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a bit of a strider upset... :(

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i heard a marketing statistic once...

a customer with a positive experience tells two people
a customer with a negative experience tells ten people
 
All I know is when you have a problem with a Strider knife, you go straight to the source.
Strider and his friends are okay in my book. Give them a chance to do good.
 
But, not to the degree of the knfe that is the subject of this post. Besides the cosmetics, it appears to be the most rugged folder that I own. I've even listed it in my profile since I signed on to this joint.

But it seems no one ever really tested this knife. I'm very tempted to test mine for spine whack, which seems to be a contested topic here. What else does everyone want tested?

If it's reasonable, and my knife won't be ruined, I may just do a series of tests with posted pix, just to shut up the whiners and end this debate.

Cliff

I'm not Cliff Stamp btw.
 

Facts are facts and here the fact is they let these out the door and put them on the street. On their web site it mentions they are a group of Ex-Military
so from that I will hold them to a higher standard than if they didnt. While the people on this forum can recognize problems with a knife and know to send it back and Im sure they will replace it, this is a inexcuseable way to sale blades as a instrument of combat. There are no second chances in combat and this is the market of the company, soldiers. It makes me sick to think of some private who barely knows how to shine his jump boots, decideing this is the best knife, investing limeted resources, and recieving one of the 2 knives I was shown. In the end its all about qaulity control and they should have one guy with a cutting torch for that. No Pass Heres the Gas, End of Story.
 
STR said:
I disagree with the thought that he shouldn't post about it in public before talking to the maker. That has nothing to do with it. The maker should expect public scrutiny IMO. Besides that the original author of this thread wasn't sure if he should be upset or not and was basically asking for feedback from others that could see for themselves and let him know if he was wrong in his thought process or not. No harm there. I see no problem with Mick being man enough to admit one got out that shouldn't have. It happens and no one needs to try to hide this fact. I don't think it is going to change anything by a few guys on a forum knowing about it. Again just my opinion.
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Amen! I completely concur. However, I can't believe this knife is anything but a test proto-type or factory second. No knife company that wants to be in business very long would send it to a customer. It looks like a rough sample that was perhaps give to a dealer who may have decided to make a bundle selling it to someone who is lacking in knife intelligence, IMHO.

I hope the upset owner keeps us updated on the correction process.
 
I agree that this one warrants a refund.....however...the temper might not be screwed up on the tip.....I am not sure of the temp that Bos uses for his s30v, but some temper as high as 750f for blades.....so the blue color more than likely didnt exceed this.

Sure not what you want to see from a big name.
 
I agree that the temper is probably not affected. Still it should not have left the factory with a burn mark on it. That is an amateurish unskilled mistake that is unacceptable in any high dollar knife.
 
A few points, you can't really note the QC is going downhill from one blade, no one has 100% perfect quality control. If they use the same method Bos used, it gets the same results, Bos doesn't have some kind of magical powers that effects the blade, heat treating is a science, not a religion. All the problems you noted are cosmetic, aside from the tip which may have softened it, so use it and find out. If you want a perfect blade, then you do have the right to get one, but if you actually use the folder for what it is promoted for, in a very short period of time the issues you mentioned would be the least of the cosmetic damage done to the knife.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
in a very short period of time the issues you mentioned would be the least of the cosmetic damage done to the knife.

-Cliff
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Not all of us (or even very many?) are as hard on knives as you are. The poor blade stamp will not go away any time soon, neither will the tool marks on the spine. Cosmetic? Yes, with the exception of the possible issue with heat treat. But if the "custom" knife maker does not care about very obvious cosmetic issues on a NEW knife, what other issues remain hidden from view? There are a number of makers who will provide better quality at a lower price. There is no reason to settle for less, given the hype surrounding the maker's name.
 
also, as previously stated, Strider's got one of the best warranty's out there and they have a great track record of taking care of their customers.

i also agree that QC issues should be voiced but personally, i would contact the manufacturer first. i've been pretty pissed about things like that and been totally disarmed by the generousity of the maker. i'd much rather read something like "i got a knife that looked like a 2 year old made it but when i contacted the maker he was super friendly and sent me out a new one in two days and paid for me to ship the old one back." or "i got a knife that looked like a two year old made it and when i contacted the maker he told me to pound sand." letting a crappy knife sneak out of the workshop could happen to anyone, no matter how good they are. its how they respond that tells me if they are worth dealing with or not.
 
benchmademan I generally agree with you.

I appreciate knowing about these thinsg though as I can include it in the calculation of how much a knife costs. That is if I want a new strider there is a fair chance I'll have to send it back to be fixed right away. So now the costs is New knife + shipping + shipping it back + another week or two delay.
 
DaveH said:
I appreciate knowing about these thinsg though as I can include it in the calculation of how much a knife costs. That is if I want a new strider there is a fair chance I'll have to send it back to be fixed right away. So now the costs is New knife + shipping + shipping it back + another week or two delay.
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i think that may be a little exagerrated. while there have been reports of QC issues with Stiders, i'm certain they are a minority. but, then again, we can speculate about that all day. all we have is our limited experience and mixed reviews on these forums.
 
Don M said:
Not all of us (or even very many?) are as hard on knives as you are.
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Cutting cardboard is enough to induce far worse cosmetic damage than already present. It isn't what I would do, it is what the knives are promoted as being made to do.

But if the "custom" knife maker does not care about very obvious cosmetic issues on a NEW knife, what other issues remain hidden from view?
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On what basis is it known they accepted the flaws? Mick doesn't individually inspect all the Striders, not all of them are actually custom ground, they offer custom and production versions.

Even if this was true, and it was inspected, there is a big difference between letting a cosmetic issue pass and something that effects performance. Not everyone buys a knife because it looks nice.

There are a number of makers who will provide better quality at a lower price. There is no reason to settle for less, given the hype surrounding the maker's name.
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The knives are not promoted because of the finish, it is because of the performance
[*].

-Cliff

[*] not arguing here in support of the performance claims, just stating how the knives are generally promoted, and of course as noted already the customer has a right to get a refund if desired
 
Midget said:
to each his own... as for the high price, well, i suppose there's a reason why we're on bladeforums and not average joe with an average joe knife. :D
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You're right, you bought it and if you like it then that's all that really should matter. The price of a knife is based on what people are willing to pay for one, and if that one's worth $325 to a bunch of people then more power to 'em. The most I ever paid for a knife was $225 for a beautifully made Krein TK-8 and while it's worth that much to me, my wife thinks I have a hole in my head. :)
 
All good points Cliff. Especially the one about judging the whole company based on one knife. Personally though if I spend that much on a custom I expect it to both look great and perform great. In the end if the customer is happy that is all that matters. I'm sure there are guys that would accept this knife as is without question and just use it knowing that it has the same warranty as any other Strider with little concern for the looks but I would venture to say they would be the minority.
 
Cliff Stamp said:
On what basis is it known they accepted the flaws?
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They shipped the knife out.

It doesn't matter if Mick personally inspects each blade. Someone accepted the flaws. I have found in every organization where I have worked that by and large the attitude of the employees reflects the attitude of the bosses. There are exceptions, and that is why it is a question of is it a trend or just a one time deal? I don't have the experience with Strider to judge this (trend vs an employee having a bad day), but I know I would not be a happy camper after spending $325 on a new knife only to find these flaws, regardless of whether the knife was hyped on performance vs fit and finish.
 
I love my Strider, and it came to me in perfect condition. No cosmetic flaws what so ever, as I hoped and expected it would. Regardless of whether or not "it's meant to be a user, so appearance doesn't matter", for the amount of money spent (and well spent imo), there should be a pretty high quality of fit and finish to the knives. I have to believe that the knife in question was a fluke and that if unsatisfied with the looks, the owner should send it back to the strider boys. If I were the one that received that knife, it would've already been returned. I think one should expect a little more, especially considering that it's a custom knife, not just a production piece.

That being said, I've already put mine throught the wringer, and it's handled everything I've thrown at it. It's got all kinds of "added character" now too. :D

*edit: spelling
 
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