That’s the rare exception rather than the rule. Now if it were a spyderco...That moment when the copy is a little too on point!
New Doug Ritter folder
- Thread starter Klutz
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Not one of my Benchmades has ever had QC issues. Idk where you guys are buying yours
91bravo
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Read around guy. There are WAY more QC issues with Benchmade than Spyderco. Consider yourself lucky if you never had any QC issues from BM.
Even benchmades ive bought off eBay have been perfectly fine QC wise. Vs the one spyderco I’ve bought that was impossibly stiff out of the box. Maybe I’m the exception there but that was my first impression of spyderco and I was underwhelmed
mongomondo
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Nice to see you, Les de Asis!
There's a reason everyone here knows about Benchmade's legendary customer service. We've all had to use it.
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I have seen minor issues on Benchmade knives; the axis lock being the main culprit. The lock is basically a plunger under tension from the omega spring and has limited potential travel distance. If it reaches the end of its travel without camming against the locking surface on the blade it will have some limited blade rock between the stop pin and axis lock. Benchmade is generally pretty good, but they run a business and have to balance cost per unit and QC inspections. I suspect hippy Oregon has expensive labor costs and that has to be figured into cost per unit. IMO Benchmade is doing what it can to stay competitive and profitable, which unfortunately means costs have to be cut somewhere.
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Multiple companies make their knives to be competitively priced and are not made to Chris Reeve level tolerances. That said most of the time I can play with knives to adjust blade centering. Usually tightening a pivot or swapping a standoff is all you need to do. Sometimes they are just crooked and need to have parts swapped out completely or permanently altered, i.e. file work. Most people feel that items at that price point shouldn't need work of any kind and while I see their point I generally feel unsatisfied with most factory knives and expect to modify new knives. At minimum I will put a new edge profile on a knife at some point. Definitely annoying when the issue is "good enough" workmanship.
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It is worth bringing up the question since Hogue is otherwise known for having marvelous F&F, and not "Good enough" workmanship.
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The "good enough" craftsmanship comment was aimed more at Benchmade. I am of the opinion they cut costs where they can and still turn out a "good enough" product.
The knife in question, made by Hogue, is definitely off center and may have either slipped through the cracks or was good enough at some level to someone. That someone may have been an employee not caring or even bothering to check. Alternatively it may have been good enough for a supervisor that had a production goal they wanted to reach.
Making perfect parts is expensive and some companies do a better job of addressing the fitment of parts. Benchmade does pretty good and I suspect Hogue is better. Quality in serial production still falls on a bell curve, some just look better than others.
sharp_edge
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Try a bit harder and then come to tell us if none of them has slight side to side blade play.
lambertiana
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For me, generally speaking, Spyderco has had far fewer issues than Benchmade out of the box. And sometimes BM customer service has been less than stellar. For example, my father got a Shoki 480-1 with atrocious centering (the blade was rubbing on one side). He sent it in, and all they did was tighten it so much that it was very difficult to open.
Back on topic - I hope that the off-center Hogue Ritter does not reflect what we should expect.
Well I use my griptillian every day at work and it’s got no blade play. Maybe I should try throwing it at a wall? Anyway, I’d trust my Benchmade over the new Ritter any day but if I could find a decently priced BM Ritter I’d be all over it.
sharp_edge
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It's great that you actually use you Benchmades. I'd be inclined more to believe you do not care about minimal side-to-side blade play (which again is great) than none of your Benchmade has any blade play. I never implied you should trash your BMs nor not trust them.
This is a knife forum where many people (myself included) are obsessed with things like centering or the blade, minimal lock stick, uneven edge bevels, and slight blade play that in most cases won't affect the functions of the knife. But some of us do think these are QC issues given the price points and more importantly, knives from other competitors do not exhibit the same issues as frequently.
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I wish I could convey it through a video but mine has no up and down or side to side. It didn’t when it came from the factory either. I have disassembled it a few times for some maintenance but I just find the sweet spot where I can flick it open and there’s no blade play then loctite the pivot. Some benchmades are a little harder ( like the shoki
seriously ask me about this one sometime, it was a serious PITA ) but axis lock knives I find are pretty easy to adjust perfectly. I could be the exception but hey that’s fine with me I’m sure this new Ritter is a quality knife but I’ve no experience with hogue so I’ll stick with BM
sharp_edge
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I wish I could convey it through a video but mine has no up and down or side to side. It didn’t when it came from the factory either. I have disassembled it a few times for some maintenance but I just find the sweet spot where I can flick it open and there’s no blade play then loctite the pivot. Some benchmades are a little harder ( like the shoki) but axis lock knives I find are pretty easy to adjust perfectly. I could be the exception but hey that’s fine with me
I was/am not saying that every BM has side to side blade play. In your first post that I replied you said every BM you bought of ebay has perfectly fine QC. Anyway, I agree that Griptilian is a very well made folding knife. I have three (mini and full 20cv g10 version and the fill size gen 1 RSK Mk1) and all are perfect.
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I actually went shopping for a BM recently. I noticed the model I was looking at had a slight wobble to it. The sales guy tried to tell me that it was just loose because its been opened lots by customers. But something didn't feel right especially when I tried a griptilian and it had no wobble. So I held off buying it. And thanks to the info in this thread I'm glad I did.
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To be fair I’ve only bought 3 benchmades on eBay, a shoki, rift, and mini barrage, but all of those were the same as my grip. No play at all. Maybe I’ve just gotten extremely lucky but I’ve honestly had no QC issues and I’d call myself picky about that sort of thing with knives of this cost
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and I had to look at 4 different 940-1 's last year at the Eugene knife collector show to pick out one that was centered, had acceptable side to side play with no up and down play, and evenly ground/sharpened.
just saying anecdotes be anecdotes.
EDIT to clarify,
at the end of the day we have all had individual experiences with Benchmade/Hogue/Spyderco,(insert and hard goods manufacturer name)
Personally I have seen a number of Benchmades (axis locks in particular) that suffer with blade centering and Ive never seen (in person) a Spyderco with centering issues. That doesnt mean all Benchmades have problems and no Spydercos have problems. Indeed both companies struggle from time to time but to say that just because as a single person with a minuscule sample size (compared to the total number of knives manufactured) that any one company is excellent or poor just doesnt make sense.
All this is of course is in my humble opinion which is likely worth exactly what you paid for it.
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