Bad first impressions with knife companies.

BenLong1018

BenLong1018

Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
1,668
I bought a Buck Vantage Select a while back and I loved the knife itself, but it just had too many issues. I realize it's not a very expensive knife, but because of Buck's reputation I think I expected more from them I suppose. It was rubbing the liner out of box, I almost got it centered by adjusting the pivot. Of course it had blade play from me centering it. I carried it for about a week straight and then I put it in my dresser drawer for two days and I took it out and there was rust on the flipper. I live in Ohio and it is not humid enough here to rust a blade in a dresser drawer. Anyways I decided to send the knife back and get a refund. It left a bad taste in my mouth ever since I have not purchased a Buck because I feel like I'm taking a risk.

Just last week I bought a Case Swayback Jack and it is a very beautiful knife, but the wharncliffe was rubbing against the liner which left scratch marks on the blade. I sent it in to case and I'm sure they will make it right, but a $70 knife should not have this problem. I kind of don't want to buy another Case knife now because of this.

Do you guys ever have bad first impressions with a knife company and think twice before doing business with them again?
 
I had a bad first experience with CRKT, and even though I know others have different experiences, it kind of put me off CRKT altogether.
 
I bought a Mcusta Tactillity three months ago. The metal piece on the butt of the knife where the pocket clip attaches to is very soft, and ended up getting bent just by clipping it to my pocket. Now my pocket clip sticks out at a 30 degree angle from the knife... I sent them an email about it five days ago, but haven't heard anything yet. This of all things shouldn't be an issue for a $120 knife. My $60 SOG Aegis has held up MUCH better and with a LOT more abuse. I honestly feel like the AUS-8 on it holds an edge better than the Mcusta's VG-10. Maybe I got a bad heat treat?
 
My first Sog was an absolute pos. I've never bought another and will probably never buy another of their folders. I had 3 consecutive Cold Steel folders that were similarly smelly and dealing with their CS made me want to bang my head against the wall. I will never buy another Cold Steel product.
 
SOG folders have left no really good impressions on me.
I liked my Twitch XL - probably the best one I owned, and it still had that crappy blade play.
 
I have a cheapo CRKT first strike tanto that really sucked. However after grinding it to a more aggressive profile and removing the fake rayskin wrap, its a half decent knife. I don't think I'd buy another CRKT and definitely not another made in china 440 stainless.
 
BellatorCordis said:
I bought a Mcusta Tactillity three months ago. The metal piece on the butt of the knife where the pocket clip attaches to is very soft, and ended up getting bent just by clipping it to my pocket. Now my pocket clip sticks out at a 30 degree angle from the knife... I sent them an email about it five days ago, but haven't heard anything yet. This of all things shouldn't be an issue for a $120 knife. My $60 SOG Aegis has held up MUCH better and with a LOT more abuse. I honestly feel like the AUS-8 on it holds an edge better than the Mcusta's VG-10. Maybe I got a bad heat treat?
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Yeah that's a lot of money to not be happy.
 
Seems that there's a lot of issues with SOG in this thread. I kind of like the flash 2, but SOG's are very overpriced knives in my opinion.
 
I bought a Spyderco Endura 4 FFG. I'll probably never buy another Spyderco, and people swear by Spyderco, that's how bad this knife was. Blade had massive discoloration on both sides, jimping was barely ground into the tang, the entire blade was ground so far to one side that if looked at it actually appeared like the blade had been bent using it as a pry bar, and it was so off centered that it was grinding away the FRN whenever I opened and closed it. I know it must have slipped through the cracks of QC, there is no Way Spyderco could have built the reputation it has by producing blades like this. Even so, my experience was so bad I haven't wanted another Spyderco since.
 
Bad impression with Canal Street and terrible with Northwoods (BladeForums knife). Never considered either brand again.
 
Only catastrophic failure I ever had with a folder was a Spyderco. I was very surprised to learn years later how well regarded they've become. Guess my point is in the beginning first impressions really do matter. I know now that the failure of the knife had more to due with misuse on my part then the knife but you still remember thing's like that.

That's the ongoing issue with production knives in general. There is a lot that gets by QC and leaves a bad taste in the users mouth. All the major brands have the same problem. Some more then others..

I've had to send back my share of Spyderco, Benchmade, Cold Steel and others. Ironically the only major brand I haven't had any issues with is Sog. Go figure?
 
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matgarsmi said:
I bought a Spyderco Endura 4 FFG. I'll probably never buy another Spyderco, and people swear by Spyderco, that's how bad this knife was. Blade had massive discoloration on both sides, jimping was barely ground into the tang, the entire blade was ground so far to one side that if looked at it actually appeared like the blade had been bent using it as a pry bar, and it was so off centered that it was grinding away the FRN whenever I opened and closed it. I know it must have slipped through the cracks of QC, there is no Way Spyderco could have built the reputation it has by producing blades like this. Even so, my experience was so bad I haven't wanted another Spyderco since.
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The Spyderco Endura 4 FFG I purchased for my father had a few of the same qualities: blade grinds completely off, scraping FRN, and the lock-back was fairly difficult to unlock. After spending $50 on VG10 steel, a plastic handle, and an inked image of a spyder, I was somewhat disappointed. I will probably give Spyderco one more chance with either a Delica or a Para-Military 2, but not until prices drop a little from their current state.

I hate to hear about your Buck difficulties. Buck is my favorite knife brand. I have a handful of Buck knives in 420hc steel. I usually clean fish and game, process food, and generally rough them up, and none of my 420hc blades have ever rusted. Sometimes I don't clean the blood, guts, or food off for a couple days. My Buck Vantage Pro also has perfect centering. How long ago did you purchase your vantage select? I have heard that they increased QC attention to those models and fewer were slipping through the cracks. Did you get a full refund directly from Buck?
 
I got a spyderco tenacious and when i got it the screws were loose and the scales were pulling away from the liner on the right side, and to top it off the screws were some weird size that no torx would fit in. Havent liked spyderco since.
 
Gerber. About 8 years ago I bought a Gator folder in 154CM. I was stoked to get my first "high-end" steel knife. The lock sucked. It was the only lockback I've owned that would fail a minor spine whack. Then I bought one of their "Fatty" folders. I was looking for a small cheap folder. The scales were kraton-like material and the two screws that held the knife together went clear through and threaded straight into the rubber scale on the other side. No inserts, nothing. Stripped out the first time I disassembled the knife. :barf: Fortunately, I discovered the Boker/CLB Subcom soon after. I basically decided I was off Gerber for good at that point. However, I did give in and buy a Steadfast a few months ago, and was put off by a couple things. The edge is really thick with an obtuse bevel (close to 60* included) and the screw that holds the hilt together was undersized and poorly threaded. Fortunately, I found a decent stainless replacement screw at Ace Hardware (M4-.7x15) and solved that issue. I'm gonna take the bevel down to around 40* included, but that won't change the thick edge (bevels will likely be 3/16" wide, lol). Meh. At least this one was easily salvageable and is very solid and heavy duty. Still not impressed with Gerber, though. :(
 
GLDNDomer said:
The Spyderco Endura 4 FFG I purchased for my father had a few of the same qualities: blade grinds completely off, scraping FRN, and the lock-back was fairly difficult to unlock. After spending $50 on VG10 steel, a plastic handle, and an inked image of a spyder, I was somewhat disappointed. I will probably give Spyderco one more chance with either a Delica or a Para-Military 2, but not until prices drop a little from their current state.

I hate to hear about your Buck difficulties. Buck is my favorite knife brand. I have a handful of Buck knives in 420hc steel. I usually clean fish and game, process food, and generally rough them up, and none of my 420hc blades have ever rusted. Sometimes I don't clean the blood, guts, or food off for a couple days. My Buck Vantage Pro also has perfect centering. How long ago did you purchase your vantage select? I have heard that they increased QC attention to those models and fewer were slipping through the cracks. Did you get a full refund directly from Buck?
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I would say I got my Vantage last year in the summer. I got a refund through knifecenter.
 
G. Scott H. said:
Gerber. About 8 years ago I bought a Gator folder in 154CM. I was stoked to get my first "high-end" steel knife. The lock sucked. It was the only lockback I've owned that would fail a minor spine whack. Then I bought one of their "Fatty" folders. I was looking for a small cheap folder. The scales were kraton-like material and the two screws that held the knife together went clear through and threaded straight into the rubber scale on the other side. No inserts, nothing. Stripped out the first time I disassembled the knife. :barf: Fortunately, I discovered the Boker/CLB Subcom soon after. I basically decided I was off Gerber for good at that point. However, I did give in and buy a Steadfast a few months ago, and was put off by a couple things. The edge is really thick with an obtuse bevel (close to 60* included) and the screw that holds the hilt together was undersized and poorly threaded. Fortunately, I found a decent stainless replacement screw at Ace Hardware (M4-.7x15) and solved that issue. I'm gonna take the bevel down to around 40* included, but that won't change the thick edge (bevels will likely be 3/16" wide, lol). Meh. At least this one was easily salvageable and is very solid and heavy duty. Still not impressed with Gerber, though. :(
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Gerber is one of those companies that I just stay away from because their knives seen very cheap to me.
 
pbcg said:
Only catastrophic failure I ever had with a folder was a Spyderco. I was very surprised to learn years later how well regarded they've become. Guess my point is in the beginning first impressions really do matter. I know now that the failure of the knife had more to due with misuse on my part then the knife but you still remember thing's like that.

That's the ongoing issue with production knives in general. There is a lot that gets by QC and leaves a bad taste in the users mouth. All the major brands have the same problem. Some more then others..

I've had to send back my share of Spyderco, Benchmade, Cold Steel and others. Ironically the only major brand I haven't had any issues with is Sog. Go figure?
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I've had blade play problems with all of my Spyderco knives including my $100 Yojimbo 2. Besides my Ladybug haha.
 
I was thinking about it and I have had VERY few knives without blade play. Good thing I've learned to live with it.
 
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