A little dissapointed....

KarlMaldensNose said:
I agree with you 100% and hope it works out... however part of me thinks that it would be too risky for CRK to set the precedent (very publicly, in this case) of replacing the knife b/c of an off-center blade and/or refunding the money you had to pay for ALL shipping fees (which I think they should do)... just imagine the flood of knives they'd have being sent back for replacements... I would bet heavily that this is exactly what they are "consulting" about.
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Hey, if Chris Reeve wants to tout his knives as having unmatched fit and finish and charge his customers accordingly, he'd better deliver. From what I have seen, when someone first examines a knife for fit and finish they first look at 1.) blade play and 2.) blade centering. People buy CRK for this very reason. If customers can't consistently rely on the CRK promise, they may as well buy a $60 knife elsewhere.
 
austinguy23 said:
Hey, if Chris Reeve wants to tout his knives as having unmatched fit and finish and charge his customers accordingly, he'd better deliver. From what I have seen, when someone first examines a knife for fit and finish they first look at 1.) blade play and 2.) blade centering. People buy CRK for this very reason. If customers can't consistently rely on the CRK promise, they may as well buy a $60 knife elsewhere.
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:thumbup:Absolutely.
 
Daniel said:
I don't understand. What is the $50 for?

Is it a tax or just a "handling" fee?
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Not a tax nothing to do with the government at all actually, its a UPS handling fee imposed by UPS on packages coming into Canada from the U.S.
I got burned by UPS once with that fee and ever since i only ever use USPS (no brokerage fees).
If shipping from the U.S to Canada ALWAYS USE USPS.
:)
 
thanks for the info! It sounds like UPS has quite a scam operating in Canada!


tholiver said:
Not a tax nothing to do with the government at all actually, its a UPS handling fee imposed by UPS on packages coming into Canada from the U.S.
I got burned by UPS once with that fee and ever since i only ever use USPS (no brokerage fees).
If shipping from the U.S to Canada ALWAYS USE USPS.
:)
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Thalestin said:
I emailed CR and they have replied. They have to do some consulting and will get back to me on monday. IMO they had their chance to make it right. I think it is totally fair for me to post on the boards. If they make it right for me, I will post and give them praise for it on this post and ill make a fresh one. Im not bashing them, but they didnt do a good job in my eyes. Its a 400 dollar folder and I expected better.
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So did they get back to you yesterday? If so, what was the outcome?
 
Daniel said:
thanks for the info! It sounds like UPS has quite a scam operating in Canada!
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Bingo. Since neither FedEx or USPS has any kind of similar arrangement, I think it's just robbery from UPS.

DHL did the same thing to me once on a package coming into the US from Denmark. Cost me $60 to get them to release it. It was completely exempt from US customs duties.
 
I'm eager to see what the outcome is. I find it extremely disappointing that they had the knife, couldn't FULLY correct it, and sent it back to you. This puts a little ding in CRK's armor.
 
If you guys think this was bad try dealing with Strider. Not returning emails/calls, putting a ton of flawed unQCed knives on the market and acting like there's nothing wrong with any of that is there common business practices. Once in a blue moon I hear something like this happening with CRK and I'm sure they will try to make it right with the appropriate atitude as well. Contact CRK.
 
Hm, if the OP doesn't give an update I'll just assume CRK screwed him over. After all, he did say he'd update this thread and also start a new one if CRK made it right. Not looking good...
 
If customers can't consistently rely on the CRK promise, they may as well buy a $60 knife elsewhere.
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This puts a little ding in CRK's armor.
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I suppose one of the curses of having an impeccable reputation for customer service is that the few horror stories you do hear of are invariably blown out of proportion. This is made worse by the fact that us forumites, who by nature are sticklers for such things, hear just about all of them.

Don't forget that CRK is still one of the most renouned knife companies, and Mr. Reeve himself one of the most renouned cutlers, in the world. That's THE WORLD, in case you didn't hear me, and you don't get that kind of reputation on hype alone.

These kinds of errors can never be completely dispelled from a manufacturer's inventory, especially since no honest knife company would ever claim to offer a perfect product. (I love you, Cold Steel, but I'm talking to you here.) With CRK, however, these problems are among the most likely to be dealt with to the satisfaction of both parties, and also among the least likely to occur at all. That says something, even if you still get a lemon now and then.

Having said that, everyone here is making good points. You paid for a certain expectation of quality, and while sugar is always better than vinegar, you shouldn't rest until you get what you paid for.
 
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The problem may lie in the brainwashing that occurs in these forums.

Many people think that any and every knife, regardless of brand, should exhibit the following characteristics:

  • PERFECTLY centered blade. If it appears one micron off, then it is flawed.
  • A specific percentage of lockup, 50% to 90%, out of the box, depending on the users preconcieved notions. This is insane. (Personally, I prefer as little lock up as possible, it leaves more room for wear.)
  • No blade play whatsoever! None! Not one nanometer!
Now that expectations have become completely unrealistic, enter CRK.
The word 'Perfect' is thrown around a lot. So, prospective buyers believe that is what they will get. Even if their last Al Mar, or whatever, was flawless, they expect a CRK to totaly knock their socks off. They seem to believe that 110% perfection exists.

It is interesting that the OP, who has written many threads touting the flawless perfection of the Seb. has only recently realized that his knife isn't all that after all. Or, maybe he is just seeing a problem that isn't really there, due to his unrealistic expectations. Since he didn't bring this flaw up immediately, upon purchase, it makes one wonder why the story has gone from 'this is the best knife ever', to, 'I'm disapointed'.
Perhaps the knife is flawed and he just wanted to believe otherwise for a time. I don't know. Either way, the story line doesn't add up.

Knifemakers must be wringing their hands seeing all the perfectly acceptable, within spec, returned knives that they see coming back to their factory with 'problems' that aren't really there. Can you imagine how many knives CRK will have returned if they give the impression that 'good enough, isn't good enough'? They will go out of business.
 
bearcut said:
The problem may lie in the brainwashing that occurs in these forums.


Perhaps the knife is flawed and he just wanted to believe otherwise for a time.
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I personally believe this is what happens on these forums(at times). One reads how awesome "XYZ" is and hates to see the reality of minor "variences" from time to time, especially since it appears they're the only one with the problem. That being said, I know without any doubt at least two of my 4 Sebs came with flaws and a third has developed issues that are in line with the OP's issues. As result, it's easy for me to take the OP's issues as legit.
 
bearcut said:
Knifemakers must be wringing their hands seeing all the perfectly acceptable, within spec, returned knives that they see coming back to their factory with 'problems' that aren't really there. Can you imagine how many knives CRK will have returned if they give the impression that 'good enough, isn't good enough'? They will go out of business.
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I can't comment one way or the other as to validity of the issue presented by the OP. However the term "Good Enough" needs to be weighed in direct proportionality to purchase price.

I have purchased many knives which I considered good quality in terms of materials, function and performance. Case in point I consider Spyderco's upper-end offerings to be some of the best examples of price to quality, i.e. bang for the buck.

With respect to Spyderco I believe my expectations for "fit and finish" are reasonable. I also believe my expectations for CRK "fit and finish" are reasonable. However these expectations are by no means the same, if I were to come across a Spyderco that achieved my CRK expectation for fit and finish I'd be a very happy in-deed. Inversely if I received a Sebenza which displayed the level of fit and finish I'd have readily accepted from Spyderco I'd be pretty unhappy.

I've been very pleased with the quality of the Sebenza's I own, my past experience with CRK products has solidified my baseline expectation for quality, as long as CRK continues to meet these expectations I'll continue to purchase their products. If by chance my expectations are not met, I'll certainly give CRK the opportunity to address the issue to my satisfaction.

I say my satisfaction because these aren't purchases of necessity they're purchases of choice. Given I can purchase any number of quality knifes for a fraction of the price of a Sebenza, CRK needs to differentiate itself through exceptional quality and customer service. CRK realizes their position in the marketplace and I'm confident they'll act accordingly.
 
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