Benchmade, are they really that good?
So I've never owned, nor seen, nor held a Benchmade before. I am looking at several of them currently, and would like to buy one, but I am skeptical. I feel like most of the positive publicity, is simply because the knives are made in the USA, but that doesn't mean much to me, since great knives comes from all over the world. So what do you guys think about the brand? Also, what makes them different from other brands?
Thanks guys!
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Lifesharp
NO hassle lifetime warranty
AXIS lock
Customer service
Inovation
This forum
Forum only knives
Awesome steels
Good lineup of knives with low to high prices
GOLD class knives
Made in the USA!
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/|\ GE, welcome.
BM laid out many reasons, all true.
One other there is a second hand market. So if you buy one don’t like it & it sits i the draw fir a year or two you can sell it in the Bay for 75% some of the models actually go up it price. I’ve carried various 940 models for 20 years.
I can recommend the 940. I also recommend the Bugout as entry level . The are aftermarket handles & titanium screws to customize both models. Good luck & let us know what you buy & how you like it.
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+1 on Bills comments.
Oh I forgot to mention there is some serious aftermarket parts available and amazing craftsmen that make really cool scales/handles
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BM & Bill make great points. I'm drawn to made in the USA, Oregon specifically. I live 10 minutes from both Benchmade & Zero Tolerance. But more importantly I'm 100% anti china. Notorious for falsifying MTR's, the material test reports on there steel. Regardless of what it's labeled you can get anything from junk steel to radioactive steel. Intellectual theft as the norm. Not to mention millions currently in concentration camps, mass rape, murder, & it's hard to be proud of a knife made by child/slave labor.
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+100 to Bill's, BM's and Tu's comments!
Plus I'll also add that when it comes to a broad range of designs from inhouse to well know knife makers and designers you'll find that there no other knife manufacturers that even come close. Osborne, Pardue, Ritter, Emerson, Sibert, Thompson and Oeser just to name a few.
Here in the forum we get questions answered from Benchmade employees such as Jason and Jon. We also get product announcements usually before anyone else.
And there are number of great members willing to help those who are new to the Benchmade brand. You'll be hard pressed to find a brand that is made in the good ole USA that has a larger following.
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Sometimes when we get these inquiries from new members it looks like we're talking to ourselves if they don’t read what we wrote and respond.
But that’s OK and especially on this one because it solidifies WHY I have 99% BMK's
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Grayson - which models specifically were you looking at? We can give you some insight into them.
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Large range of different models; something for absolutely everyone: From the kitchen, first responder, tactical, law enforcement, upscale/office, EDC, collector, hunt/outdoor.
I also like supporting a good living for skilled folks in North America.
Take your pick
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I don't comment much anymore, but I will here:
I've got 9 folders in my carry drawer, and they're all Benchmades. Nothing to do w/ the fact that I live in PDX, or that they're Made in America. Bought my first locking folder-- a POS Buck 110-- nearly 50 years ago. I've always liked the security/look/tradition of lockbacks but w/ lock wear can loosen over time, and there's nothing you can do to tighten them up. Plus some are pinned, not screwed. As a lefty I've no experience w/ framelocks but I know they wear as well, plus I don't particularly like the "look". My experience w/ axis locks is that they instantly lock 100% solid, and are 100% dependable. Never had any blade movement whatsoever on any knife. And I gen'ly prefer thumb studs to holes anyway-- instantly accessible and faster to deploy especially w/ thin goatskin gloves on, which I usually wear in the field. I feel fortunate that I was involved here when the 805/806/520/525/HK/Warn were news, call me "old-fashioned". Plus BM stands behind their knives, in the few cases I've had issues they've always been there for me.
I've got a few fixed blades, all specialty knives, none are BMs, no offense intended, in this case the offerings simply don't fit my needs.
You pretty much get what you pay for in life, and knives are no different. Benchmade folders fit my needs, and are worth the $$$-- R.
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I've probably spent enough on knives over the last 25 years to buy a car. This isn't because I keep wearing them out, I just like them. I've had everything from the $6 chinese ebay special up to spending gun money on a knife. There may be one or two companies on par with Benchmade for price/quality ratio, but for the most part cheaper knives will be much lower quality and higher quality knives will be much more expensive.
2 reasons I like Benchmade more than most other companies are the Axis lock, which is remarkably strong, reliable, smooth, ambidextrous, and fun; and the proportions: Benchmades are often long and skinny, which I like more than short and fat, and they're designed with an eye to optimizing the blade to handle ratio, which nobody else is quite as good at doing.
I don't know what your relationship to knives is. You may never have dozens of knives in your collection. If you are going to start or add to a collection, you want Benchmades in it. If you want one knife to carry, get a Benchmade and it will do everything you need it to for 10 or 20 or more years before it might start to wear out.
One of my favorite knives is my Benchmade 710hs that I bought 21 years ago. It's still a damn good knife and 100% functional. I also love my 730CFhs which I bought in 2001 or 2002, and it still does everything you'll ever want a knife to do.
They're not magic, it's just a hunk of metal parts engineered with impressive precision and articulated together with eloquence, style, and tough as nails.
In order to ensure you'll love the thing for decades, I'd recommend spending a little bit extra to avoid FRN/Grivory handles, as they can feel a bit cheap (they do last forever, though). Anything close to 3.5" is a good midrange to do anything you'll need it to without spooking the horses. (If you get a 940, you'll still love the thing 15 years later. I've had my 941D2CF since 2004 I think and it's on my desk at this moment.)
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/|\ 941D2CF!
I’ve several & love them. I’ve 2 for EDC use & a bunch stored away in safe. I see positive feedback on 535-3 & believe it but think the 941D2CF just a little better ( better handle design & thicker blade. I do have to give the nod to S90v as better steel) . I still like the toothie edge on D2 & easy to re-sharpen ( S90v is a “b” to re-sharpen)
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A rather odd question (and a little suspect) to ask in a Benchmade enthusiast site?
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[@mention:589599268366317714] posted:
A rather odd question (and a little suspect) to ask in a Benchmade enthusiast site?
And so much for Greyson Everett!!
But we all had a good time :-)
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"Oh Greyson" where are you? lol
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