My Anthem report

Just a further update after carrying this one every day for the last week. My impressions are unchanged, or perhaps a bit more enthusiastic than when I first got the knife. Perfect centering, free and fast action, no blade play, fantastic ergonomics, superb steel. All the ingredients are there, and they are executed just right.

The one other impression that really came home to me after a week of carrying and using this knife is how absolutely fantastic it is in the pocket. For a 3.5" knife, I don't know of anything that carries this unobtrusively. Benchmade really took advantage of what the integral handle design allowed them to do, namely to make an extremely thin, ergonomic handle. It vanishes in your pocket, better than many much smaller knives. Truly a fantastic carry.

Benchmade aimed high with this one and they pulled it off. I for one really hope to see a variant or two of this model. A blue anodized version sporting a reverse tanto styled blade (which this handle could easily accomodate, not unlike the 940 and 943 variants) would be absolutely fantastic.
 
Mo2 said:
several youtube reviews and several reviews here said exactly the issues i brought up. i think apostle p was a positive review and thats all i saw that was good.

anyways, im glad someone finally got a good example. hopfully no more issues get missed so badly.
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So is it "several" or is it "every" review that supports your claims? Is this really the first example of someone "finally" getting a "good example"? Have you owned one?
 
halden.doerge halden.doerge Thanks for the review. Please keep updating with the chronicles of your Anthem usage. An ongoing long term review would be awesome!

I probably have the means for one more high end purchase this year; this is a possible contender (but there's tough competition).
 
I think some people were actually HOPING for shitty reviews on this knife. Maybe I'm imagining that??
The knife is a home run. It is gorgeous, extremely well built, amazing action...just amazing, super tight lock up and perfectly centered. I have seen and handled a few and the only questionable characteristic was the clip not touching the scale.....very easy fix.
Nick Shabazzzzzz did a live un boxing, Saturday I think it was. If anyone was gonna find an issue with the knife, it would have been him.
Check out the vid.
The knife is a winner!!

Excellent pics and write up HG!!!

Lastly......what other QC 'misses' have been associated with this one???
Joe
 
palonej said:
I think some people were actually HOPING for shitty reviews on this knife. Maybe I'm imagining that??
The knife is a home run. It is gorgeous, extremely well built, amazing action...just amazing, super tight lock up and perfectly centered. I have seen and handled a few and the only questionable characteristic was the clip not touching the scale.....very easy fix.
Nick Shabazzzzzz did a live un boxing, Saturday I think it was. If anyone was gonna find an issue with the knife, it would have been him.
Check out the vid.
The knife is a winner!!

Excellent pics and write up HG!!!

Lastly......what other QC 'misses' have been associated with this one???
Joe
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I agree. There was a palpable attitude of "waiting to pounce" as soon as many saw the price tag. But Benchmade totally Obama'd this one:

"Yes we can!" :D
 
I just picked an Anthem last night from St. Nicks in Foley Alabama. It's really spot on as far as fit and finish are concerned. The blade is tight and lock up is 100% solid. The clip has a tiny gap AND I"M GLAD. Milled clips are stiff and it needs it to clear the thicker top seam on some pockets. It carries just fine. The blade favors the presentation side by maybe 5%. Centering is certainly close enough, even for a $400 dollar knife. I was playing with a large Inkosi and really wanted it but... the Anthem really spoke to me. I really am holding off for the insingo Inkosi. However, the Anthem seems to be near CR quality. If the blade grind was better, I'd call it CR quality. The grind is good, especially for BM, but is a tiny bit recurved.

I am sure BMK still has QC issues and probably will into the future. If you can buy in a physical store and have a few to pick from, then you can get a damn good knife. I got lucky, I guess, and got 420/1000. I'm not a big stoner but that's still funny! The other Anthem was good like like mine except the blade was obviously off center. It was only two numbers away at 418. Any issues don't seem related to production time.
 
halden.doerge said:
I got my Anthem on Monday, after much anticipation. I'm planning on documenting my experience with the knife here, and I thought I'd start with what I almost always do first with my knives: put a hair-splitting sharp edge on them.

Don't get me wrong it came very, very sharp and well done. But I have to have the refined polished edge, I'm just addicted. Here's how that CPM 20CV polished up:

qGucXvq.jpg


More thoughts to come tomorrow...
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That edge IS Addictively SWEET! I'm a newbie to this, though I've been/am an AVID LOVER of Blades, Rifles (more than pistols!) & T-Hawks (RMJ Tactical's "Eagle Talon" is AWESOME!), & just wanted to know HOW you did that? I'd like that on my ZT 0561 Hinderer ELMAX Flipper....
 
David35DP said:
That edge IS Addictively SWEET! I'm a newbie to this, though I've been/am an AVID LOVER of Blades, Rifles (more than pistols!) & T-Hawks (RMJ Tactical's "Eagle Talon" is AWESOME!), & just wanted to know HOW you did that? I'd like that on my ZT 0561 Hinderer ELMAX Flipper....
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I sharpen on a Wicked Edge system. If you're looking for sharpening work, I can do that for you. Feel free to PM me or email me at halden.doerge at gmail.
 
Glad to see you like it. I too own the Anthem and did not have as nice of experience as you did. I have been carrying it since day one and I have really come to like it. Slim, light, Great materials and finishes. It definitely is a nice knife.

However, today I was sitting on the couch playing with the Anthem while watching TV and I noticed that it has started to develop Lock rock. I'm not sure how this happened or what is causing it but I haven't done any real hard usage with the knife. Mind you the lock rock is very subtle but can definitely be felt when checking for it. Maybe I'll take it apart and clean it again to see if that helps any. I don't see that happening though cause I cleaned the knife a little over a week ago.

I'm not going to lie, as much as I like the knife I'm pretty bummed that I'll most likely have to send it into Benchmade to have that fixed. Maybe this time I can get a centered blade as well. Still, I bought this knife early May and I already have to send it in for lock rock issues? Kind of a tough pill to swallow.
 
W_cole said:
Glad to see you like it. I too own the Anthem and did not have as nice of experience as you did. I have been carrying it since day one and I have really come to like it. Slim, light, Great materials and finishes. It definitely is a nice knife.

However, today I was sitting on the couch playing with the Anthem while watching TV and I noticed that it has started to develop Lock rock. I'm not sure how this happened or what is causing it but I haven't done any real hard usage with the knife. Mind you the lock rock is very subtle but can definitely be felt when checking for it. Maybe I'll take it apart and clean it again to see if that helps any. I don't see that happening though cause I cleaned the knife a little over a week ago.

I'm not going to lie, as much as I like the knife I'm pretty bummed that I'll most likely have to send it into Benchmade to have that fixed. Maybe this time I can get a centered blade as well. Still, I bought this knife early May and I already have to send it in for lock rock issues? Kind of a tough pill to swallow.
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If the lock rock is subtle they may not do anything. I had some with mine and sent it in and they tried to tell me it was fine. Acted like I was crazy for saying it had lock rock. It definitely did though. It wasn't a lot but it was still there which should be unacceptable for a $400 knife. I have had plenty of knives to know what lock rock is. I honestly think its because they don't have the parts currently to fix it. I doubt you will be getting a new blade either. I asked for a new blade because mine had a crappy grind. They just sharpened it out losing more of my blade.
 
luke86 said:
If the lock rock is subtle they may not do anything. I had some with mine and sent it in and they tried to tell me it was fine. Acted like I was crazy for saying it had lock rock. It definitely did though. It wasn't a lot but it was still there which should be unacceptable for a $400 knife. I have had plenty of knives to know what lock rock is. I honestly think its because they don't have the parts currently to fix it. I doubt you will be getting a new blade either. I asked for a new blade because mine had a crappy grind. They just sharpened it out losing more of my blade.
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Was the knife you sent back an Anthem? It's funny you bring up the funky grind lines because my 781 Anthhem has a slight recurve in the blade along with uneven secondary bevels. I mean I know Benchmade is known for their uneven grinds but to have a recurve? Ugh, I just wish this knife could have been a "Gem" cause I really do like it.

I honestly don't know how they would fix lock rock on an integral handle. They would basically have to swap out the handle and I'm sure that's not gonna be cheap.
 
Sorry to hijack the thread, I by no means am a reviewer or pretend to be one. I get zero satisfaction out of giving negative feedback on the 781. I just feel like both future consumers and Benchmade need to be aware of the issues that could possibly arise when purchasing an Anthem.
 
W_cole said:
Was the knife you sent back an Anthem? It's funny you bring up the funky grind lines because my 781 Anthhem has a slight recurve in the blade along with uneven secondary bevels. I mean I know Benchmade is known for their uneven grinds but to have a recurve? Ugh, I just wish this knife could have been a "Gem" cause I really do like it.

I honestly don't know how they would fix lock rock on an integral handle. They would basically have to swap out the handle and I'm sure that's not gonna be cheap.
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Yes the knife I sent in was an anthem. Any other knives I have ever sent in have been taken care of great. That's why I was surprised at how they handled this one.
 
W_cole said:
Sorry to hijack the thread, I by no means am a reviewer or pretend to be one. I get zero satisfaction out of giving negative feedback on the 781. I just feel like both future consumers and Benchmade need to be aware of the issues that could possibly arise when purchasing an Anthem.
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Seems like you easily could have had this discussion in your own thread about the Anthem. Just sayin.
 
Side note, my wife liked my Anthem so much I had to get her one. I am a left so I rotate all my clips, so she asked for one setup for a righty.
 
I'm surprised there is a lockrock issue being its an axis lock, and that bar usualy finds its way to the tightest spot on the tang. maybe the spring in that particular knife has weakened a bit?
 
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