I'm done with Benchmade

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I don't think I have ever made a negative thread about any manufacturer on any forum. But today, I am done with Benchmade. I'm tired of returning knife after knife for quality control issues that should be caught before they even leave the factory. Today I was so happy because I thought I was getting my mini crooked river back after being at Benchmade for weeks (a gift from my brother, mind you). Opened it up and bam. Warranty denied. No reason except a generic form letter stating warranty policies. I immediately called them and basically received the spoken version of their form letter and that I received "bad information" from one of their representatives before sending it in. There was no use losing my temper. I just thanked him for his time and hung up. This NEVER would have happened with Zero Tolerance. Exact opposite experience with them in every case. ZT customer service has been STELLAR. I'm not going to get into it any more or cause any more of a stink. I'm just moving on from Benchmade.
 
Yes I am wondering what issues you encountered that you wanted resolved?
 
Well that can't be good for America...
Hard to image this should happen
to a reputable brand.
Built to last defines everything one hopes
for with quality products proudly made in the USA
And that includes after sale services.
QC issues are real silent killers for industry.
Looks like it pays of for intrepid
knifenut consumers to buy
in a brick and mortar store
just so they can physically
inspect each knife prior to
any form of purchase.
 
Another BM QA/Warranty story. Not the first. My first BM was a 940 with a blade so far off-center that it was about one human hair width short of being in direct contact with the presentation side scale. That knife was obviously never even looked at by any QA people at BM and if anybody ever did look at it (like maybe whoever assembled it), they even more obviously couldn’t have cared less about the quality of the product they were assembling and shipping out. You’re definitely not alone and you’re certainly not the first customer that BM has driven away with their peculiar brand of QA, so don’t feel bad.
 
I've had no issues with my Benchmade knives other than a loose pivot on the 940, loctite took care of that, and some sharp shoulders on the Contego that just needed to be sanded over a bit
 
I don't think I have ever made a negative thread about any manufacturer on any forum. But today, I am done with Benchmade. I'm tired of returning knife after knife for quality control issues that should be caught before they even leave the factory. Today I was so happy because I thought I was getting my mini crooked river back after being at Benchmade for weeks (a gift from my brother, mind you). Opened it up and bam. Warranty denied. No reason except a generic form letter stating warranty policies. I immediately called them and basically received the spoken version of their form letter and that I received "bad information" from one of their representatives before sending it in. There was no use losing my temper. I just thanked him for his time and hung up. This NEVER would have happened with Zero Tolerance. Exact opposite experience with them in every case. ZT customer service has been STELLAR. I'm not going to get into it any more or cause any more of a stink. I'm just moving on from Benchmade.

I have the few I have, but wouldnt add anything in the future.
 
It would have been nice to see the exact reason it needed service in the first place. However, if a BM representative told you to send it in for service and then you were later denied in the way you say; that sounds like a real problem. If nothing else, it might be worth reaching out to someone higher on the food chain over there.

I've never dealt with BM customer service. However, I have dealt with Kai. I've owned a ton of Kershaws over the last 20+ years. I've never had a major problem but I did have to call and ask for a new torsion bar once. They sent it at no charge with no questions asked. I've called a few times to request deep carry clips for various knives and they've always been happy to send me one free of charge. They've been friendly and courteous. They've been glad to answer questions and hear customer feedback. I'm guessing you'd get similar treatment with ZT knives.
 
I don't think I have ever made a negative thread about any manufacturer on any forum. But today, I am done with Benchmade. I'm tired of returning knife after knife for quality control issues that should be caught before they even leave the factory. Today I was so happy because I thought I was getting my mini crooked river back after being at Benchmade for weeks (a gift from my brother, mind you). Opened it up and bam. Warranty denied. No reason except a generic form letter stating warranty policies. I immediately called them and basically received the spoken version of their form letter and that I received "bad information" from one of their representatives before sending it in. There was no use losing my temper. I just thanked him for his time and hung up. This NEVER would have happened with Zero Tolerance. Exact opposite experience with them in every case. ZT customer service has been STELLAR. I'm not going to get into it any more or cause any more of a stink. I'm just moving on from Benchmade.
I'm not a huge BM fan , but for this kind of condemnation, I believe that specifics and even some documentation would be helpful .

CS is vital and can make or break a higher end company's reputation .

Serious allegations should be supported by serious proof ! :)
 
I went to buy a grip some time ago as a gift. I tried 6 of them before I found
one with even grinds and good centering...but the pivot was stiff. I fixed that
easily. I was checking out the much loved 940 in a store and all of the stock they
had was bad...centering (one hit the scale on one side),
uneven swedges, stiff, lock stick...you name it.
It seemed based on what I saw the more popular the model the worse the QC.
I have 2 infidels and they are perfect. Limited run grip in M390 and micarta...
also very nice. I think they figure that muggles that buy them won't notice.
Or QC goes out the window to make production numbers.

The ones I have now are decent. But I only buy Spyderco and ZT now.
They are fine to buy sight unseen. But no way is that true of benchmade
in my experience. You better look and test first.
I love the AXIS lock...but now I have enough of them. Flippers and compression
locks are cool too!
 
I've only owned one BM so no real opinion one way or the other but you hear alot of ppl having issues with their CS. All companies have qc issues pop up but you never hear bad CS stories from KAi, buck, Spyderco or Leatherman (Sure I missed some, just examples) Just the usually "booo hoo they charged me for a reblade after I used it as a pry bar, y wasn't it free" kinda stuff
 
I've only dealt with BM CS a couple of times, both back in 1998, having to do with my first BM knife, an AFCK. The blade was not straight, but seemed like in the heat treat it had bent so that closer to the tip, it scraped the non-presentation (clip) side liner. Their CS was actually quite pleasant, and ended up discussing with me over the phone for about 20 minutes (voluntarily from their end) when my knife was back there. He ended up saying yes, it was pretty bad, and he sent me a brand new and perfectly good AFCK, which I still have today. It's possible things have changed, and that the really helpful CS/repair guy I spoke to 20+ years ago probably isn't even there anymore.

That said, I haven't bought a BM knife since around 2003 or 2004, and haven't been interested since. I recall that in the late '90s/early 2K, there were QC issues discussed on forums, enough that Les DeAsis himself posted something on one or two forums. When I stopped buying BMs, it was because I wasn't interested in their designs anymore, and not due to QC issues. I had thought their QC, including their OOB edges and centering, had improved before I stopped buying them. It's sad to hear from so many that since then it seems to have dropped even further than the previous time. Even though I don't buy BM anymore, I would still hope they would do well making good products with great QC. Especially since, in their old hard-copy catalogs I used to get, they would boast about all the care and tight tolerances that go into every knife design "before a machine ever turns."

Jim
 
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