At a loss with GSM customer service

xeodguy

xeodguy

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I saw another thread talking about GSM's warranty statement, but I thought I would share a different experience in trying to get warranty service.

I have an old CS Ti-Lite: 4" AUS-8 blade, Zytel handle. Decent knife, but before GSM acquired Cold Steel, the thumb stud fell out and was lost. I contacted CS customer service to try and get a replacement: no response. Tried again, same result. Soon after, GSM took over, and I tried getting a replacement, but the online form required proof of purchase. I don't keep receipts for every knife I purchase, and for something more than 10 years old, for sure I don't have it. I put the knife aside, came across it again today, and looked at their site again. If you want to return something for warranty service, you need a return authorization number, and there is a toll-free number provided. I called, spoke to a very nice woman who got some basic information from me, and asked about the knife. When I mentioned that I didn't have proof of purchase, she asked me to take a couple of pictures to send to her while she checked with her supervisor about a one-time courtesy replacement of the knife. I had mentioned that I simply needed a thumb stud, but she insisted. While I was taking the pictures, she returned to the line and told me that the supervisor said they would not replace it since the problem was "wear and tear." It might be me, but I would think that a screw coming loose and falling out isn't wear and tear - but I didn't want another knife, just a thumb stud, and that apparently was out of the question as well. A couple of other companies I have dealt with (Benchmade immediately comes to mind) have helped me out with pocket clips and screws and other minor parts like that, usually at no cost, shipped out same day via First Class mail. GSM didn't want to even address my problem. At the end of the call, the customer service rep mentioned - as per policy, I'm sure - they they would appreciate it if I left a Google review. I declined, and told her that my review would not be helpful to them at all - but I did thank her, because she did her best in a situation where she wasn't able to solve my problem.

I have no desire to deal with any CS products, or GSM products, anymore. If something this simple is too much to ask, I can't afford to waste my money on something that might go wrong in the future and won't be covered or even addressed in any way. There are other companies that that will back their products, and I will support them. I was an early customer of Cold Steel, from the days that Lynn Thompson was doing "Proof" and "More Proof" videos and touting their Carbon V steel, but I'm done now. For those of you who have had a good experience with the company, I'm happy for you. As for me, I won't do this again.
 
Well that sucks.

If you're looking for a replacement I'd recommend USAKnifemaker.com. You would need a stud that uses a 1-72 screw. USAKnifemaker sells a variety, screw included. A 2-56 screw is slightly too big to fit the hole in the blade (at least it is on mine).
 
killgar said:
Well that sucks.

If you're looking for a replacement I'd recommend USAKnifemaker.com. You would need a stud that uses a 1-72 screw. USAKnifemaker sells a variety, screw included. A 2-56 screw is slightly too big to fit the hole in the blade (at least it is on mine).
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Thanks very much! I'm on it.
 
I am pleased to find this thread. I don't post much anymore, but I feel this is important. First, I am (was) a very big fan of Cold Steel having purchased at least 25 of their knives and more than 30 items such as spears, tomohawks, swords, etc. I also have a 4" Ti Lite which I lost the clip and screws for (my bad). I contacted GSM about an hour ago to get replacements. I was told by the rep. and supervisor that GSM does NOT CARRY parts for Cold Steel knives! That's right, no parts are available for their Cold Steel knives. I was going to start a thread (still may) warning their many fans here but perhaps this will get the job done. Thank you OP.
 
katanas said:
I am pleased to find this thread. I don't post much anymore, but I feel this is important. First, I am (was) a very big fan of Cold Steel having purchased at least 25 of their knives and more than 30 items such as spears, tomohawks, swords, etc. I also have a 4" Ti Lite which I lost the clip and screws for (my bad). I contacted GSM about an hour ago to get replacements. I was told by the rep. and supervisor that GSM does NOT CARRY parts for Cold Steel knives! That's right, no parts are available for their Cold Steel knives. I was going to start a thread (still may) warning their many fans here but perhaps this will get the job done. Thank you OP.
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I sent their customer service an email after I posted here, and I found out the same thing: they stock no parts, they can perform no service. They claim they cover the Cold Steel limited lifetime warranty - which they cannot, and will not, do. I figured when Schrade went under, their Old Timer and Uncle Henry warranties weren't going to be honored by the new owners. Same with other companies. I didn't think a sale like this would have been the same. Very, very disappointing.
 
Thank you Xeodguy and Katanas. So it’s official, CS has entered the dustbin of history. But I think we all knew deep down this was inevitable. Most of my CS blades will remain as collection pieces. If in the future my collection increases in value I may consider letting some go. It’ll be interesting to see if that happens.
 
This kind of thread is important to consumers. I have found with a variety of companies, especially social media ones, that if you can even reach someone in corporate to complain, they are not interested in hearing it. The motto of many companies seems to be, "give me your money and then just go away."
 
I'm switching from Cold Steel to a different manufacturer. I don't think anybody likes to feel like they've been taken advantage of. I have a lot of money in Cold Steel Knives. I rather go with another manufacturer that has a true warranty and will give customer satisfaction. I think Zero Tolerance fits the bill. As for my cold steel I'll use my cold steel knives until they break if they break and then just throw them in the garbage.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
This kind of thread is important to consumers. I have found with a variety of companies, especially social media ones, that if you can even reach someone in corporate to complain, they are not interested in hearing it. The motto of many companies seems to be, "give me your money and then just go away."
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Vlade said:
I'm switching from Cold Steel to a different manufacturer. I don't think anybody likes to feel like they've been taken advantage of. I have a lot of money in Cold Steel Knives. I rather go with another manufacturer that has a true warranty and will give customer satisfaction. I think Zero Tolerance fits the bill. As for my cold steel I'll use my cold steel knives until they break if they break and then just throw them in the garbage.
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Don't throw them away. You can always sell a broken folder as a "parts knife". There's bound to be someone out there who needs the pocket clip, or thumb stud, etc. After all, the way things look, they won't be able to get any parts from GSM/CS.

Heck, old broken CS knives might become a somewhat valuable commodity.
 
killgar said:
Don't throw them away. You can always sell a broken folder as a "parts knife". There's bound to be someone out there who needs the pocket clip, or thumb stud, etc. After all, the way things look, they won't be able to get any parts from GSM/CS.

Heck, old broken CS knives might become a somewhat valuable commodity.
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Yeah I guess you're right about that. I could use what ever is broken parts. Thanks for the catch.
 
Thay sell replacement pocket clip screws tumb stubs and pivot screws on line just look them up there button head screws t8 and t6 torxs pretty sure there m 2.5mm i will take them out my ti lite and check them when I get a chance and check the size of the pivot screw its a bigger size than 2.5mm but you could look for the same model but or used or broken one and strip for parts as suggested but the screws are available and thumb studs if you look and can work out the sizes since there's no warranty or spairs available
 
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I just thought I'd throw this out, but when it comes to Ti-Lites, the Ti-Lite 4 and Ti-Lite 6 hardware and clips are NOT interchangeable. Just in case anyone had an idea to try parts from one on the other.

The head of the T6 pocket clip is larger than the head of the T4 clip, so the T6 clip won't fit in the space for the clip on the T4.

The screw holes in the clips are positioned slightly differently. They don't match up.

The clip screws for the two models are a different length.

The thumb studs are a different size. The T6 stud is a larger diameter and might not fit in the T4 when the blade is closed (my T4 is modified in that area so I can't check).

The stud screw for the T6 is too long for the T4 (I was able to check that).

The pivots and pivot screws in each knife are completely different sizes.

And with the exception of the very bottom handle screw on the T4, the handle screws are a completely different size (The bottom screw of the T4 is the same size as all the handle screws on the T6.

I don't know how this might apply to other CS knives, but it's clear that not all hardware is interchangeable between models.
 
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