r/benchmade • u/fog_and_steel • 1d ago
Lifesharp
Does anyone feel like it’s a bit of a rip off that Benchmade is charging a $20 shipping fee for their lifesharp service now? I was listening to an employee explaining that their knives cost increase recently was to “provide world class warranty service and lifetime sharpening”, but now they are also charging $20 for said service… :(
10
u/ColorfulPrompting 1d ago
Is it to be expected for them to pay for shipping? I don’t know any company that does that.
PS I live in Romania (a country in Europe) and I wrote them a while back that I would like to have some spare parts for my 3 Benchmade knives and they sent them to me across the ocean in a few weeks. I will praise them as long as they exist as a company even if I need to pay a lot more here to get their knives.
5
u/de_dax 1d ago
I mean ya but it’s also a great service for $20
5
u/IWuzRunnin 1d ago
If they did one or the other it would be more understandable, but when they already charge a premium on their knives to fund lifesharp, increase the prices this year, and then double the cost of the shipping it seems a bit excessive. It's not going to stop me from buying benchmade knives, but according to them the price of their knives is higher than comparable knives to give us lifesharp.
2
7
u/KennBurr Bugout 1d ago
You have always had to pay for shipping to benchmade. Best to send a few knives at once.
3
u/fog_and_steel 1d ago
Yeah I paid the $10 charge for shipping a few months back, I was surprised to see it go up to $20.
1
u/KennBurr Bugout 1d ago
I think i paid around $15 for 3 knives. I’ll use pirateship next time, if possible.
2
u/dkviper11 1d ago
Shipping is also up across the board. Diesel is a major factor. Going to hit groceries harder too.
3
3
u/ShenandoahMercantile 1d ago
Just so everyone is aware, if you take it to an authorized dealer ( like us!) we are still able to send it in for free for you.
2
u/phantomghoststory 1d ago
Seems reasonable to me since it takes care of the ride back from BM. Send more than one knife in (up to 5) and get more bang for the buck.
1
u/Akslavelabor 1d ago
I recently sent my knife in when its was still 10$ and wasn't thrilled with the outcome. Cheaper and faster to just have mine sharpened locally. I understand the new pricing, I ship packages and it makes sense. Its fair, worth it if sending in multiple knives. For me I'm just going to learn to maintain/sharpen myself and only send in blades for warranty issue.
1
u/RentalGore 1d ago
IIRC you can send up to five knives in. I just wait till more than one knife needs sharpening and send multiple in.
1
u/DickyReadIt 1d ago
You can bring them to supporting stores and they'll send it in for free. I did that at Cabela's when I went on vacation
1
u/Easy_Discipline4295 1d ago
The new life sharp form to fill out is confusing to me. I even went to the local knife shop and he was having a hard time figuring out how to fill the form out correctly. I don’t use the LifeSharp service often, but it seems a little more complex than the last time I used it.
1
u/bigbearlol 1d ago
I used it recently on my super freek, It was nicely sharp and just hone the edged it was awesome especially for m4 steel
1
u/Slav7777 9h ago
Thats for shipping both ways. And they supply all the packing materials. With current shpping prices it's a steal of a deal.
12
u/Elate_Scarab Osborne 1d ago
Meh. IMHO, anyone who owns a half-decent knife from a major brand like this should just invest in a bit set and sharpener. It's <$100 total for a WorkSharp precision adjust and a Wiha torx bit driver and set. I've never used the lifesharp service in ~20 years of owning Benchmades, it's faster and easier to just do it myself from sharpening to disassembly and cleaning. That's not a brag, either - adjustable sharpeners take most of the work out of getting a good edge, anyone can do it.