Action on new Benchmade is very stiff

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Slash3040

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Aug 10, 2021
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As the title says, I bought a new Bugout and man is this thing rough. I understand there should be a break in period but after 3 days this thing is still squeaking and grinding. What length of time is normal to for this smooth out and when is a good time to take it apart and put fresh lubricant in?

update: thank you everyone for your replies. So I completely expected for there to be a very minimal amount of lube from the factory but upon disassembly, there was NONE. I am talking about actual metal on metal between the washer and blade. I lost a factory screw the day I got the knife and the BM rep I spoke to about that said sometimes they miss putting Loctite on at the factory so they are sending me a new bag of screws. Very disappointed with a 200$ knife that I ha e to apply the basic maintenance. Anyway the action is much more smooth after lubricant.
 
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your description on it doesn't sound right. something is wrong. shouldn't be squeaking or grinding. something is out of whack or pivot too tight or something in the pivot area.

id send in for warranty.
 
DavidABQ said:
That Benchmade doesn’t sound right. Maybe it needs some lube?
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I was told to wait it out for a couple weeks but I am tempted to lube the pivot. I have touched up other knives with stubborn action and new lubricant always seems to help
 
The coated blades are rough for a while. It will get better if you lube it and fidget with it.
 
If you’re OK to fiddle with it: take it apart, wipe the factory grease off the pivot and bushings, lube it up with some KPL, put it back together nice and tight, then open/close it 100 or so times. Should smooth it out. I’m not huge on Benchmade (for personal reasons) but the last couple I’ve had have been nothing but smooth out of the box. Some in the past have been rough and this has worked like a charm.
 
Mine was rough too but after I took it apart and cleaned it, it’s one of the smoothest knives I have ever experienced from Benchmade. It’s up to you on what you want to do, I might try a drop of line and loosen the pivot.
 
It's a BM, you never know what you will get. As others said, loosen the pivot or send it back.
 
Fire Beard said:
If you’re OK to fiddle with it: take it apart, wipe the factory grease off the pivot and bushings, lube it up with some KPL, put it back together nice and tight, then open/close it 100 or so times. Should smooth it out. I’m not huge on Benchmade (for personal reasons) but the last couple I’ve had have been nothing but smooth out of the box. Some in the past have been rough and this has worked like a charm.
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I took it apart and there wasn’t any lubricant on the washers at all and there was no thread locker on any of the screws. Even the pivot. Someone at BM said fuggit and just assembled it with no care
 
Slash3040 said:
I took it apart and there wasn’t any lubricant on the washers at all and there was no thread locker on any of the screws. Even the pivot. Someone at BM said fuggit and just assembled it with no care
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I'm not surprised whatsoever. One of many reasons I no longer own or buy their products.
 
Fire Beard said:
If you’re OK to fiddle with it: take it apart, wipe the factory grease off the pivot and bushings, lube it up with some KPL, put it back together nice and tight, then open/close it 100 or so times. Should smooth it out. I’m not huge on Benchmade (for personal reasons) but the last couple I’ve had have been nothing but smooth out of the box. Some in the past have been rough and this has worked like a charm.
Click to expand...
I took it apart and there wasn’t any lubricant on the washers at all and there was no thread locker on any of the screws. Even the pivot. Someone at BM said fuggit and just
K.O.D. said:
I'm not surprised whatsoever. One of many reasons I no longer own or buy their products.
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i do not mind taking a knife apart to maintain it. In fact I enjoy doing it but I spent 200$ on this brand new. For 200$ for a pocket knife I expect damn near perfect QC. Very disappointed
 
Slash3040 said:
As the title says, I bought a new Bugout and man is this thing rough. I understand there should be a break in period but after 3 days this thing is still squeaking and grinding. What length of time is normal to for this smooth out and when is a good time to take it apart and put fresh lubricant in?

update: thank you everyone for your replies. So I completely expected for there to be a very minimal amount of lube from the factory but upon disassembly, there was NONE. I am talking about actual metal on metal between the washer and blade. I lost a factory screw the day I got the knife and the BM rep I spoke to about that said sometimes they miss putting Loctite on at the factory so they are sending me a new bag of screws. Very disappointed with a 200$ knife that I ha e to apply the basic maintenance. Anyway the action is much more smooth after lubricant.
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May I ask where you bought the knife from?

The reason I ask is that counterfeit Bugouts are abundant, identical in appearance to the genuine article, including the Benchmade butterfly logo on the blade.

I just checked a Chinese site notorious for selling counterfeits, and yep, they sell a wide variety of fake Benchmade Bugouts, and with fake Benchmade boxes.

Unfortunately it's not uncommon for crooks in the US to buy counterfeits and sell them as the real deal and at the full price of the genuine knives.
 
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killgar said:
May I ask where you bought the knife from?

The reason I ask is that counterfeit Bugouts are abundant, identical in appearance to the genuine article, including the Benchmade butterfly logo on the blade.

I just checked a Chinese site notorious for selling counterfeits, and yep, they sell a wide variety of fake Benchmade Bugouts, and with fake Benchmade boxes.

Unfortunately it's not uncommon for crooks in the US to buy counterfeits and sell them as the real deal and at the full price of the genuine knives.
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I bought it from Blade HQ so it is legit
 
Slash3040 said:
I bought it from Blade HQ so it is legit
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Good to know it's real. Sucks about the condition. I bought my first Benchmade back in 2001, and back then the name Benchmade meant QUALITY. I never used to hear about people having problems with the quality of their Benchmade knives. It's sad to hear that they would even let a knife like yours out of the factory.

I'm also surprised they didn't ask you to send it in to make sure it isn't defective or that it hasn't suffered damage.

I've owned 7 folders made by Benchmade, I still have 5, and I run all of them without any lube and they have always opened and closed as smooth as silk. And I never had a screw fall out, they all had thread locker.

Welcome to Bladeforums, and I hope the knife works out for you.
 
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The last four or five Benchmade knives I have purchased have had action that was so stiff, I couldn’t even shake them shut while holding back the Axis lock. Even loosening the pivot to the point that it could be wiggled back and forth in its housing didn’t fix the issue.

After disassembling the knives, I found large amount of material from shaping the handle gunking up the pivot (carbon fiber dust, G10 dust, etc). After removing the buildup and polishing the washers, all the knives drop shut and swing freely.
 
Perhaps I have a tad too many Benchmades, but that's because there are at least 3 dealers within a half-hour drive, all of which I drive right by regularly. The nearest dealer with Spydercos in stock is two hours away. I have handled at least 60 Benchmades in the local stores and never found a bad one. In particular, I have 2 Bugouts that had great action without any break-in; they also have excellent serrations (I cut a lot of baling twine). But I did order a discontinued Boost from the Walmart web site and it was very stiff. Benchmade said it was not covered by warranty because it was not from an authorized dealer. One of these days I might take the Boost apart.
 
Another Shepherd said:
Perhaps I have a tad too many Benchmades, but that's because there are at least 3 dealers within a half-hour drive, all of which I drive right by regularly. The nearest dealer with Spydercos in stock is two hours away. I have handled at least 60 Benchmades in the local stores and never found a bad one. In particular, I have 2 Bugouts that had great action without any break-in; they also have excellent serrations (I cut a lot of baling twine). But I did order a discontinued Boost from the Walmart web site and it was very stiff. Benchmade said it was not covered by warranty because it was not from an authorized dealer. One of these days I might take the Boost apart.
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It’s crazy BM won’t warrant a Walmart knife. They’ve serviced knives I’ve bought from people
 
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