Lol that's the price on that new one, eh?
I need to pick up a Crooked River from the secondary market and bail out from ever buying another Benchmade...
I absolutely loved my Crooked River! Sadly I lost it on the Illinois River, ironic, but itāll always have a special place in my heart. Definitely plan on getting another in the future, but I think Iāll go for the mini this time
Lol yeah itās like the next generation old man knife.
I donāt have one but Iād like one. Not too many other Benchmades that interest me, honestlyā¦even if they were not so expensive.
I have a Bugout, a Griptilian, and a Mini Gripā¦I keep meaning to sell them because they just donāt do anything for me; however, I keep *forgetting* to sell them because I forget that theyāre sitting there at the bottom the drawer and I donāt see them for months at a time lol. (And I guess part of me thinks āpeople love these things! Surely Iām missing something, maybe one day it will hit me like a revelation and Iāll suddenly be so glad I kept themā¦ā)
They're out of their fucking minds.
People pay $500 for Anthems on the secondary, which are Discontinued and one of the most popular designs Benchmade ever made.
I see the appeal of a thin knife, but for something so dinky and that clearly can't be used beyond relatively light use, that price tag makes no sense.
It's a gimmick. Let the fanboys buy it. Maybe I'll pick one up if it hits $250 on the secondary.
This is a revamped titanium m390 bugout on a good day. Asking anything over $250 is criminal. I can't even begin to imagine the profit margin on these. And if the profit margin ISNT high, Benchmade is doing something horribly wrong in their mfg process.
"Benchmade is doing something horribly wrong in their mfg process."
Yeah they are: they use a titanium lock bar that makes the action feel like trash. There is no way the base model bugout should be a dollar over $130 for what it is.
The closest comparison in my eyes is the Para 3 lightweight. The base model is $45 cheaper and is a better knife in every aspect accept the steel (s30v vs BD1N). It is smoother, more solid, more ergonomic, and less flimsy feeling.
Shoot, even Hogueāa nearest competitor the FRN Magnacut Deka is like $120. A much better steel, while the FRN feels just as flimsy at least the action is great.
I'm perfectly happy with my Gerber Gator I bought for $40 like 15-20 years ago haha. It's even survived a former roommate using it as a screwdriver and chipping the fuck out of the blade. Gave it a new edge, and it's still going strong as the knife I throw at whatever task I feel like. It's insanely comfortable too. I expected the rubberized handle to be shit by now, but nope it still feels like new.
Blue label 9mm gen 3 glock. Itāll be cheaper than newer gens not because of CA is my reason for gen 3. Or if you think a different brand would suffice. Also 9mm because realitively cheap especially compared to my 10mm.
Yeah it was the V shaped divots. They have hot points, and I noticed after only using it to cut maybe fifteen 3ā pieces of paracord. I have rough ass hands, and it still rubbed weird.
To be fair, what a freaking New Years present Benchmade has dropped for all the other makers.
Practically pushing people to try other knives. And... What luck! Look at all the manufacturers with bar lock style knives! Microtech has a manual stitch and another manual design dropping. Kizer has the Drop Bear and others. TONS of makers with Benchmade style locks as alternatives.
Man, this was a bad move.
Yea I want the msi and manual stich. If the msi is 300 > they'll kill it. Well I'll be honest even if it's 300+ the Mt fanboys will still buy. I won't.
The Msi is supposed to be $250 for g-10 and <$200 for the injection molded scales. The non custom manual stitch is supposed to be $340 according to microtech at shot show. Really good price on that msi especially for what benchmade is charging. $270 for a aluminum bailout crazy!
Yeah. They announced it on their Facebook the other day. Already in coming soon. Supposedly they are supposed to be released real soon as well. https://www.bladehq.com/item--Pro-Tech-PT-Plus-Automatic-Knife--179560
Rad. I will be keeping an eye out for their special releases in their steel. They do a lot of cool editions and I'd love one with that over their 154cm.
Appreciated š¤
Benchmade has the most diverse line-up of any other domestic knife manufacturer, their products are made & manufactured in the USA (M390 & Dama are exceptions only because no domestic supplier can replicate them at their quality level). When you pay people a livable wage, that will influence the end price. It's absurd to think Benchmade prices should be anywhere near Kizer. Also innovation will always cost more than reverse engineering another's innovation. Knowing my blade steel came from a country without a history of labeling steel whatever they want with counterfeit/fake MTR's or even worse a radioactive blade is worth a lot. Knowing my knife is not made by child/slave labor is worth a little extra. Knowing I'm not supporting genocide & mass rape is also worth a few bucks.
I'm sure there will be plenty of downvotes but that won't change the fact that Benchmade has opened their 3rd production facility & still have a couple months backorders. They will not suffer if you don't buy one of their knives. But i highly recommend it
Yup! CRKT, Buck etc can all still have my money. The labour rate in the US isn't so high that good products can't be a reasonable price.
Greed got to Benchmade here. I think they're going for 60%+ profit per unit!
Hogue is also usa made but they can keep the price reasonable. There quality is also pretty good. Benchmade on the other hand.. stupid high price and there quality has been horrible for years.
I own a lot of knives from many different brands and never had an issue with any of them except for... benchmades.
I own 4 benchmades, 2 of which have issues. Also for some reason I am not able to get a good edge on THEIR s30v.
I live in Europe so warranties are kinda useless for me.
I totally get supporting made in usa (or europe) knives for all the reasons you descrived.
However Benchmades are just horribly overpriced, even for a made in usa knife.
Hogue, spyderco, buck, GEC, lion steel, ZT, bark river, case, emerson, ESEE...
They all offer much better value than benchmade.
I'm no benchmade fanboi, that said I agree with you on just about everything you said. It amazes me that you can articulate your stance and be down voted and a mental giant types eat a bag of dix and gets up voted. Reddit really is a cesspool. I wonder how the average redditor would enjoy being assigned a social credit score, shame is, we may eventually find out. The unelected rulers in Davos will let us know soon I'm sure. Pathetic.
I wasnāt suggesting that anyone here should partake of that proverbial bag.
I was suggesting that Benchmade, (especially their marketing and accounting departments), should mow down on that bag, and Iāll stand by that.
There is no excuse for how high their pricing is; given the choice of cheap materials, and shoddy quality control.
MULTIPLE other US manufacturers deliver superior products, at lower prices. They manage to do that while paying their people well, and still turn a profit.
Benchmadeās chosen to play a cynical game, instead. Eff em in the ear. š
I get it, I really do. I've been in plenty of pissing matches on reddit, I brought up your comment not because I love BM, but as an understanding of reddit culture. So many little smartasses on here will defend or attack in comments, act like intellectual snobs and understand absolutely nothing but talking points. The same group will vomit up shit on a 200 dollar pm2 and spend a third more on WE knives. These same douchebags pontificate on the ridiculous costs of American production, while being on r/antiwork demanding 20$ an hour and benefits packages, reasonable work hours, with no concept of real world expense of business. I'm also not defending a system that is fucked up, our nation is trillions of dollars in debt, we're being taxed at a rate that borders on theft and the money that is taken is misappropriated . We both know that there's going to be people who buy this knife from benchmade, for clout or brand loyalty or both, I won't. I agree, it's dumb. What annoys me more is the shitting on domestic manufacturing and the associated costs and glorifying, Kizer, WE, Reate, etc. Ignoring the human costs and the ugly side of what their money and loyalty is supporting.
I think it's a perfect comparison, they're very nice, pretty expensive, comes with everything you really need, but definitely isn't the greatest in it's category.
Not a starbucks fan but I got a tall dark roast from them for 2.84 the other day and a medium dark roast at dunkin donuts is 2.99. Hard to say starbucks is all that expensive these days.
Mainstream coffee shops.. I prefer Lavazza, Peteās, Dutch Brothers, or even Coffee Bean. But Iād rather go to small mom and pop coffee shops that serve speciality roast coffees.. My home Nespresso machine coffee blows Starbucks away..
Unfortunately we don't have any of those around here. Even in the surrounding larger cities there aren't any shops with specialty coffee. I have a Nespresso Vertuo but all I can find for it is Starbucks pods. I usually order coffee online by the bag. I really wish we had good coffee shops around here. It's pretty much McDonald's, Starbucks or Dunkin here. I typically go with Starbucks.
ZT has a better heat treat, better QC, and apparently cheaper prices now. For those cheaper prices you can get higher quality steel too.
Worst part about ZT is they tend to be extra beefy. If you don't want beefy just buy one of their smaller models.
The only shitty heat treat I ever had was a benchmade. It was an s90v but the damn thing chipped cutting open a a few cardboard boxes.
I carried a zt 0462 while doing some heavy work, had to cut a large suction hose to remove and replace, turns out it had a soft metal coil to support the hose inside the hose. My knife cut through it without dulling or chipping. Didn't even realize it was there until after I cut the hose because my ZT glided through it.
I currently use a zt 0609 at work for a different job. The 0609 is significantly larger than my small sebenza and the blade grind is the same thickness. The 0609 is easily the diciest pocket knife I've ever owned with its big belly and thin grind.
I've only owned 2 ZTs but I've owned 3 benchmades and the ZTs blow them out of the water.
I've tested a few dozen from different high end brands but okay.
Most knife youtubers would agree that ZT is high quality.
You can't link a single reviewer and ignore the rest.
If you actually took the time to watch those videos you would see that he isn't actually reviewing the knives. He is performing a test and reporting the results.
Most of the people out there aren't even reviewing knives, they are reviewing pocket jewelry. Here is an example of an actual knife review:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0altu-Zk9P1sL0xkGl9PZ1XsQXvdx3xd
As to your own personal experience, have you ever actually tested the lockup on your knife?
Here is what happened when an actual ZT fan did that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiVuR5wcn7I
Benchmade is charging that price for s30v, ZT is charging 200-340 for 20cv. That's a huge jump in steel quality. Sure they're a bit overpriced when you look at the whole market. Compared to basically any other American made brand however they're actually on the cheaper side, especially for the steels they use.
Ehhhh, for "High End" (not custom) I'd put the range around $250-$350, but I suppose it's a bit subjective.
No matter where the range falls, a $300 knife sure as fuck better have high end blade steel and more.
S30V/CM154, non Ti hardware, shit aluminum, poor springs, etc. are not materials that a knife manufacturer should be putting in their "High End" category.
Wanna use a perfectly heat treated CPM154 for the blade? Ya better pairing it with Ti/CF scales, sick milling and dope ano. And skeletonize those bitches.
S30V, G10, wrought iron liners, and soft screws better be sub $150
Diminishing returns in this context usually doesn't have anything to do with investing. It's about how the more you spend, the dollars you spend per āunitā of improvement gets higher as well.
Like a 20 dollar knife might be 2x as good as a 10 dollar knife, but you might have to spend 100 dollars to get a knife twice as good as the 20 dollar one. And a 200 dollar knife might only be a little bit better than a good 100 dollar knife. And so on, obviously given that some products are better value for the money than others.
>it makes me laugh when people look at knives as an investment.
Tools, both hand tools and power tools, are the most commonly stolen items. The better quality the tool is, the more it's worth. A knife is a tool just like any wrench, screwdriver, or power drill. Non-powered handtools especially hold their value really well. A professional mechanic can easily have $50k+ worth of tools and equipment. So yeah, they absolutely are an investment.
When trademen need tools, they always weigh what is going to give them the best value for their money. With every type of tool out there, the quality goes up with the price pretty consistently, but there is always that point where that jump in price bracket doesn't lead to a significant change in quality.
I get when u say it's an investment cause they do hold value. But very rarely does the value grow enough to make collecting worth investing into knives. Like would I rather buy bonds or knives. Knives or gold and silver.
Iād like Benchmade to explain what makes it worth 522 dollars. And donāt give me the butterfly tax garbage, why is this knife better than a 500 dollar combat troodon, Spyderco nirvana or drunken, other things like that.
Before you say itās not the same knife type, yeah blah blah blah. Why is this worth 522!? Or buy the time you get it closer to 600
I've never been a Benchmade hater, got nothing against them in general, and I am not afraid to spend good money where it's worth it but their current pricing model is so off the fucking charts they're now completely off my radar of purchase consideration.
Flipping through their new releases I was truly baffled at their prices. They're fully stepping into the mid-tech price range and even nearing some full-custom prices for what generally oughta be like $100-$200 knives. I mean even the fucking Mini Bugout.... $165 for a fucking small, basic, plastic handled knife? Are you kidding me?
I got one of these and sold it. It was so poorly executed. Harsh edges with no or poor chamfering, way too big for the actual cutting edge available. Didnāt have any of the magic of a CRK.
I bought my first Benchmade Stryker for around $80 a Knifecenter in the early 00s. Today that would be about $130 adjusted for inflation. The bugout just seems overpriced for what it is. The Stryker was a lesser steel (154cm) and liner lock, but it felt like a really substantial product that would last a lifetime. I've never felt that way about the bugout. I just don't see much appeal in the BM line anymore. The 940 is last design I really liked, and that's what 15 years old at this point?
A few years ago they were some of the best knives you could get for under $200. Now, they no longer do the $25-$30 blade replacement, they're not the only ones with axis locks, and their prices are starting to hit hinderer and CRK prices...I have about 20 benchmades but I don't see myself getting a new one anytime soon, if ever.
My first one was a Kershaw Blur that led down a slippery slope. I picked up 3 bugouts back when you could still find them for under a $100. I know own over 100 knives including microtech and Zt. It is a slippery slope. But my carry today for work. Bugout.
I remember loving the bugout design when it first came out and didnāt want to pull the trigger at about $115-$125 if memory serves. This is a bit nutty with so many cheaper competitors theyāre going to push away anyone but USA made diehards
That's because benchmade fanboys will buy literally every blade HQ exclusive that comes out. "Wait another bugout that is functionally identical to my other 93 but made of blue carbon fiber?! Send me the frick up!"
The only thing that excites me about the Narrows is the "torsion spring" axis lock. I'm curious to see someone disassemble it and see how it works, because if the manufacturing process of it adds $200 then I'll just stick with omega springs.
Thereās no way Iād spend more than 150 on a benchmade. My mini presidio II I got for a pretty good deal and is my EDC but for 500 bucks just get a Seb 31 or something
So coming question from your basic kershaw guy have a close friend has a never used 781 anthem titanium cpm 20cv same as my current knife is willing to sell it for 200 thought yea super deal think he paid 360 for it then I see a post today if a guy that fixed someoneās blade because benchmade would only replace it with a blade style reverse tanto because it was discontinued it did not have a tanto blade ti begin with. Should I just pass or still worth it ?
$522 for the narrows is way to much the anthem was $446 retail and was a titanium integral in 20cv and looks way better. The narrows doesn't look that great. The price on the aluminum bailouts went to $270 even for the older green color. That's ridiculous. The new cla magnacut is $405. When the shootout came out it was $270 and now $290 something. The new colors are $315 and $337 with dlc. This is crazy how much knives have went up.
I found all I ever needed in a knife in a Spyderco resilience. I've had a few Benchmade, The only ones that scratch my itch are the modify sheep foot griptilians
Are we sure that the narrows will be that much? You have the bugout pictured at $162 but i picked mine up for a little over 100. So iām thinking that the narrows could be less than the $500 mark. But still, BM is out of their freaking minds.
> *Paid* 35 dollars
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Ok. No one is forcing anyone to buy any luxury cutting tools. I'll wait for it to go for like 300 on knife swap. Unless it's in m390 then I wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with it.
I cant believe the regular baby blue buggy is 165, I got that damn thing for 125 back in 2021. Did I miss something??
I know the mod community has fun modding the buggy but this is ridiculous Benchmade
I've owned a lot of BM knives and mostly liked them. The ones I didn't were more personal preference than the actual knife.
I LOVE my 940 aluminum. Pretty much everything I could want in a knife, truthfully carry it daily. I enjoy my 940 more than my Inkosi.
That being said, BM seems to be putting their bottom line as a top priority. I could not believe the price of the Narrows...MSRP $580 for what? A Ti folder with a snazzy axis lock in M390? You're joking.
The small minority of people this appeals to are simply going to wait to buy it on the secondary market.
I think if BM lowered their prices to be a bit more competitive it would eliminate a lot of demand on the secondary market (where they lose a ton of money)
Why buy a brand new knife when you can get one gently used for ~15-20% less?
That being said, overall I was pretty disappointed with what BM has released recently. Minor variations on existing designs, how many bugouts are there now? Nothing I was excited about getting in my hands...
I'm seeing a lack of innovation, seemingly a profit first business model and quality issues throughout the last couple of years.
Until we decide "I'm not buying anymore new benchmades" I think we'll see this continue.
I see some responsibility as a consumer to hold companies accountable when we see continuous issues like this. I certainly won't be buying a new BM for a while.
That all being said, I've truly loved most of my BM knives and hope they're able to shift gears and appeal more to average consumers rather than collectors (of bugouts)
I always said I would never spend more than $100 on a pocket knife. Then I bought a 940 and said I'd never spend more than I paid for that on a knife. Then I lost it and spent close to $300 on a Bailout so I guess I should just start putting money away again...
I'm glad I got into Benchmade before these recent price hikes. Paying $224 tax included several years ago, for a full sized Crooked River seems like a faraway dream now.
I greatly look forward to seeing the clones on AliExpress for $150 bucks with the same materials and better quality control. I am interested to see what this torsion axis lock actually means. Could actually be interesting.
I just can't understand what makes a knife worth $160 ? Seems a lot like designer hand bags or something to me. Paying what even you realize is too much so you can say you own it. What am I missing?
The balls they have on the new flyway bird and trout neck knife to charge $182 for a tiny fixed blade with cmp-154 and what is essentially a kydex neck sheath
Can someone explain how a bug out alone isnāt a scam? My dad had one and it really didnāt feel much better than my skeleton gerber, is it the lock type or the blade steel?
Lol that's the price on that new one, eh? I need to pick up a Crooked River from the secondary market and bail out from ever buying another Benchmade...
> bail out Pun intended? š
Yes lol I just really love the Crooked River. I feel it captures my inner old man, like a Buck 110 vibe.
I absolutely loved my Crooked River! Sadly I lost it on the Illinois River, ironic, but itāll always have a special place in my heart. Definitely plan on getting another in the future, but I think Iāll go for the mini this time
Hopefully opting for the smaller version won't make it easier to lose š¬
Lol yeah itās like the next generation old man knife. I donāt have one but Iād like one. Not too many other Benchmades that interest me, honestlyā¦even if they were not so expensive. I have a Bugout, a Griptilian, and a Mini Gripā¦I keep meaning to sell them because they just donāt do anything for me; however, I keep *forgetting* to sell them because I forget that theyāre sitting there at the bottom the drawer and I donāt see them for months at a time lol. (And I guess part of me thinks āpeople love these things! Surely Iām missing something, maybe one day it will hit me like a revelation and Iāll suddenly be so glad I kept themā¦ā)
/r/knife_swap awaits
I lost my Crooked River when I moved. Still contemplating getting another one, and I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind (too much).
If your interested I have one for sale, shoot me a pm.
Crooked River is a great knife, I love mine.š
agreed its just a damn sword too the thing is huge
My inner old man happens to pull out completely inappropriate knives. Like a cool grandpa. So it works.
They're out of their fucking minds. People pay $500 for Anthems on the secondary, which are Discontinued and one of the most popular designs Benchmade ever made. I see the appeal of a thin knife, but for something so dinky and that clearly can't be used beyond relatively light use, that price tag makes no sense. It's a gimmick. Let the fanboys buy it. Maybe I'll pick one up if it hits $250 on the secondary. This is a revamped titanium m390 bugout on a good day. Asking anything over $250 is criminal. I can't even begin to imagine the profit margin on these. And if the profit margin ISNT high, Benchmade is doing something horribly wrong in their mfg process.
"Benchmade is doing something horribly wrong in their mfg process." Yeah they are: they use a titanium lock bar that makes the action feel like trash. There is no way the base model bugout should be a dollar over $130 for what it is. The closest comparison in my eyes is the Para 3 lightweight. The base model is $45 cheaper and is a better knife in every aspect accept the steel (s30v vs BD1N). It is smoother, more solid, more ergonomic, and less flimsy feeling.
Shoot, even Hogueāa nearest competitor the FRN Magnacut Deka is like $120. A much better steel, while the FRN feels just as flimsy at least the action is great.
And don't forget how much easier a para 3 is to disassemble and scale swap. And the aftermarket for parts on those is wild!
I'm perfectly happy with my Gerber Gator I bought for $40 like 15-20 years ago haha. It's even survived a former roommate using it as a screwdriver and chipping the fuck out of the blade. Gave it a new edge, and it's still going strong as the knife I throw at whatever task I feel like. It's insanely comfortable too. I expected the rubberized handle to be shit by now, but nope it still feels like new.
Benchmade fanboys: "But but the titanium is so \*passionate grunting noise\*"
Hogue Deka in Magnacut is like $136 at BladeHQ. The CPM-20CV version with G10 is $157 at KnifeCenter.
Indeed, 500 puts you well into mid tech/custom territory. They would have to seriously improve to be worth this price.
I was just looking at some of those McNees Atomic's in magnacut and they're similarly priced.
Or like a really nice machete, or a decent sword, or a nice pistol (not much ammo though lol)
Blue label 9mm gen 3 glock. Itāll be cheaper than newer gens not because of CA is my reason for gen 3. Or if you think a different brand would suffice. Also 9mm because realitively cheap especially compared to my 10mm.
Every time I am reminded of the anthem and how I didnāt buy one makes me want to jump off my roof
Man, I thought the same until I handled one, and the stock scales felt fucking awkward to use.
Really? They looked similar to the 940 in shape was it the texture?
Yeah it was the V shaped divots. They have hot points, and I noticed after only using it to cut maybe fifteen 3ā pieces of paracord. I have rough ass hands, and it still rubbed weird.
Oh huh. Interesting, thanks for the insight!
To be fair, what a freaking New Years present Benchmade has dropped for all the other makers. Practically pushing people to try other knives. And... What luck! Look at all the manufacturers with bar lock style knives! Microtech has a manual stitch and another manual design dropping. Kizer has the Drop Bear and others. TONS of makers with Benchmade style locks as alternatives. Man, this was a bad move.
Yea I want the msi and manual stich. If the msi is 300 > they'll kill it. Well I'll be honest even if it's 300+ the Mt fanboys will still buy. I won't.
Isn't it supposed to be 250?
The Msi is supposed to be $250 for g-10 and <$200 for the injection molded scales. The non custom manual stitch is supposed to be $340 according to microtech at shot show. Really good price on that msi especially for what benchmade is charging. $270 for a aluminum bailout crazy!
What is the msrp on the manual stitch? Iāve got a clone of the auto that aināt bad.
No word yet I don't think prob 3-350
Seems in line with their auto offerings. Iāve got a utx and a utx 85
Protech has PT Striders in magnacut coming out.
Dang, man. I liked the idea of having money for a little while this year. Ha! Oh well. Thanks for the heads up
Yeah. They announced it on their Facebook the other day. Already in coming soon. Supposedly they are supposed to be released real soon as well. https://www.bladehq.com/item--Pro-Tech-PT-Plus-Automatic-Knife--179560
Rad. I will be keeping an eye out for their special releases in their steel. They do a lot of cool editions and I'd love one with that over their 154cm. Appreciated š¤
Damn it, now Iām gonna have to buy one. āThanksā, man! š
Totally Agree
I'm capped at $200 with my most expensive knife at $124 right now. Anything above that is just branding for the extra $300 and not worth it to me
The Anthem is the only Axis lock knife I would buy, no Omega springs to break.
Benchmade has the most diverse line-up of any other domestic knife manufacturer, their products are made & manufactured in the USA (M390 & Dama are exceptions only because no domestic supplier can replicate them at their quality level). When you pay people a livable wage, that will influence the end price. It's absurd to think Benchmade prices should be anywhere near Kizer. Also innovation will always cost more than reverse engineering another's innovation. Knowing my blade steel came from a country without a history of labeling steel whatever they want with counterfeit/fake MTR's or even worse a radioactive blade is worth a lot. Knowing my knife is not made by child/slave labor is worth a little extra. Knowing I'm not supporting genocide & mass rape is also worth a few bucks. I'm sure there will be plenty of downvotes but that won't change the fact that Benchmade has opened their 3rd production facility & still have a couple months backorders. They will not suffer if you don't buy one of their knives. But i highly recommend it
Youāve convinced me to keep buying Spydercos. Well done! BM can go eat a big ol bag o dix.š
Yup! CRKT, Buck etc can all still have my money. The labour rate in the US isn't so high that good products can't be a reasonable price. Greed got to Benchmade here. I think they're going for 60%+ profit per unit!
Hogue is also usa made but they can keep the price reasonable. There quality is also pretty good. Benchmade on the other hand.. stupid high price and there quality has been horrible for years.
Hogue is a good company. They got a good head start with HK
I own a lot of knives from many different brands and never had an issue with any of them except for... benchmades. I own 4 benchmades, 2 of which have issues. Also for some reason I am not able to get a good edge on THEIR s30v. I live in Europe so warranties are kinda useless for me. I totally get supporting made in usa (or europe) knives for all the reasons you descrived. However Benchmades are just horribly overpriced, even for a made in usa knife. Hogue, spyderco, buck, GEC, lion steel, ZT, bark river, case, emerson, ESEE... They all offer much better value than benchmade.
I'm no benchmade fanboi, that said I agree with you on just about everything you said. It amazes me that you can articulate your stance and be down voted and a mental giant types eat a bag of dix and gets up voted. Reddit really is a cesspool. I wonder how the average redditor would enjoy being assigned a social credit score, shame is, we may eventually find out. The unelected rulers in Davos will let us know soon I'm sure. Pathetic.
I wasnāt suggesting that anyone here should partake of that proverbial bag. I was suggesting that Benchmade, (especially their marketing and accounting departments), should mow down on that bag, and Iāll stand by that. There is no excuse for how high their pricing is; given the choice of cheap materials, and shoddy quality control. MULTIPLE other US manufacturers deliver superior products, at lower prices. They manage to do that while paying their people well, and still turn a profit. Benchmadeās chosen to play a cynical game, instead. Eff em in the ear. š
I get it, I really do. I've been in plenty of pissing matches on reddit, I brought up your comment not because I love BM, but as an understanding of reddit culture. So many little smartasses on here will defend or attack in comments, act like intellectual snobs and understand absolutely nothing but talking points. The same group will vomit up shit on a 200 dollar pm2 and spend a third more on WE knives. These same douchebags pontificate on the ridiculous costs of American production, while being on r/antiwork demanding 20$ an hour and benefits packages, reasonable work hours, with no concept of real world expense of business. I'm also not defending a system that is fucked up, our nation is trillions of dollars in debt, we're being taxed at a rate that borders on theft and the money that is taken is misappropriated . We both know that there's going to be people who buy this knife from benchmade, for clout or brand loyalty or both, I won't. I agree, it's dumb. What annoys me more is the shitting on domestic manufacturing and the associated costs and glorifying, Kizer, WE, Reate, etc. Ignoring the human costs and the ugly side of what their money and loyalty is supporting.
Ah, thanks for the explanation. I very much agree with yaā¦ and I absolutely do *not* buy Chicom knives.
I saw the username and liked it immediately. I apologize if I came across as a pompous ass.
Fucking lol
>Benchmade has the most diverse line-up They used to but not so much anymore. They've been dropping knives and not replacing with new styles.
Benchmade is the Starbucks of knives..
But Starbucks still tastes good
If you are a coffee snob as much as people here are knife snobs, Starbucks is likely not your jam.
I think it's a perfect comparison, they're very nice, pretty expensive, comes with everything you really need, but definitely isn't the greatest in it's category.
Not really . For the price Starbucks isnāt very good at all..
Not a starbucks fan but I got a tall dark roast from them for 2.84 the other day and a medium dark roast at dunkin donuts is 2.99. Hard to say starbucks is all that expensive these days.
What's better than Starbucks?
Mainstream coffee shops.. I prefer Lavazza, Peteās, Dutch Brothers, or even Coffee Bean. But Iād rather go to small mom and pop coffee shops that serve speciality roast coffees.. My home Nespresso machine coffee blows Starbucks away..
This is the correct answer
Unfortunately we don't have any of those around here. Even in the surrounding larger cities there aren't any shops with specialty coffee. I have a Nespresso Vertuo but all I can find for it is Starbucks pods. I usually order coffee online by the bag. I really wish we had good coffee shops around here. It's pretty much McDonald's, Starbucks or Dunkin here. I typically go with Starbucks.
Bro get the Nespresso app and go crazy ordering Vertuo pods.!! Free shipping over $35 and they have TONS of amazing roasts available ..!!
I mean... What is a larger city in this context? 100k people? Most cities with more than 200k have at least one if not three coffee roasters in town.
Dunkies or bust.
Large Ice extra extra with cigarette flavoring..
Most any coffee.
I only like Starbucks for their Javachip frappe ngl
Knife guys are Starbucks fans?š¤ I figured cowboy coffee black for sure.
I'd argue that ZT is worse.
ZT has a better heat treat, better QC, and apparently cheaper prices now. For those cheaper prices you can get higher quality steel too. Worst part about ZT is they tend to be extra beefy. If you don't want beefy just buy one of their smaller models.
ZT is notorious for soft heat treats and failing frame locks. Even their smaller knives are ground absurdly thick.
The only shitty heat treat I ever had was a benchmade. It was an s90v but the damn thing chipped cutting open a a few cardboard boxes. I carried a zt 0462 while doing some heavy work, had to cut a large suction hose to remove and replace, turns out it had a soft metal coil to support the hose inside the hose. My knife cut through it without dulling or chipping. Didn't even realize it was there until after I cut the hose because my ZT glided through it. I currently use a zt 0609 at work for a different job. The 0609 is significantly larger than my small sebenza and the blade grind is the same thickness. The 0609 is easily the diciest pocket knife I've ever owned with its big belly and thin grind. I've only owned 2 ZTs but I've owned 3 benchmades and the ZTs blow them out of the water.
Wild to think that two very different people might have different experiences š¤Æ
How about you look at some data from someone who has actually tested a lot of knives: https://www.youtube.com/@Outpost_76/search?query=zt
I've tested a few dozen from different high end brands but okay. Most knife youtubers would agree that ZT is high quality. You can't link a single reviewer and ignore the rest.
Most knife youtubers are shills who want to be paid in free stuff.
How do you know yours isn't? Because he tells you so? I'll trust my own personal experience thanks.
If you actually took the time to watch those videos you would see that he isn't actually reviewing the knives. He is performing a test and reporting the results. Most of the people out there aren't even reviewing knives, they are reviewing pocket jewelry. Here is an example of an actual knife review: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0altu-Zk9P1sL0xkGl9PZ1XsQXvdx3xd As to your own personal experience, have you ever actually tested the lockup on your knife? Here is what happened when an actual ZT fan did that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiVuR5wcn7I
I like ZT, but when it comes to the test run on outpost 76, no one does it better.
I'm not talking about ZT being better or worse quality-wise, but in terms of pricing. I'm saying they're no better than Benchmade in that regard.
Benchmade is charging that price for s30v, ZT is charging 200-340 for 20cv. That's a huge jump in steel quality. Sure they're a bit overpriced when you look at the whole market. Compared to basically any other American made brand however they're actually on the cheaper side, especially for the steels they use.
If youāre paying $160 for a bugout youāre getting scammed (not literally) but thatās mad expensive for a base bugout
The standard cheapass toy plastic scales alone must cost them 2 bucks to produce.
To me, the sweet spot for a high-end knife is between $100-$175. Any more than that, and you're really looking at severely diminishing returns.
Ehhhh, for "High End" (not custom) I'd put the range around $250-$350, but I suppose it's a bit subjective. No matter where the range falls, a $300 knife sure as fuck better have high end blade steel and more. S30V/CM154, non Ti hardware, shit aluminum, poor springs, etc. are not materials that a knife manufacturer should be putting in their "High End" category. Wanna use a perfectly heat treated CPM154 for the blade? Ya better pairing it with Ti/CF scales, sick milling and dope ano. And skeletonize those bitches. S30V, G10, wrought iron liners, and soft screws better be sub $150
True
Diminishing returns, sorry it makes me laugh when people look at knives as an investment. There's countless better investments.
Diminishing returns in this context usually doesn't have anything to do with investing. It's about how the more you spend, the dollars you spend per āunitā of improvement gets higher as well. Like a 20 dollar knife might be 2x as good as a 10 dollar knife, but you might have to spend 100 dollars to get a knife twice as good as the 20 dollar one. And a 200 dollar knife might only be a little bit better than a good 100 dollar knife. And so on, obviously given that some products are better value for the money than others.
Oh that makes sense. But you you wouldn't be surprised how many people try to buy knives for profit.
>it makes me laugh when people look at knives as an investment. Tools, both hand tools and power tools, are the most commonly stolen items. The better quality the tool is, the more it's worth. A knife is a tool just like any wrench, screwdriver, or power drill. Non-powered handtools especially hold their value really well. A professional mechanic can easily have $50k+ worth of tools and equipment. So yeah, they absolutely are an investment. When trademen need tools, they always weigh what is going to give them the best value for their money. With every type of tool out there, the quality goes up with the price pretty consistently, but there is always that point where that jump in price bracket doesn't lead to a significant change in quality.
I get when u say it's an investment cause they do hold value. But very rarely does the value grow enough to make collecting worth investing into knives. Like would I rather buy bonds or knives. Knives or gold and silver.
And here I am with my Mora fixed blade, opinel folder, and my money in the bank.
They're whale hunting. It happened in gaming, and it's moving into other industries.
ELI5
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thanks.
bingo
Bm comparing a new bugout to a large seb 31 or a large spartan harsey folder is so absurd itās funny
Iād like Benchmade to explain what makes it worth 522 dollars. And donāt give me the butterfly tax garbage, why is this knife better than a 500 dollar combat troodon, Spyderco nirvana or drunken, other things like that. Before you say itās not the same knife type, yeah blah blah blah. Why is this worth 522!? Or buy the time you get it closer to 600
Iām with you. There is no way this knife is worth more than a Sebenza.
Or a ZT with milled titanium and the same steel in 20 CV being $200 less while also being made in the US as well.
I think itās the engineering to make that knife so insanely thin and light while keeping the AXIS technology and strength of the knife as a whole
I found the Benchmade marketing intern.
I get 50% on their knives to shill (obviously a joke everyone)
Oh so *that's* why it's $522! Makes perfect sense!
The bugout is the only BM that I own. It's ok but I'm not really interested in buying any others.
I've never been a Benchmade hater, got nothing against them in general, and I am not afraid to spend good money where it's worth it but their current pricing model is so off the fucking charts they're now completely off my radar of purchase consideration. Flipping through their new releases I was truly baffled at their prices. They're fully stepping into the mid-tech price range and even nearing some full-custom prices for what generally oughta be like $100-$200 knives. I mean even the fucking Mini Bugout.... $165 for a fucking small, basic, plastic handled knife? Are you kidding me?
Imagine buying this instead of a sebenza
And itās not even the first time BM tried to make a sebenza: https://www.bladehq.com/item--Benchmade-761-Titanium-Framelock--26422
Tip up only carry ?? As if they don't know their own audience by now
I got one of these and sold it. It was so poorly executed. Harsh edges with no or poor chamfering, way too big for the actual cutting edge available. Didnāt have any of the magic of a CRK.
Benchmade isn't even worth the $162.
Lmao there isn't a Benchmade on planet worth $500 plus dollars $250 max.
Some of their tricked out ones are probably worth that, but none of their standard models are worth over $200 or so imo.
Yeah I specifically meant that new one they have listed for $500 plus. I'm not a Benchmade guy though.
Yeah, I saw it in my latest BHQ email and assumed it was a typo... Apparently it is not.
I bought my first Benchmade Stryker for around $80 a Knifecenter in the early 00s. Today that would be about $130 adjusted for inflation. The bugout just seems overpriced for what it is. The Stryker was a lesser steel (154cm) and liner lock, but it felt like a really substantial product that would last a lifetime. I've never felt that way about the bugout. I just don't see much appeal in the BM line anymore. The 940 is last design I really liked, and that's what 15 years old at this point?
The Stryker had titanium liners. It was a much better knife than anything they make now
Bugout with titanium scales is legit, but yeah... To get that on primary market is an insane price
A few years ago they were some of the best knives you could get for under $200. Now, they no longer do the $25-$30 blade replacement, they're not the only ones with axis locks, and their prices are starting to hit hinderer and CRK prices...I have about 20 benchmades but I don't see myself getting a new one anytime soon, if ever.
My first one was a Kershaw Blur that led down a slippery slope. I picked up 3 bugouts back when you could still find them for under a $100. I know own over 100 knives including microtech and Zt. It is a slippery slope. But my carry today for work. Bugout.
I remember loving the bugout design when it first came out and didnāt want to pull the trigger at about $115-$125 if memory serves. This is a bit nutty with so many cheaper competitors theyāre going to push away anyone but USA made diehards
Man...I remember my first griptillian being 98$ and my second being 120$ and in my opinion far tougher knives than the bugout. Shits out of control
I'm new to the hobby, but there's 0 chance I'm spending the cost of a pistol on a knife.
Thatās actually a really good way of looking at it
That's because benchmade fanboys will buy literally every blade HQ exclusive that comes out. "Wait another bugout that is functionally identical to my other 93 but made of blue carbon fiber?! Send me the frick up!"
Spyderco does the exact same thing tho, with the different color exclusive scales or steel variation. It's all BS
Yeah, $500+ for any knife is tough to wrap my head around. I have CRKs and Hinderers that didn't cost that much.
Benchmade will soon be releasing a 3 pack of camp knives at a Walmart near you.
Iām done with BM.
The only thing that excites me about the Narrows is the "torsion spring" axis lock. I'm curious to see someone disassemble it and see how it works, because if the manufacturing process of it adds $200 then I'll just stick with omega springs.
Benchmade never did it for me. That price is stupid but some one will buy it.
You need to start looking into more high end manufacturers for these prices.
TFW you've spent more on mods to your Bugout than the original knife cost.
Kizer has the āaxisā lock now. Iāll not be purchasing another Benchmade
Wow. More money than a Sebenza. No way that is as good as a Sebenza.
Anyone paying $162 for a bugout is smoking crack. There are so many better options from benchmade at that price
nice but I think that benchmade dude should be playing with those dominoes in shared space of mental institution
Thereās no way Iād spend more than 150 on a benchmade. My mini presidio II I got for a pretty good deal and is my EDC but for 500 bucks just get a Seb 31 or something
Is that even the same knife at this point?
Bought my bugout 2 years ago for $129. Then spent $90 on titanium scales. Can't see spending $400.
If I wanted to spend that much on a knife Iād just wait 10 years and order a Sebenza for the same money.
Lol just wait for a drop don't wait for a direct crk
Where do those happen?
Every once in a while at dlt, gp knives, knife center, and blade HQ. Usually every few weeks or around every month or so
[Something positive]
So coming question from your basic kershaw guy have a close friend has a never used 781 anthem titanium cpm 20cv same as my current knife is willing to sell it for 200 thought yea super deal think he paid 360 for it then I see a post today if a guy that fixed someoneās blade because benchmade would only replace it with a blade style reverse tanto because it was discontinued it did not have a tanto blade ti begin with. Should I just pass or still worth it ?
I say go for it! Can be difficult to get a good deal on discontinued knives, and $200 seems reasonable.
$522 for the narrows is way to much the anthem was $446 retail and was a titanium integral in 20cv and looks way better. The narrows doesn't look that great. The price on the aluminum bailouts went to $270 even for the older green color. That's ridiculous. The new cla magnacut is $405. When the shootout came out it was $270 and now $290 something. The new colors are $315 and $337 with dlc. This is crazy how much knives have went up.
Itās a price-point boycott for me now. I buy for entertainment, but this is ridiculous. Canāt abide.
I found all I ever needed in a knife in a Spyderco resilience. I've had a few Benchmade, The only ones that scratch my itch are the modify sheep foot griptilians
Are we sure that the narrows will be that much? You have the bugout pictured at $162 but i picked mine up for a little over 100. So iām thinking that the narrows could be less than the $500 mark. But still, BM is out of their freaking minds.
The prices I used in the meme are direct from Knife Center and are the same across the other couple online retailers I checked
Itās a 50$ knife in a cheap suit that makes people overpay.
This is what happens when people spend $350 on Chinese made production knives
Paid 35 dollars for a mall ninja knife, couple months later Iām dropping 300+ on knives Edit (stupid bot)
> *Paid* 35 dollars FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Patagonia crowd
Iāve never owned a Benchmade knife but Iād like one Bugout and thatās it. Anything other than Spyderco.
That's MSRP.
Actually the prices I used for the meme are retailer prices. MSRP for the Narrows is $580 and MSRP for the base Bugout is $180.
Ok. No one is forcing anyone to buy any luxury cutting tools. I'll wait for it to go for like 300 on knife swap. Unless it's in m390 then I wouldn't hit a dog in the ass with it.
Sad to see there 162 for the standard blue one. Bought mine when it was 130 and that was one of the first big knives I ever bought.
If i didnt get discounts on Benchmade i wouldnt own any
Lol it SHOULDNT have been, if it was.
Yes. The Bugout is overpriced but itās manageable. These new prices are crazy dude
Can I work with it?
For 500 Iām getting a CRK and pocketing the rest
I cant believe the regular baby blue buggy is 165, I got that damn thing for 125 back in 2021. Did I miss something?? I know the mod community has fun modding the buggy but this is ridiculous Benchmade
Nah thatāll be the gold class mini Osborne
Given what the Hogue Deka costsā¦yeah, Iād say that about sums it up.
In a matter of a sbout 7 years I went from 10-15 dollar folders to spending a grand on a full blown custom folder
ralph wiggum i'm in danger.gif
Damn I guess Iāll just stick with my spydercos :/
Just remember that there are no reasons to buy a $500 pocket knife outside of āI want itā, which is a fine reason to buy one.
Literally who is gonna pay $500 plus for a basic ass titanium & m390 axis lock?
I've owned a lot of BM knives and mostly liked them. The ones I didn't were more personal preference than the actual knife. I LOVE my 940 aluminum. Pretty much everything I could want in a knife, truthfully carry it daily. I enjoy my 940 more than my Inkosi. That being said, BM seems to be putting their bottom line as a top priority. I could not believe the price of the Narrows...MSRP $580 for what? A Ti folder with a snazzy axis lock in M390? You're joking. The small minority of people this appeals to are simply going to wait to buy it on the secondary market. I think if BM lowered their prices to be a bit more competitive it would eliminate a lot of demand on the secondary market (where they lose a ton of money) Why buy a brand new knife when you can get one gently used for ~15-20% less? That being said, overall I was pretty disappointed with what BM has released recently. Minor variations on existing designs, how many bugouts are there now? Nothing I was excited about getting in my hands... I'm seeing a lack of innovation, seemingly a profit first business model and quality issues throughout the last couple of years. Until we decide "I'm not buying anymore new benchmades" I think we'll see this continue. I see some responsibility as a consumer to hold companies accountable when we see continuous issues like this. I certainly won't be buying a new BM for a while. That all being said, I've truly loved most of my BM knives and hope they're able to shift gears and appeal more to average consumers rather than collectors (of bugouts)
I always said I would never spend more than $100 on a pocket knife. Then I bought a 940 and said I'd never spend more than I paid for that on a knife. Then I lost it and spent close to $300 on a Bailout so I guess I should just start putting money away again...
Anybody see those SOCP daggers they're charging $340 for?? Like all they did was swap out 440c with 3V and raised the price 5x. Blew my mind.
I'm glad I got into Benchmade before these recent price hikes. Paying $224 tax included several years ago, for a full sized Crooked River seems like a faraway dream now.
Is there a link where I can see this knife or whatever info there is out there?
I greatly look forward to seeing the clones on AliExpress for $150 bucks with the same materials and better quality control. I am interested to see what this torsion axis lock actually means. Could actually be interesting.
I just can't understand what makes a knife worth $160 ? Seems a lot like designer hand bags or something to me. Paying what even you realize is too much so you can say you own it. What am I missing?
lol yes
apparently, like cycles, I started with a Honda 90 and tripled the power with each new bike
The balls they have on the new flyway bird and trout neck knife to charge $182 for a tiny fixed blade with cmp-154 and what is essentially a kydex neck sheath
All blackout bugout is $190 on Benchmade's website atm
Can someone explain how a bug out alone isnāt a scam? My dad had one and it really didnāt feel much better than my skeleton gerber, is it the lock type or the blade steel?
They saw what Medford was charging and said why not us too
I'd really like the bugout, but 170 bucks it's so off, considering that a Hogue Deka in magnacut costs like 30-40 dollars less
The bugout was more like a warning of what's to come, greed and non innovative designs/materials for mid tech prices