Brands to stay away from

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I will not get into the politics of Strider and the Mick drama but the knives themselves are controversial....their warranties are super weird....there is a very specific way to send it back that has to been followed exactly and if it’s not they get pissy. And their quality has never been stellar....always a little spotty. I sent an SMF tanto back twice and it still has a Little Rock lock. And now it appears that their prices have sky rocketed. The SMF’s are now selling for well over 700.00! They are just not worth the hassle. It used to be tempting because there were not a lot of frame locks now there are too many choices that are too high of quality.
 
clearytja said:
I will not get into the politics of Strider and the Mick drama but the knives themselves are controversial....their warranties are super weird....there is a very specific way to send it back that has to been followed exactly and if it’s not they get pissy. And their quality has never been stellar....always a little spotty. I sent an SMF tanto back twice and it still has a Little Rock lock. And now it appears that their prices have sky rocketed. The SMF’s are now selling for well over 700.00! They are just not worth the hassle. It used to be tempting because there were not a lot of frame locks now there are too many choices that are too high of quality.
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Agree with this, not impressed with the makers, but the knives themselves are nothing special. Maybe they were years ago when the market was different but at this point they are simply rather overbuilt, rather crude and terribly pricey.
 
So many knife makers to stay away from. It's easy just search out the manufacture name on facebook,mypsace,twitter,instagram to look for any posts people are mad about.
Can't find anything? Next try all their company employees! Still nothing? Well just check out their town laws and officials but it doesn't stop there what about there state officials?
WHO DO THEY HAVE IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING ?!?!?!? Herpity derpity

Also Benchmade :D
 
What brands do I avoid? In my little world, I avoid Frost Cutlery, Strider (mostly because of cost), and Ganzo. Many avoid Bark River knives; I don't. I avoid knives that have a bad or very spotty reputation overall. I also seldom look at any folding knife over $250 street price.
 
I'd stay away from Emersons - don't fall for the hype

That's not a slight on Ernie Emerson personally...I just think the knives are poorly made knives. And I tried 3 separate times over several years.

Like others I agree that Spyderco rarely turns out a bad quality knife and the Chinese (and Italian - Lionsteel & Viper) have really turned out some quality products lately.

I've been using CRK knives for 25 years. The higher price is worth it and I'm never without one
 
Are you asking about what knives you should buy, because you want others(us) to like them?
That is kinda the vibe I'm getting from you.

Get whatever you like the look of, that isn't sold in a gas-station, and you'll find out what it is you like, and don't like.
Much more rewarding than going with whatever is popular, purely because it is popular.
 
specgrade said:
Frost, anything Pakistan made, ZT (cost) GEC (I like Case and Boker).
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GEC?

I understand that you may prefer Case and Boker knives to GEC but GEC (Great Eastern Cutlery) is a small USA-based company that produces near custom quality traditional folders for very fair prices.

They have a wonderful service and warranty policy and are very respectful of consumer wishes.

The fact that they often sell over retail on the secondary market should provide some perspective.

While they may not be for everyone, I would certainly not list them as a company to avoid.
 
Don't listen to the seething minority here on BladeForums about Strider Knives. They're some of the best knives being made today. I don't know what inspires a grown man to audit another's military service in his spare time.

The one's I avoid right now:

Zero Tolerance - Very suspect of how much of these products are USA made. We know the hardware and clips aren't. The price point is awfully suspicious to me and they share some telltale manufacturing cues with the Chinese made Kershaws. Unique grind striations etc.

Spyderco - Not because of anything to do with quality, I'm just unable to sharpen their edges to my liking with the way they terminate the edge against a hard, flat surface.

WE Knives - Seen a few pics with clear porosity in the Ti, and I can't unsee that. One day some rich YouTube knife scientist will take the band saw to a dozen of their scales and see what's really going on there.

Hinderer Gen 6 - He caved to the lockbar insert mafia. Sad. Wish we could have all the new features without that wart on the top of the lockbar.
 
I suggest to go at it a different way: it’s very easy to spend thousands of dollars on a single of the big brands, even if you do US only like me (now), and you want different designs, functions, steels, etc.

Even though i collect, i do use all my knives. So comfort and function come first. Then i limit myself in blade length (>= 3.5”), opening mechanism (Slip joints, Spydie holes and flippers), then pick a couple of brands that i like. Used to be big in Spyderco, but they lost me with changes to their sales strategy, where my last new Spyderco was the Crucarta Shaman. These days its Hinderers. Just focusing on Hinderer, or Spyderco, or CR, etc., can ruin you. Just saying :)
 
kylemiller said:
Zero Tolerance - Very suspect of how much of these products are USA made. We know the hardware and clips aren't. The price point is awfully suspicious to me and they share some telltale manufacturing cues with the Chinese made Kershaws. Unique grind striations etc.
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kylemiller said:
No, I should have prefaced that it's a personal theory. I've got small cues I can list if anyone is truly interested in what's led me to question this.
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kylemiller said:
Don't listen to the seething minority here on BladeForums about Strider Knives. They're some of the best knives being made today. I don't know what inspires a grown man to audit another's military service in his spare time.
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So you recommend avoiding ZT because you have a theory about how much are USA made but then recommend Strider when it's a known fact that he's a liar... yeah, that makes sense :rolleyes:
 
Rykjeklut said:
Are you asking about what knives you should buy, because you want others(us) to like them?
That is kinda the vibe I'm getting from you.

Get whatever you like the look of, that isn't sold in a gas-station, and you'll find out what it is you like, and don't like.
Much more rewarding than going with whatever is popular, purely because it is popular.
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This sounds like good advice. Don't get too wrapped up in big opinions, it seems like the bigger the opinion, the less valuable the advice. Search YouTube for "Knife collection" or "custom knife collection" to get a feel for what you may like.

Hell, I even have a Quartermaster knife that I like. Crazy, I know.

Here is my collection;
http://www.sortitapps.com/items.php?username=GlennGoodlett&type=knivesandswords
 
There was a controversy regarding Medford knives and another regarding Tony Marfione/Microtech and people are like wildy asking people to avoid them like a plague. But then few years onwards the fire dies and people move on and you see Microtech and/or Medford still being present. I say take people opinions like a grain of salt and vote with your wallet. But, as for me, i don't condone liars and thieves but you see that's my opinion.
 
Ron Sabbagh said:
So....because you can’t sharpen a knife to your personal liking....others should avoid the company? Really?
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Others might run into the same problem. I mean, I said it was a personal problem in my description, they might like sharpening on a Wicked Edge and have no way to reach that last 1/16" of edge like I do. Want to see my recurved Manix 2 user? Anyone who is a pro at freehand or doesn't mind the edge a Sharpmaker provides would have no problem with them. I said in the post there are no other concerns with quality or anything. They just have that one feature that's become a deal breaker for me.
 
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