Wayne what sucks about the spyderco warranty and repair, is that Glesser. owner/president/spokesman changed it. You bought a knife that 14 years ago would have been replaced if the blade had broken in normal use. Sure they say it can't be repaired, but in the old days Spyderco would have given you a new knife (if they still make the brand) or an equivalent knife, if the original is out of production.
It was a LIFETIME warranty/repair not a 14 year one. You paid for this warranty and then Spyderco got in financial trouble, or wanted to squeeze more money out of their firm, and changed the warranty. You, me and others have had the same complaint.
For example, they used to fix their integral clip knives for free due to the design flaw of the clip breaking. Not anymore, they charge for this. They replaced a Jot for me in 1999 with blade play by giving me another knife, since it wasn't in production. Now if you have problems with the Jot (which Glasser admits had design and execution flaws that are Spyderco's responsibility) they say "sorry charlie" and won't replace it. Now the Jot's been out production for 7 years and the spydercultists say "what do you expect it's old and you shouldn't expect it to be fixed or replaiced" However, I know of two stores where you can buy a Jot brand new with the original warranty still in the box. That original newly bought spyderco warranty isn't worth a hoot, because Spyderco won't honor it. Not clear to me how a warranty/repair policy posted on a website would trump the policy you got when you bought the blade.
Maybe if you still had the box that gave the warranty/free repair policy, you could force them to honor their original contract, but I doubt it.
However, spyderco buyers should understand that the service they get today can and has been denied in the future when Glesser decides they need more profit or its too much trouble to provide the service.
By the way, just because it's pinned doesn't mean it can't be fixed and even look as good as new. This is another fallacy put forward by spyderco because they don't really have a repair shop. Ask any knifemaker if they can replace a pinned blade in a stainless steel handle and they'll say yes. Ask them if you'd be able to tell if its been fixed and they'll say sure, but you'll have to look real close and know what to look for. Spyderco doesn't have the parts, the will or the skill in their repair shop to fix pinned knives.
By the way, just because it's fourteen years old doen't mean spyderco shouldn't be stocking parts for a high production, hard use, costly knife. Bechmade replaced a blade on a 10 year old knife (Bogezewski designed Spike) last year (knife out of production for about 8 years) and charged only $20. That's about what spyderco would charge for a sharpen and buff. Lord only knows what they wouldl charge to replace a blade.
