What is with Benchmade's warranty?

ThinkOfTheChildren

ThinkOfTheChildren

Joined
Jul 7, 2000
Messages
1,556
Ok, I just checked BM's website for their warranty 'cause I need to send in my AFCK (it has vertical play).

What is up with this?

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Benchmade Knife Company, Inc. warrants to the original owner that the knife will be free from defects in materials and workmanship. Benchmade will without charge, repair or replace at our (Benchmade's) option, any knife returned for Warranty work and found to be defective by Benchmade. The knife must be shipped by owner, prepaid and insured, together with a description of the problem and must be accompanied by the original bill of sale, your charge or credit receipt or any satisfactory proof of the original date of purchase. Any automatic knife returned for Warranty service from outside of Oregon must also include a copy of the owner's police or military identification, or be returned through the authorized Benchmade dealer from whom the knife was originally purchased. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.

WHAT IS COVERED
This Warranty covers replacement parts and labor.

WHAT IS NOT COVERED
This warranty does not cover normal wear, resharpening of the blade, damage caused by neglect, misuse or the failure to perform normal or necessary maintenance, or shipping costs for returned knives. DISASSEMBLY OF THE KNIFE BY ANYONE OTHER THAN BENCHMADE'S OWN WARRANTY DEPARTMENT WILL VOID WARRANTY. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.
</font>
Click to expand...

Why do I need my original bill of sale? I don't have the receipt so I'm just SOL? And why does it say that the warranty does not cover resharpening? I thought that their "Lifesharp" service says that they will resharpen any BM knife.

Anyway, what's normal wear versus abnormal wear? Is blade play considered normal or abnormal wear?

Another thing, why is the knife only covered by the original owner? What could two owners do to a knife that one owner couldn't?

Well, my rant is done for now... have any of you sent in a BM knife for warranty service without a receipt? Did it work? They say that no exceptions will be made.
 
Angie at the Repair/Warranty Department at BM is very nice and is more than fair, in my opinion. I've returned a Benchmade to them before for warranty work after it had a hole melted in it (don't ask). I don't think it had a receipt with it, but they replaced the blade with a special 910CGSBT blade. I was the original owner and the 910 had never been disassembled before. Great service, especially if you consider how the blade had been obviously misused (hole melted in the blade!). I'm a Benchmade fan as a result of their great service.

That same knife had been returned for service before with receipt though, so they might have remembered that I was indeed the original owner, etc. E-mail them and ask them if they will take it even though you don't have the original receipt.

[This message has been edited by Comrade Chang (edited 04-22-2001).]
 
Give 'em a call. Their warranty covers them from having to fix knives that are cases of obvious abuse, but I have never been asked for proof that I am the original owner, or a reciept of any kind.

--JB

P.S., the reason that resharpening is not covered by the warranty is that the LifeSharp service is separate from the warranty, so the warranty, itself, does not cover resharpening.

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
You need to remember one thing, they are the same as any other company when it comes to legal matters. First thing is first, cover yo ass (that being Benchmade's big corporate ass), then bend the rules as needed to make the customer satisfied and willing to purchase again
smile.gif


Dark Nemesis

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Crimson Horizon
Nothing but edge baby...
dark.nemesis@home.com
 
Their warranty statement is an absolute joke.

What difference does it make who now owns the knife?

If a company stands behind their product, it should not matter one bit if I have a receipt, or am the original owner. If I am the original owner, but the receipt got lost, put in the wash, eaten by the dog, used as a napkin, etc., Benchmade is telling me "Tough Sh*t". What the hell is up with that?

If I trade or buy a Benchmade knife from someone and that knife is NIB, it is no longer covered under Benchmades warranty. WHY?

It also states that "normal wear" is not covered. So if a liner lock moves over too far after a couple of months, is this "normal wear"? It would probably be under their policy and I would now own a paperweight. Abuse is one thing, but normal wear, give me a break.

I also very recently had a "your not the original owner" deal from TOPS, on a NIB (well, no box, but new) folder that when closed, the blade edge strikes the frame (which will eventually dull the edge). I own and have owned many TOPS knives and when I was told basically to go "F" myself, I lost all faith in TOPS knives.

If I abuse the crap out of a Spyderco, Busse, Chris Reeve and many others, I can send it back for refurbishing, and pay a nominal fee if any, and get a knife back that is almost as good and sometimes just as good as new. But Benchmade won't even cover "normal wear", and TOPS won't cover an obvious defect. To me, that shows lack of confidence in your own product, and lack of respect for your customers.

If myself or pretty much any knifemaker I know builds a knife, and the customer finds a flaw or has a problem with that knife, by all means, send it back and it will be corrected. I couldn't care less who now owns the knife as long as it was not obviously abused. That is only "doing the right thing", and is highly regarded by the customer. It is also what I consider the "right" way to conduct business.

There is just way too much of companies hiding behind so called warranties these days. And if it seems like I am PO'd about it, it is because I am. And maybe it is time that companies took notice.

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "
 
I got a BM with a laughable edge. I emailed them (Les himself, if I remember correctly) and told them (very diplomatically) how I felt. They sharpened it right and paid shipping both ways.
 
I sent one in for sharpening and warranty repair (faulty lockup, extreme blade play fresh out of the box) and included the sales receipt.

They sharpened it to a substandard edge, and fixed the lockup by bending the bar to the far right. Lockup is now solid, but for how long given wear.

They also kept the sales receipt.

So, do they log the original owner and will they replace the lock when it wears out, and resharpen at no cost? Or refuse to service it without the sales receipt?

I think they should explain their warranty a little better, because as it is now stated it is not clear what they will or won't do.

[This message has been edited by RKnight (edited 04-22-2001).]
 
I have returned at least 2 BM without a receipt and there were no questions asked. They fixed my problem and had it back to me in no time. I have always received great service from them.
 
BM is a large company. Like any large company, they have lawyers. This is the same sort of legal mumbo jumbo that you find in the warranty for just about any product you buy from any large company.

IO Mega Zip Drive: must have proof or original purchase.

Minolta Scanner: must present proof of purchase showing date and place of purchase.

Adtran DSU/CSU: must include original sales receipt.

Epson Printer: For warranty service, you must provide proof of the date of the original purchase.

And that's just the manuals that are within arm's reach right now.

There are so many stories about Benchmade going above and beyond on service and warranty that if you'd just take a few minutes and try the search engine, you wouldn't make such a silly post.

My favorite is the person who worked in building demolishion. While checking the explosive charges just before detonation, he dropped his BM knife into a whole packed with explosives. Retriving the knife would have been dangerous and time-consuming. The countdown was already underway. So he abandoned the knife. Later, while inspecting the site for unexploded materials, he found what was left of his knife. As a joke, he sent it in. Not as a joke, BM replaced it.

Another BM customer dropped his AFCK into a blazing campfire. The next day, he retrieved what was left and sent it back to BM. They replaced that one too.

Another person sent in a Nimravus that they had found laying in the middle of the street. It had obviously been run over more than once. This person explained in the letter that he had not purchased this knife but had found it. BM fixed it up and sent it back.

I took a model 259 Bali-Song in that'd abused for years and finally splayed the handles on. I was hoping that they could put new handles on the blade and maybe save me a few bucks. They insisted on fixing for free even though I insisted that this was due to user abuse.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Exactly, Chuck. I think some people need to pay more attention to the legal mumbo-jumbo that any large corporation is forced to use, and look at what they actually do.

Case-in-point: I lost the nylon strap from my Nimravus sheath. I emailed Angie, and a new strap appeared in my mailbox a few days later. This wasn't even vaguely a maufacturing defect - I, personally, myself, lost the strap, and they replaced it, free of charge.

That is Benchmade's warranty - not any piece of paper.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
e_utopia,
If I had a company (which I don´t) with customers that are as loyal to the products as you are (and a couple of others that post here). I would also have replaced the lanyard and probably attached it to your knife too (if you sent it in).

Try doing some numbercrunching on the time you have been at the Benchmade forum helping others. It isn´t a dumb idea from BM to help you in every way they can.

I don´t mean that you are an a$$ki$$er. I´m just giving my opinion to why you might get GREAT service from them. (I´ve heard others getting good service too). Your example might instigate others to abuse BM´s level of service or imply that they replace lanyards to everyone (which is hard for me to believe).

/Colinz
 
Two things:

1) Not a lanyard. A strap. Part of a sheath. The thing that secures the knife into the sheath so it can't come out. Irrelevant to the post, just clarifying what I meant.

2) I don't call Benchmade and say 'hi, this is e_utopia from your forum, I'd like such-and-such'. I use my given name, and actually use my personal email when contacting them that way, rather than the email which I use for forum stuff (gotta keep it all separate, some way). This is the level of service which they give a random individual who contacts them.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
e_utopia,

1. OK, got it.

2. I understand, they don´t have e_utopia and your name anywhere together.

Well, in that case it just seems to be good service nothing else.

/Colinz
 
I would also like to suggest that before getting upset by what the Lawyers wrote in the Benchmade Warranty, Call them explain the problem and see what they will DO.

Benchmade is well known for going above and beyond their written warranty to take care of their customers.

Many on this Forum and on Benchmade's Forum have argued that Benchmade should drop the Legal Mumbo Jumbo and state what they will do. The sad fact of the matter is that in today's environment the Legal Mumbo Jumbo is necessary to protect the company from the Non-Knife Loving hordes that they also deal with.

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AKTI Member No. A000370
 
Last Friday I sent 2 BM Bali-Songs to BM to see how they could be adjusted; the blade on one balisong (a BM 30S) when locked open was crooked from the handles. Angie emailed me and told me that they will do the best they can (sarcasm: as opposed to telling me that they'll do the worst they can
wink.gif
). The other balisong I sent was a BM 45 2nd (2nd means that it has some defects and is not covered under warranty) and just a couple weeks ago the tang pin broke in half (half was still in the tang) and so I sent that with the 30S to BM.....without any receipt.
NOTE- the following statement is to protect my a$$- do not hate me or BM if they didn't do this for you, if they did not do this for you than please don't complain to BM and I am sorry I brought it up
The only charge for sending the balisongs back to BM for some work is the return shipping and handling, they are not charging me for fixing the tang pin on the BM 45 2nd.

I am waiting for the balisongs to come back and I look forward to it. I have more information about the 30S and the 45 2nd in a thread in the Balisong Forum if you would like to know more. I will update that thread once I get the balisongs back.

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Cameron

"And shepards we shall be, for thee my Lord for thee, power hath descended forth from thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command, so we shall flow a river forth to thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be, En Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti"
A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album
 
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