Dear Benchmade,

W_cole

W_cole

Joined
Feb 1, 2016
Messages
451
Just picked up one of your new 781 Anthems today. When I opened the box I was met with overwhelming guilt. The guilt I felt was caused from buying one of your knives from an online dealer when I should have bought one locally.

The reason I say this is because in the past I have purchased knives from dealers online; what I received was some of the worst quality control I've ever seen come out of a knife company. So, from that point on I vouged to never buy a Benchmade sight unseen.

Introduce the 781 Anthem. When I seen this knife come available from my favorite online dealer I couldn't resist. I decided to take a risk once again and buy one of your first production Anthems. I figured that for $425 Dollars that MAYBE you would have stepped up the quality control; even if it was just a tiny bit. Boy was I wrong.

Off center blade? No loctite? Horrible bearing action? Yeah, I remember why I sold all my previous Benchmades. The pocket clip wasn't even making contact with the scale, rendering it useless. I owned the knife an hour and I already had to fix something.

I get it on your cheaper models, they cost less so expect less. However, for $425 Dollars I would have liked a centered blade at least. Or loctite, or smooth action, or a functional pocket clip. Any of those would have been fine.

Benchmade, please up your quality control, because right now it's complete GARBAGE. Seriously, for the price I paid for your Anthem, I could have purchased a Sebenza. If Chris Reeve Knives can make a quality folder for $410 Dollars then you can make one at $425.

Unfortunately, I'm stuck with it because not only does your quality control suck; your knives don't hold their value at all on the secondary market. Probably due to the quality control.

In conclusion, I like your design's. I think your knives look great and I love the Axis lock. You use awesome materials and put awesome finishes on them as well. If you could just get your Sh*t together and put out a knife with decent quality control. The thing about it is that you are aware of it. You as a company are aware of your crappy quality control. You just haven't done anything to fix it. For that reason you have lost yet another customer due to it.
 
You should return it to the dealer you bought it from for either a sample without any such issues or get a refund (even if you lose a little on shipping, restocking, etc.).
 
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Yeah, I thought about it. The point I was trying to make with this post was that I shouldn't have to do that. Plus, I've seen other examples of the Anthem and mine wasn't the only one suffering from these problems. The problem is with the QC from benchmade.

There's no doubt in my mind that the dealer I purchased from would return it and give me a better one. The problem I have is that Benchmade let this knife and multiple others leave their facility in this condition.
 
W_cole said:
Yeah, I thought about it. The point I was trying to make with this post was that I shouldn't have to do that. Plus, I've seen other examples of the Anthem and mine wasn't the only one suffering from these problems. The problem is with the QC from benchmade.

There's no doubt in my mind that the dealer I purchased from would return it and give me a better one. The problem I have is that Benchmade let this knife and multiple others leave their facility in this condition.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Benchmade quality is very inconsistent and should not be for the prices they charge.
 
I honestly love the design and overall quality of materials. Plus now I've fixed the pocket clip, fixed the no loctite issue. Oiled the pivot for a somewhat smoother action and kind of centered the blade. So for now I'll hold onto it.

Most people when they receive a new knife in the mail are deep in the honeymoon stage and loving everything about their new purchase. It was a very disappointing experience for me due to Benchmades lack of QC.

The thing that bothers me is that they're aware of it. They're just doing nothing about it. It's kind of sickening actually. Maybe I'm being over dramatic but for a MSRP price of $500 Dollars and having the same quality as their $100 knives is sickening. They raised the prices but didn't raise their expectations.
 
Any chance we can see some pics of the clip and centering? Sorry to hear about the issue. That's disappointing.

I wonder if Jimmy Benchmade Benchmade will respond?
 
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Benchmade will NEVER fix these problems. they are not even aware of it. Ive stopped buying benchmade completely. until they state they know of the problem, and have steps for fixing it on new models forward, i cannot partake in them releasing junk because of its execution.

they have enough fanboys to support them and enough suckers that wont complain to do them well enough in sales.
 
So disappointing to hear this. I like the design of the knife, but at 425.00 no thanks.
 
Yeah, sorry to hear that W_cole. Was there no loctite in the pivot at all? How much gap between the clip and handle?
 
I was lucky enough to just receive one of their new presidio's with flawless fit and finish. I wont lie, i was so scared waiting for it to arrive with issues because i live in Oz so i'm basically stuck with whatever arrives, it's simply too much hassle to send it back overseas. I've been lucky with Benchmade so far, but i wont be a fan boy and say there are not major issues with some knives they put out. If you get a good one you're golden, but it's a gamble. As far as the Anthem goes, i wanted it to be a Sebenza level Benchmade, but as soon as i saw it had bearings it went on my NEVER to buy list. Knife manufacturers can keep their gimmicky toy bearings. Sorry to hear you had bad luck mate.
 
I too had hoped they would step the fit and finish up a little at this price point but apparently they haven't. It is very frustrating. $425 is a whole lot of money for a production knife. Its an excellent point that you can get a sebenza for less and we all know the fit and finish they possess. Benchmade has to be aware of the issues. They have to read these forums from time to time. They have obviously just turned a blind eye to it though. It really is sad that the running joke is don't buy a Benchmade sight unseen. Fact of the matter is that is how I am. I won't buy one if I either can't see it or handle or if the dealer wont hand select me one with the best fit and finish they have. I've just been burned to many times. Off centered blades, whoppy blade grinds both on the cutting edge and secondary bevel, CRAZY lock stick, ridiculous amount of side to side play, gritty action, powdercoat rubbing off of liners and axis lock immediately out of the box are among some of the issues I have had. Even on some of the best i usually find it necessary to clean and polish and relube the washers and apply loctite to get them with decent action while dialing out the blade play. With most other manufactures I don't feel the need to do that. They are good to go out of the box. I am with the majority that loves the designs, materials, lock, and potential execution of the knives when they get it right but unfortunately good fit and finish is not the norm. Customer service has always been great and has corrected any issues I have had but it should not be necessary on a brand new knife. Still love Benchmades and currently have a 940 in my pocket but they really need to fix this problem.
 
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Thanks for all the input guys. The pocket clip is fixed now. I had to take it off the handle and bend it with pliers. I was careful not to damage the finish though.

As for the spacing between the clip and handle; it wasn't even touching. The only part of the pocket clip that was making contact was where the screws went through.

Just to be clear, I'm not complaining about price, Just Quality Control. I understand that titanium isnt cheap. I also understand that 20CV blade steel isn't cheap. Plus the stonewashing and anodized bronze handle, on top of that you're supporting a U.S. workforce. That I understand. It's the fact that these are leaving the factory in this condition. Just blows my mind.

Now, if this knife would have been $350 Dollars I would be singing a different tune.
 
Part of a very old conversation concerning QC at Benchmade. Fortunes changed hands, kids grown up, (some become grandparents...) and here we have a story which shouldn't be read so often. It grows old too. Once or twice to the factory for warranty repair isn't a game changer; maybe a few of us got exactly what we wanted right out of the box. But despite what looks like some improvement over this last year or so, it's the first time buyer that gets disappointed, then maybe it's the guy over in Eastern Europe that will never complain by fixing the problem themselves, and so nothing lost.

But just how many of us own multiple Benchmades that Do come out of the box flawed, not centered? With uneven grinds and all of the rest to consider...what would it take to write a new story that included taking the time to make things right the first time? Imagine that, and it Is possible. We have seen better and worse days. Hopefully that will change, I still love my knives made from the Big Butterfly, but have moved along to other makers products that have few problems with QC, and that are made right here in the USA.

C'mon Benchmade, we still have hope. :cool:
 
I can't say I'm surprised. Sorry to say. I absolutely adore my new 560BK. I've been championing it here, on Instagram, etc. But I like it in spite of the flaws.

I like the design of the knife. The handles and their shape. The blade shape and the action. I don't like that the split arrow clip digs into my hand. I don't like that my email requesting a new clip to fix the issue was ignored and I don't like that the blade is way off center when closed. Like just about every other Benchmade that I've had.

The 560BK is by far my favorite knife. I like it more than any knife I own and more than any knife I've handled. All this and I can't recommend it to anyone because the fit and finish is sub-par.

Can you imagine if the Bugatti Veyron pulled hard left after leaving the factory? I don't think they'd say Its within spec or expect you to adjust it yourself. You went through all the trouble of making brilliant designs and manufacturing them. Why let all that go to waste by not putting them together properly? I just don't get it.
 
That sucks. Being an Axis lock and titanium junkie, I was excited to see this knife. But after seeing the price I knew I would likely never own one. I really like Benchmade knives and have about 50 of them but I have experienced quite a few QC issues as described by others (off center blades, uneven grinds, etc.). I've sent many back for service and they always take care of me but it means I'm not willing to come out of pocket more than $200 on a Benchmade (excluding aftermarket parts).

I just did a thread about my experience with the 940-1601. After two examples with wood bolster flaws I opted to bail on it. One of them might have been damaged in transit but the second one had a cracked bolster. It just soured me. By the way, Cabela's points got me well under $200 on it.

I picked up a couple of Ritter Grips with Wilkins titanium scales. Those have scratched the Axis/titanium itch for me and I got both of them set up for just a little more than the cost of one Anthem.

If you're going to peddle blades at the Anthem price point, you better have your product on point. Your competition is Chris Reeve Knives (along with others) and their product is on point. That's where my knife funds go in this price bracket.

These two are great. No issues from the factory and with the Wilkins scales they are just awesome.
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Wonderful.....sarcasm.
Mine is out for delivery as we speak. I am really hoping it comes out of the box in the shape a $400 knife should.
I guess I've been one of the lucky ones.
Everyone cries about what a POS the Spydie Advocate is.....mine is absolutely perfect in every regard.
I have well over 20 Benchmades and not one of them had an issue in the QC dept.
Hoping my luck holds out with this one!

The thing that gets me with BM is it seems the QC issues are being ignored. I know each knife company CEO is not Sal G, but maybe a little communication from them would go a long way.
Every time BM comes up in general, most posts are negative. Can't believe no one from BM will chime in.......ever.
Nice having Jimmy here, but when he heard of a QC issue he said he'd send it up the line. Is it possible he never heard any of this before?? I can't believe that.
Sorry for the rant.
Joe
 
There is no way they have never heard of this before. If they glanced at their own forum EVER they would have seen it. Its talked about a great deal from both newcomers to knives and those that have been around a while. I honestly think they are just ignoring the problem. Jimmy said he would send it up the latter but right after that they start releasing the new anthem with issues so obviously nothing was done. Everyone certainly is not Sal but it sure would be nice to hear something official in the nature of "we know we have an issue and are taking such and such steps to fix it."
 
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Well I have 500 bucks saved up for my next midtech purchase,and it will be a Olamic Wayfarer 247. I haven't had any issues with my Benchmades, but these are all older models, I really like my latest purchase of the 710, bought when they decided to discontinue it.
 
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