Benchmade Prices

Benchmade started the rapid increasing prices in knives. Inflation rate was 2% and Benchmade increased their prices across the board 10%. Plus, they jacked up the MAP pricing every year to the now ridiculous 90% of their already inflated MSRP.

Other manufacturers looked to see if Benchmade suffered in sales and it did not appear to be seriously reduced in market share. So, all for one and one for all, they all started the same thing.

Now, in addition to the ridiculous starting prices, they use add-on “value” like premium steels to jack profitability even more. They start hype like Magnacut, and take a $20 increase in cost and mark the knife up $80!!

There are deals to be had, but the overall pricing in knives is just waiting for a market adjustment.
 
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GB940Rookie said:
I will always like Benchmade knives, but they’ve pretty much priced me out, unless I find something second hand or on clearance Same with Spyderco.
I have no ill will towards them and wish them the bes
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Funny thing about steel prices, what is hyped and priced as an upcharge, oftentimes isn’t more expensive. I’ve seen pricing at Niagara, pretty much all the CPM steels are priced within a few dollars of each other. Hell, Magnacut should be priced for less than most because it has less “stuff” in it than most. S90V is a Benchmade ripoff, it costs little more than S30V. The most expensive being 20CV.
 
dlrflyer said:
Funny thing about steel prices, what is hyped and priced as an upcharge, oftentimes isn’t more expensive. I’ve seen pricing at Niagara, pretty much all the CPM steels are priced within a few dollars of each other. Hell, Magnacut should be priced for less than most because it has less “stuff” in it than most. S90V is a Benchmade ripoff, it costs little more than S30V. The most expensive being 20CV.
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Almost feels like a scam, huh?
 
dlrflyer said:
Funny thing about steel prices, what is hyped and priced as an upcharge, oftentimes isn’t more expensive. I’ve seen pricing at Niagara, pretty much all the CPM steels are priced within a few dollars of each other. Hell, Magnacut should be priced for less than most because it has less “stuff” in it than most. S90V is a Benchmade ripoff, it costs little more than S30V. The most expensive being 20CV.
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It's not just the raw material price. You have to take differences in manufacturing costs into account as well. S90V is going to eat abrasives when grinding a lot faster than S30V. Other steels may be more difficult to heat treat, require extra steps or extra precautions to avoid warping, etc.
 
I just got a new 593 PSK. It was a 400/360 retail cost knife; advertised with all the latest and greatest. A premium price for what should have been a premium knife. Instead, it had a slew of issues. Benchmade has a reputation for pricing their knives, some would say, in an extravagant fashion. For these knives to be worth the "Benchmade tax", I'd expect a product that follows that supposed stellar quality reputation and quality for the price being charged. Instead, I received yet another Benchmade that was a lemon.

I'd love to support a U.S. company, making excellent knives, even if it was at a premium price tag. Instead, with too much frequency to be happenstance, the knife public gets ragtag knives with manufacture and QC problems. The BM tax, is then what, exactly to the ELU? Some form of fraud, based upon the price paid for a supposedly premium product? The easiest way to drive the ELU away from a premium U.S. based product is to charge far more than the competition, while promising a superior product, with that product, though, not living up to expectation, which is happening with Benchmade Knives. The endless flow of internet information criticizing BM prices is evidence of that.
 
As the new owner of a Benchmade Necron, I volunteer to be the poster boy for poor knife decisions this week.

The fact that it's overpriced didn't really bother me, I mean, I bought the thing, right? It seemed so solid, no tap, just a hint of play.

Okay, the thing flipped (I'm not a big time flipper at all) fine for a bit, then the pivot screws started to come loose. No loc tite where it is clearly needed on the t10 pivot screws. OK, that's irritating but a guy can deal with that.

The "modular system" is where the thing really gets hairy. The scales have t6 torx and those babies are loc tited in place. So getting to fool around with the tungsten weights that are included is gonna be a real pain. I haven't been willing to bugger up those tiny little things just to see if I like a different weight better, which is supposed to be a huge part of the whole experience.

Dear Benchmade, please send me about 50 replacement screws and bring some singles because I'm gonna be doing some stripping. Cripes, what were the designers thinking? On the plus side, at least Benchmade Balisongs have tended to hold their value. 😁
 
I just had to google the Necron since it didn't sound familiar. Makes sense since it's a balisong and I'm not a balisong guy.
Dear god . . . That trainer is ridiculous. $400 for G10 and a 440c trainer blade! I've been willing to defend Benchmade on a lot of things up until now. After seeing that, I think I'm done.
 
I just checked the BM and the Spyderco website for MSRPs:

The BM Griptillian, a perfectly fine knife with for everyday use is priced at $160 with S30V steel
The Spyderco Endura, imo the equivalent in VG10 costs $136.50
These knives are/were the "standard high quality" knives with a decent steel and will work amazingly well without any issues. Non knife people buy one of these and are happy for many years.

With the proliferation of better & way more steels, more exotic scale materials and the overall cost that went into this richness of variety, you will have knives that are more expensive.
Companies that are not trying to ride this surge in demand of high quality & variety knives, will just stagnate.
The cost to accomodate the variety in process and production is initially high, but with the prices so high, you as a company can calculate the ROI and see that you're not out of your depth.

This is also true for other industries, but with every "hobby" there's just no limit of what people are willing to pay.

Personally, I won't buy a BM, as I don't like the axis lock. (too many parts, weak omega spring)
 
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goldie said:
The new 710's are about the most overpriced production knives out there right now when you take materials into account.Theres no way they should be at the prices they are ; even thought they are s90 and magnacut those coated blades are horrible, and otherwise have steel liners and aluminum scales. 405 and 600 is just insane !
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I buy from a site that sells below MAP on Benchmade. IMO, that brings their value WAY more into line with a lot of other offerings.
 
dlrflyer said:
It’s true that raw materials aren’t the only cost involved, but you’re not going to convince me that it requires another $50 in abrasives and machine time per knife either.
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Payroll is the single biggest expense just about any company has, far beyond that of materials. You get a steel that requires more time to cut, grind, finish and sharpen and minutes turn into hours very, very quickly. That also kicks the cost up whenever you have product loss in the blades, as there's almost certainly work that's already gone into it.

Even after that you have to consider that knives with upgraded steel are likely to sell fewer units, so you can't enjoy the same economy of scale that you can on more 'basic' knives.

Don't get me wrong, I still think Benchmade is overpriced at their MAP, but I have absolutely no trouble believing that a different steel adds significantly to the cost of the knife.
 
I can understand that BM uses premium materials which raises cost, but I think it is just the stigma of buying a $100 plus knife and seeing plastic handles and cartridge actions. In my opinion, the Bugout, Redoubt and Griptilian should be $100 or less as good quality, entry level knives. Then, add full liners and premium scales for mid and high level offerings. Just my opinion...I do love Benchmade but when I drop several hundred bucks on a knife, I want it to be built like a brick poop house! Not Fisher Price.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Don't get me wrong, I still think Benchmade is overpriced at their MAP, but I have absolutely no trouble believing that a different steel adds significantly to the cost of the knife.
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Yeah, $50 will bump an Endura from VG10 to K390 or a PM2 from S30V to S110V. Roughly a Leek from 14C28N to Magnacut, too. So that seems in line with the rest of the industry.

BM's base model prices are just high to start. And they don't do the MAP holidays or wide range of non-MAP dealer exclusives Spyderco does, so there's even less of an opportunity to feel like you can get a good deal with a little patience or hunting around.
 
Skywalker31 said:
Yeah, $50 will bump an Endura from VG10 to K390 or a PM2 from S30V to S110V. Roughly a Leek from 14C28N to Magnacut, too. So that seems in line with the rest of the industry.

BM's base model prices are just high to start. And they don't do the MAP holidays or wide range of non-MAP dealer exclusives Spyderco does, so there's even less of an opportunity to feel like you can get a good deal with a little patience or hunting around.
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It's honestly their extremely high MAP that does it for me. For comparison, the upcoming S90V and carbon fiber sprint run of the Military 2 has an MSRP of $420 while the S90V 710 has an MSRP of $450. But when you go to MAP pricing the Spydie will run you $294 and the Benchmade is $405.

Benchmade seems to still sell plenty of blades, so I have to assume they know what they're doing with that, but it means that I'm just not gonna ever pay MAP for a Benchmade when the difference is so pronounced.
 
AT&T (the old version) was once claimed to have said something along the lines of "Someone has to be the highest priced, so why not us?". I think that's Benchmade's thinking. Fewer sales, more profit.
 
I understand the frustration. And it comes at a time when our country is experience in inflation following the pandemic. And for the company at a time following the loss of their founder and the patent on the axis lock. I get it.

Nowhere was this more evident than the narrows. With a few exceptions, nobody I heard from or read accepted that it was a fair price. And then I saw the discount on GP knives. And it was pretty evident a market adjustment was in place.

For myself, I was really close to buying the entirely blacked out Redoubt. But couldn’t get into CPM D2 for $180. I understand and respect that it’s particle metallurgy and that it’s better than regular D2 but it’s still D2.

I did finally pop for $405 for the carbon fiber version of the PSK And for me that particular model is worth every penny. it doesn’t make it on materials alone. Carbon fiber, G10 and magnacut are all excellent materials. But that alone doesn’t justify the price.

What sold me was the look and the styling in addition to the materials. I love folders with a different colored bolster, and a safety for the assisted opening. I actually like an assisted opening unlike most folks.

I bought a barrage with premium features, including a silver colored bolster and M390 steel. With an assisted opening and a safety I still have it. It works well and it’s one of my favorite benchmade folders. This version of the PSK reminded me of that. Except the PSK is so much better. It’s built like a tank.

So our benchmade prices worth it? That’s what each of us has to figure out based on availability and what’s important to us. For me. The Narrows and the Redoubt were not worth it. But the PSK is. It’s my favorite knife in my collection.
 
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Or just be patient when they get discontinued because nobody is paying those high prices.

Just bought a 162 Bushcrafter for $150 and a 556 Mini Grip (S30V blackened blade) for $110.

Seems like most of the new offerings only get a year or two of life before the get cut.
 
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