2017 I purchased another 940 because I truly do love the design and it came with WAY worse Q.C than the first one. There was a defect on the blade tang that made the action rough, the scales came scratched and the screws were stripped. Not to mention serious side to side play. It took benchmade twice to fix this knife and now we are at current day. Take a good guess... a spring literally just broke!

Now I take care of my knifes. I oil them and blow them with air to get all the pocket lint out. I also currently have my foray in service due to a broken omega spring. So clearly this can't be bad luck. I have given Benchmade many chances and they can't even keep a dang knife working properly. I have spent around $100 dollars in shipping already. How could they charge these premium prices for a knife of this quality and fit and finish? If I knew how to post pictures without exceeding my limit, I would show you all the warranty work I have received from them. I FIRMLY believe benchmade is not what they are known to be or at least not what they used to be. My old Endura still hasn't failed me and that thing has been through hell and back, with no blade play, good centering, and a heck of a lot cheaper? so whats the deal???


I hope benchmade reads this and at least does something about it. I'm not even asking for much. All I ask for is a centered blade, good grind and action, with no play whatsoever.


If you made it this far God bless hahaha. BTW all my knifes have been purchased from BladeHQ with great customer service!

 

[James Y]

I think what the lady at BM might have meant with her question was, when you unlock the axis lock on your 940, do you pull the bar back from only one side? When I used to carry my axis locks, I pulled the axis bar back evenly, using my thumb on one side and my index finger on the other. Not 2-handed, but from both sides. That distributes the pressure on the omega springs evenly during unlocking, and may help lessen the chance of breakage of one of the springs.

Jim

 

[Antonio K.]

I think what the lady at BM might have meant with her question was, when you unlock the axis lock on your 940, do you pull the bar back from only one side? When I used to carry my axis locks, I pulled the axis bar back evenly, using my thumb on one side and my index finger on the other. Not 2-handed, but from both sides. That distributes the pressure on the omega springs evenly during unlocking, and may help lessen the chance of breakage of one of the springs.

Jim

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, I had already written a novel but yes, I do use my thumb and my index finger. But even if you don't, that's still no excuse for a knife breaking simply Because someone used one finger.

 

[Mick_1KRR]

I never know how to take these posts about omega springs breaking. Been flicking and open/closing the crap out of my 940 and 943 for nearly a decade with zero breakage, along with all my other benchmades that get the same non stop open/closing during movies. And i don't even always pull the lock bar back with both fingers, sometimes one finger sometimes two, never had a single issue.

 

[fishface5]

Huh, I have owned many axis lock knives over the years and have never have had a spring go bad. You may be cursed - have you offended any old gypsy ladies or dug up any burial mounds?

 

[Antonio K.]

I never know how to take these posts about omega springs breaking. Been flicking and open/closing the crap out of my 940 and 943 for nearly a decade with zero breakage, along with all my other benchmades that get the same non stop open/closing during movies. And i don't even always pull the lock bar back with both fingers, sometimes one finger sometimes two, never had a single issue.

And that's what bothers me. A guy on YouTube reviewd one that was 10+ years old?

 

[midnight flyer]

Well, Antonio K. get yourself ready. Put on your flame suit, your body armor and make sure you are in your thick skin. The Benchmade Defenders of the Faith will be here shortly to burn you down. They may call you a liar, dismiss the contents of your post out of hand, or even ask if you have some kind of hidden agenda against Benchmade.

You will get the "I have NEVER heard of this happening.., and I have over 500 Benchmades...." and "OK, so maybe you saw it happen on someone else's knife, but did it happen to you personally" (you will know then their indignation kept them from reading your full post).

From a less salty view, I would say that what you are asking for from Benchmade is a knife like they used to make, the knife quality that built their reputation. I have seen several of these posts pop up questioning Benchmade's quality these days, some here on BF and some on another venue. The story has some pretty good legs and I for one don't think that all the posters are lying.

I have a good friend I see a couple of times a week that is a Benchmade dealer. I can go through the knives he has any time I want, and examine them as closely as I want. He shoots it to me straight about his sales experience with the knives, too. First, they can't keep up with the demand for certain models, and the Benchmade folks have told him they are pumping out knives as quick as possible, but they still can't keep up. He has noticed a difference in quality of grinds, opening and closing, assembly and sharpness. The difference isn't what I thought it would be; what he has noticed is that there is a problem of consistency in the product. Some pieces are top notch, others aren't.

He keeps an eye on the product as he can sell any knife brand he wants, and doesn't want return hassles or any quality issues that would slow sales. At this time he told me is isn't over concerned, but as a huge Benchmade fan himself he is concerned. He is aware of the Omega spring issue and that and poor grinds are his biggest concerns at this point. Again, I want to stress he isn't overly concerned.

I hope you got a run of bad knives and that is all, and you can get a "good one" soon. I just recently bought a mini grip from my buddy for my nephew and it was a very nice specimen. So there is hope since they are still capable of a top notch product.

Robert

 

[DrRollinstein]

You have some serious bad luck there. I've had around 7 Benchmades so far, no issues with any of them. And while i've heard of the omega springs breaking, you also have the other end where they last for years and years. Id recommend picking one out from a shop in your area if you can find one, that way you have some more control over the quality.

Dont give up on a company because of this. At least that warranty was there to make an attempt at helping.

 

[sabre cat]

I just have to do it...

Right now, I own 4 Benchmades (I have owned seven). I can say I've never had a single problem with Omega springs. Not once, NEVER. Also, I personally have never spoken (in person) with anyone who has broken a spring. And, not one of my friends has ever had a spring problem with their Benchmade knives.

Yet, we seem to have people that break springs right and left and I can't help but wonder why? I could see it if there was a common model that people had problems with. Or maybe problems were with a single knife that someone owned but, this does not always seem to be the case. Seems to be an ongoing problem across the product line with some owners.

Why is it that some people continually have problems with Omega springs and others, like me, use Axis Lock knives for years without even a hiccup?

Now, let me see where did my pitchfork and torch go?

 

[Lapedog]

Omega Springs have always been the weakness of the axis lock design.

Try making some Omega springs yourself out of piano wire next time one breaks. You just curl the piano wire into Omega spring shape. I have heard that some people are using that as a “hack” to get their Benchmades running again without sending them in.

That said I don’t know if you are taking the knives apart yourself. If you are maybe you can ask Benchmade to send you like 10 omega springs so you can just pop one in yourself?

 

[Mikel_24]

...If you are maybe you can ask Benchmade to send you like 10 omega springs so you can just pop one in yourself?

As far as I know, Benchmade does not sell or ship parts. You have to send the knife to get the springs replaced. That's why there is people out there bending home made ones.

I own two benchmades. Griptillian and Mini Griptillian. Living in Spain, if I ever break a spring, I will surely do my best to make them myself. If I need to ship it overseas to get it fixed, I very well may just discard it and buy new.

 

[sabre cat]

As far as I know, Benchmade does not sell or ship parts. You have to send the knife to get the springs replaced. That's why there is people out there bending home made ones.

I own two benchmades. Griptillian and Mini Griptillian. Living in Spain, if I ever break a spring, I will surely do my best to make them myself. If I need to ship it overseas to get it fixed, I very well may just discard it and buy new.

Don't discard, because you live in Spain, they might ship parts. I have heard of times in the past that they shipped parts to the EU.

 

[Wheeler80]

It won’t help with the spring problem but for all of your other issues simply ask in the notes section at checkout for them to check the knife before they ship. I do that every time I buy a knife online and have never had an issue.

 

[Hackenslash]

I'm sorry you've had such a bad experience with Benchmade. It doesn't match mine after > 20 different models. Thankfully there are lots of brands and choices to suit all tastes. Hopefully you can find some knives that work for you.

If you enjoyed your Endura, you might consider other back locks or perhaps a Cold Steel Tri-Ad lock. They tend to be robust and a little more fool-proof than an Axis Lock.

Good luck!

 

[MattWRog]

Well, Antonio K. get yourself ready. Put on your flame suit, your body armor and make sure you are in your thick skin. The Benchmade Defenders of the Faith will be here shortly to burn you down. They may call you a liar, dismiss the contents of your post out of hand, or even ask if you have some kind of hidden agenda against Benchmade.

You will get the "I have NEVER heard of this happening.., and I have over 500 Benchmades...." and "OK, so maybe you saw it happen on someone else's knife, but did it happen to you personally" (you will know then their indignation kept them from reading your full post).

From a less salty view, I would say that what you are asking for from Benchmade is a knife like they used to make, the knife quality that built their reputation. I have seen several of these posts pop up questioning Benchmade's quality these days, some here on BF and some on another venue. The story has some pretty good legs and I for one don't think that all the posters are lying.

I have a good friend I see a couple of times a week that is a Benchmade dealer. I can go through the knives he has any time I want, and examine them as closely as I want. He shoots it to me straight about his sales experience with the knives, too. First, they can't keep up with the demand for certain models, and the Benchmade folks have told him they are pumping out knives as quick as possible, but they still can't keep up. He has noticed a difference in quality of grinds, opening and closing, assembly and sharpness. The difference isn't what I thought it would be; what he has noticed is that there is a problem of consistency in the product. Some pieces are top notch, others aren't.

He keeps an eye on the product as he can sell any knife brand he wants, and doesn't want return hassles or any quality issues that would slow sales. At this time he told me is isn't over concerned, but as a huge Benchmade fan himself he is concerned. He is aware of the Omega spring issue and that and poor grinds are his biggest concerns at this point. Again, I want to stress he isn't overly concerned.

I hope you got a run of bad knives and that is all, and you can get a "good one" soon. I just recently bought a mini grip from my buddy for my nephew and it was a very nice specimen. So there is hope since they are still capable of a top notch product.

Robert

I see no reason to discredit the vast majority that have indeed had several Benchmades for many years without these extraordinary incidents with parts failures. I have no empirical evidence for you but I would bet it's still a landslide in completely satisfied customers with reliable knives than those who are completely soured on the brand. People always seem to dedicate more memory to the bad experiences. With this being said though I'd be just as frustrated as the OP if it happened to me.

 

[cashville]

Sounds like horrible luck with the frequency and total number of spring breakages. When you oil your knives, do you also oil the springs or overdue the amount of oil in the pivot? I think the last time I read a post about someone having a ton of breakages like this, they said that they oiled their springs so I'd be curious if that had anything to do with that.

I've been buying/using Benchmades for over two years now. I've probably owned a little more than 20 Benchmades in total. I also fell into the boat of people that thought the number of Omega spring breaks was possible overstated on the internet until I had one break. One on my Bugout broke within about 3 weeks of owning it. I can post a picture of my repair order if anyone cares.

Edit: To be clear, I own Benchmades fully knowing that these springs can break at any point. I am fine with my one break after two years of being a customer.

 

[vwb563]

I’ve owned several Benchmades over the years and although I have seen a few blade grinds that were a bit off (nothing major) and a few with a tiny bit of “rock lock” I’ve never seen or had an omega spring break. I don’t if it matters but I always open the lock by pulling it from both sides and only back far enough to release the lock. Maybe by doing it this way I’m not over extending the springs which is why I’ve never had one break. I’ve never owned one but to my understanding if you want a perfectly fitted knife in every way the Benchmade “Gold Class” is supposed to be just that, although they’re a tad expensive.

 

[M. Johnwell]

I’ve never broken a spring and I only use my thumb to disengage the lock. I only have one axis-lock knife though, so my sample size is admittedly small. The grind and centering on mine was pretty awful. I still use it quite a bit, but it’s not as good as I’d hoped.

The newer benchmades I’ve handled have been much better, but for the price they’d better be.

 

[luke86]

Its my experience that at about 6 months of daily carry with my amount of flicking that I will have a spring break on my benchmades. Really wish they would send out replacements so people don't have to go through the trouble of sending a knife in. The problem with quality control is real though. I've had similar experiences with fit and finish on quite a few I've purchased recently. My experience with warranty has been better though. I have always been very clear in what I want done/fixed and they have always done a good job. I've never had to send a knife back twice for the same issue thankfully. I do love Benchmade and own more of their knives than any other brand by the way just to curtail any hate coming. Just have to share my honest experience.

 

[expidia1]

I was going to suggest you get extra springs and learn how to replace them yourself. I've seen pics of BM's opened and there is not much to them inside. I didn't know BM doesnt sell springs. You might try and find a knife repair shop who might be able to get a few for you. I've started collecting BM's over the past 2 mounths and currently own 5 (6 including my son's 940). I have two that I'm currently sending back for repair. One 490 arcane has 3 tiny chips on the black scales that I doubt I put there. Or for a $260 MSRP knife they should not chip as it did. Sure they could be touched up with a magic marker, but that is not the solution for as poor a quality scale material that chips like it does.

The other one is an MCR which Im not happy with the fit and finish. The clip is almost immoveable to pull up a little to avoid wearing out my pants. They are sending me two other clips for free but while they have it they can fix this stock clip. But the fit has on each of the corners of the edges of the woodlike scales 4 sharp pointed edges where the scales butt up against the bolster. Sure I could file them down myself but that would remove the finish on the scales. Lastly the scales which I bought for the wood grain look have a big oval lighter brown blotch of wood finish that does not blend with the scales on one side. I never noticed it in a pic before I bought it, because it was somewhat blocked by the clip and a $220 MSRP should not have left the factory with this defect IMO.

Thats 2 out of 6 BM's going back for fit and finish issues or 33% of my new collection already going back to bM for repair. I really like the style of most BM knifes. I'm rethinking using BM for an investment for future sales into more expensive knifes.

I've looked at some in the ZT line for collecting as my son suggested, but most "for my early tastes in knives" (and not trying step on toes here as to each their own) but many in the ZT line look like grey boxes cutters to me. Just put in box cutter in amazon that will show the grey $3 stanley box cutter which when I look at some expensive ZT's thats what pops into my mind. Also, many ZT's have a strong tactical look to them, which is not my cup of tea either (at least for now).

The Chris Reeves Sebenza models have not piqued my interest yet either, so I continue to collect various BM models.

Try to find and replace springs yourself (or collect up a few folders so if you send one in for repair you still have others) your total investment in tools to do this is 1 torque head screwdriver.

Lastly, you might look into getting yourself a Wicked Edge sharpening system as I did. Watch a few vids on youtube. Start with an inexpensive used model setup off ebay etc.
With this system, its not how much you spend on their higher end systems. Its all about the various stones that produce the edges which are the same stones used by each model no matter how much you spend on a WE system. You can create ""the exact same razor sharp mirror edge on each system if you spent $200 or $900.
Don't start with your folders as there is a decent experience wise learning curve to usin the system, its easy to use but much like learning to play any instrument like a piano . . . it takes much practice to reach a level of a craftsmanl. Thats why it opens a new world or facet to a knife collecting hobby. Start with some old kitchen knifes or buy a few in a 2nd hand store. Learn to put the ultimate edge on your knifes and I think that will increase their value with a mirror edge on each rather than accepting the factory edge that BM puts on probably spending 15 seconds on a grinding belt and then tossing them into the shipping box.

Sharpening your own knifes will double the enjoyment of your hobby and with practice can make you a craftsman at putting a "wicked Edge" on your collectors.
How many times can you flick open and close a knife? They pretty much all work the same. Thats why I immediatley purchased a wicked edge system the same time I started collecting folders.

So don't give up on BM just yet as you do seem to have that proverbial black cloud over your head currently. The sun will come out tomorrow . . . (hey, those words could make a start to great song)