My Anthem report

Got my anthem last week. Good to hear you love yours as much as I love mine. No problems at all so far.

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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:

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More thoughts to come tomorrow...

Could be an artifact in the image, but is the last 0.75" apexed? I only ask because almost every Benchmade I've ever sharpened came from the factory with an uneven and rounded edge bevel near the tip. I spent almost 30 minutes on my EP Apex correcting the distal 1" on my Phaeton the other day, and even longer fixing my 765 (damned M390).

This is the area:

 
Could be an artifact in the image, but is the last 0.75" apexed? I only ask because almost every Benchmade I've ever sharpened came from the factory with an uneven and rounded edge bevel near the tip. I spent almost 30 minutes on my EP Apex correcting the distal 1" on my Phaeton the other day, and even longer fixing my 765 (damned M390).

This is the area:


Good eye! Yes it's true there was a tiny section that didn't get apexed and I didn't feel like redoing the whole thing just yet. I'll have another Edge report coming on this one soon, stay tuned.
 
Good eye! Yes it's true there was a tiny section that didn't get apexed and I didn't feel like redoing the whole thing just yet. I'll have another Edge report coming on this one soon, stay tuned.

I know the feeling! When I got down to that rounded tip on my 765 I knew I was only about 1/3 of the way done with the edge. I had to put it down and come back to it later for the sake of my own emotional health :D
 
I picked up an Anthem recently. The price point took my breath but it is what it is. I would pick this up over my Sebenza just because I prefer Axis to framelock all day every day. I have been beating on Benchmades for ever and have broken an Axis lock spring before. The knife still worked fine with only one spring btw. Never broke another and certainly never both at the same time. I also own multiple 94x's and never wasn't able to adjust the pivot and lock it there with loctite so that it was smooth and had no play. On the other hand I have watched guys put immense (ridiculous) pressure on a blade to induce play and then go "see?" Everyone has their own definition of reasonable.

My Anthem is slick as all get out. Easily as smooth as any knife I have ever owned. Centered. Sharp out of box. The clip doesn't touch but it also works perfectly as is so I don't know whether that is a flaw or by design.

I hate the pricepoint mainly because I like this knife enough that it warrants getting a spare. That being said, I will get a second one. It is a great knife. For slightly more than a CR, I like this knife better than a Sebbie. I like the blade shape better and like I said earlier, I will take an Axis lock over a framelock every time.

I doubt this will be a top seller but that is 100% due to price and not performance.
 
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Maybe this isn't the place to ask and I apologize in advance, is everyone paying $425 for this? I have found this knife as low as $330. Only reason I mention it is price is getting brought up alot.
 
Maybe this isn't the place to ask and I apologize in advance, is everyone paying $425 for this? I have found this knife as low as $330. Only reason I mention it is price is getting brought up alot.
dealer cost is like 250ish iirc. thats a huge markup if so.
 
dealer cost is like 250ish iirc. thats a huge markup if so.

Pretty sure MAP on these are $425, but I have found them consistently between $330 and $360 and it seems like most people are paying MAP.
 
I wanted to chime in here. The first few pages had some negativity about the Anthem. For me, it's been a wonderful knife in every way. Pedropcola said it perfectly. A very expensive knife, but a very high quality knife. It really is a "Benchmade Sebenza" so all the parump-a-rump about a Sebenza being too expensive or the materials.... blah, it will all be said about this knife too. Buy what you like and use it how you want. I'm just saying that for me, it's held up to some rather hard use thus far like a true champion. I love that it's getting some wear marks, scratches and dings so it will match the Sebenza's that it kicked out of my pocket!
 
IMG_2489.JPG I liked the one I got so much, before one of my sons 'borrowed' it, that I ordered 2 more.
Let all the nay sayers whine about the knife all they want, it is an absolute joy!!
I love carrying it with my 761. They both have some of the most amazing 'feel' I have felt!!
Now for the wait!! Ugh.
Joe
PS.....like halflife states, look around and you won't need $425 in your pocket to pick one up.
 
I'm back to mention two things. Both of these have been on my mind.

One, where are you finding these sub $400 prices? I looked for a long time yesterday. Also, I know you can't just outright say it. But damn, I would get a second if it was for $330-350.

Secondly, I took it apart today after nearly two weeks of constant (medium level) every day usage. Nothing surprising at all when disassembled. I only pulled the pivot and used compressed air on the handles. MY BIGGEST FEAR and many others have mentioned the bearing wearing races or grooves into the Ti. I'm sad to say that all the worriers were WRONG! It has been used to cut thick material where the handle was twisted and it's been flicked a lot. I can see where the bearings run, its visible, but that's it. I took a small torx driver and felt the area in question. It was smooth/flush with the handle. Got out the micrometer and checked the gap all the way front to back and it was spot on. I assembled and tightened JUST ENOUGH to remove blade play being careful not to get any extra unneeded tension. I used the micrometer again with is assembled again. The knife is spot on as far as I can tell. I'm sure you could damage the Ti with the bearings but it's not something that I'm worried about any more. After being broken in and cleaned the action is spectacular. I have some smooth bearing flippers but this is by far the smoothest when the axis bar is back. I love the Anthem more every day.

PS: Anyone considered a bead blasted finish like the CR knives have? I like the bronze color but it will wear with time. I use 110 grit sand paper and can blend any scratch back to factory with my Sebenza. ApsotleP showed the trick on a video. It's great to be able to basically do spa treatments as needed. I only lighten the damage as I like some, just not shiny spots. I miss that with the Anthem. Perhaps in a few years, once ugly enough, I'll try it. What is your opinion aesthetically of a blasted Ti Anthem?
 
Ok, time for an update! The reason for the delay is that my Anthem has been out of my possession for the last week or so. It was hanging out with the warranty and service folks at Benchmade. Why you may ask? Did my Anthem suddenly develop bladeplay and lock rock, did the edge chip out and the axis lock fail? No.

The sole and complete reason that I took my knife in was because, like many who frequent these forums, I am an OCD nut job when it comes to my knives, especially the ones that are (for me) higher end, premium pieces. I brought my knife in to get re-bladed because, after inspecting it for some time and comparing it to other examples, I became convinced that my blade had been ground a bit too thin and too short at the factory. And this was driving me crazy. Because that's the kind of crazy I am. We're talking about maybe 1/16th of an inch in blade length here, if that. But it was eating at me and Benchmade is fifteen minutes from my house, so away I went.

Now, a few important points here. As you know if you've read my earlier posts in the thread, I myself had gone ahead and sharpened the knife as soon as I got it (which I tend to do with almost all of my knives). I knew that I hadn't ground off a bunch of steel (one of the advantages of the Wicked Edge system), but it had been sharpened out of the factory. They were totally within their rights to charge me the $30 fee for swapping in a new blade, and I was prepared to pay for it.

But no, Benchmade customer service FTW on this one. They replaced it free under warranty, even though they knew I had sharpened it. They don't know me from Joe Blow on the street. I totally could have ground the blade down myself as far as they knew, but nevertheless they took care of me and provided a new blade, which I picked up today. If you can tell the slight difference in broadness and length in the blade, you're probably as OCD as me:

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And yes, they re-etched the first production markings onto the new blade. Lockup and action are still perfectly smooth and rock solid. In fact the action may have slightly improved. I will say full disclosure that the centering isn't quite perfect. I'm honestly not sure that it was when I got it before, and it's damn close. I have Sebenzas and Hinderers that are off to similarly small degrees.

I'll be carrying this one again now and seeing how the razor sharp factory edge performs. It is even and super sharp so I'll try to wait a while and put it through its paces before putting it back on the Wicked Edge for another mirror polished finish. And when I do I'll be sure to document that as well.

So that's the news for now. Big props to Benchmade's service team who went above and beyond to make sure my knife was the way I wanted it. I have now taken several knives in to them for service over the years, and used their custom-build program to make several knives as gifts. In every case they have been just fantastic to work with and have always made sure I walked away with the knife I wanted, even when I was nitpicking and asking for minor, OCD knifenut things. Benchmade, like any company has issues to improve in their product. But in terms of customer service and standing behind their product, they set the standard.
 
A little modification work this evening. Had to use a rat tail file to elongate the holes on the standard Benchmade split arrow clip. Which is one ding I give this knife. Why they didn't stick to the exact same 3-hole pattern they have on 99% of their knives is beyond me.

But, a little file work and this is what we have. I like the contrast here better than the matching bronze clip I think.

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halden.doerge halden.doerge Thanks for the updates; please keep them coming.

I handled an Anthem at an out-ot-town retailer the week it dropped....it had all of the issues that have been gripped about on the 'net. It's awesome to hear that you and others are faring better! I like hearing the good and the bad without drauma--there is definately a lot of good.

I'm very curious about the blade stop (or lack of one--so to speak) and how the impact zone on the frame will wear over the long term. I can't see myself not being a fidget-flipper if I'm ever lucky enough to own one of these. The one I handled landed home with authority!

Please keep us updated for the long run!
 
I have enjoyed the action (flipping compulsively) for a month. You can see a tiny spot in the anodizing where it makes contact. Once it made a tiny dent it stopped. Keep in mind that this break in time took hours and it hasn't changed in four weeks.

My two main concerns were bearings eating into the Ti and the blade bashing into the Ti. I have used mine as hard as any other knife of mine. I am mostly light use with some medium and just a touch of hard use. After a month the Ti fares great. No denting by the bearings and less than expected lock wear. I really flipped it HARD a few times being curios, nope... I even dropped it several feet onto concrete and it made a tiny dent. The Titanium is vert tough stuff.

It sucks that these Anthems seem to be hit or miss knives. Mine is a hit, the other at the store just had an off center blade and was a near miss. It makes it where you MUST buy in store and see what you're in for QC wise. Maybe if sellers sent back big boxes of knives with poor QC that wouldn't sell and demanded a refund. That may change the way BM makes and handles fit and finish issues.
 
Just as a brief update, still carrying and using this one regularly and having no problems. No changes to the lockup of action after lots of flipping. Stropping alone has maintained a hair popping factory edge.

In the pocket for today, and still bringing me joy.

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I would like to see a comparison pic of the Anthem and 940 if anyone has one. Can't seem to find one on the net yet.
 
For me the Anthem seems like the next step in the evolution of the 940. I probably won't get to see one until the gun and knife show in September.
 
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