Factory seconds??

tueller

tueller

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Mar 16, 2012
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What do you guys think? Are factory seconds a good way to save money or not worth it? I don't care about cosmetic flaws because I use my knives anyways and they get beet up. But my concern is if there was a problem with the structure or heat treatment and the knife may be weak and not as functional. Thoughts?? Thanks for any input.
 
I do not have experience with any company other than Kershaw/Zero Tolerance in this subject, but in my experience, the blems/factory seconds are a fantastic deal if you are looking to save a few dollars.

Most of the time people have a hard time even finding the flaw.


It is up to you to decide if the higher cost of a factory new knife is worth the warranty or not.
 
Tripton said:
I do not have experience with any company other than Kershaw/Zero Tolerance in this subject, but in my experience, the blems/factory seconds are a fantastic deal if you are looking to save a few dollars.

Most of the time people have a hard time even finding the flaw.


It is up to you to decide if the higher cost of a factory new knife is worth the warranty or not.
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What he said. I would just add that in today's liability climate, no knife manufacturer is going to knowingly sell a knife with anything that could be a safety issue. It's just not worth it. Factory seconds, "blemishes", whatever are going to be cosmetic only, which makes them perfect for "user" knives.
 
I got a ZT300 blem and for the life of me I couldn't find the reason why it was a blem. It was about 1/2 the cost of a non blem so it was an amazing deal!
 
JustSomeGuy said:
I would just add that in today's liability climate, no knife manufacturer is going to knowingly sell a knife with anything that could be a safety issue. It's just not worth it. Factory seconds, "blemishes", whatever are going to be cosmetic only, which makes them perfect for "user" knives.
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This ^^^.

No factory is going to release a knife for sale if there's a safety concern with it. Having said that, I've seen designs from a few manufacturers I thought were questionable from a safety standpoint, but that's a whole other issue.
 
The only company I've bought seconds from is Grohmann. Let's just say it was pretty obvious why they were 'seconds', but they're still mostly serviceable. I don't know that I would buy seconds from them again, specifically, but it was a good way to save a few bucks and still get the genuine article knives.
 
I've had no problem with factory seconds so far. I've owned two knives for quite a while now that were factory seconds. They were made by CS
 
Iv got a 0200 blem from keshaw guy and all I can find wrong with it is a little smudge on the swedge it locks up fine no blade play......I'd say there worth it!
 
I have a few Kershaw/ZT blems, they range from having extremely minor finish imperfections to being damn near perfect.
 
A. G. Russell sells seconds and includes his rock-solid "forever" Customer Satisfaction Guarantee.

I had the opportunity to test this a few years back, as a knife I bought as a second had a very large chip break off the blade. I sent it back, and it was replaced right away. Of course, there needs to be another second of the same model available, but even if not, I'm sure you'd get credit towards something else. That's the only place I'll buy a second, (Other than from Kershawguy).
 
Thx for the info guys. Based on your opinions I will be making the purchase.
 
If it wasn't for the blems I wouldn't even own a zero tolerance. I'm looking to get a CS bushman second or two next time they have them. $15 bushman? Yes, please!
 
Not sure about other companies, but Kershaw's been very good to their customers and will send parts for your blem, besides big things, like entire blades and handle scales.
 
I have a Spyderco PM2 in M390, a factory second. A beautiful knife.
Also, from KershawGuy, I bought three Blems in the JunkYardDog model, composite blade/G10 handles. Wonderful knives.
With Spyderco and Kershaw, the blems are COSMETIC, and usually you can't see what the problem was.
Get the blem.
 
Cold Steel's seconds are good. Very much like Kershaw seconds, they range from minor appearance issues all the way to where you can't figure out why they're marked as seconds.
 
I bought 4 'blems' from KershawGuy a few months back and I still can't find the 'blems'. Outside of the XXXX's now stamped on the blade, one would never know......certainly not the buck and bull they neatly dressed out.

I look forward to the next 'blem' blowout.........I'm all in.
 
I love xxxx on my blades.
Seriously, thats usually the only thing wrong with a blem, and it costs money to put it on the blade, so you are paying up to 50% less for a knife that has more work done to it.
 
the difference may even be a couple thousandths off on some part and they just decided to use it.
 
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