Mixed Cuscadi - Custom Scale Division - Bad Service, Mostly Good Work

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I'm glad I noticed this thread !!! ... I have been looking for some scales for a couple knives for some time now ...

and had just about decided trying Cuscadi would be my only option to get what I wanted ... I may keep looking or just learn to like what they have or sell the knives ...

I hope they get everybody fixed up ... the few pieces I've seen up close from them looked really nice ...
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
Yes, after about 20 emails back and forth we finally settled on them refunding me 45 euro. I think it should've been more, but I didn't want to deal with them any longer. If they did indeed give me a 40 euro discount on my other set (which I doubt) the 45 euro brings me back to square.

They accused me again of scamming them, stating that I'd told them I had it fixed and now all of a sudden it doesn't fit. I don't know how I could have been more clear. It was fixed, but after use and carry the "fix" broke down and the pivot started to walk out of alignment.

You'd think someone in their line of business would understand that sort of basic concept. A round fastener in an (after "fixing") oblong hole needs to have some purchase to stay put. It apparently didn't have adequate purchase. Makes sense to me that it would wear with some use and torque.

I also don't see how I could be scamming them when I offered to return the scale. Breaking even and having nothing to show for it doesn't seem like a very worthwhile scam.

Seems to me they're just upset that I didn't just take the loss on the chin and that I was willing to hold their feet to the fire with PayPal.
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Brutal.
Well I appreciate the info.
It’s too bad. they do good work usually.
 
Since the OP had prior positive experience and results with Cuscadi too, it is imho just wrong to label this publicity thread with "Bad". They have thousands of happy customers, tens of thousands followers, and they have been in business for decades. They may well be the first and best company which comes to mind when discussing and recommending custom scales! I don't doubt that the OP has one of his several Cuscadi orders which hasn't completed yet to full satisfaction, but opening a thread calling them "Bad" is imho just wrong and unfair.

(…)

I am new to Cuscadi, just got my first orders completed and am very satisfied with the final situational result. Last month i ordered a G10 scale through a sloppy email (my bad) for a Spyderco knife and didn't know what to specify. I thought that naming the Spyderco knife model# would be enough! Since i am geman I called them on the phone and had a chat with the afaik senior. Very friendly informative talk, I was very pleased and confident after the talk.

So after a few more minor emails back and forth discussing G-10 texture and G-10 color (excellent email communication by them folks!!) my email order was processed when they found a time slot for the manual labor.

When i finally got the scale i had, at first, trouble fitting it on my knife! It was only after I removed all(!) screws from either handle side (right & left) that the scale started to fit perfectly in every way, every aspect, yes! The lesson i learned here was that handle standoffs (spacers, spacer tubes) can produce off-tolerances on their own, so one must make sure that they are loose (untightened) at the time of scale fitment!

Then the scale would click into place just fine.

Finally one can insert the screws from the left handle side, then from the right handle side, and start screwing them in/down. Done. Now all the checks passed:
  • centered blade? - check.
  • no blade play, up-down, side-side? - check.
  • smooth opening and closing? - check.
  • lock engages fully and securely? - check.
  • no fitment issues? - check.
In my case there was something unexpected though ;). The screw heads were not flush with the scale surface o_O. How come? Again a phone call. The machinist told me that their G10 warehouse stock in my very specific preferred color was slightly thinner than my original titanium scale (and i didn't realize until after the phone call lol) and that he opted to not drill out the screw hole deeper, which was technically the correct decision imho.

Yet i wasn't fully happy with how the screw heads were protruding by a millimeter or so.

After hearing that i wasn't fully happy, he offered to oblige, by re-shipping another G10 scale as 100% physically expected in the first place:rolleyes:, as long as i'd be willing to accept a slightly different G10 color for the replacement scale. In my case, tan instead of olive. Basically the machinist didn't have olive G10 stockware in the exact full thickness of the original titanium scale (it's a tank of a titanium knife btw!!).

Since he didn't ask me to return the olive scale, I happily:D accepted his offer and this completed my order to my utmost satisfaction. I mean, seriously, whether olive or tan, wtf cares both are similar colors and look nice!:)

Needless to say the tan G10 scale is in the exact full thickness and the screws now are all countersunk in the scale, the screw heads being flush with the scale plane, with no more protrusion, just perfect! :cool:

Funny thing, in the end i am liking the tan color better than the olive haha :p. So I followed up with an order of color-matching tan G10 backspacers (one smooth, one micro geared). Delivery has been fast and secure with DHL door to door tracking and signature.

I, for my part, call that excellent service, generous treatment in my case (since they didn't ask me to return the thinner scale), for a summa summarum wonderful customer experience hands down. I'll be a returning customer for sure :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Petunia D. Feeble Petunia D. Feeble Sorry to hear about your individual case. Hope you can sort it out with the fine folks from Cuscadi! Have you tried to give them a call? The junior is fluent in English.
 
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kreisler said:
Since the OP had prior positive experience and results with Cuscadi too, it is imho just wrong to label this publicity thread with "Bad". They have thousands of happy customers, tens of thousands followers, and they have been in business for decades. They may well be the first and best company which comes to mind when discussing and recommending custom scales! I don't doubt that the OP has one of his several Cuscadi orders which hasn't completed yet to full satisfaction, but opening a thread calling them "Bad" is imho just wrong and unfair.

(…)

I am new to Cuscadi, just got my first orders completed and am very satisfied with the final situational result. Last month i ordered a G10 scale through a sloppy email (my bad) for a Spyderco knife and didn't know what to specify. I thought that naming the Spyderco knife model# would be enough! Since i am geman I called them on the phone and had a chat with the afaik senior. Very friendly informative talk, I was very pleased and confident after the talk.

So after a few more minor emails back and forth discussing G-10 texture and G-10 color (excellent email communication by them folks!!) my email order was processed when they found a time slot for the manual labor.

When i finally got the scale i had, at first, trouble fitting it on my knife! It was only after I removed all(!) screws from either handle side (right & left) that the scale started to fit perfectly in every way, every aspect, yes! The lesson i learned here was that handle standoffs (spacers, spacer tubes) can produce off-tolerances on their own, so one must make sure that they are loose (untightened) at the time of scale fitment!

Then the scale would click into place just fine.

Finally one can insert the screws from the left handle side, then from the right handle side, and start screwing them in/down. Done. Now all the checks passed:
  • centered blade? - check.
  • no blade play, up-down, side-side? - check.
  • smooth opening and closing? - check.
  • lock engages fully and securely? - check.
  • no fitment issues? - check.
In my case there was something unexpected though ;). The screw heads were not flush with the scale surface o_O. How come? Again a phone call. The machinist told me that their G10 warehouse stock in my very specific preferred color was slightly thinner than my original titanium scale (and i didn't realize until after the phone call lol) and that he opted to not drill out the screw hole deeper, which was technically the correct decision imho.

Yet i wasn't fully happy with how the screw heads were protruding by a millimeter or so.

After hearing that i wasn't fully happy, he offered to oblige, by re-shipping another G10 scale as 100% physically expected in the first place:rolleyes:, as long as i'd be willing to accept a slightly different G10 color for the replacement scale. In my case, tan instead of olive. Basically the machinist didn't have olive G10 stockware in the exact full thickness of the original titanium scale (it's a tank of a titanium knife btw!!).

Since he didn't ask me to return the olive scale, I happily:D accepted his offer and this completed my order to my utmost satisfaction. I mean, seriously, whether olive or tan, wtf cares both are similar colors and look nice!:)

Needless to say the tan G10 scale is in the exact full thickness and the screws now are all countersunk in the scale, the screw heads being flush with the scale plane, with no more protrusion, just perfect! :cool:

Funny thing, in the end i am liking the tan color better than the olive haha :p. So I followed up with an order of color-matching tan G10 backspacers (one smooth, one micro geared). Delivery has been fast and secure with DHL door to door tracking and signature.

I, for my part, call that excellent service, generous treatment in my case (since they didn't ask me to return the thinner scale), for a summa summarum wonderful customer experience hands down. I'll be a returning customer for sure :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Petunia D. Feeble Petunia D. Feeble Sorry to hear about your individual case. Hope you can sort it out with the fine folks from Cuscadi! Have you tried to give them a call? The junior is fluent in English.
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Who cares what color the scale is? I do and you should too. If you order a tan scale, presumably you order a tan scale that FITS the knife.

He didn't send you free scale on top of the one you ordered, he sent you a scale that didn't fit and then a scale that's the wrong color.

If you're happy with it then great, I'm glad for you, but in my opinion your story is still an example of a poor way to do business. If their tan g10 was thinner than the stock scales they should've contacted you immediately after you placed the order and then let you decide whether or not to go with tan, switch colors or take your business elsewhere.

The BAD title tag stays. You're welcome to start an independent thread if you want.

(Your scale fitting technique and the verbiage used therein also sounds an awful lot like the emails they sent me. On the payroll are we?)
 
kreisler said:
Since the OP had prior positive experience and results with Cuscadi too, it is imho just wrong to label this publicity thread with "Bad". They have thousands of happy customers, tens of thousands followers, and they have been in business for decades. They may well be the first and best company which comes to mind when discussing and recommending custom scales! I don't doubt that the OP has one of his several Cuscadi orders which hasn't completed yet to full satisfaction, but opening a thread calling them "Bad" is imho just wrong and unfair.
Click to expand...

His previous good experiences do not negate this one bad experience. Why would he not label a bad experience "bad" and how is it unfair?

IMO, he was quite fair to them. Even with sharing his bad experience, he still states that he had a previously good experience and the product was solid. He even states this at the bottom of his first post:

"I think there's probably a 90% chance that whatever you receive from them will be perfect. They have a reputation for excellence and I think that's probably deserved, but buyer beware: If you get one of the rare bad scales from them they're not pleasant to work with and you'll have to fight to me made whole again."

It would be unfair to sweep the bad things that happen under the rug just because most people most of the time are satisfied.


Edit to add: Others in this thread have come forward with similar experiences, so this incident is clearly not isolated to one person one time.
 
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I bought 2 wood scales for a Spyderco Gayle Bradley 1
and both needed to have some material removed over the blade stop.


It was simply easier to do the job than try to get a resolution from overseas.

Only reason I used them is because they were the only ones making GB1 scales that answered back.
 
New member. Just wanted to share my recent experience with Cuscadi Custom Scale Division. I asked them to customize a Boker Urban Trapper Petite to include (1) stonewashing the blade to match the other titanium elements and (2) making TINY scales from an equally small amount of mammoth ivory. Honestly, the process from beginning to end could not have gone smoother and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=617c02603ea33337eb3187c56aeba470&oe=5D8D194F

I just shipped Cuscadi a new Boker Plus Italy PM-3 for "heavy relic" treatment and a glowing backspacer. My communication with them - even as we don't share the same language - has been simple; with all of my design expectations being thoroughly addressed before the build. Given Cuscadi's attention to detail, I'm sure the resulting knife will rival, if not outshine, the first.

Thanks Cuscadi. I look forward to many more successful projects!
 
Seriously?!?! That seals it for me. I will never do business with Cuscadi. It is one thing to have an occasional lapse in Customer Service. To use a sock puppet to obfuscate their shortcomings is something else.
 
Guys... like all of you, I'm sure - I did months of research into the company that I would use to customize my knife. Including visiting this site to review forums. I just had no reason to post until I actually received my knife from Cuscadi. I had no opinion. Now I do.

For regulars here - you have to admit... Cuscadi has a pretty good track record on BladeForums.com. They have tons of positive reviews. The info I found here was, in large part, how I found Cuscadi in the first place. Sure, there are always negative issues - that's why you HAVE a forum like this. But, as the vast majority of posters/contributors regarding Cuscadi seemed to be pleased with their work. They went on my list of prospective customizers.

When the time came, I sent detailed images with exact finishes and several scale material options to SEVERAL knife customizers... many regularly talked about on these forums. Cuscadi answered EVERY question I asked. They suggested alternatives. They returned emails within hours. They sent pics of the knife in production. They've earned my business.

So, while it seems some people have had recent issues with Cuscadi, I'll rely on my personal experiences and report them as such. I've watched the simple vitriol rise on these forums regarding Cuscadi... difficult communication, bad customer service. I've read the thread(s). I simply didn't experience anything of the sort. My experience with Cuscadi was GOOD. They did exactly what I expected within my budget. I will use them again. Period.
 
Heavy_Kreem said:
Guys... like all of you, I'm sure - I did months of research into the company that I would use to customize my knife. Including visiting this site to review forums. I just had no reason to post until I actually received my knife from Cuscadi. I had no opinion. Now I do.

For regulars here - you have to admit... Cuscadi has a pretty good track record on BladeForums.com. They have tons of positive reviews. The info I found here was, in large part, how I found Cuscadi in the first place. Sure, there are always negative issues - that's why you HAVE a forum like this. But, as the vast majority of posters/contributors regarding Cuscadi seemed to be pleased with their work. They went on my list of prospective customizers.

When the time came, I sent detailed images with exact finishes and several scale material options to SEVERAL knife customizers... many regularly talked about on these forums. Cuscadi answered EVERY question I asked. They suggested alternatives. They returned emails within hours. They sent pics of the knife in production. They've earned my business.

So, while it seems some people have had recent issues with Cuscadi, I'll rely on my personal experiences and report them as such. I've watched the simple vitriol rise on these forums regarding Cuscadi... difficult communication, bad customer service. I've read the thread(s). I simply didn't experience anything of the sort. My experience with Cuscadi was GOOD. They did exactly what I expected within my budget. I will use them again. Period.
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Considering the original poster has said "I'm sure 90% of your experiences will be great", your post doesnt have much of a place here.

Other peoples positive experiences do not affect this negative thread. Everyone has the right to see everything, positive and negative, and make their own decision.

Personally, it sounds like it would be too much of a pain in the ass if it goes even slightly wrong, so I have zero plans to ever buy scales from these guys.
 
I posted my comments as a "Good" review - in it's own thread - completely unrelated to this thread. It was never intended to be on this thread. In the last hour, my "Good" review has now become part of someone else "Bad" review thread.

So, I agree... my post DOESN'T have a place here. I didn't put it here. Cuscadi did a great job for me.
 
Heavy_Kreem said:
I posted my comments as a "Good" review - in it's own thread - completely unrelated to this thread. It was never intended to be on this thread. In the last hour, my "Good" review has now become part of someone else "Bad" review thread.

So, I agree... my post DOESN'T have a place here. I didn't put it here. Cuscadi did a great job for me.
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I believe I saw that thread. Not sure how they ended up combined.
 
***Yeah, I'm pretty damn angry about it and have already contacted the administrator for review of this thread. I DID NOT post here. My very positive "Good" review of a respected, worldwide vendor were NOT intended to support someone else's personal negative issues. It seems this happens a lot on this site. I am truly and honestly upset that someone believes THEY have the right to usurp my post and FALSELY post it as "Bad." The site is CLEARLY manipulating POSITIVE information about Cuscadi to serve a biased narrative. Every one of you on this forum - who IS NOT a part of this attack on our First Amendment freedoms - should be appalled and let the administrator know it. Those here who are capable of changing, editing, or otherwise usurping other contributors' written words should be ashamed of their actions and removed from this site immediately.***
 
Heavy_Kreem said:
***Yeah, I'm pretty damn angry about it and have already contacted the administrator for review of this thread. I DID NOT post here. My very positive "Good" review of a respected, worldwide vendor were NOT intended to support someone else's personal negative issues. It seems this happens a lot on this site. I am truly and honestly upset that someone believes THEY have the right to usurp my post and FALSELY post it as "Bad." The site is CLEARLY manipulating POSITIVE information about Cuscadi to serve a biased narrative. Every one of you on this forum - who IS NOT a part of this attack on our First Amendment freedoms - should be appalled and let the administrator know it. Those here who are capable of changing, editing, or otherwise usurping other contributors' written words should be ashamed of their actions and removed from this site immediately.***
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...Right...I've never seen that happen in my near decade on this forum. I am going to have to refer to Occam's razor for this one.


Regardless, that's some pretty bad customer service in regards to Cuscadi telling someone that their customer should fix the work they couldn't get right. Damn shame too, it seems like it just keeps getting more and more difficult to find good scale makers anymore.
 
Heavy_Kreem said:
***Yeah, I'm pretty damn angry about it and have already contacted the administrator for review of this thread. I DID NOT post here. My very positive "Good" review of a respected, worldwide vendor were NOT intended to support someone else's personal negative issues. It seems this happens a lot on this site. I am truly and honestly upset that someone believes THEY have the right to usurp my post and FALSELY post it as "Bad." The site is CLEARLY manipulating POSITIVE information about Cuscadi to serve a biased narrative. Every one of you on this forum - who IS NOT a part of this attack on our First Amendment freedoms - should be appalled and let the administrator know it. Those here who are capable of changing, editing, or otherwise usurping other contributors' written words should be ashamed of their actions and removed from this site immediately.***
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Do you really think anyone is going to believe that you are just a customer?
 
This thread just keeps getting more and more fishy.

OP posted their experiences.

Contrarian viewpoint from a different member in the same vernacular as OP’s email responses from service provider.

New account was made coincidentally a few days later with glowing feedback of service provider.

New account holder is highly emotional and speaking in absolutes four posts in.

Then again...maybe it’s all just coincidence.

The scales do look very nice. Sounds like fitment is hit or miss.
 
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