- Joined
- Oct 29, 2013
- Messages
- 763
I have owned a couple hundred knives over my lifetime, almost exclusively sub 100$ knives, the majority were either Case or well regarded fixed blades. A few months ago I decided to invest more in a fixed blade suitable for hard use. I wanted it for hiking/camping, and also to do a review for a website I sometimes write for. I am lucky enough to live close to Smokey Mountain Knife Works, so I took a day and personally handled just about every fixed blade knife imagineable; everything from SOG knives to CRK, from Essee to a slew of Ka-Bar knives I didn't even know existed. I was specifically focusing on knives that would appeal to what you might call the 'tactical community' because the website I mentioned focuses heavily on AR-15s, survival, and the military/LEO community. I eventually narrowed it down to a Fallikniven A1 or an SRK. I ended up purchasing the SRK with San Mai steel online about a week later.
Instant Failure
I carried it around for about a week, and decided one day to clear a tomato plant from the walk in front of my house. I tested slicing on a few smaller branches, and then chopped the main stem in about 4 light chops. I was disgusted to find a large chip in the edge (not a micro chip, but one that was about half the width of the edge). I could have repaired it myself, but I don't really have the capability to work a hard steel down so far and re-profile to factory specs, and I thought there may have been a problem with the initial heat treat (I have never had a blade chip under light use, and this was supposed to be a super steel?) so I sent it in to Cold Steel. They were accommodating.
A note on Wait Times Across Industry
It took about a month; now I know that this is no time in Knife World, but I do much more dealing with firearms companies (mostly mid-sized companies), and if it would have taken two weeks for one of those companies to get a product repaired, they would have been condemned on the Internet. That's not really pertinent here because it's relative, I'm always surprised to see people taking up for the custom makers with piss poor customer service on BF when they miss their deadlines by 6 months; Remington and Springfield might be able to get away with a long queue, but companies like Geissele and Spikes Tactical will often get products repaired and shipped back the very same day the receive them - it's not impossible, but like I said knife fans have come to accept the long waits, so considering Cold Steel did great to get my knife back within a month.
Very Disappointed in the Repair
The real disappointment came when I got the knife back. I expected it to be in better shape than new - after all, a professional would have to do this by hand, and I have never gotten a knife back from the manufacturer in worse shape than I sent it. This was a huge exception. The edge was horrible. It isn't even close to being symmetrical, the edge near the tip is almost non existent, and there was a comical folded burr running the length of the edge. The knife would shave arm hair when I first got it, but now it doesn't even threaten to do so. I knocked the burr off, but I can't reprofile the knife, and it has been ground back several millimeters; I'm guessing the life of the blade has been cut in half since it's San Mai, it's much closer to the laminate metal now than when it was new.
Re-Cap
So to re-cap, the knife chipped severely from light chopping when I first received it (the small tomato plant couldn't have been more of an indictment on the wimpiness of the blade if it had been a bottle of downy fabric softener). I sent it back, got it back a month later and what I considered a 150$ knife now resembles a garage hack job with an uneven profile, especially near the tip where I have the hardest time fixxing it. I really expected them to send the knife back sharper than it was originally, and I don't know if I could be more disappointed. I hope Cold Steel takes note of my dissatisfaction, and works to remedy their repair and sharpening program.
To Cold Steel's credit, they did offer to pay for shipping so I could send the knife back; but when I pay 160$ for a knife, I don't buy it to send it on trips via the USPS. I buy it to use, and to be handy in case the Zombie Apocalypse or a stubborn cardboard box finds its way to my doorstep this evening. As far as I'm concerned there is nothing more they can do unless their CEO wants to show up on my porch and re-profile the blade himself. The SRK comes highly recommended from the firearm community which I run on a popular social network, so I was disappointed to suffer different results more than anything. I think that the AUS8 blades are more prevalent, and the San Mai laminate probably isn't a good match with the geometry of the SRK. I have done some light chopping since the knife came back without chipping, but it isn't the same knife it was when I bought it. I wanted to share this experience so if others have problems with San Mai SRKs chipping after light use, it is noted that it isn't an isolated case; and to warn customers NOT to ship blades back to Cold Steel if you expect even a mediocre job. I could only classify it as poor. I am able to keep my knives in better than factory condition because I take care of the profiles, and the consistent profile guides my future sharpening. The SRK is now a lost cause for my normal maintenance routine. Their customer service was alright (possibly exceptional by Knife company standards) as far as interaction and accommodation goes.
To be clear, I wish Cold Steel and all their employees the best, and if you have good experiences with their blades by all means continue with what you do, but keep an eye out for the problems I mentioned. I probably won't purchase another Cold Steel for a while. I hope that my next experience is more positive. I also will not be writing an article about the blade because my experience seems to be so extreme that I do think that it might not be the status quo.
What has everyone else's experience been with San Mai SRKs? I have heard of chipping with VG 10 and S35V specifically, but I always assumed that it was the microscopic chipping that occurs on harder, more brittle steels.
Instant Failure
I carried it around for about a week, and decided one day to clear a tomato plant from the walk in front of my house. I tested slicing on a few smaller branches, and then chopped the main stem in about 4 light chops. I was disgusted to find a large chip in the edge (not a micro chip, but one that was about half the width of the edge). I could have repaired it myself, but I don't really have the capability to work a hard steel down so far and re-profile to factory specs, and I thought there may have been a problem with the initial heat treat (I have never had a blade chip under light use, and this was supposed to be a super steel?) so I sent it in to Cold Steel. They were accommodating.
A note on Wait Times Across Industry
It took about a month; now I know that this is no time in Knife World, but I do much more dealing with firearms companies (mostly mid-sized companies), and if it would have taken two weeks for one of those companies to get a product repaired, they would have been condemned on the Internet. That's not really pertinent here because it's relative, I'm always surprised to see people taking up for the custom makers with piss poor customer service on BF when they miss their deadlines by 6 months; Remington and Springfield might be able to get away with a long queue, but companies like Geissele and Spikes Tactical will often get products repaired and shipped back the very same day the receive them - it's not impossible, but like I said knife fans have come to accept the long waits, so considering Cold Steel did great to get my knife back within a month.
Very Disappointed in the Repair
The real disappointment came when I got the knife back. I expected it to be in better shape than new - after all, a professional would have to do this by hand, and I have never gotten a knife back from the manufacturer in worse shape than I sent it. This was a huge exception. The edge was horrible. It isn't even close to being symmetrical, the edge near the tip is almost non existent, and there was a comical folded burr running the length of the edge. The knife would shave arm hair when I first got it, but now it doesn't even threaten to do so. I knocked the burr off, but I can't reprofile the knife, and it has been ground back several millimeters; I'm guessing the life of the blade has been cut in half since it's San Mai, it's much closer to the laminate metal now than when it was new.
Re-Cap
So to re-cap, the knife chipped severely from light chopping when I first received it (the small tomato plant couldn't have been more of an indictment on the wimpiness of the blade if it had been a bottle of downy fabric softener). I sent it back, got it back a month later and what I considered a 150$ knife now resembles a garage hack job with an uneven profile, especially near the tip where I have the hardest time fixxing it. I really expected them to send the knife back sharper than it was originally, and I don't know if I could be more disappointed. I hope Cold Steel takes note of my dissatisfaction, and works to remedy their repair and sharpening program.
To Cold Steel's credit, they did offer to pay for shipping so I could send the knife back; but when I pay 160$ for a knife, I don't buy it to send it on trips via the USPS. I buy it to use, and to be handy in case the Zombie Apocalypse or a stubborn cardboard box finds its way to my doorstep this evening. As far as I'm concerned there is nothing more they can do unless their CEO wants to show up on my porch and re-profile the blade himself. The SRK comes highly recommended from the firearm community which I run on a popular social network, so I was disappointed to suffer different results more than anything. I think that the AUS8 blades are more prevalent, and the San Mai laminate probably isn't a good match with the geometry of the SRK. I have done some light chopping since the knife came back without chipping, but it isn't the same knife it was when I bought it. I wanted to share this experience so if others have problems with San Mai SRKs chipping after light use, it is noted that it isn't an isolated case; and to warn customers NOT to ship blades back to Cold Steel if you expect even a mediocre job. I could only classify it as poor. I am able to keep my knives in better than factory condition because I take care of the profiles, and the consistent profile guides my future sharpening. The SRK is now a lost cause for my normal maintenance routine. Their customer service was alright (possibly exceptional by Knife company standards) as far as interaction and accommodation goes.
To be clear, I wish Cold Steel and all their employees the best, and if you have good experiences with their blades by all means continue with what you do, but keep an eye out for the problems I mentioned. I probably won't purchase another Cold Steel for a while. I hope that my next experience is more positive. I also will not be writing an article about the blade because my experience seems to be so extreme that I do think that it might not be the status quo.
What has everyone else's experience been with San Mai SRKs? I have heard of chipping with VG 10 and S35V specifically, but I always assumed that it was the microscopic chipping that occurs on harder, more brittle steels.
)