Al Mar, I've had enough!

O

onetrickpony

Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
100
I have an Al Mar Sere 2000 folder that I bought on 12/1/2012.

I was initially impressed with it, but fast forward a couple years and even slight pressure on the spine of the blade moves the liner lock (which is at about 75% lock up when open)to about 10%. I've been trying to contact Al Mar about it and have had no response other than an automated one, after three months and no less than four emails.


I know that others have posted similar complaints about Al Mar's customer service, but I have to make a decision, and here are the options as I see them:

1. Take the knife apart myself and fix it, voiding the warranty but making the knife right again.
2. Continue to wait. I don't think that this is going to do anything.
3. I just bought a gold membership and can now sell on the exchange. Maybe I'll just sell it as is if anyone is interested.
4. Is there a better way to get through to Al Mar?
5. I could try to bring it back to where I bought it and let them deal with Al Mar, if they're willing.

Thoughts or suggestions would be great, thanks guys and gals.
 
I had the same problem with my Sere as well. I ended up just getting rid of the knife and not looking back. Customer service was of absolutely no help.
If you can return it to where you purchased it, I would go that route....although after two years that seems unlikely.
If you can fix it yourself I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to take it apart. In my opinion Al Mar warranty inst worth a thing....hard to "void" something that doesn't exist.
 
Exactly. If you think you can fix it yourself, do it. The sere is one hell of a knife and worth keeping. I emailed al mar just asking for a thumb stud for the longest time. I got absolutely no response until I bad mouthed them on every knife forum from here to Timbuktu. Then suddenly, they were absolutely willing to send me a replacement thumbstud and acted indignant about the way I "besmirched their customer service". Go figure. Sometimes you really do catch more flies with vinegar.

If I were you I'd fix it myself or return it to where I bought it. Don't give up tho - the sere really is a great knife!
 
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I have a SERE 2000 bought several years ago that is pretty much perfect. It became my favorite modern knife. Liked it so much I decided to buy the mini SERE a few years back. Found a good price and ordered it only to discover it was made by a different Japanese cutlery company than my original--don't remember the company--and the fit and finish were subpar (I think my SERE was made by Moki, I don't have it handy to check). The blade on the replacement mini SERE was a matte finish, the grip panels were poorly done but the worst problem was the front-to-back blade wobble. I returned it to the seller for an exchange who advised Al Mar would send me the replacement from their main office. The replacement was exactly like the first with significant blade wobble and poor lockup. I contacted the seller and he advised to return it directly to him for store credit and he would deal with Al Mar, which I did.

All this left me with a bad taste for Al Mar. Their older knives were outstanding but I'm skeptical of the current company, their knives and customer service.
 
I've got a Payara that opens and closes like there is zero friction, and locks open very tightly. It's a very well executed design, with outstanding fit and finish. I got to select a model of my choice as a gift from a customer while I was in the gun business. He's a friend of high ups at Al Mar (their HQ is in the town I grew up in-- Tualatin, OR), and hand picked the sample for me. Because it's a gift, I haven't used mine at all, yet. The guy who got it for me has one, and has clearly thumped on it quite a bit-- he takes it hunting and on work calls, and uses it for a wide variety of jobs. His still had no blade play or lock issues when I last saw it (about a year ago).

I called Al Mar once, and got a human being on the line immediately. She was friendly, but sounded a little lost. My question wasn't related to any issues with a product, so I can't speak to that.

I want to love Al Mar knives. I suspect that they have a lot of quality variance between models. The Rexroat designs (Payara, Nomad, etc) appear solid.

Good customer service will make or break a company in a competitive market like this. I hope they sort it out.
 
The half dozen or so Al Mar folders that I've owned, including a pair of SERE 2000s, were custom level perfect.

I accidently destroyed a SERE 2000 washer, disassembling the knife to clean it out. I called them up and they sent me a new set of washers in the mail. They laughed when I asked if my warranty was voided for disassembling the knife.

Keep trying to get ahold of someone and they'll take care of it.
 
I bought an Al Mar once. A modern liner lock. I wasn't impressed.
 
I bought the Mini Operator and it is perfect. I then ordered the Mini SERE folder and it was a disappointment. The pocket clip was mounted skew. I completed the online form on the Al Mar website to complain about the clip and wanted to know if I could send it in to get sorted. Automated response was all I got. Nothing for months now. I eventually removed the clip as it was a pain to use (clip moved when holding the knife). Last Al Mar purchase. The support does not match the price.
 
I had SERE 2000 a few years ago. I have got it in a trade in new condition: I heard so much about it I thought I needed to try. It had the same problem with a lock play, it was on a heavy side and blade to handle ratio was somewhat less than impressive. So I traded it away without hardly cutting anything with it. I guess I may have another Al Mar in the future, their fixed blades look very interesting, I may even have a SERE Operator, or a folder, but I will not have another SERE 2000: just was not impressed with it, even the lock problem aside!
 
Wow, thanks for the replies!

I want to like this knife, I did like it for a long time. I'll check out that phone number when I get a minute and see if I can get somewhere that way. I'm probably just going to take it apart and see what I can do, worst case I put it back together like it is now.

In any event, I will not buy another product from this company no matter what, it's just unacceptable not to communicate with customers.
 
If you're using a knife to cut who cares that putting pressure on the opposite direction moves the lock. Maybe it's just me but it seems irrelevant.
 
chester22 said:
If you're using a knife to cut who cares that putting pressure on the opposite direction moves the lock. Maybe it's just me but it seems irrelevant.
Click to expand...

It's relevant because that lock is the only thing preventing me from cutting my fingers when things don't go as planned.

Btw, just heard back from Al Mar today, twice. Info tomorrow, but suffice it to say that I'm not impressed with their response at the moment.
 
I didn't have time to respond to Al Mar today, but it turns out I didn't have to. They had initially asked for photos or video of the problem, but today they sent me an RMA!

I'll be sending the knife out within the next couple of days as soon as I get the opportunity.

I want to spell out one thing here: I'm not looking for free service. If they deem that the knife is covered under warranty, that's great, but I'm willing to pay for repairs if they aren't covered.


I'm just glad to have finally heard back and I will update the thread as progress is made. Thanks for all the support and help guys.
 
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