Are we still mad at Benchmade?

[Grumps21]

I’ll add that twice over the past 6 weeks I’ve been asked to give an review. One by an MD and another by my dentist. MD office manager asked about my experience and I said I was satisfied. Asked if I would give a review on Google, I declined because I don’t do Google and it would require me creating an account to do so. The second was just last week. Dentist office sent a link via text and email to do a review. I declined because it would require either a Facebook acct or a Google acct to do it. I told them I don’t use either one but that I would be happy to take a survey that did not require me to open an acct.

 

[majormadmax]

Was at Camp Mabry today, and saw a Benchmade auto knife I had to try. It felt nice, but much lighter than the one I have.

Then the guy showed me a Gerber Propel auto, with a serrated tanto blade. It simply felt more solid and the mechanism smooth. It was $40+ cheaper than the Benchmade, is made in the USA, and I just have a "thing" for Gerbers since buying my first boot knife 40+ years ago.

I agonized for a bit, then decided to go with the Gerber. It just felt "right."

It does have a "limited" lifetime warranty ("At Gerber’s option, defective product will be repaired, replaced, or substituted with a product of equal value. This warranty does not cover damaged product due to misuse or abuse, sharpening, normal wear and tear, accidental damage or industrial/commercial use.") whereas the Benchmade has a lifetime warranty ("Benchmade will, without charge, repair or replace at our (Benchmade's) option, any genuine Benchmade knife returned for Warranty work and found to be defective by Benchmade. Each new Benchmade knife is packaged with written documentation of the Benchmade Warranty, please review the warranty coverage before sending knives in under warranty claims. The warranty does not cover cosmetic, normal wear and tear, abuse or loss."); but to be honest, I doubt that will make much difference during my ownership.

Benchmade also has its "LifeSharp service," which guarantees that Benchmade will re-sharpen your knife to a factory edge for free, for the life of the knife. I have to admit that's cool, but again, to be honest, I doubt I'd ever use it either!

 

[rotor]

Was at Camp Mabry today, and saw a Benchmade auto knife I had to try. It felt nice, but much lighter than the one I have.

Then the guy showed me a Gerber Propel auto, with a serrated tanto blade. It simply felt more solid and the mechanism smooth. It was $40+ cheaper than the Benchmade, is made in the USA, and I just have a "thing" for Gerbers since buying my first boot knife 40+ years ago.

I agonized for a bit, then decided to go with the Gerber. It just felt "right."

View attachment 384025
View attachment 384026
It does have a "limited" lifetime warranty ("At Gerber’s option, defective product will be repaired, replaced, or substituted with a product of equal value. This warranty does not cover damaged product due to misuse or abuse, sharpening, normal wear and tear, accidental damage or industrial/commercial use.") whereas the Benchmade has a lifetime warranty ("Benchmade will, without charge, repair or replace at our (Benchmade's) option, any genuine Benchmade knife returned for Warranty work and found to be defective by Benchmade. Each new Benchmade knife is packaged with written documentation of the Benchmade Warranty, please review the warranty coverage before sending knives in under warranty claims. The warranty does not cover cosmetic, normal wear and tear, abuse or loss."); but to be honest, I doubt that will make much difference during my ownership.

Benchmade also has its "LifeSharp service," which guarantees that Benchmade will re-sharpen your knife to a factory edge for free, for the life of the knife. I have to admit that's cool, but again, to be honest, I doubt I'd ever use it either!

Tough thing about Benchmade and any auto knife maker, you can't ship it back if it crosses state lines unless you are LEO, etc. Only dealers can ship it. Not too many Benchmade dealers in Texas.

 

[majormadmax]

Not quite...

Public Law 85-623 ("Federal Switchblade Act") was passed on August 12, 1958, and incorporated into law in two sections. The first section prohibits the importation and interstate commerce of switchblades or gravity knives, and the second section prohibits automatics from being mailed through the U.S. Postal Service (with some exceptions – See U.S. Title 18 below).

• There is no federal restriction on the ownership, possession, or carrying of a switchblade knife. There are some states that have enacted laws regarding switchblades (see State Laws Regarding Auto-Open Knives). The majority of states allow auto-open knives.
• There is no Federal restriction on the sale of auto-open knives within the 50 states. There are some state laws with restrictions regarding selling switchblades (see State Laws Regarding Auto-Open Knives).
• There are no Federal restrictions on other carriers, such as UPS or FedEx, regarding automatic knives. The Federal Switchblade Act only prohibits sending automatics through the U.S. Postal Service.

Source: https://www.akti.org/federal-switchblade-act/

 

[majormadmax]

For comparison, here is my well-used Benchmade Presidio 5000 I've hauled around the world for years, and the new Gerber Propel tanto I picked up this afternoon...

I will confess, opening them right after each other, the Benchmade has a faster, smoother action to it; but I also don't like its mechanism versus the button on the Gerber. As this is my first tanto, I will reserve judgment on it versus the Benchmade.

Now the question is, why are both of these knives from Oregon?!?

 

[rotor]

Not quite...

Public Law 85-623 ("Federal Switchblade Act") was passed on August 12, 1958, and incorporated into law in two sections. The first section prohibits the importation and interstate commerce of switchblades or gravity knives, and the second section prohibits automatics from being mailed through the U.S. Postal Service (with some exceptions – See U.S. Title 18 below).

• There is no federal restriction on the ownership, possession, or carrying of a switchblade knife. There are some states that have enacted laws regarding switchblades (see State Laws Regarding Auto-Open Knives). The majority of states allow auto-open knives.
• There is no Federal restriction on the sale of auto-open knives within the 50 states. There are some state laws with restrictions regarding selling switchblades (see State Laws Regarding Auto-Open Knives).
• There are no Federal restrictions on other carriers, such as UPS or FedEx, regarding automatic knives. The Federal Switchblade Act only prohibits sending automatics through the U.S. Postal Service.

Source: https://www.akti.org/federal-switchblade-act/

This is the response I got from Benchmade. I would assume they know what they can legally do.

Thank you for reaching out to us! As a Knife manufacturer Benchmade must abide by federal guidelines when shipping automatic knives over state lines. What this ultimately means for you is that your knife is still covered under warranty, but there are some additional steps when it comes to return shipping to you. Per Federal law, we can only ship automatic knives outside of our state (Oregon) to our Authorized Dealers, or to active duty Public Safety persons. Public Safety would include: armed forces, state/federal agency employees, law enforcement, Fire, EMS, etc. If you do not qualify as Public Safety, you have the following options:

1. If you have a friend or family member who falls into the active duty military, public safety or law enforcement field they can send it in on your behalf including the AKO form.

2. We would be happy to help you located an authorized dealer in your area who we could ship the knife back to where you can be notified when it is received. You can use our dealer locator on our website to find an authorized dealer close to you: www.benchmade.com/find-a-dealer.html All we need is for you to reach out to one of the dealers in your area to see if we can ship the knife back to them on your behalf. Once you’ve decided on a dealer please let us know who it is and we will get your knife sent back to them. I hope this clears up the confusion, please let me know if you have any questions.…

 

[easy rider]

Benchmade makes great knives. The don't have China made models anymore. Chris Reeve is too high and ZT in owned by Kershaw that makes knives in China. I don't agree with many things Benchmade has done but I feel better about them than any company that makes anything in China. Just like I don't agree with everything Trijicon does but Holosun is made.....so I still buy Trijicon.

It's too difficult to even try to not buy anything made in China. I can say that 'Made in USA' can still be easily read on my ZT. I tend to buy things like knives and tools based more on quality through research, such as in reviews, than where it and all it's parts are made.

When I bought my ZT, I believe at Gander Mountain in Colorado Springs, I looked at many knives. The ZT was the sharpest, lightest and was the most easy opening (other than a switchblade) knife of all I looked at. It checked all the boxes of what I wanted in an EDC knife. I've looked at Benchmade knives, and I'm not knocking them, they seemed nice, just not what I need.

After 9 years of use, my ZT still works as the day I bought it. I can't say that for many other knives I've carried.

 

[Dmjj]

I'm still willing to buy any Benchmade autos you may have!

Majormadmax, I just came across my unused issue Benchmade 9050 auto knife. Had it issued before a 2008 deployment, never used it, carried a Benchmade 5000 auto instead. I'm thinking of putting the 9050 for sale in the classifieds....giving you first shot since I'm in San Antonio as well. PM me if interested.

 

[baboon]

Benchmade makes great knives. The don't have China made models anymore. Chris Reeve is too high and ZT in owned by Kershaw that makes knives in China. I don't agree with many things Benchmade has done but I feel better about them than any company that makes anything in China. Just like I don't agree with everything Trijicon does but Holosun is made.....so I still buy Trijicon.

Very early South African Chris Reeves Jeroboam

 

[leVieux]

Don’t y’all lose knives like I do ?

Between my forgetfulness and my 10 GK’s, whom I give stuff to, I just can’t keep up with expensive knives.

 

[Vaquero]

Why wouldn't we be?

 

[majormadmax]

Majormadmax, I just came across my unused issue Benchmade 9050 auto knife. Had it issued before a 2008 deployment, never used it, carried a Benchmade 5000 auto instead. I'm thinking of putting the 9050 for sale in the classifieds....giving you first shot since I'm in San Antonio as well. PM me if interested.

PM sent.

 

[Dmjj]

I'm still willing to buy any Benchmade autos you may have!

MadMax, I received your message.

 

[Axxe55]

MadMax, I received your message. The site won't let me reply, I guess I'm too much of a newby. Feel free to text me at 415-385-9744. I'm located in Schertz and Fort Sam Houston. Will send you pics of the 9050 through text/phone. Thanks.

IIRC SITE WON'T ALOOW PM'S UNTIL YOU HAVE 25 POSTS OR MORE

 

[vmax]

IIRC SITE WON'T ALOOW PM'S UNTIL YOU HAVE 25 POSTS OR MORE

Why can't you give him some of yours? I mean..you hit 25 post by about noon each day! Lol

 

[General Zod]

Don’t y’all lose knives like I do ?

Between my forgetfulness and my 10 GK’s, whom I give stuff to, I just can’t keep up with expensive knives.

I've lost one knife. My brother in law's couch ate it and it disappeared about six years ago. He found it last year and sent it back to me.

 

[msharley]

I've lost one knife. My brother in law's couch ate it and it disappeared about six years ago. He found it last year and sent it back to me.

About them couple of GRANTs ....I left over there...??

Yinz didn't notice them?

 

[General Zod]

About them couple of GRANTs ....I left over there...??

Yinz didn't notice them?

View attachment 385507

You'll need to talk to Danny about that. It's his couch...


As for my knives...I can't afford to go losing stuff like that. I don't even buy really expensive ones, but I sure do keep track of them as if they were.

 

[Dmjj]

Why can't you give him some of yours? I mean..you hit 25 post by about noon each day! Lol

Tracking. Thanks.

 

[Axxe55]

I've lost one knife. My brother in law's couch ate it and it disappeared about six years ago. He found it last year and sent it back to me.

IN SIXTY YEARS GING AROUNTHIS WORLD I HAVE ONLY LOST A VERY FEW KNIVES!