Is this normal? Your thoughts on LifeSharp please? Reference pics

euroken · Oct 30, 2019

First, I have already reached out to Benchmade and requested a review of the service that was done on my knife. Same photos I'm about to post has been shared with a Benchmade staff and they are aware of my thoughts.

While waiting for their response and before I proceed any further with making a big deal and harassing the good Benchmade staff, thought I would ask for the enthusiasts' opinion on the matter.

I decided to send in my mini grip 555-1 (20cv) for LifeSharp service. As soon as I got it back, I thought to myself, 'something doesn't seem right...' but couldn't really tell what that was. About a week or two after getting the knife, I picked up brand new mini grip s30v and soon as I received it, I knew what was wrong with my 555-1 back from the LifeSharp service.

Alas, here are some photos for your thoughts:

Long story short, after the very first sharpening ever on the knife, almost 1/8" (~3/16"?) of metal was removed, both in width (not thickness) and length of the blade.

I'm no expert at sharpening but I've sharpened knives using my KME, DMT stones, and even the notorious Ken Onion Worksharp to hair popping sharpness. However, I can't imagine what it would take to remove close to an 1/8" of metal...

Even with small chips and dings in a blade and sharpening to remove them, I just can't imagine removing this much of metal. What gets me is that this happens to be 20cv model that I paid premium to get.

Your thoughts please? Is it normal to remove this much metal while sharpening? Has anyone who received LifeSharp service had this happened to them?

Thank you all in advance.

AntDog · Oct 30, 2019

IMO, that’s far too much for just a sharpening. However, I sharpen my own knives, so that doesn’t happen in my world. :thumbsup:

sv4 · Oct 30, 2019

euroken said:
First, I have already reached out to Benchmade and requested a review of the service that was done on my knife. Same photos I'm about to post has been shared with a Benchmade staff and they are aware of my thoughts.

While waiting for their response and before I proceed any further with making a big deal and harassing the good Benchmade staff, thought I would ask for the enthusiasts' opinion on the matter.

I decided to send in my mini grip 555-1 (20cv) for LifeSharp service. As soon as I got it back, I thought to myself, 'something doesn't seem right...' but couldn't really tell what that was. About a week or two after getting the knife, I picked up brand new mini grip s30v and soon as I received it, I knew what was wrong with my 555-1 back from the LifeSharp service.

Alas, here are some photos for your thoughts:

Long story short, after the very first sharpening ever on the knife, almost 1/8" (~3/16"?) of metal was removed, both in width (not thickness) and length of the blade.

I'm no expert at sharpening but I've sharpened knives using my KME, DMT stones, and even the notorious Ken Onion Worksharp to hair popping sharpness. However, I can't imagine what it would take to remove close to an 1/8" of metal...

Even with small chips and dings in a blade and sharpening to remove them, I just can't imagine removing this much of metal. What gets me is that this happens to be 20cv model that I paid premium to get.

Your thoughts please? Is it normal to remove this much metal while sharpening? Has anyone who received LifeSharp service had this happened to them?

Thank you all in advance.

Wow. Certainly looks like way too much metal removed in the sharpening. Do you have any "before" pics of the 20cv blade?

euroken · Oct 30, 2019

Thanks for your input guys.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a before pic. I figured Benchmade is using an identical blanks for all mini grips and variations would be minimal.

Crazy thing is that knife feels different in hand ever so slight it might be. May be it’s just in my head.

BMCGear · Oct 30, 2019

euroken said:
Thanks for your input guys.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a before pic. I figured Benchmade is using an identical blanks for all mini grips and variations would be minimal.

Crazy thing is that knife feels different in hand ever so slight it might be. May be it’s just in my head.

It depends on who does the initial sharpening. Some sharpeners might take more metal off than others.

Cypress · Oct 30, 2019

Holy CRAP.

I'd have to reprofile (not just sharpen) a knife 30-40 times in order to remove that much metal. Unless you sent the knife in with some serious damage, there's no reason to remove that much metal. I'd demand a new blade and shipping both ways on their dime.

They removed literally years of life off of that blade and decreased the cutting efficiency by making it thick behind the edge.

ßäD ßöß · Oct 30, 2019

Frankly I’ve never bought into LifeSharp or other knife companies sharpening services. Just makes sense to me to sharpen them myself, save me some time and money. Of course I could see being super busy or not feeling confident about sharpening...

Either way thats very unfortunate... I hope Benchmade comes through and makes it right.

euroken · Oct 30, 2019

Cypress said:
Holy CRAP.

I'd have to reprofile (not just sharpen) a knife 30-40 times in order to remove that much metal. Unless you sent the knife in with some serious damage, there's no reason to remove that much metal. I'd demand a new blade and shipping both ways on their dime.

They removed literally years of life off of that blade and decreased the cutting efficiency by making it thick behind the edge.

Thank you for your insight.

This confirms my thought that it would have taken me a LOT of sharpening to remove that much metal.

The idea of sending my knife in for LifeSharp was my thinking it would be like a spa treatment, a little touch up, oil, clean, tighten etc. Didn’t think I was sending it in for a reprofiling.

Well, not sure how Benchmade will handle this. While asking for a new blade seems a lot to ask but not sure how they will be able to remedy this if they decide to take any action at all. They seem like a great group of guys, responsive and willing to help, but at the end of the day, I sent the knife in voluntarily, at no cost without any description on how it was to be sharpened.

Let’s see what they say. I will report it back here with my findings.

Really appreciate all your opinions and thoughts.

Nakedtech · Oct 30, 2019

I just looked at my 20cv version and it's just like yours. Never been serviced by Benchmade. Now the question becomes, why the difference in blade height between the two steels?

euroken · Oct 31, 2019

Nakedtech said:
I just looked at my 20cv version and it's just like yours. Never been serviced by Benchmade. Now the question becomes, why the difference in blade height between the two steels?

That is interesting. Looking at my last photo, do you also see the blade point to seem more blunt? This picture tells me that the sharpening Was done beyond the intended primary bevel. But that’s just my thinking.

Could you post pictures of your blade also with measurements? This would greatly help understanding the differences. Sorry if I’m asking a lot.

Nakedtech · Oct 31, 2019

I will tomorrow. But mine looks almost identical to yours.
Tip looks the same.

I've always wondered why it wasn't that well of a slicer, especially after hearing so many people talk highly of the sheepsfoot blade.

euroken · Oct 31, 2019

Much appreciated!

It would be good to see some other comparison shots if others have them for reference.

Thanks again!

Scott321 · Oct 31, 2019

Is the S30V saber or hollow ground? I think the old sheepsfoot stock Grips were hollow ground. I don't know if they changed the pattern on the S30V models. I'm pretty sure they made slight changes to the liner/Axis setup too. My custom shop 20CV is saber ground pretty steep. The only other Grips I have are Ritters so I can't compare.

Since the secondary bevel looks to be about the same height on both knives, I don't know if they actually took more off or if it just looks like that from comparing it to the S30V model.

euroken · Oct 31, 2019

Both 20CV and s30v are saber grinds.

The plot thickens

sharp_edge · Oct 31, 2019

Not defending Benchmade but do we know for sure that the s30v blade and 20cv blade have EXACTLY the same length and width? I am asking because I know the Elmax blade on ZT 0562 and the 20cv blade on ZT 0562cf have different thickness on the tip.

euroken · Oct 31, 2019

Fair question. I don't know for sure. Looking to see any additional photos from other members with comparison.

I can ask Benchmade directly also.

42Jackbauer23 · Oct 31, 2019

I haven’t really been using lifesharp anymore. The last time I sent in my 940 it came back in worse condition. They absolutely ground the mess out of it. One bevel was way wider than the other, it came back with a weird scratch on the aluminum that I don’t think was there before, it wasn’t centered at all, no new pocket clip even though I asked politely, and they didn’t replace any of the screws. All they did was clean it and ruin the edge. Maybe it was a Friday afternoon when they go to mine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe part of the reason they are pricier is because they price lifesharp into their knives. If that’s the case they should do a good job since we are “paying” for it. This coming from a Benchmade fan.

dalefuller · Oct 31, 2019

I have a 555-1 that's never been to BM and has rarely been carried. It may not have ever been used. So it's in pretty near factory original condition other than some stropping on loaded & bare leather. The tip on mine is pretty evenly ground, it has a nice taper out to the end, and it's very sharp. The tip of the blade extends over the blue stand-off just a bit if I look straight down from the top of the knife. So yours definitely looks like it's lost a good bit of steel.

You didn't say whether your 555-1 was new or pre-owned when you got it. If someone else had it first, they may be responsible for the steel loss rather than Benchmade. If it was new when you got it, then it looks like BM was heavy-handed in the original sharpening before it left the shop, or in the LifeSharp service. Both have been reported to happen from time to time.

BTW, the old 154CM 55o's and 555's were hollow ground, hence the HG designation in the model #. The new ones are saber ground and do tend to be a bit thicker behind the edge.

carvu · Nov 1, 2019

Factory sharpening wasn't a strong side of Benchmade even in better days. I've bought a bunch of standard 710s over time, and many of them were sharpened unevenly, on some steel on the edge was removed noticeably more than on others (with thicker edge as a result). Some of my 551 griptilians got a visually burnt edge (overheated during sharpening process).
I think sharpening part is made by the bunch of unconcerned guys, using high-speed wheels, excessive pressure on blades and total indifference to result work. And your knife experienced such a harsh procedure twice.

Cypress · Nov 1, 2019

carvu said:
Factory sharpening wasn't a strong side of Benchmade even in better days. I've bought a bunch of standard 710s over time, and many of them were sharpened unevenly, on some steel on the edge was removed noticeably more than on others (with thicker edge as a result). Some of my 551 griptilians got a visually burnt edge (overheated during sharpening process).
I think sharpening part is made by the bunch of unconcerned guys, using high-speed wheels, excessive pressure on blades and total indifference to result work. And your knife experienced such a harsh procedure twice.

Some of those 710's were ground that way because the blades were hitting the plastic backspacer. I had one that hit, and rather than sharpen the life out of the blade, I just modified the backspacer.