ALLEN BLADE...Up to his Old Tricks

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Sure Don:

The illustration started with drawing he sent me and a request to start a thread, "Name this Knife?" He is correct I was glad to do it. He then sent me four other knife drawings and asked could I work on them, I said sure. I did a total of seven illustrations. He offered to make me a knife and I said rather than an Equinox how about the dagger I had done for him, and if I sent him the stag would he use that instead? He said no problem and I sent him the stag in Nov. Every time I heard from AB or saw him in Chat I was told the knife is made just some finishing work to be done. This went on for months. He then told me he needed money in addition, I agreed. I offered to have someone finish the knife if that would help, he preferred to keep me waiting. That's when I knew the knife wasn't made, even though Cori assured me that it was. I posted asking about the Equinox, who ordered one and who recieved one. Figuring if they were getting their knives I should be getting my knife, because they ordered one from my illustration, which came first.

Bottom line, he offered, I accepted. I never asked him. I have one corrrection to make, he didn't ask for additional money, I offered when I asked for stag, which I sent him instead. He later asked for $75 and I agreed, no money was ever sent. He told me it was made, he lied. He's still at it.

What I want to do is to show people what they are dealing with, with Mr Mudd.

The only thing that will satisfy me now would be a full confession from him and a formal appology.

"He who kills my enemies is my friend."
 
Well well well, here we go again, nothing better to do than gang up and attack someone, why am I not surprised?? Phil, I have told you before to watch what you say about me and I meant it, before you call me a thief, you better have proof!! You are whining and crying about a FREE knife you would have gotten, I think all these people are under the impression you paid for it, yet I have an email where you state you know you still owe $70.00 for the knife so how were you "ripped off" I'd like to know?? We have paying customers who come first and who have been getting their knives, one of which posted here and received his order and loved it, said he'd post here and I never saw it but it's ok I have the email he sent me so doesn't matter. I love the way certain people are banned and not allowed the right to defend themself yet all this garbage can be spewed and it's allowed by the powers that be because they are friends. Nice way to run a business indeed. You have alot of nerve to run your mouth about anything Phil, and for the record genius, all of your posts are on our forum as are everyone elses so again a false accusation made by you to me. Why I am moving is not yours or anyone elses business, I posted it as a courtesy to our customers. It was said that I am doing this to hide or rip people off, well I wouldn't post it in a public forum I would stay here where I have an established house. I was against Allen moving here in the first place but it was his choice to make, again none of anyone's business. He only has a few more PAID orders to do before we leave here so noone is getting "ripped off" as you people claim. Again I state that fraud and theft consist when monies are taken under false pretenses never intending on delivering the product, nor never delivering it. Not the case as people are getting their orders. If I'm out to rip people off, why tell them I'm moving, why not just up and move?? Think about that I was under no obligation to tell anyone as that is a personal choice. As for anyone who doubts my motives for moving, it doesn't matter to me at all, I know why I am doing this, where I live is too expensive to get supplies and the UPS and FED EX charges alone eat you up and those came from out of my personal pocket, not company money so now what?? I suppose again I'm a horrible person. It seems all of you people with so much to say have conveniently forgotten there are 2 sides to every story but that too is okay, no biggie. I'm a big girl and I can more than defend myself without ganging up on someone. Hey Phil, did you read the post about you in our forum, not only us saying it huh?? As I stated the prepaid orders will go out before we leave here and the rest is none of your business, that wasn't either but I figured your material is getting old and you needed a new bone. I'm sure I will now be banned for stating my opinion which is okay, I have my own forum and we all have seen what an expert Phil is at criss cross posting between forums so I know what I say will be relayed. I was told by Cougar at this forum that banning isn't liked on the forums, so why can this forum ban people at will and it's accepted?? Again, nice way to run a business. Allen did nothing but defend himself and got banned for it yet others like Phil can run their mouth all they want to. I ask all of you, if someone was saying about you or your spouse what has been said about me & Allen, would you stay silent and let it go by?? I doubt it. I can't believe all this was allowed to be put in a forum but that's why I made mine, to avoid all this. Phil, last warning, be very careful what you say about me or call me, especially in a public forum and in print, if you have a problem with me, be a man and email me and address it and stop hiding behind the people on this forum. As for Rob Simonich, I have also had NO dealings with him and except for 1 email he has never talked to me so that subject is closed and soooooooooo old. Phil, dig deeper for a better and newer bone, you're getting stale. If banning isn't liked and makes people mad, why is Allen banned?? He wasn't selling his knives on here, all he did was defend himself and it wasn't liked. His thread was locked fast enough but this one is still open and going, go figure. Maybe because Phil is friends with the owner. I do know how to run a business, I would never allow such trash talking and outright bashing. I read the Jaxurman thread and I believe HIM, why would he put his reputation on the line in a public forum if he wasn't telling the truth?? But he was also ganged up on from every side and it was allowed, the thread wasn't locked and stopped. Makes me wonder but now I see as long as you're in good with the boss, you can get away with anything. What ever happened to 2 sides to every story and the right to defend oneself. All I know is I am so done with this whole thing. Phil you and I and Allen know the ONLY money you put out for the knife was to send the stag, simple postage that's it, otherwise the knife was a FREEBIE so admit it,I have the email where you admit you know you still owe $70.00 for the knife,why I have no idea because the knife was FREE and no charge to you. I'll post it in my forum if you don't admit it as I'm sure I'll soon be banned from here. Phil just fess up and admit you paid nothing but postage for the stag to be sent or the email will be posted. Why would you pay for a free knife Phil, all 3 of us know Allen charged you NOTHING which is why all you got back was the stag, NO refund because you paid NOTHING. And to all the people who Phil duped into thinking he paid for the knife, I am sorry he misled you.
~ Cori ~
 
I believe Phil has made it clear that Allen agreed to make him a knife as a way of saying thanks for Phil's efforts on his behalf.

What's troubling is why Phil would be told repeatedly that the knife was done or just about done if it wasn't the case.

This hits home with me because I had a similar experience with a maker I won't name here. This maker had several hundred dollars of mine for about six months or more, and yet he never made or delivered the knife that I was repeatedly told was near or about to be completed from September of 2000 through March of 2001. (And this project was the makers idea and something he had promised in time for my birthday in October of 2000. Not only that, but he proposed the project in the early Spring of 2000, so he had seven months or so to get it done timely.)

In the end it's about trust and character. Once you lie and lose your good name it's very hard to get it back. The maker I referred to above? I sold the other knives I owned by him as I no longer wanted anything in my collection by someone I couldn't respect or trust.

The question you have to ask yourself, Corinne and Allen, is whether you are living up to your promises? Because if you don't, and that seems likely given the posts here, word gets out, and the damage that follows can be irreparable.

If you make a commitment, keep it. If you give your word, honor it.

Seems simple enough.
 
A big part of the problem is that most of Allen's problems and the issues he was banned for took place before they were together. Only she knows what he has told her, but she is trying to defend the undefendable.
Why has it repeatedly been ignored that Allen told Phil his knife was made and now is able to send the stag back?
 
My issue was with Phil due to the name calling and accusations and assumptions he made toward me, he forced me to defend myself by his words and actions and yes alot happened before I entered the picture but the fact still remains, banning is wrong and a form of censorship, everyone is entitled ot their opinion and it's not right that certain people can post and trash all they want to and others get banned. Of course I would defend my Husband, wouldn't you defend your spouse?? The only people who know what was said between Allen and Phil are them and I'd love for Phil to send me via email the conversation where Allen asked him for any money regarding the dagger. How dare he call me a liar about why I am moving, as I said I posted it as a courtesy to the customers and for no other reason. I do not appreciate being called a thief by anyone and I strongly suggest Phil have proof before he accuses me again. I have illegally taken moneis from noone and people have been getting their orders. I have the meails from Cockroach Farms who posted negative comments here before he got his order and said he loved it. I requested he post something stating he got the order and he said he would but I never saw anything posted. I have the emails if anyone wants a copy of them. And of another customer who should have his order by tomorrow who I did appologize sincerely to for making a mistake on MY part admittedly so. I have been doing this for all of almost 2 months and I am far from perfect to begin with. And it's still worng to ban someone and not give them the right to defend themselves, censorship is wrong no matter who does it, especially if you claim to be so against it. Phil, I expect an email with the request from Allen for the $75.00 by the end of today so this matter can be put to rest once and for all. It's a shame I have to defend myself because of a lonely person with nothing better to do than verbally attack me.
 
Cori/Allen,

It's more expensive to live here in California than it is on most of the East Coast...the "Sunshine" tax we call it...

Do your math before you move, and finish/ship the knives that you have deposits on Before you move...
 
Hey Cori, I know you are doing your best. Keep running things, let Allen do the making and you the managing. Customers enjoy being in the loop and hate missed deadlines. I learned from a maker long ago, take the date you think it will be done, double it, and tell the customer. If he gets it before the due date, he is happy. Safe move!
 
Why is all this same old crap being dredged up again about Allen? Why rehash it? Beccause Phill saw that OTHER people were getting their knives before him. Boo hoo hooo. Richard I 've gotten into it with Phill on another occasion where he let his mouth overide his ass. Iknow people like him and I can't stand them. He is a worm pure and simple. So he has helped other people out in the past, so what. He does it only to boost his ego and make people think he is an ok guy. Look Phill helped citezen X at BF ain't he swell!:rolleyes: Well I'm not buying his BS for one minute. If Phill helps someone it's not out of the kindness of his heart. He does to serve his own purpose. Like what is going on now. Every one is with Phill on this. Everyone that has fallen for his bs that is. Ya know what Phill? I will take you up on that offer to find out. Corri, I will take the knife you were making for Phill! I'll give you money for it though!
Keep going Corri, don't let one self centered ego driven bastard get to you!
 
Ever hear the story of the boy who cried wolf? You tell a bunch of lies and then everything you say is assumed to be a lie.

Even one of your semi-satisfied customers, who received one of his knives and was very pleased with it, told us he was lied to about when the knife was done and shipped. Then he was told the knife was not finished. 6 months after he had totally paid for the knife (after being told it was finished and to send payment) he finally recieved the knife and was very happy with it, but not the business practices that took place.

I have never heard a bad word spoken about Allen's knives, but since I joined BF I have heard bad things about his business practices. If an AB knife was being sold by a fellow forumite, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it, but I wouldn't ever contract one directly.

Copfish is right though, never tell a customer that the knife is going to be done in 6 months. If you know it will take 6 months to complete, tell the customer a year. When it is finished in 6 months the customer is REALLY happy because it is done early. If something goes wrong and it does take a year, the customer isn't angry because he expected it to take a year.

The truth will set you free.
 
FvsF, I dont doubt for a second that you have gotten into it with Phil before, however regarding this subject I must take issue with a couple of things you said.

First off, you say that Phil only helps people for his own selfish reasons. I have gotten plenty of help from him and he has gotten not payment or anything from me. As I stated, I still get help from him and he has done this strictly to help me out. I know of a few people he has done this for, and he has never received nor asked for anything.

As for Allens deal, here is what I see, and have witnessed some of this when Allen used to be in chat. Phil did these renderings of knife designs from Allens scetches. Allen apparently offered to make Phil a knife for his troubles...Phil accepted (like any of us would). Phil is a stag knife lover, so he sent Allen some stag from his personal stock. Now we get to the good part. Allen stated more then once in chat that Phils knife was DONE. All that was left was a few cosmetic touch ups, but otherwise finished. Remember Allen offered to make this knife as compensation for Phils renderings. Now Phil is getting his stag back (presumably in original condition). How is this possible when the knife was finished? How does this make Phil the leach? Phil did some sketches, Allen then offered a knife for the work done, Allen claimed knife was done, Allen did not deliver and seemingly never made the knife. Several knives were reserved by people from Phils sketches (potential profit for Allen) and seemingly none of those knives were ever made.

Now I ask, how does that make Phil the bad guy in this?

I will also ask Cori and Allen (since they can post here as seen by Cori's recent posts)....Cori or Allen, was Phils knife made or near completion? For the public record Im sure there are many who would like to know if indeed you and Allen were being honest when you said it was made.

FvsF, I see you are now going to buy the knife. You should be able to get it very fast as apparently it will just need a handle now. Please be sure and post a picture of it when you receive it, as regardless of what happens here, I think it will be a knife worth looking at. Should be nice.
 
A question & suggestion. Has anyone asked for or anyone given a SPECIFIC date when knife/knives will be finished? AND SHIPPED?
And shouldn't knife making / knife buying be conducted as a form of business contract?

My point is: these aren't answers to the questions. And no one in their arguments, has presented specifics. Though I know this has been discussed for a long time in multiple posts and several boards and I probably missed them if they've been stated.

There UNFORTUNATELY are too many less than gentlemen for gentlemen's agreements.

Words are good to listen to. Actions are good to watch. I usually pay attention to the outcome of someone's <B>DECISION MAKING</B> before I get into financial situations though.
Doesn't necessarily make someone crooked, just not dependable. If you're expecting to be a business person - NOT a good trait. And if you're a consumer, not something you want to see either!!!

John
colobbfan
 
Thanks I will post pics. Thats my point on him though Richard. He now has a "freind" in you because he has done things to "help" you out. Now, when the need arrises, he can call you out and make you do something for him out of your sense of loyalty to him because of the things he has done for you. He will use your honor to get what he wants. Wait for it. It will happen. If you can't tell I absolutly detest this man.:barf:
 
Richard I'll e-mail Corri and talk with her on this and see what level of completion it's at. Just so every one knows those of you who have made knives for a while and are good at it (important), will know that putting on handle scales is not a big opperation. So I guess a knife makers term of done and a collecters term of done are two different things.
 
Cool FvsF, I look forward to seeing it. I did see the rendering of the particular knife you are getting. It does look neat.

Anyways, im sure you and I could go back and forth on the issue of Phil being my friend all day long....im sure the folks reading this would love that :p

Anyways, I would like to say one more thing though. Phil was a buddy of mine before I ever started taking the pics. It did not begin because he helped me....it began before that. As I had chatted with Phil several time, I approached him for help and was never asked for anything in return. Phil did not "call me out" to help him here. In fact I have been following this on my own for some time and could not keep quiet any longer (dunno if thats good or bad :) ).

I learned a lesson long ago. Speak your mind only by choice. Never allow somebody to recruit you to speak your comments. I did that once long ago and it backfired on me big time. Im sure some of the folks here remember that....what a mess. My comments on this situation are mine alone, and posted strictly by choice.

Anyways, back to regular programming....
 
Nobody has ever questioned Allen's knifemaking ability. In fact, I don't think I ever heard anything but compliments about his grinding skills. So here's the question. Why is it that someone with above average knifemaking abilities has had nothing but problem after problem with delivering knives, whether he was working for himself or others? Others with less ability flourish with none of these problems. Don't all makers have supplies delivered?
Cori, have you ever gotten the full,true version of the MEUK knife saga? Do a search of the archives, makes for interesting reading.
Since some people heard/saw Allen say in chat that Phil's knife was done except for some cosmetic touching up, how can the stag be returned? At least 4 people have asked this question and it has been ignored each time.
Spark did not ban Allen till he was forced to. He gave him alot of leeway, especially after the MEUK debacle. But I believe it finally came down to self-preservation. Hypothetical scenario: Let's SUPPOSE that Allen took orders/deposits/payment for knives. When the knives are not delivered and IF someone was to take legal action, where would this leave Spark? Again I say SUPPOSE someone included Spark in legal action showing that it was not the first time there was a problem, Spark should have been aware as the owner of BF, so he gets sued for owning the vehicle by which another commits fraud or whatever. ****The above is a hypothetical theory,not an accusation of anyone doing anything****
FvF, you should have the knife within days, since it was done.
 
FvsF, your reply about emailing Cori was obviously being put up at the time I was typing my last reply, so I didnt see it until after I submitted my last.
 
Robert,

I can tell you that Phil has done things for lots of us he's met through the forums. He's incurred personal expense to loan me something and refused reimbursement of the cost upon its return. He's been a friend to many in the chat room. Now, I can understand if you don't like his methods or his communication skills, but that doesn't make him a bad person.

The whole matter boils down to integrity imho. When I see friends like Rob Simonich (who I know from firsthand experience is a good, standup guy) and others with good reps complaining, you have to sit up and take notice.

When a certain friend and purveyor took deposits on a proposed joint venture with Allen and ended up having to refund the monies because the knives were not forthcoming, how do you think it made him feel to have offered something to his customers he couldn't procure despite the makers assurances to the contrary? He told me he wouldn't do business with him again.

I've never personally sent Allen money, but I've sent him pix of three daggers I was interested in doing and I was told a few times that he was just about ready to do them etc etc over a period of several months. They were never begun. I even sent them a second and third time when he couldn't locate the pictures at one point. I didn't get upset with him because he didn't have my money, but it made me wonder about why someone would continue to make promises he couldn't keep.

That's the theme I keep getting back to. Personalities aside. Your word is your bond. Don't make promises you can't keep. Period. Everyone understands when disaster strikes...A death in the family, a sick child, loss of work, illness. But a continual stream of excuses without foundation eventually leads to a lack of respect for the person offering them.

Again, I might not always agree with Phil's way of saying something (for which I'm sure he's gonna tell me later on to go "f" myself ;)) but, in my experience, I have no reason to believe he's less than truthful and honorable.

Anyway, that's how I see it. Others may see things differently.
I take a man at his word until he gives me reason not to. Then I'm slow to forget.
 
Yep Phil was lied to. Funny thing is he isn't the only one. I have heard from many of Allens customers that they were also told thatthier knife was done or almost done and would be shipped out in 2 weeks or by the end of the month. Guess what not one of them received a knife until many months later or not even yet. Is there a customer of Allens that has not been lied to this year? I bet not.
 
This website as a whole has a rule against personal attacks, but I allow some slack on this forum because people are often upset when they post here. I try to get everybody to post just the facts and leave it to readers to form their own opinions, but even at best it's sometimes a fine line....

Spark explained why he banned Allen Blade at the end of the thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=161366&perpage=20&pagenumber=1 -- also in several other threads, but as best I recall the explanations are nearly identical.

It is quite permissable to accuse Spark of actually having other reasons for his actions than he gives, to accuse him of lying about it, to accuse 1SKS or any of the dealers, manufacturers, and makers who have forums here or pay for advertising here of ripping you off, to accuse me of hypocrisy or bias or excessive lenience or excessively heavy-handed moderation or whatever. Members have done all those things; they have not been banned for it nor have their posts on TGB&U been censored. Discussion of policy is always welcome on this forum. I expect to have policies and the way I apply them questioned from time to time and I welcome that; I believe every healthy forum needs to have discussions about policy now and then.

The guiding principle of this forum is the free marketplace of ideas -- when everyone is allowed to have their say the facts will come out and readers will be able to form opinions for themselves.

When one party to a transaction has been banned from this website that can make it a little more difficult, but in this case Cori can still post here and she's taken over managing the business anyway. We can post links to other forums, too; everyone is welcome to post links to anything they think is relevant, and if nobody else does it first I make an effort to find relevant information and post links to it myself.

By the way, a grand total of three posts have been deleted in the history of TGB&U -- I deleted two trolls which were not relevant to any controversy, and Spark deleted one troll that was posted on all the forums, again not relevant to any controversy on TGB&U.
 
My appologies Richard I did not mean to imply that you were were helping him out here because he made you. DB, alot of people people were lied to. But Allen along with Corri, needs to be given a chance to make it right and it isn't going to happen overnight. You guys that are Phill's freinds I have to say this to. Maybe if I saw him at a show or was a photographer and needed help and stuck up a conversation with him and found out he was rather "straight forward, gruff, pugnatious, whatever", I might have liked the guy too and forgave him his arrogance because he is my freind and "that's just the way he is". But seeing what he posts here and how his persona comes off on these forums he is beneath me and utterly deplorable. I guess it's just when you know him not how you know him. And all I see of him here is absurdity. I also gotta say this really isn't about him anyway, It's about Allen getting his but in gear and corri making shure he dosn't have to worry about orders anymore, just making knives like we all like to do. That's why I stared is because it's fun. When things like this start to happen it becomes a burden and you don't want to do it anymore. Maybe another reason orders started falling behid. It became a downward spiral. The more of a burden it bacame because of the people that weren't getting their knives were getting mad the more depressing it was to go out in the shop and make them. Not an excuse just a thought on what might have been happening. Now that Corri is there to help out with business end he can get back to making knives and once those knive that have been getting put off and the people that bougt them are finished and done with maybe Allen can start "anew" and get rid off all the bad blood and start having fun makiing knives again. But hey have to be given a chance and not be attacked anymore. It hurts not helps.
 
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