People still like Benchmade?

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knivesandbooks
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People still like Benchmade?

#1

Post by knivesandbooks »

I know they still sell a lot but I never hear people talking about their models anymore. I own some and I like the ones I own (not like my spydies, of course), but I barely ever hear about their new stuff. Lately I've been carrying a 710 I got at a pawnshop for a steal.

So what's the deal? Is it just becuase every model is kinda the same?

Is it because their classics are the best (710 and 940?)?

Will say, the Presidio 2 and Crooked River are pretty nice.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#2

Post by colin.p »

I just bought my seventh BM, a 943, so I guess you could say I still like BM.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#3

Post by JD Spydo »

I've got the same interesting quandary with Benchmade knives as I do with Spyderco knives. Both brands I tend to like the older models better than I do many of the newer ones. I literally came to love Premium, high caliber cutlery with two of my first Benchmade models. It was the older Boguszewski Spike models 640 & 650 that caused me to fall in love with high end premium folders which led to my current fascination with top notch folders. But shortly thereafter I snagged a few Spyderco blades I ended up liking better. The POLICE and JD Smith were two that got my attention.

The Benchmade Boguszewski Spike is still one of my all time most favorite knife designs ever. Spyderco had a similar model Centofante C-50 but Sal said all the tooling was destroyed for that model and we'll never see it again. As far as I know Benchmade doesn't do Sprint Runs of older models so I guess the Boguszewski Spike will remain in the history books.

Some of their earlier automatics (switchblades) were also quite intriguing. Particularly the models 1000 & 2500. But I haven't gotten a new Benchmade in quite some time. But I do have a certain amount of respect for the company even though I favor Spyderco the most these present days. But the Boguszewski Spike truly was a super classic in my book.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#4

Post by knivesandbooks »

I have seven benchmades too. I'm kind of on the side of JD. I love spyderco new and old but Benchmade seems to have peaked a decade ago. I mean their f&f has gotten better. I've been carrying an old 710 that was made in the early 2000s. The f&f is down right rough compared to my new benchmades.

Idk, it seems like people have lost an interest in Benchmade this last year.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#5

Post by Sharp Guy »

Judging by the amount of people at their booth at the NRA convention I have to think BM's still pretty popular. I have a 707 Sequel that I really like. I also picked a G10 Mini-grip recently and I like that too. I have a HK Mini-axis that's a solid knife for it's size but I never really bonded with it for some reason. I'll probably end up with a Bugout at some point just to try one. The Mini Crooked River looks nice too but I haven't priced one yet. Other than those there aren't any other BM models that appeal to me.

One of the big reasons I like Spyderco so much is the diversity in their line up. There's a lot of very different models to choose from.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#6

Post by knivesandbooks »

Sharp Guy wrote:
Thu Oct 25, 2018 10:38 pm
Judging by the amount of people at their booth at the NRA convention I have to think BM's still pretty popular. I have a 707 Sequel that I really like. I also picked a G10 Mini-grip recently and I like that too. I have a HK Mini-axis that's a solid knife for it's size but I never really bonded with it for some reason. I'll probably end up with a Bugout at some point just to try one. The Mini Crooked River looks nice too but I haven't priced one yet. Other than those there aren't any other BM models that appeal to me.

One of the big reasons I like Spyderco so much is the diversity in their line up. There's a lot of very different models to choose from.
I think that's about right. I know Benchmade is popular with the user crowd, I was windering more about enthusiasts overall. The Benchmade that appealed to me most was the contego, especially after I bought rogue blade works scales that were way less course and textured. It is probably the most different of all the benchmades by design and is in m4, which seems a rarity for Benchmade. I loved it before i lost it.

What's interesting though is that none of those models you mentioned are new. I mean, the Proper sticks out for an interesting newish model. But that assisted black class thing seems to have flopped despite them trying to get everyine excited about it. There's that new one with the gimmicking texturing on the blade, not sure if that is going to be a good one but I'll withhold my opinions until I've felt it. The folding socop is out but I haven't heard much about it.

I will say that their hunt line seems pretty nice overall. Crooked River is great. That gray and Orange frn one seems good. I'm sure the hunt line will appeal to the bass pro and cabelas customers they seem to be trying to cater to.

I'm also interested in why they're not playing around with steels more. Their heat treat on m4 and d2 is some of the best I've had. But they seem to be miving toward s30v and 20cv almost entirely, with a few s90v exceptions. Their 20cv is also excellent though. It seems like more and more makers are willing to try new steels and I feel like Benchmade is sticking to their guns on that one. I accept it so far as that their treatment in steels seems better than many makers but ugh. Sometimes it feels like their new catalog offerings are just more s30v drop points with axis locks and slightly too small handles.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#7

Post by Larry_Mott »

I only have the Onslaught and DejaVoo, and that's because I love Bob Lum designs.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#8

Post by Sjucaveman »

I got a new 553 griptilianfor a steal at $63 dollars and it's became my beater work knife for now.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#9

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

I am glad they have the Griptillian which you can get for that price range. I hope this is okay to say, but, I do like their quality, but, I prefer how Benchmade in the past always had a more "Economy" market range of knives, like Spyderco does, which were quality-made, and under 50-100 dollars, sometimes even less. I am not criticizing their price ranges, I just think it would be good for a company to have that available.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#10

Post by JD Spydo »

One thing I've always found to be strange about Benchmade is that they literally passed up a great opportunity that Spyderco in turn truly capitalized on it. Benchmade actually did a blade with H-1 way before Spyderco launched their H-1 Salt Series. Way back around late 2001 Benchmade came out with a dive knife model "100S-H20" which was indeed made with H-1 blade steel. I bought one of those BM 100S-H20 models at the 2002 BLADE show and I owned it for a long time before I ended up trading it. But Benchmade did a really strange thing when they only made that model for about a year with H-1 and then for some really strange reason they switched to X-15 TN stainless over H-1 :confused:

It wasn't too awful long after that when Spyderco released the TASMAN and Atlantic Salt along with some others out of the H-1 Salt Series. Also it didn't take Spyderco long to realize that H-1 made great blade steel for Spyderedges. To this day it just baffles me to no end why BM passed up on what could have been a flagship line of blades for them. Whereas Spyderco is actually the company that made H-1 blades really famous. And what's weird about all that is very few BM collector's I've spoke to ever knew that BM model with H-1 even existed. It is so interesting that one company seemed to fail badly with H-1 blade steel while the other company made a complete series of successful knives from it :confused: ???
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#11

Post by Evil D »

I don't dislike them, they just don't offer anything that Spyderco doesn't (in my humble opinion) do better. Their lock is their biggest selling point but they'd have to put it in a model that really did it for me and most of them just don't. It's a Ford/Chevy thing and I'm just not in their camp.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#12

Post by JD Spydo »

Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 26, 2018 9:46 am
I don't dislike them, they just don't offer anything that Spyderco doesn't (in my humble opinion) do better. Their lock is their biggest selling point but they'd have to put it in a model that really did it for me and most of them just don't. It's a Ford/Chevy thing and I'm just not in their camp.
That's a really good way to put it because there are really very few BM designs in this time period that do much for me at all. Like I said earlier it was their older ( pre-2002) models that I really liked. I will say this>> the BM models I like I really like a lot. But there seems to be fewer and fewer of them that appeal to me anymore. Some of their fixed blades are nice but most of them don't offer the blade steels I tend to like.

And they don't do Sprint Runs of their older/classic stuff which to me is just outright boring when you get right down to it. Plus they have so many models that seem to look the same IMO.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#13

Post by MichaelScott »

Never had one. I remember long ago looking at one in a knife store (back when there were knife stores) and thinking, “You want that much for this?”

I was into Kershaws before I discovered Spyderco.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#14

Post by sonoma »

I have 10 benchmades and 10 spydercos, there are things I like about both brands.I usually carry a case mini copperlock because it takes up very little room in my pocket and I don't mind abusing it.When I spend more than $100.00 for a knife I tend to be more careful with it.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#15

Post by JD Spydo »

I will admit that the "Axis Lock" is truly a fine invention. But with all the hoopla about all the different locking systems and I'm including the ones that everyone complains about>> i.e. the linerlock for instance>> I've heard nothing but complaints about it for the most part but yet I've never had one fail on me ( Spyderco or Benchmade).

The Boguszewski Spike that I owned ( Model 640 BM) had an anodized aircraft aluminum handle with a liner lock and never once a failure. But I will maintain that Benchmade's "Axis Lock" is truly a fine piece of engineering.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#16

Post by sonoma »

When I was still working sometimes I would need to cut the top of a 55 gallon plastic drum to make the bung opening a little larger.If I didn't want to take the time to get a sawz all I would use my mini griptillian.The axis lock never failed me even after using quite a bit of force.I probably did that 25 or 30 times and the knife is still pretty tight for that kind of abuse.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#17

Post by ThePeacent »

it's weird that they discontinued their first AXI model and one of their most iconic knives, the 710,
which to me perfectly represents what BM is all about :rolleyes:

It's the only one I have and it's rudely constructed, not really fine or detailed in finish, or fit, but the action is smooth as glass and it's a reliable tool :cool:

Image

Unfortunately the D2 steel rusts in a day in my pocket so I rarely carry it, :( and I much prefer the opening hole to thumb studs, and FRN to G10. :o

It is a very good knife, but not my type of very good knife.

Image

I don't think BM is falling, but their discontinuation of the H&K line, some flagship models, price increase and QC issues (evidenced by many threads on BF) are hitting them hard these last years so people are much more aware and attentive to what they are getting :confused:

Also, their designs are very similar and all variants of the same template, while Spyderco has a much broader catalog of sizes, locks, styles, steels, and shapes, so I tend to gravitate towards that variety :spyder:
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#18

Post by knivesandbooks »

ThePeacent wrote:
Sat Oct 27, 2018 6:23 am
it's weird that they discontinued their first AXI model and one of their most iconic knives, the 710,
which to me perfectly represents what BM is all about :rolleyes:

It's the only one I have and it's rudely constructed, not really fine or detailed in finish, or fit, but the action is smooth as glass and it's a reliable tool :cool:

Image

Unfortunately the D2 steel rusts in a day in my pocket so I rarely carry it, :( and I much prefer the opening hole to thumb studs, and FRN to G10. :o

It is a very good knife, but not my type of very good knife.

Image

I don't think BM is falling, but their discontinuation of the H&K line, some flagship models, price increase and QC issues (evidenced by many threads on BF) are hitting them hard these last years so people are much more aware and attentive to what they are getting :confused:

Also, their designs are very similar and all variants of the same template, while Spyderco has a much broader catalog of sizes, locks, styles, steels, and shapes, so I tend to gravitate towards that variety :spyder:
Agree with you.
Also, what's the deal with the 710 being so rough. Mine isn't one of the first but is far from new. Backspacer not fitted well at all, liners have deep grind lines that are almost like Emerson liners but not as bad, g10 done in a way that seems to mimic plastic. Its so weird but is a great knife.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#19

Post by SpyderEdgeForever »

MichaelScott wrote:
Fri Oct 26, 2018 10:07 am
Never had one. I remember long ago looking at one in a knife store (back when there were knife stores) and thinking, “You want that much for this?”

I was into Kershaws before I discovered Spyderco.
Regarding Kershaw Knives (not trying to derail this thread), do you like the older Kershaw folders with the satin finished blades and rubberized "Co polymer handles" that they used to call it, such as the Kershaw DWO, or, do you like the more modern designs such as the Ken Onion and other knives they sell? I notice Kershaw has been heavilly getting into stone washed finishes instead of satin finishes.
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Re: People still like Benchmade?

#20

Post by TomAiello »

I only have two benchmades at this point. The Doug Ritter Mini-RSK (which they no longer make--Doug is moving to Hogue after BM stopped producing the for him) and a Nakamura 484. The 484 is a sweet little knife, though.
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