Buyer Beware: Knifekits (a little misleading)

Daniel Moore

Daniel Moore

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Hey guys,

I bought the DDR 3 knife kit last year. I wanted to practice scale cutting and shaping and make a knife that would be a little more unique than a full-production folder.

The knife has a button lock, but the design of the button lock plunger means that you have to push the button to open the blade. The blade comes pre-drilled for a thumbstud, but I find that to be misleading. There is no reason to have a thumbstud if you need two hands to open the knife. To try to depress the button and move the stud with one thumb is impractical and nearly impossible.

As a totally separate option, the knife can be bought with springs of varying potency to turn it into an automatic. I live in Massachusetts, so I chose not to include a spring when I assembled it. If you use the springs, you can depress the button and the blade will kick open like on any automatics. When I bought the knife, I never even considered that the knife's action was dependent on an add-on feature. The DDR 3 is just an automatic without a spring (if you won't/can't use it).

My contention with this is that it was not stated on knifekits.com that you couldn't open the knife with just the thumbstud. What's the point of the thumbstud if you have it configured for manually opening? You'd press the button with the thumb of your dominant hand and inertia flick the knife open or grab the blade with your other hand. If the thumbstud is just there to get in the way of sharpening, cutting, and pocketing, then I'd rather just have the tiny ugly hole where it threads in. :rolleyes:

So knifekits.com was a pleasure to deal with in terms of shipping, but definitely know what you're getting into if you get the DDR 3. It is not a practical knife for manual opening, and the thumbstud is just for aesthetics. I wish they had been more forward on their site :( I just remembered of all of this today as I saw the now-neglected box that contains over $100 of knife making supplies that I don't have a use for. I'll use the G-10 some day, but that's about it I think.
 
Not all DDR-3's are the same. What you bought was the DDR-3 BL 'Button Lock'. This is a successor to the available standard DDR-3, which is a fine knife and is a liner lock. In fact the Button Lock is an exemplary knife, too, but it does have an auto conversion assumed into it.

They cannot state that on their website, and so you have to do a little digging to find out. To the folks wishing to build an auto, the KnifeKits.com DDR-3BL is Nirvana.

Look again at the KnifeKits website and you will find the DDR-3 in both versions.

The customer care at KnifeKits is as good as they come. Please call them and let them know you did not look into all the possibilies and you would like to exchange. I am dead certain Barbara and Alex will get it right.

I will show you one of the linerlock© versions that I made. I KNOW it is a great value at only $46.95 plus scale materials.



Good luck. Let us know.

Coop
 
Hey Coop,

Thanks for the information! I did originally look at both configurations, but I do not like liner locks and really liked the idea of a button lock (I figured it was comparable to an axis lock). If I had known that the knife would be useless without a spring, I wouldn't have gotten either.
 
I understand that, and you are right. A single sentence explaining this manner of opening would have made you aware.

Nonetheless, I implore you to call them back. If they won't exchange it I'll eat my hat.

Point is (and you didn't say anything contrary) it's a damn good product if you know the rules...

Not an inappropriate post at all. You may help another.

Coop
 
I think I might call them and see what they'll do. As I mentioned, I had a GREAT experience doing business with them except for that little item which I felt could have used some clarification. When I was first planning on doing it, I did some posting on their forum and they were all very helpful. Come to think of it, I ferric etched the bolsters so maybe I can't trade it in after all :D

One cool possibility would be to make a really nice knife and send it to somebody where autos are legal (ship the spring not inside of the knife). It would be a nice way to get some practice and a little cash :cool:
 
Hi Dan,

Thank you for posting your questions, and for purchasing the DDR3-BL.

The DDR3-BL was/is designed to be a manually opening button release folder by default. In fact, this is the only way we sell it! As you have observed in the parts design, it is possible to convert this model into an automatic by the addition of a coil spring, which you must purchase separately. This is similar to several other knives on the market (Top-Lock, etc.) and gives us a viable DIY EDC kit knife for folks who are auto-legal (states, countries, police, fire, military, rescue, government, specially licensed, etc.). The reason that we added the drop-in conversion option on this model was that the locking mechanism design is perfect for this type of production modification, and we didn't have anything to offer builders who wanted to study, learn or who prefer the button-opening type mechanism.

As you have observed, the knife was designed with a (removable) dual thumbstud in the blade. The reason that it is dual is that it is more versatile than a single-sided thumbstud would be to a builder (if that were all it came with). As we can't forget that we sell to DIY makers and modifiers, not over-the-counter users, we offer design options that a completed knife may not need. From our perspective, intrinsic design options are what we need more of, not less of ... in terms of offering the best base parts pallet design for builder expression. In other words, if you end up with a kit that didn't require all of the parts that it came with, then that is better than wanting the part and not having it, so to speak.

Regarding the thumbstud question you had, most folks miss the true reason that Darrel added the thumbstud to the design. Yes, we prefer to put a thumbstud on our knife designs (DIY, we design and manufacture them in-house, etc.), but the reason it doesn't have a nail-nick (like the Top-Lock and other similar, manual button opening designs on the market) is that we felt it helps it function better in the user arena, beyond the "looks" department.

You made this common observation:

To try to depress the button and move the stud with one thumb is impractical and nearly impossible.
Click to expand...

You are correct, but you're also using it right-handed! The thumbstud was originally added to enhance left-handed operation, which it does tremendously. The reason that it's dual is that Darrel thought it would look out of balance with the single stud in the opposite direction.

Until we can develop a true line of left-handed products, we're trying our best to work with what we have to increase their usability for everyone.

Thank you again, and please let me know if you have any more questions.

Alex Whetsell

PS ... thanks to everyone who wrote me about this thread. I don't get a chance to visit around the web very much any more, but we are happy to seek out, and answer questions when they come up.
 
Thanks for the reply Alex.

I definitely appreciate that you guys wanted to offer an "aftermarket" feature for the knife, and that you wanted to make a lefty-friendly knife, but I still hope that this will be clarified on the site. I do think it's a little misleading to have a thumbstud on a knife that can only be opened manually by a lefty. You don't need to get into the automatic conversion, and I know it doesn't fit well into an advertisement of a product, but if you could just explain the limitations of the opening system for right-handed manual open, I think it could prevent anyone else from that dreaded realization.

I no longer want a refund on the knife, and I am very much determined to finish and sell the knife as an optional automatic. Thanks again!
 
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