***Possible resolution pending within 3-4 weeks
****Update, 5 weeks now, with no contact from Andy Franco, and I sent him a message before the time was up to remind him.
Well, I'm very sorry to do it, because I believe--from what I've seen--that Andy Franco has talent both in design and execution of custom knives, but I have to report that he is either:
1) Dishonest, in which case I recommend you don't do business with him, or...
2) An absolutely horrible manager of time and communications, in which case I recommend you don't do business with him.
I'm also probably going to receive a lot of criticism about just HOW MUCH leniency I showed in this transaction. The truth is, my days of needing a knife for soldiering are long behind me, and the amount of money involved is not a make-or-break issue, so knowing how there are many folks out there who are great knife makers but poor small businessmen, I just really wasn't worrying that much about it. There is no doubt in my mind now, though, that this fellow needs to be known about and avoided by other knife people. I'm sorry for the length of this post--I've included the pertinent communications between us below, but the Cliff's Notes version is he accepted payment from me more than four years ago and has delivered nothing.
I came to know about Andy from a knife magazine article several years ago, and I was very interested in the old-timey cowboy knife designs that were featured in it. I contacted him, placed an order for two knives, and was told that a deposit of $50 would get me on the books and that after some weeks, he'd request the balance when the knives were ready. Here is the email I received after four-five weeks (which was within the expected time of delivery):
On Feb 7, 2011, at 9:46 AM, Andy Franco wrote:
Hi Warren,
Both your knives will be ready to ship out shortly. The Valkyrie 1844' & The Sawtooth Skinner 1910'. We did receive your deposit of $50. Please send the balance of $810 and make payable to: Calico Forge Knife co. We will be shipping your order via USPS to the address below:
Warren Higgins
******************
******************
(Address removed)
We will notify you when your payment is received , you order ships out and when you can expect it to arrive. Along with your order will have warranty and invoice/receipt included.
Thank you!!
Andy
Andy Franco
Calico Forge Knife Co.
907 Sunny Lane
Nampa, ID 83651
(208)442-7110
www.calicoforge.com
So, the balance was sent. I then heard absolutely nothing. After a couple weeks I sent an email asking if everything was alright, and was contacted by his wife and told that Andy had hurt his hand badly and the sheaths weren't done yet. Now, I have suffered severe injuries in my life, so I said that there would be no hurry and I understood. This next is the email I sent to him, TWO YEARS and one day after his email telling me to send the balance for the knives, and his response:
Hello Andy,
I hope all is well with you. I'm responding to you with a reply to this original email between us which is, as you can see, exactly two years and one day ago, in which the knives were nearly ready to be shipped out, and for which I sent the balance of my total $860 payment. I know what happened with your hand, and fully understand how hard it can be to come back from an injury, but it seems--both from the emails I've received from you since and those from vendors like Vintage Knives--that you've long since recovered and are producing work. Now I am not one to jump to conclusions, and would rather suppose that you've simply put this order out of your mind, but at some point I really do have to wonder if I'm going to see anything delivered to me. I hope to hear from you soon,
Warren Higgins
--------------------
Warren,
I'm glad you wrote and I'd like to see if we can just hit the reset button on your order. You've waited more than you needed to and have demonstrated patience. I am grateful for your graciousness. As you know by now, I have moved my work over to production "Tactical Knives" and wanted to know if you would consider re-ordering what I currently make for the same cost difference that I owe you.
This option would allow me to produce your order this month, (2) knives and guarantee the results your are wanting. This will also assure that the order will be completed in the time frame set since I can work your request in with my standard work load. A semi-custom tactical knife (2 @ $450 each) can also be done in a timely manner as well. You can chose any models from my line or we can do something different. Please consider these options and let me know what you would like. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Andy
Calico Forge
My first inclination was to demand a refund, but honestly, I thought the new designs he was producing looked interesting, and I thought that hey, I'd get the knives from him and if I didn't love them, I'd resell them and just not make the mistake of dealing with him again. So, I suggested a slightly modified version of his patterns (using alternating disks of slightly different colored G10/micarta to simulate a stacked leather handle) and he said that he'd look around and see what he thought would work the best.
Two more years went by. In that time, I received many mass-emails from Calico Forge, talking about all the new stuff they were doing and the new models up for sale. Just a little over two months ago I sent Andy this message:
Hello Andy,
I hope you're well.
Listen, two years after I placed and payed for my original order, we "hit the reset button" and I changed my order to the new style of knives that you had changed to making from the original designs that had interested me in the first place. The knives I ordered were fairly standard versions of what you were making, with very slight modifications (two colors of G10 instead of one in the handle). It has, since that conversation, been two years, one month and two weeks. I'm aware of the fact that you had an injury, that life in general happens and I've certainly been guilty of absent-mindedness from time to time, but I've seen work of yours popping up on various dealer sites so I know that knives are being put out, just not mine.
At this point, I don't want any knives. My interests have shifted, and my knife collection has reached the point where I'm paring it down rather than adding to it. I'm sure, if the knives we spoke of are nearly finished, they can be sold or shipped to one of your dealers just as easily as any of the others. I think you're highly talented from what examples of your work I've seen, and I wish you all the success in the world, but I wouldn't enjoy either of these knives now.
Understanding that it might not be especially convenient immediately, I'd like to get a refund of the $860 sometime in the next two months.
Warren Higgins
I received no reply. I also noticed that the mailing list emails have stopped coming. So, a couple of weeks ago, I asked my friend Bill Martin to email Andy and inquire about placing an order. He inquired, and received this response within a matter of hours:
Dr. Martin,
The turn around time from ordering to delivery is 7-10 days for a Mk46. If
you would like to place an order, please click onto this link:
http://calico-forge-knife-co.myshopify.com/products/mk46-field-survival-utility
Thank you!
Andy
Calico Forge Knife Co.
CF-Tactical & Design
PO Box 1502
Nampa, Idaho 83653
Office(208) 467-9070
calicoforge@msn.com
www.calicoforge.com
So, obviously his injury is no longer causing him much grief, and obviously his email is still working and he's checking it. He simply took $860 from me and has no intention of ever giving it back. I know money is tight, and many folks are not as fortunate as I in their financial situation; hell, even if he'd said that he needs to pay me back in installments I would have accepted that (to a point--$50 installments would be okay, not $5 installments), but he's just pretending I don't exist.
Based on this experience, I have to put him in the same camp with Allen Blade, Newt Livesay and Peter Jensen---talented but untrustworthy and to be avoided. My intention is to contact the various knife dealers where I've seen his knives for sale and direct them to this thread. I do not expect them to make any decisions about future dealings with him based only upon my word, but feel they should be aware of his behavior in this instance.
For as many years as I've been buying custom knives, this is the only time I've ever gotten bitten, though I've seen it happen to plenty of other folks. Still, though, most makers are honest, and I'm grateful that my track record has been so good!
Edited: for spelling and also to alter a couple of more vitriolic sentences which added nothing of value.
****Update, 5 weeks now, with no contact from Andy Franco, and I sent him a message before the time was up to remind him.
Well, I'm very sorry to do it, because I believe--from what I've seen--that Andy Franco has talent both in design and execution of custom knives, but I have to report that he is either:
1) Dishonest, in which case I recommend you don't do business with him, or...
2) An absolutely horrible manager of time and communications, in which case I recommend you don't do business with him.
I'm also probably going to receive a lot of criticism about just HOW MUCH leniency I showed in this transaction. The truth is, my days of needing a knife for soldiering are long behind me, and the amount of money involved is not a make-or-break issue, so knowing how there are many folks out there who are great knife makers but poor small businessmen, I just really wasn't worrying that much about it. There is no doubt in my mind now, though, that this fellow needs to be known about and avoided by other knife people. I'm sorry for the length of this post--I've included the pertinent communications between us below, but the Cliff's Notes version is he accepted payment from me more than four years ago and has delivered nothing.
I came to know about Andy from a knife magazine article several years ago, and I was very interested in the old-timey cowboy knife designs that were featured in it. I contacted him, placed an order for two knives, and was told that a deposit of $50 would get me on the books and that after some weeks, he'd request the balance when the knives were ready. Here is the email I received after four-five weeks (which was within the expected time of delivery):
On Feb 7, 2011, at 9:46 AM, Andy Franco wrote:
Hi Warren,
Both your knives will be ready to ship out shortly. The Valkyrie 1844' & The Sawtooth Skinner 1910'. We did receive your deposit of $50. Please send the balance of $810 and make payable to: Calico Forge Knife co. We will be shipping your order via USPS to the address below:
Warren Higgins
******************
******************
(Address removed)
We will notify you when your payment is received , you order ships out and when you can expect it to arrive. Along with your order will have warranty and invoice/receipt included.
Thank you!!
Andy
Andy Franco
Calico Forge Knife Co.
907 Sunny Lane
Nampa, ID 83651
(208)442-7110
www.calicoforge.com
So, the balance was sent. I then heard absolutely nothing. After a couple weeks I sent an email asking if everything was alright, and was contacted by his wife and told that Andy had hurt his hand badly and the sheaths weren't done yet. Now, I have suffered severe injuries in my life, so I said that there would be no hurry and I understood. This next is the email I sent to him, TWO YEARS and one day after his email telling me to send the balance for the knives, and his response:
Hello Andy,
I hope all is well with you. I'm responding to you with a reply to this original email between us which is, as you can see, exactly two years and one day ago, in which the knives were nearly ready to be shipped out, and for which I sent the balance of my total $860 payment. I know what happened with your hand, and fully understand how hard it can be to come back from an injury, but it seems--both from the emails I've received from you since and those from vendors like Vintage Knives--that you've long since recovered and are producing work. Now I am not one to jump to conclusions, and would rather suppose that you've simply put this order out of your mind, but at some point I really do have to wonder if I'm going to see anything delivered to me. I hope to hear from you soon,
Warren Higgins
--------------------
Warren,
I'm glad you wrote and I'd like to see if we can just hit the reset button on your order. You've waited more than you needed to and have demonstrated patience. I am grateful for your graciousness. As you know by now, I have moved my work over to production "Tactical Knives" and wanted to know if you would consider re-ordering what I currently make for the same cost difference that I owe you.
This option would allow me to produce your order this month, (2) knives and guarantee the results your are wanting. This will also assure that the order will be completed in the time frame set since I can work your request in with my standard work load. A semi-custom tactical knife (2 @ $450 each) can also be done in a timely manner as well. You can chose any models from my line or we can do something different. Please consider these options and let me know what you would like. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Andy
Calico Forge
My first inclination was to demand a refund, but honestly, I thought the new designs he was producing looked interesting, and I thought that hey, I'd get the knives from him and if I didn't love them, I'd resell them and just not make the mistake of dealing with him again. So, I suggested a slightly modified version of his patterns (using alternating disks of slightly different colored G10/micarta to simulate a stacked leather handle) and he said that he'd look around and see what he thought would work the best.
Two more years went by. In that time, I received many mass-emails from Calico Forge, talking about all the new stuff they were doing and the new models up for sale. Just a little over two months ago I sent Andy this message:
Hello Andy,
I hope you're well.
Listen, two years after I placed and payed for my original order, we "hit the reset button" and I changed my order to the new style of knives that you had changed to making from the original designs that had interested me in the first place. The knives I ordered were fairly standard versions of what you were making, with very slight modifications (two colors of G10 instead of one in the handle). It has, since that conversation, been two years, one month and two weeks. I'm aware of the fact that you had an injury, that life in general happens and I've certainly been guilty of absent-mindedness from time to time, but I've seen work of yours popping up on various dealer sites so I know that knives are being put out, just not mine.
At this point, I don't want any knives. My interests have shifted, and my knife collection has reached the point where I'm paring it down rather than adding to it. I'm sure, if the knives we spoke of are nearly finished, they can be sold or shipped to one of your dealers just as easily as any of the others. I think you're highly talented from what examples of your work I've seen, and I wish you all the success in the world, but I wouldn't enjoy either of these knives now.
Understanding that it might not be especially convenient immediately, I'd like to get a refund of the $860 sometime in the next two months.
Warren Higgins
I received no reply. I also noticed that the mailing list emails have stopped coming. So, a couple of weeks ago, I asked my friend Bill Martin to email Andy and inquire about placing an order. He inquired, and received this response within a matter of hours:
Dr. Martin,
The turn around time from ordering to delivery is 7-10 days for a Mk46. If
you would like to place an order, please click onto this link:
http://calico-forge-knife-co.myshopify.com/products/mk46-field-survival-utility
Thank you!
Andy
Calico Forge Knife Co.
CF-Tactical & Design
PO Box 1502
Nampa, Idaho 83653
Office(208) 467-9070
calicoforge@msn.com
www.calicoforge.com
So, obviously his injury is no longer causing him much grief, and obviously his email is still working and he's checking it. He simply took $860 from me and has no intention of ever giving it back. I know money is tight, and many folks are not as fortunate as I in their financial situation; hell, even if he'd said that he needs to pay me back in installments I would have accepted that (to a point--$50 installments would be okay, not $5 installments), but he's just pretending I don't exist.
Based on this experience, I have to put him in the same camp with Allen Blade, Newt Livesay and Peter Jensen---talented but untrustworthy and to be avoided. My intention is to contact the various knife dealers where I've seen his knives for sale and direct them to this thread. I do not expect them to make any decisions about future dealings with him based only upon my word, but feel they should be aware of his behavior in this instance.
For as many years as I've been buying custom knives, this is the only time I've ever gotten bitten, though I've seen it happen to plenty of other folks. Still, though, most makers are honest, and I'm grateful that my track record has been so good!
Edited: for spelling and also to alter a couple of more vitriolic sentences which added nothing of value.
Last edited:
