LOL I have sent them knives that are NIB and they list them as excellent condition. I have found their descriptions in regards to appearance, lock up, centering, etc. to be accurate. Buy from them without hesitation.
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Arizona Custom Knives - something to watch out for
- Thread starter CornSyrup
- Start date
LOL I have sent them knives that are NIB and they list them as excellent condition. I have found their descriptions in regards to appearance, lock up, centering, etc. to be accurate. Buy from them without hesitation.
does anyone here in this blog work for Arizona custom knives?
17 of the last 20 Hiroaki Ohta knives last sold were all owned by me and sold on there web site. Two of which are labeled as new from maker/quince wood small and 75 stag fixed blades. Everyone of those knives I used and carried. Most if not all say exellent condition with their sale description.
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^^Well said^^
This thread is pathetic and should be locked.
Arizona describes all their products accurately and it is up to buyers whether they choose to purchase or not.
I have purchased many, many knives from Arizona and my experience of their descriptions and service has been excellent. I will not hesitate to do business with them in the future.
I apologize for not being clear in my original post as I should have been. This is not a criticism of Arizona Custom Knives whatsoever and I have indicated that I have been nothing but 100% satisfied with them and their business practices. As I and others mentioned earlier a portion of the knives listed for sale on their site are consignment knives whose descriptions and prices are set by the individual sending their knife in for consignment. This, not AZCK themselves, is the topic of the post. It is not a post saying to be cautious of dealing with AZCK - quite the opposite. It is a post saying to be cautious of what individuals selling their knives through AZCK represent their product as.
Here is one example of a knife that was put up for sale on consignment on AZCK. It is purportedly customized by "SB Knives" who is a perfectly legitimate service provider. I will not link their website here as it would be a violation of rules, but a look at the types of service he provides shows that the aforementioned knife put up for consignment, a Horton/McGinnis Tac-45 supposedly customized by SB Knives, is unlikely to have been modified by SB Knives themselves. In essence, every aspect of the way this knife has been modified bears zero resemblance to any customization work done by SB Knives.
I take no issue with individuals who sell items for what they think those items are worth, regardless of price, but I do take issue with individuals who misrepresent items in order to take advantage of another craftsperson's reputation. The knife in that photo has since been pulled from AZCK, possibly as a result of individuals contacting AZCK to inform them of the possibility/probability that the knife is misrepresented.
Image credit: Jeremy Horton
Here is one example of a knife that was put up for sale on consignment on AZCK. It is purportedly customized by "SB Knives" who is a perfectly legitimate service provider. I will not link their website here as it would be a violation of rules, but a look at the types of service he provides shows that the aforementioned knife put up for consignment, a Horton/McGinnis Tac-45 supposedly customized by SB Knives, is unlikely to have been modified by SB Knives themselves. In essence, every aspect of the way this knife has been modified bears zero resemblance to any customization work done by SB Knives.
I take no issue with individuals who sell items for what they think those items are worth, regardless of price, but I do take issue with individuals who misrepresent items in order to take advantage of another craftsperson's reputation. The knife in that photo has since been pulled from AZCK, possibly as a result of individuals contacting AZCK to inform them of the possibility/probability that the knife is misrepresented.
Image credit: Jeremy Horton
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I wont even deal with azck. Half the time they dont even know what they are selling. And i too have seen too many anonymous pimped knives selling for stupid prices with little to no providence. Plus seeing things like pakistan damaxcus no name garbage sold as a "custom knife". Had me go "nope" permanently.
CapitalizedLiving
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AZCK is a secondary market dependent on information provided by the seller. Are they supposed to check the providence of all of their knives, or are they the middle man who's job is to provide an audience for the sellers at a markup? If any information is incorrect I'm not sure I could blame them for it. You can always check with the purported customizer, or otherwise check the providence yourself. Wouldn't you do this anyway, when you're buying an expensive trinket from someone you don't know?
Even if the description is inaccurate, they provide these hugely blown-up photos of both sides, so that any misrepresentation is minimized.
They also individually weight the knives, which I find very interesting, as they are often far more precise than the "Ballpark" or false figures from makers... They sometimes also fix the gross rounding off of blade lengths... CR's so-called "9 Inch" one-piece are likely to be correctly entered as 8.75" for instance. They often offer better prices than the auction site as well...
Gaston
They also individually weight the knives, which I find very interesting, as they are often far more precise than the "Ballpark" or false figures from makers... They sometimes also fix the gross rounding off of blade lengths... CR's so-called "9 Inch" one-piece are likely to be correctly entered as 8.75" for instance. They often offer better prices than the auction site as well...
Gaston
I don't expect AZCK to investigate the providence of their products, neither do I specifically blame them for incorrect information. I am sure you will find that I have done nothing of that sort. I do think, however, that it is useful to let people know of this possibility.
Gaston444 said:
These are some of the reasons why I support AZCK and their business. If a customer provides them with fabricated or incorrect information that ends up on a listing, that is not the fault of AZCK.
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In my original post I said that misrepresenting the provenance would be a different issue from that raised by the OP. It is.
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I've called or emailed them more than once about a knife that I'm familiar with, and pointed out a mistake in the listing. They're always been very thankful, and quick to fix the listing.
How....is this an issue? Are the knives being mislabeled and people not being allowed to see pictures of the knives in question? If people buy the modified knives and the knives don't work and/or hold their value, word will get out. Eventually these "no-name" people will lose business.
If they're a great knife customizer that's largely unknown, what they're doing is excellent marketing to get their name out there. Heck, if they have the gumption to do this, they may have the stones to do a good re-grind.
REK, Krein and whoever the general knife community recognizes as great modifiers were not always recognized as such. They had to start out somewhere.
And most likely, people do their due diligence before dropping an extra few hundred on a XM-18 that looks different from every other XM-18(for example).
If they're a great knife customizer that's largely unknown, what they're doing is excellent marketing to get their name out there. Heck, if they have the gumption to do this, they may have the stones to do a good re-grind.
REK, Krein and whoever the general knife community recognizes as great modifiers were not always recognized as such. They had to start out somewhere.
And most likely, people do their due diligence before dropping an extra few hundred on a XM-18 that looks different from every other XM-18(for example).
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cornsyrup: IF YOU ARE CORRECT here's my post in response:
I don't understand why ANYONE is unhappy with cornsyrup's informative posts here. Really.
He's giving us a heads-up about someone customizing and misrepresentation of such work. In the example he's shown in post #24, this was brought to his attention by Jeremy Horton(?), the maker who's knife has been modified, and the seller is using the name of a reputable other party to legitimize the work performed.
I don't care how clear images are. There is name brand value in handmade knives and handwork. I agree that no KNOWN name is better than using a well-known name illegitimately.
cornsyrup: I'd like to think this is a legitimate gripe. However, IF 'SB Knives' did, in fact, perform the work, then everyone has been misled.
Methinks you need to find out specifically. That photo was courtesy of Jeremy Horton. Did he bring this to your attention, and if so, let him declare.
Are there other unfair examples posted regularly?
EDIT: And as has been stated by all, AZCK is only listing what's been presented to them. They are, and have always been A+.
I don't understand why ANYONE is unhappy with cornsyrup's informative posts here. Really.
He's giving us a heads-up about someone customizing and misrepresentation of such work. In the example he's shown in post #24, this was brought to his attention by Jeremy Horton(?), the maker who's knife has been modified, and the seller is using the name of a reputable other party to legitimize the work performed.
I don't care how clear images are. There is name brand value in handmade knives and handwork. I agree that no KNOWN name is better than using a well-known name illegitimately.
cornsyrup: I'd like to think this is a legitimate gripe. However, IF 'SB Knives' did, in fact, perform the work, then everyone has been misled.
Methinks you need to find out specifically. That photo was courtesy of Jeremy Horton. Did he bring this to your attention, and if so, let him declare.
Are there other unfair examples posted regularly?
EDIT: And as has been stated by all, AZCK is only listing what's been presented to them. They are, and have always been A+.
I get what you're saying about some of the consignment knives being priced weird because of pimping. I asked on FB 2 weeks ago who Raskind is and why his/her regrinds add $1000 to a production knife and no one knew who he/she was. I can find one or two more regrinds by them but nothing about the person who actually did the work. Might be out of Russia..
I also recently bought one of the consignment knives there. I sent an offer, they asked the consignee if they would accept it, and then they told me they accepted my offer. All in under a day I believe. AND. like someone said above, their pictures may not be sexy but they are of such high resolution that you can usually spot the issues. (The knife I picked up showed a scratch on the carbon fiber but upon getting it I can't locate it with the naked eye..)
AND.. you can do layaway with them, who else can you do that with?
I also recently bought one of the consignment knives there. I sent an offer, they asked the consignee if they would accept it, and then they told me they accepted my offer. All in under a day I believe. AND. like someone said above, their pictures may not be sexy but they are of such high resolution that you can usually spot the issues. (The knife I picked up showed a scratch on the carbon fiber but upon getting it I can't locate it with the naked eye..)
AND.. you can do layaway with them, who else can you do that with?
The photo is courtesy of Jeremy Horton, he posted the photo on his Facebook group initially as a reminder that knives which have been modified would be warranty-voided for both himself and any collaborators who worked on the knife, in this case Gerry McGinnis. However, this also prompted a discussion amongst some collectors about whether this knife had been modified by SB Knives in the first place, as the modifications performed to it strongly resemble the work of another service provider while bearing zero resemblance to any work done by SB Knives. As SB Knives has little to no internet presence for himself or his work I do not believe he was part of the discussion.
There was another example of a Gus Cecchini knife, purportedly modified by SB Knives, on Arizona Custom Knives posted about 20 days before the modified Horton. This knife, although its modification is different from that of the Horton example, likewise bears no resemblance to modification work done by SB Knives.
Of course I cannot at this time say anything for certain but due to the stakes involved I thought it would be helpful to bring these concerns up.
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CornSyrup: If you can't be certain, it's all speculation.
Let's be frank: The stakes aren't that high, whether the work is 'no internet presence SB Knives' or another unknown modifier.
The knives no matter WHO modified them are no longer warranteed by the original maker. SB Knives isn't adding value into a knife, according to Jeremy Horton.
I get it. You are trying to help. However, it sounds like a solution looking for a problem.
Thank you.
Let's be frank: The stakes aren't that high, whether the work is 'no internet presence SB Knives' or another unknown modifier.
The knives no matter WHO modified them are no longer warranteed by the original maker. SB Knives isn't adding value into a knife, according to Jeremy Horton.
I get it. You are trying to help. However, it sounds like a solution looking for a problem.
Thank you.
I think what the OP is saying is that just because a knife is "pimped" out or made to look a makers custom model when it is not folks should just be aware. I've seen EKI's that are pimped out going for exorbitant prices here and else where. Personally I don't get it. I also don't get re-grinding a blade to a different type of grind and claiming mint condition etc. I've noticed here too on the makers section some makers test there knives by all manner of different test and then sell the knife as new? Beats me but that ain't new. Ok that's it. keepem sharp
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Hey guys- Ryan from Arizona Custom Knives here. Really appreciate each of you taking the time to weigh in here and share of your experiences with us. We've sold tens of thousands of knives over the last 25 years. With that being said, we still see knives on a regular basis that we don't recognize. New makers. Old makers. New guys that are getting their start by "pimping" other makers' work. The knife in question came to us from a collector in Russia. It's easy to label the person that modified the knife as an "obscure service provider" when it's someone you've never heard of. I have to believe that he's more than an "obscure service provider" in Russia just based on the fact that the gentleman that had the modification work done apparently thought highly enough of his "skills" to hand him a knife that he paid several thousand dollars for. As with any of the consignment knives we sell, the consignor has the final say on pricing. I might think your knife is worth $2,000. You may think it's worth $3,000. Ultimately it's your knife and we'll price it at $3,000 and then watch to see if it sells or if the price needs to be reduced over time to prompt a sale. In most cases, the market tells us what a knife is really worth when it finally sells. From my viewpoint here in the office, I see knives selling each and every day for double or triple what I'd ever be willing to pay for them. This is a matter of taste, not value.
As for discrepancies/lack of information on our site- we welcome any information that can be added to ANY of the listings found on our site. We try hard to represent each knife as accurately as possible. Sometimes this is difficult when the knife has no makers mark, no certificate of authenticity, and was sent to us by some woman who found it in the attic after her husband passed away. Contact us when you see mistakes or have additional information on a knife or a maker and we'll add it!
As for discrepancies/lack of information on our site- we welcome any information that can be added to ANY of the listings found on our site. We try hard to represent each knife as accurately as possible. Sometimes this is difficult when the knife has no makers mark, no certificate of authenticity, and was sent to us by some woman who found it in the attic after her husband passed away. Contact us when you see mistakes or have additional information on a knife or a maker and we'll add it!