Benchmade Black Bugout

[Goose 7279]

Benchmade isn’t donating to “gun grabbers”, they’re donating to politicians whose tax and trade policies benefit Benchmade.

I had to work REALLY HARD not to make a snide politics joke just now. I’ll just say it in my head and imagine the unnecessarily vitriolic back-and-forth.

Ok the thread has gone down a political rabbit hole and i hate to add to it but i cant not reply to that statement. I disagree with you. The policies that are gun grabbing and pro weapon legislation is the exact opposite of alignment with a knifemaker. BUT THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.


Sorry for adding to the derail. All that aside i love the bugout and if it was m4 coated with carbon fiber i might be interested but probably not. Because along with the political shenanigans i also do not care for their actions as of late like puttng 3v in a knife and not heat treating it to anywhere near its potential. So that tells me its just a moneygrab for the steel flavor of the week and do not know what they are doing when it comes to understanding and using a knife. Sad part is i was more excited for the 3v knife than any knife they have put out in a long while. What a let down.

 

[Velitrius]

My Bugout is my favorite office EDC I own although slowly being kicked out by the LW Para 3.

Unfortunately, BHQ and Benchmade really failed on this one IMO.

It needs M4.

Spyderco knows how to do a BHQ DLC M4 exclusive.

I can't imagine a time when I can't cut something because my Bugout blade is not M4.

Benchmade created this knife in a steel you don't prefer, so all they really failed at was pleasing you.

I like M4 as much as the next steel snob, but if a company brews up a knife in another steel I'm okay with it.

I'd buy this knife in 420HC.

 

[Boru13]

Discuss the knife and not the politics... if you can't do that, stay out of the thread.

 

[1AbominAble1]

Benchmade really needs to start using DLC blade coatings. This knife would be a must buy if it used DLC, but their blade coating completely ruins it for me.

I didn’t research what this blade coating is but the Chromium Nitride that they used on the other coated Bugout hasn’t so much as shown a single mark in months of using it as a daily blade and not babying it at all.
I used to like the looks of some coated blades but hate the coating, the Chromium Nitride totally changed my mind.
The Chromium Nitride has held up even better than Spyderco’s DLC, which is saying a lot.
Just my .02, I hope it helps.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

Nah, not the gun chopping. It was having all of their political donations laid out in the subsequent witch hunt that did it for me. I'm a gun guy; when I'm not buying knives I don't need, I'm buying guns I don't need (levels of need for both described here as measured by my lovely bride). Now that I know they give all of their political donations to gun-grabbers I can't un-know it.

I'm better off not knowing. I'd hate to find out who the folks at Olamic donate to and not be able to buy the damasteel Swish I need, or the acid rain Rainmaker I need.

In any case, my personal qualms aside, I would totally pick up a black Bugout (I love my blue one).

I had a OD green Bugout that I loved but lost the damn thing and would love to buy another.. I'd LOVE to buy a Bailout but just don't feel comfortable supporting Benchmade at this time. They will survive without my support and I'll survive without their products.

That said, the Bugout is a fantastic knife.

 

[Pilot1]

I don't like any coated blades. Can they just offer a black or grey G-10 version?

 

[Gideons]

I didn’t research what this blade coating is but the Chromium Nitride that they used on the other coated Bugout hasn’t so much as shown a single mark in months of using it as a daily blade and not babying it at all.
I used to like the looks of some coated blades but hate the coating, the Chromium Nitride totally changed my mind.
The Chromium Nitride has held up even better than Spyderco’s DLC, which is saying a lot.
Just my .02, I hope it helps.

Cut much cardboard? My Chromium nitride coating had visible scratch(es) after I just cut cardboard and I've read from a few BF members that the same happened to them. Also, the blade coating on this LE Bugout uses benchmades normal blade coating which I do agree is worse than their Chromium Nitride blade coating.

 

[1AbominAble1]

Cut much cardboard? My Chromium nitride coating had visible scratch(es) after I just cut cardboard and I've read from a few BF members that the same happened to them. Also, the blade coating on this LE Bugout uses benchmades normal blade coating which I do agree is worse than their Chromium Nitride blade coating.

Their normal coating is something I won’t buy!

Yes, loads of cardboard.
I started a thread on it months ago and at least one other member had the same results that I did. The coating isn’t scratched, believe it or not, a good cleaning will take the lines right off of it. The stuff wears like the steel underneath it.

 

[toker]

Their normal coating is terrible. It's not durable and looks terrible from simple every day use.

 

[b00n]

Missed opportunity, make it a sheepsfoot and call it the Blackout, to compliment the Bailout and Bugout.

 

[O.P.]

Missed opportunity, make it a sheepsfoot and call it the Blackout, to compliment the Bailout and Bugout.

I like that!

 

[Pteronarcyd]

i ... do not care for their actions as of late like puttng 3v in a knife and not heat treating it to anywhere near its potential. So that tells me its just a moneygrab for the steel flavor of the week and do not know what they are doing when it comes to understanding and using a knife. Sad part is i was more excited for the 3v knife than any knife they have put out in a long while. What a let down.

I'm astonished at how unidimensional most on these fora seem to be on the subject of blade steel. Blade steel is multidimensional, with more than just edge retention being a factor. CPM-3V stands out in terms of toughness, and Benchmade chose to use a heat treatment that optimizes toughness, which just happens to reduce edge retention. This is not a crime, regardless of what the Edge Retention Über Alles caucus claims.

I do agree that companies like Benchmade and Spyderco should be publishing their blade design specs in terms of standardized hardness, wear resistance, and toughness goals. They should also include batch-specific QC testing results for these parameters -- both mean and standard deviation -- with each knife sold, especially for blades using high end or premium steels.

 

[Goose 7279]

I'm astonished at how unidimensional most on these fora seem to be on the subject of blade steel. Blade steel is multidimensional, with more than just edge retention being a factor. CPM-3V stands out in terms of toughness, and Benchmade chose to use a heat treatment that optimizes toughness, which just happens to reduce edge retention. This is not a crime, regardless of what the Edge Retention Über Alles caucus claims.

I do agree that companies like Benchmade and Spyderco should be publishing their blade design specs in terms of standardized hardness, wear resistance, and toughness goals. They should also include batch-specific QC testing results for these parameters -- both mean and standard deviation -- with each knife sold, especially for blades using high end or premium steels.

As i stated earlier im not looking to go off on a tangent so this will be my last post in here.

Unidimensional. Its funny you use this word because thats the whole problem with what benchmade did with this knife. They only focused on one aspect that the end user gets no benefit from and the only person who benefits from it is Benchmade.

Multidimensional i agree blade steel is multidimensional. Just by bumping it up to 60-61 ie. Carothers style heat treat you loose very little toughness and gain both edge retention and it is more resistant to corrosion. Sharpenability is a mute point 3v is easy to sharpen at either hrc.

It was a mistake in my opinion and a decision made out of greed and honestly probably ignorance.

(Ignore the following if Strong opinion are upset you..)
How about they just listen to their customers and make one in m4 or 20cv. Instead of designing a knife no one asked for.

 

[Therom]

The black version looks great.
I already have a ranger green version which I like very much
I like the range of colours available for the bugout and I which more will be available

Concerning the question of the steel, I really like the s30v from Benchmade and as long as the maintain a reasonable price on the knife it is fine for me

And for what I am concerned I don’t see the point of over the top super steels for a lightweight EDC.
S30v is an excellent steel when properly done and Benchmade , in my experience, does it very well

 

[AntDog]

As i stated earlier im not looking to go off on a tangent so this will be my last post in here.

Unidimensional. Its funny you use this word because thats the whole problem with what benchmade did with this knife. They only focused on one aspect that the end user gets no benefit from and the only person who benefits from it is Benchmade.

Multidimensional i agree blade steel is multidimensional. Just by bumping it up to 60-61 ie. Carothers style heat treat you loose very little toughness and gain both edge retention and it is more resistant to corrosion. Sharpenability is a mute point 3v is easy to sharpen at either hrc.

It was a mistake in my opinion and a decision made out of greed and honestly probably ignorance.

(Ignore the following if Strong opinion are upset you..)
How about they just listen to their customers and make one in m4 or 20cv. Instead of designing a knife no one asked for.

A decision made out of greed and honestly probably ignorance?

So, their decision to heat treat 3V to a lower RC than what you think is optimal was made out of GREED or IGNORANCE?

They know exactly what they were shooting for, so it cannot be ignorance.

Greed... Heh. Do you really think they’re saving big money by not turning up the ovens to heat treat to a higher RC?

Gimme a break. Try one. I highly doubt you’d notice any difference at all.

 

[Pteronarcyd]

As i stated earlier im not looking to go off on a tangent so this will be my last post in here.

Unidimensional. Its funny you use this word because thats the whole problem with what benchmade did with this knife. They only focused on one aspect that the end user gets no benefit from and the only person who benefits from it is Benchmade.

Multidimensional i agree blade steel is multidimensional. Just by bumping it up to 60-61 ie. Carothers style heat treat you loose very little toughness and gain both edge retention and it is more resistant to corrosion. Sharpenability is a mute point 3v is easy to sharpen at either hrc.

It was a mistake in my opinion and a decision made out of greed and honestly probably ignorance.

(Ignore the following if Strong opinion are upset you..)
How about they just listen to their customers and make one in m4 or 20cv. Instead of designing a knife no one asked for.

You may claim otherwise, but your behavior proves you wanted to go off on a tangent.

For clarification, by "this knife" you are referring to the Bailout, not the blacked out Bugout.

Benchmade's response to the Bailout 3V issue shows they were not thinking unidimensionally. They used a heat treat to maximuze toughness, 3V's forte, while minimizing edge retention so as to make field sharpening easier. That's bidimensional, not unidimensional thinking.

Crucible's "recommended" heat treat protocol optimizes edge retention and toughness; it doesn't maximize (or minimize) either. The blade manufacturer is free to chose the heat treat protocol he wants to get the specifications he desires.

As a potential customer, you are free to buy the resulting knife or not. You are even free to lobby Benchmade to use certain materials, or maybe even pay them to make a batch to your specifications. Or, you can open your own knife shop. What you cannot do is misrepresent or fabricate Benchmade's motives.

Benchmade gave the market a knife with a soft, but tough blade. The market will decide whether this was a good decision or not, but as the customer base we win, because we have a unique option that didn't exist before.

By the way, per Crucible the heat treat that maximizes toughness, relative to one that optimizes toughness and edge retention, looks to increase toughness by 21% while decreasing edge retention by 14%:

https://www.crucible.com/eselector/prodbyapp/tooldie/cpm3vt.html

Not an unreasonanle tradeoff.