CRK Warranty Experience--Need advice

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Bladenoobie1

Bladenoobie1

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Today I have finally received my starbenza back from CRK to have them fix the centering. They did do a fantastic job on sharpening the knife, the centering--less so. On the paper it was written re-centered to the best of their ability. Is a bit more centered than before, but the difference is still negligible. The fact still stands that the blade is off center. From what I could tell when I sent in the knife, I thought the off centering was due to a slightly uneven ground blade. I think this might be true as CRK probably doesn't want to replace the blade--rather do what they can with the current one. Anyhow I'm not going into any accusations. The turn around time; however, was fantastic at just about 2 weeks and communication was acceptable and they were very polite. The experience leaves a rather bittersweet taste in my mouth and is not the so heavily praised CS I was expecting.

I've come here to ask the opinion of the CRK community whether I should be satisfied with their service or not. Should the blade have been centered--even if it would require the replacement of the blade, or should I be content with what I received? With a $400 + knife should perfect, or at least to the naked eye, centering be expected, or is this too much to ask for??

Thanks,
Bladenoobie1
 
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hondahirny said:
The Pandora's box has been opened...
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Haha, I do expect some heat and flaming to go on in this thread. Its inevitable when there is such a strong standing and reputation behind this company. I'm looking for unbiased, straightforward answers. Hopefully not too much of a "fanboy" response.
 
How bad is it off.....??? Pics would help.....!

With a $400+ knife, this should not be an issue. I have owned 73 CRK and have had a few warranty issues. I can only remember 3 total and they were 3 entirely different reasons that I will not go into. With two of them, Mr. Reeve spoke to me on the phone about them. What the issue was and what caused it, and how he was going to fix it and make it right. I will say that none of mine were an off centered blade. And I know Mr. Reeve cant call everyone, but in my experience, they are Second to None.

I have had far worse experience, with the same issue as yours actually by another major name in the industry ( I will keep them nameless as it always causes a hissy fit with their fans ) and the issue was never resolved,even pay phone calls never returned and only ever got a generic email from them. Was a joke, I would never even waste a cent on their products again.

If its that bad, call them up and state as much. Like I said, for me and many others on this forum, they have always went out of their way to make it right. As great as CRK's products are, the CS is every bit as good. Just give them a chance. If it bothers you that much, call them and discuss it with them.
 
I'm going to put my thoughts on this out here plain and simple. First and for most in my opinion, warranty and customer service is what can make or break an otherwise excellent company, keep people coming back or turn them away.

Bladenoobie1 said:
From what I could tell when I sent in the knife, I thought the off centering was due to a slightly uneven ground blade. I think this might be true as CRK probably doesn't want to replace the blade--rather do what they can with the current one.
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I'm pretty sure that this very well could be the case. That being said, if the blade is indeed ground uneven, I'd expect them to do whatever is needed to remedy the issue. In a $400+ knife, I'd expect everything to be as close to perfect with it as humanly possible. A blade that's ground uneven wouldn't cut it for me (pun intended).
 
Bladenoobie1 said:
Haha, I do expect some heat and flaming to go on in this thread. Its inevitable when there is such a strong standing and reputation behind this company. I'm looking for unbiased, straightforward answers. Hopefully not too much of a "fanboy" response.
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I think its a good idea to keep this thread civil. My two cents (if it's worth that) is to call them up and ask them for a little more information. I can't say if the problem is the blade or not, but I think a good start would be to ask them what they thought was the problem and if it is covered under their warranty. Their communication is good and from my accounts seem to be fairly reasonable people within limits.

The big question for me would be was this knife bought used, if not was it bought from an authorized dealer? Who knows what may have been done to it before it got into your hands.
 
I'll try to get a pic in by tomorrow. Maybe today if I can. I wouldn't say its terribly off center, but off-center is off center. There is nothing else to it.



This knife was purchased second hand, but it was from a member with fairly good feedback and described the knife as LNIB. At the time, it was November, and the knife was made in October of 2012. The scales were flawless when I purchased it, same goes with the blade (no scratches). As far as I could tell the edge was still factory sharp and untouched (as in never sharpened) and the only wear though negligible, was on the clip. Upon further inspection, the knife appears to never have been taken apart before as well and according to the original owner, he never has done so. I also already discussed this with the original owner around the time I purchased it, and I'm fairly confident that the owner did not do anything that would have caused the blade to become off center. And if it was a user caused problem, not CRKs, they would have notified me during the duration they had the knife.

To keep this out of the equation, and for the time being, there is nothing to lead me to believe the off centering is a user caused error, rather just a minor factory defect.


I'll try to get pics up, but I hoping to have answers in regard to my original question. I will make an effort to call or shoot an email to CRK to see if they can tell me what the source of the off-centering was. And as Sharpski said, PLEASE, lets keep this thread civil, mature, and calm
 
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I'm really into knives and have learned to live with their imperfections. This includes CRK. All three of the Insingos I've owned have had slightly off center blades. I currently have a large Insingo. I like it a lot, but have had to turn off my OCD about every little detail :D

Part of the "problem" out there is that many people talk about how "perfect" the Sebenza is. This creates an image of the knife that just doesn't meet some folks expectations.
 
CRK's warranty does follow the knife though and not the original owner. Abuse is not covered though...............but that is NOT the case here from what I understand. He just needs to call them again and discuss it with them and to let them know that he was not happy with the original fix and if he can send it in as its still uncentered. I am sure they will do what they can to make it right, thats what they are known for.

BTW. There is really no need for fans or non fans to get all up in arms. It was a simple questions asked by the OP.
 
I accept the slight offcentering in my 20 dollar kershaw folders. But I wouldn't expect that in a several hundred dollar knife. But if I was in your situation I wouldn't care.
 
Some manufacturers don't see Blade centering as a problem. I would recommend calling them and talking to them and asking. I love my CRK's but issues happen. It is how they deal with the issues that make CRK a superior company. Ask what their tolerances are on such a knife and if their tolerances don't agree with yours ask if they can help?

I have had wonderful experiences with CRK knives and their service dept. So give them a call and try to remain nice to them and you will probably be taken care of to your satisfaction. Watch the CRK video by Blade HQ and you will see Mr Reeve strives to make the worlds finest knives, it is not just talk with them.

So give them a call and see what they say.

Best wishes.
 
I tried to get the best picture as I possible could, while keeping the orientation straight. I choose to take the picture with the computer screen as a backlight as the lamp would create reflections and shadows that would make the centering hard to see. In this picture, it is a tiny bit off center to the right. Am I just being picky or am I justified in being, not unsatisfied, just slightly disappointed.

And in case if anyone misses it, I did say I would try to call or email CRK and inquire about the source of the off centering.

Also just to ease the mind of any doubters, I'll try to retake the picture showing the entire knife if you think I'm intentionally pushing the blade off-center with my thumb.
IMG_1962_zps7229d667.jpg
 
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I'd have to see pics to give my full opinion.

I can live with a miniscule amount of blade play, and a fraction off centered blade from crk. These amounts are hardly...even remotely noticeable.

Edit..just saw your pic, that's nothing to be concerned with at all(to me)
 
lemmuhj said:
I'd have to see pics to give my full opinion.

I can live with a miniscule amount of blade play, and a fraction off centered blade from crk. These amounts are hardly...even remotely noticeable.

Edit..just saw your pic, that's nothing to be concerned with at all(to me)
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I feel that I may be bashed for being picky. The pics may not have captured it as clearly as I and others would have liked, but in my eyes it is clearly off center.

To clarify, I'm not asking opinions about my judgement of off center. I'm asking opinions of whether I should expect the knife to be centered or not.
 
Personally, as long as the blade was flat/ square, locked up solid, and didn't touch the handles at any point, I would 't worry about it. But that's me, it clearly bothers you and you at least deserve a solid answer as to why they think it's OK as is.

I agree with the others who said to call and see why they can't center it better. I suspect may have to send it in again, but barring an abuse issue, I would expect them to fix it right or at least explain why they can't and why they think the outcome is acceptable.

Best of luck!
 
Try to get a better pic(s)

If its bothering you, call them up. I once had to send a knife back TWICE because there was still side to side play. I felt a little akward telling them, "hey, its still not fixed"...It came back the second time SOLID!
 
I hate to open old threads, but user hondahirny had a similar issue like mine awhile back. For reference, the centering is almost identical to the picture he posted in his thread.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Blade-Centering-Measurements-amp-Observations

Anyhow I'll get another pic tomorrow with natural lighting and try to get the off-centering to appear in a cleaner photo.



I'd also like to say I really like the responses I've been given! All of them have been pretty mature and reasonable. I'll be sure to report back to this thread as soon as I get a response from CRK, phone or email!
 
Bladenoobie1 said:
I feel that I may be bashed for being picky. The pics may not have captured it as clearly as I and others would have liked, but in my eyes it is clearly off center.

To clarify, I'm not asking opinions about my judgement of off center. I'm asking opinions of whether I should expect the knife to be centered or not.
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I would definitely say that I'd be just as dissatisfied as you are, if my new blade came off-centered. I would expect the manufacturer to remedy the issue, regardless of what it takes--it should never have left the factory that way in the first place. THAT SAID, based on ur pictures, I don't see it... is it slightly to the right? Maybe I just don't have an eye for these things...
 
In a perfect world all knives should be centered.

The centering doesn't look that bad in the picture you posted.

If the knife was centered to the naked eye and not down to exact measurements would that be acceptable?

No malice intent at all hear just so you know.
 
Just looked at the picture, if you wouldn't have pointed out the off centering, I wouldn't have ever noticed. Even still, It's pretty hard to see!
 
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