I'm done with Benchmade

[AntDog]

While I’m certainly not a fan of them destroying a handful of confiscated guns, I’ve seen far worse from supposedly proud American knife companies. Tell me, has anyone seen the folks at Benchmade shoving the American Flag into a trash can recently? It sure as hell happened at another knife manufacturer’s factory. I sold off all the knives I bought there, and refuse to buy from that company again. I saw this myself. Yes, I have pics

But to keep this relevant, I will say all the blade play in the axis knives bugs me. The axis lock has its advantages, but idk why the horizontal blade play is always so bad. I’ve spent hours, but I can’t find the sweet spot with smooth deployment and no horizontal blade play. If I ever make my way back to modern folders, I’ll buy a ZT.

You shouldn’t post something like this and not back it up.

Who was it?

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

My 1st 'high end' knife was a CLA. It's been a great knife I carried it for a year but I've moved away from autos so it just sits. Then I got a mini barrage, it too is a decent knife. Then found an exclusive mini b w/wood scales that are 'gunstock' checkered and better steel (relative) that I liked and picked it up. I couldn't NOT get a Crooked River when they 1st came out. I started not liking assisted knives so de-assisted the wood scaled mini b and now use it sometimes.

I was starting to spend a little $$ on knives and decided to try out some others. 8 ZT's, 6 Spydies, 4 Hinderer's, 2 Reeves then mid-techs and hi-end Chinese (Reate) and even some great budget knives (Bestech, Ganzo, Buck Pro, Kershaw). I have them all still as I haven't sold any knives. No more BM's as I don't see the value like I used to. I did get a little bent when all the s**t came out during the gun-cutting fiasco. I'm an Oregonian and felt a little betrayed but not to the point of selling off my BM's. I had already gotten away from them before that.

My only issues w/quality has been relative to the uneven grind on the edge and the steel. Everyone I have had dissimilar grinds from one side to the other. I've also encountered it on other brands but not to that extent. My Crooked River is S35VN and chips like no other I have. It's got a 25 deg edge (not thin at all) but came with like a 30+ deg grind and was a pain in the rear to re-do. After having a bunch of other knives I really have no interest in any BM knives and have not been compelled by any of their offerings. The ROI doesn't work for me with BM anymore, probably $50-75 of each knife pays for the name only IMO.

This is a perfect citique in my opinion. You explain what you expect from benchmade. You dont blow things out of proportion. Most importantly, you give good info on what bothered you, and it was a good example of something that is benchmades fault (pricing and bad heat treat and poor bevels).

It comes across completely different from "Im done with benchmade, but wont tell you why" or "their politics are anti knife but i cant tell you why".

Crooked river hangin with some clip points. They get together and start thinkin they're cooler than all the other knives

 

[colin.p]

Let the Benchmade pic spam happen now!

I hate Benchmade.

They forced me to buy these (I've since added two more and saving for a third). Since I'm not American, I don't give a fig about American politics (personally, I find politicians a couple levels below child mo**sters anyway). What people do, or what political stripe they dabble in has no merit in a knife QC thread, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

I hate Benchmade.

They forced me to buy these (I've since added two more and saving for a third). Since I'm not American, I don't give a fig about American politics (personally, I find politicians a couple levels below child mo**sters anyway). What people do, or what political stripe they dabble in has no merit in a knife QC thread, as far as I'm concerned.

I see you have a 531. I think that is one of benchmades most underrated designs. The action is so good with how it kicks the blade out when you toggle the lock. I wish benchmade would do that with more of their knives. The g10 scales are so slim and light it is really a knife like none other.

 

[Rykjeklut]

This is a perfect citique in my opinion. You explain what you expect from benchmade. You dont blow things out of proportion. Most importantly, you give good info on what bothered you, and it was a good example of something that is benchmades fault (pricing and bad heat treat and poor bevels).

It comes across completely different from "Im done with benchmade, but wont tell you why" or "their politics are anti knife but i cant tell you why".

Crooked river hangin with some clip points. They get together and start thinkin they're cooler than all the other knives

Is that a zip tie mod on that CR?

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

Is that a zip tie mod on that CR?

Yes it is.

 

[Rykjeklut]

Yes it is.

I don't think I've ever seen that done on thumbstuds. Cool.

 

[eveled]

What people do, or what political stripe they dabble in has no merit in a knife QC thread, as far as I'm concerned.

We take our rights seriously. That’s why we still have rights. To us in the United States of America we have to be vigilant and expose the corporations that would harm our way of life and not support them, and it is always relevant and with merit.

Our grandfathers fought and died for our freedom. Our grandmothers worked in the factories making planes and bombs and guns. So we could all be free. We take it seriously

 

[Minirehak212]

I hate Benchmade.

They forced me to buy these (I've since added two more and saving for a third). Since I'm not American, I don't give a fig about American politics (personally, I find politicians a couple levels below child mo**sters anyway). What people do, or what political stripe they dabble in has no merit in a knife QC thread, as far as I'm concerned.

Oh you poor soul, being forced to spend money on the worst knife brand in existence. The shame.

I'm American and I don't even give a fig about American politics either. I just don't see why so many people get bent out of shape over what BM did, when prettymuch every brand that people have in their house has skeletons in their closet. If you dig deep enough you'll find something they did that you won't agree with.

I'll go back to hating myself for using my Contego at work.

 

[Daedric Panther]

You shouldn’t post something like this and not back it up.

Who was it?

I’d rather not cause WW3. PM me if you want the pics.

 

[AntDog]

This is a perfect citique in my opinion. You explain what you expect from benchmade. You dont blow things out of proportion. Most importantly, you give good info on what bothered you, and it was a good example of something that is benchmades fault (pricing and bad heat treat and poor bevels).

It comes across completely different from "Im done with benchmade, but wont tell you why" or "their politics are anti knife but i cant tell you why".

Crooked river hangin with some clip points. They get together and start thinkin they're cooler than all the other knives

What’s the one on the left? Nice 119.

 

[Ulf Krogstad]

(personally, I find politicians a couple levels below child mo**sters anyway).

My thoughts exactly too.

Nice assortment there.

 

[Comeuppance]

I see you have a 531. I think that is one of benchmades most underrated designs. The action is so good with how it kicks the blade out when you toggle the lock. I wish benchmade would do that with more of their knives. The g10 scales are so slim and light it is really a knife like none other.

I had a 530 I picked up at a military surplus store for cheap and MAN what a fun little knife that was. Super thin but capable, and the kick-out aspect you mentioned made mine nearly an auto-axis (provided I kept it cleaned and lubed). That is probably tied with the Crooked River for the best Benchmade experience I’ve had.

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

What’s the one on the left? Nice 119.

The one on the left is a $20 cheapo I got cuz I loved the design. I think the brand was "brother" and i had to order it from an across seas shipping site. Its my favorite folder design ever. I put tons of love into it polishing it up and reprofiling the terrible bevels. Too bad the steel is garbage. And I'll carry 8cr13 and be happy.

 

[scottyj]

I've had a Sebenza that would roll its edge far to easily -- but the one I have now is absolutely awesome in every detail. I've had a Randall that was junk in terms of fit and finish and performance. Randall's CS would not even talk to me. Will not buy another. I've had a mid-tech knife from a highly respected maker that had a bad heat treat. The company owner owned up to the flaw and fixed the issue immediately. I've had a Spyderco with a design so bad it had to be re-engineered. All my other Spydercos are truly excellent. All my ZTs are excellent.

But my favorite knife is a Benchmade 610. I have used it hard for more than a decade, and it's still rock solid. I had a AFCK blade rehardened from 59 Rc to 64 Rc and the blade shattered. Benchmade replaced the blade for a small price. I bought a used AFCK in M2 that had a bad liner lock. Benchmade repaired it for free -- they even asked if I wanted new screws and a new clip. Microtech's CS would never respond to an issue I had.

I've never had a bad Benchmade, and I've had a lot. So these accounts of people buying many Benchmades that were all bad -- I don't get it.

A lot of people are using this troll thread as an excuse to trash a great American knife maker. I don't really know why.

Certainly a lot of gun nuts (I'm a gun owner) went gun-nut crazy over the trivial issue of Benchmade chopping up a few guns at the request of the local sheriff. I read through most of those complaints, but there was nothing there. But the grudges seem to last.

The truth is that Benchmade makes a gazillion knives. Some will be bad. But it's a great company that stands behind its knives. And it does make excellent knives.

Same here. Randall's suck. My 14 came brand new from an authorized dealer with numerous flaws. I spoke to the Michael Randall at Randall Knives about these issues, and he just screamed at me to send it back to the dealer. I hung up.
Edit: In regards to Benchmade's...they make an ok knife in my book. The only one out of about a dozen that didn't have some sort of blade play is my Vallation. Rock solid every where. Its actually my favorite Benchmade, and I would never get rid of it.

 

[solman]

I have several Benchmade knives. I use them to cut things not as pocket jewelry. I don't flick knives it serves no purpose for me and Benchmades were not intended to be flicked open anyway. I don't care if the grind is slightly uneven it still cuts fine. I like the axis lock and I think overall they are a great one handed functional knife. I know a bad one can get out once in a while and that's true for just about all manufacturers. If there is too much blade play I tighten to the point of easy open with no play. If you want pocket jewelry you will need to spend more and go up the ladder. I know you can get cheaper knives that are fine it's your choice. I have some Spyderco and use a Delica at work for years. I also like and carry the mini grip or the Bugout. I also have a Doug Ritter benchmade that I love and a few others as well.
My .02

 

[BD_01]

My 940-2 was not a success in QC regards. I got a good price, so I decided to use it indiscriminately. Along the way it has decapitated a rattlesnake (against concrete), cut drywall, helped me improve my sharpening skills, and much more.

I guess that means it’s been a good knife. But I haven’t bought a second Benchmade and may never do so.

If that 940 had been spot-on out of the box (or perhaps just slightly off), I’d have a half dozen or more BM’s at this point.

It’s hard to overcome negative first impressions in a competitive market.

 

[Makael]

 

[Cosmodragoon]

They were guns that a police department needed to destroy. They were taken off the streets. Bunch of uninformed people got triggered cuz "their takin ar gunz!" ...

Some people were triggered by images of guns being destroyed. Yes, those guns were probably going to get destroyed anyway. However, the controversy invited scrutiny. This led to some of Benchmade's political donations going public. The top recipients were Democrats. Given the legislative history of some of those recipients, their party's position on gun rights at large, and the relationship between different rights and the people who value them within the gear community; that caused some backlash.

Now, those are the facts. We aren't supposed to argue the politics of the situation here. They've got a special section of the forum for that.

 

[t5brick]

My Benchmade knives have all been pretty great.

I did have a 485 that I couldn’t tweak the pivot so I had good action without blade play. I could loosen it enough to flick open, but not drop shut.

I have a Spyderco with lock stick though!

I had a ZT that was slightly off center.

I have a Bradford guardian with a crappy leather sheath and micarta handles that don’t quite line up with the tang.

I had a Massdrop/Laconico knife that seemed really awesome when I ordered it, but it just didn’t do it for me when I received it.

I bought a $7 Mora on prime day that isn’t here yet, but I could probably oh find some nit to pick if I wanted to.

Overall, I’ve had mostly good knives. They’ve all been useful and cut even with the little issues I’ve found.

*edit* these two will always be favorites though. The mini presidio has never let me down.