Bad first impressions with knife companies.

Mine would be Emerson. Its a shame because they have some awesome designs which feel great in my hand.
 
I had the first version of the Gerber LMF II and it was really well made, came with a great sheath , and had sandvik 12c27. Over time it develop a weird loosness under the handle against the tang so I sent it in for a replacement, what they sent back was atrocious. I can honestly say it was a completely different knife and sheath, I sent an angry letter to Gerber AMD sold the knife right away. Never Gerber again ever, no matter how many green berets they put in TK.
 
One thing about customer service I've learned is a lot has to do with who you talk to. Get someone having a bad day or who really doesn't care and you can get very different outcomes.

I had an issue with a Cold Steel knife once. Brand new out of the box purchased on-line from a well know retailer. On the phone they told me I could return the knife at my own expense and I felt like I was being blown off. So I sent an e-mail expressing my displeasure and they sent me an e-mail back saying they had sent in a ticket to have the knife picked up at my home by UPS. They came and got the knife and sent me a new one.

Also, with Benchmade I had a very similar experience. Once again, a new knife out of the box and I have a problem. I e-mail and get the "send it in at my own expense and if there is a legitimate warranty issue they will cover shipping" This time I call and they give me their UPS account number to mail it back, they wouldn't accept it at the UPS store so I had to pay out of pocket but then I told Benchmade, Not only did they send me a check reimbursing me for my shipping costs but the packing materials I had to buy to return the knife.

Guess what I'm saying here is if you don't get satisfaction right off the bat don't give up. In both cases the companies went above and beyond to resolve my issues, but if I had excepted the first response I got I would have a very different opinion of them today.
 
Emerson: Couldn't trust the liner locks on three of the models I purchased new.
Boker: Lock rock, and liners that go completely to the far scale.
GEC: Nail breakers.
 
I love my Emerson, but I have to mention it. Came with incredible stickiness, as in nearly needing two hands to disengage, the blade was extremely slow deploy no matter how much I loosened it, and the screws stripped near immediately. However, they were good about shipping me replacement screws and over time the smoothness cleared up and with a little pencil lead the stickiness went down a good amount. One of the pocket clip screws stripped later but it hasn't really affected the strength of the clip, though even when all 3 screws worked it still had slight movement, which is why it stripped when I tried to tighten it.
 
Quality control is NOT what it used to be, for sure. But don't let that turn you off a brand. Just like cars & trucks, knife Co's seem to have their issues. I bought a Gerber a few years back & was EXTREMELY happy with it. Did it have issues---yes, but i fixed them & moved on. LOVE that knife (Gerber Metolius fixed blade). The handle screws were loose when new. Should i have to fix something on a new knife---NO. Especially on a fixed blade, i mean really-what is there to f-up ? Just one thing & they figured out a way to do it. SAD. Really sad. But i still LOVE that knife. Fits my hand perfectly. Grippy grips. Holds a razor edge. GREAT thumb rest & jimping. I guess it comes down to doing your homework before purchase & trying to talk to those who actually use them hard as opposed to those who just carry them to show off or look at or safe queen them.
 
I bought a new Emerson, my first one, and the fit and finish was terrible. The grind was off and the scales did not match up with the liner. I called, and the rep "set one aside on her desk for me after checking it herself" and I got back a perfect example within a week. I have bought several since, never with problems. Don't let one bad experience turn you off, but if its a pattern run since there are soooo many great knife makers out there.
 
I had a very bad first impression of Benchmade knives. And a bad second impression. And a lacklustre third impression.

The first Presidio I bought had all manner of problems with the mechanism, especially blade play and several omega-spring failures in the space of a couple months. I got rid of it - even though I really like the design, I couldn't deal with the faulty lock mechanism. :barf:

My second bad impression of Benchmade came with my Alias. The lockbar would slip out of place if you applied pressure to the spine of the blade while in the open position, so I sent it in to Benchmade. Within a week of its return, the problem was worse than before. How many times do they have to repair a knife until they get it fixed? :confused:

My third bad impression of Benchmade came with my second Presidio (Why the heck do I keep coming back for more? :rolleyes:). Just like the first one, it had blade play all over the place, an off-centre blade, and the fit and finish really isn't anything to write home about. I got a hell of a deal on this one, so I'm not too broken up that it's a bit shoddy (I've come to expect that from Benchmade), but it still doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in this company...

So, yeah, I've had pretty bad impressions of Benchmade knives all-around, but for some reason, it hasn't stopped me from going back to the company.
 
My biggest disappointment was my Al Mar SERE. I was really looking forward to getting this knife as my experience with 2 previous
Al Mars, a Shrike and a Falcon, had been flawless.

It was like the SERE had been made in a different factory from my others. The blade had serious vertical play right out of the box;
when I contacted the CS department the rep sounded bored and disinterested in my problem. I sent the knife in and it was returned
in a couple of weeks only to have the play come back after some very light use; I sold it to a buddy with some knife making skills
who thought he could fix it. He was wrong.

I love my Shrike and Falcon but will never buy another Al Mar product.
 
Ive had some bad experiences, but they were minor problems. With Zero Tolerance, which is my FAVORITE knife company, Ive had a couple of ZT 350s that the blades were off center (one rubbed) and on all of my ZTs the bevels are uneven. I know its nearly impossible to get the bevels perfectly even, but I hate when its noticeable, especially on a recurve that is pain in the ass to reprofile. But the uneven bevels are very slight and not a big problem from ZT... but Benchmade is another story. I have two Griptilian 550HGs that were damn near chisel ground, and one is off center. These are minor issues, but they are a pain in the ass to correct, and thats IF you can correct them yourself. I can reprofile the blades, but I cant center the blade (yes I tried adjusting the pivot and all the other little tricks I know). I just wish that these bigger companies would put a little more effort into making sure each knife had a centered blade and even bevel. But thats just because Im VERY OCD about my knives. I love both of these companies and I will continue to buy their products and enjoy them, I just wish they had a little more attention to the small details.
 
Gerber. I think it's the gerber evo. Really fun knife to flick, but a gentle push on the spine causes the liner lock to fail. And lock rock all over the place.
 
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