As a BM owner/user for many years, I find this disdain, no, disdain is not the right word... complete “screw them, I’m never buying another product again over-the-top-ness?” stemming from the replacement blade price increases really strange.
First, I’ve never had anything but good experiences with their customer service. If I’ve needed parts or clips, they’ve sent me parts or clips, usually at little or no cost, but I’ve never sent a complete knife to them for all-out repair or reblading, even though I probably could have. I sharpen mine myself, and fix whatever breaks that I can, mostly because I don’t want the hassle of shipping and waiting, regardless that the warranty exists.
That said, I also fully understand and acknowledge that my use of a knife may very likely be far less rigorous than others, coupled with the fact I have several (ok, more than several) knives, and not just one dedicated knife to cut stuff with, so wear gets distributed a bit thinly. I’ve never personally worn a single blade so far out that I reasonably thought the manufacturer owed me a new one based on damage from use I put on it. They’re tools, they wear, I expect that. I know folks who DO put that kind of wear on knives, and I understand it sucks replacing one if you gotta, but that cost not a deciding factor for me when I buy them, because it’ll probably be a non-issue in my casual use. I do expect warranty coverage for defects in manufacture and assembly, but not legitimate, expected wear. Maybe the price of reblades IS unreasonable now for hard users, but I don’t and probably never will have a dog in that fight. Nonetheless, the warranty is a nice icing on the cake for their knives, which I enjoy, but I don’t buy them solely because of their warranty.
What does irk me, and I’m curious if this was a catalyst in the hike, is something I’ve noticed here and there among current collectors’/enthusiasts’, which is the parameters of wear worth sending in for warranty work and/or reblading. Scratches in finish? Buying a knife with serrations, then deciding you’d rather have a plain edge? Upgrading/changing steel because you think you need a better one? Wanting a coated blade because it just looks better with your snazzy new aftermarket scales? Were these the folks who were abusing the service intended to help a company support their loyal users? If you bought something and expected something else, is that BM’s problem to fix? I mean, sorry your knife has a bit of character after using it a few times, but does it neeeeed a whole new blade? “No, but it’s not LNIB anymore, and it’s covered under LifeSharp, so I might as well.”
Additionally, I was thinking about the secondary market, which I imagine was probably far less of an issue in years past before the Bay. Is it possible there’s a significant enough issue with flippers and folks buying secondhand beaters at rock bottom prices, then sending them in for brand new blades? At least enough so that BM was losing enough in “repairs” to secondhand (thirdhand, fourthhand) buyers that they had to make up some costs to keep up or curtail this type of activity? I dunno. Would lowering the price of reblading again, BUT requiring proof of retail purchase or warranty registration be the answer?
Like I said, $70 - $90 is still less than a new BM knife, but not so inexpensive those buying that battle-rattled handle assembly with an oversharpened blade with a busted tip and smooth serrations on the Bay can put a brand new blade on it for cheap and earn the clout of having a Benchmade. For whatever clout is worth. Lol.
Eh. This isn’t really a “come to defense of the almighty Butterfly as a fanboy” argument. I’m just thinking out loud (well, on the keyboard anyway). I could be completely wrong.
