FFKW Gent Patina & Response

J

Jarvis959

Joined
Oct 5, 2017
Messages
19
So to preface, I am not accusing FFKW, WE, or MD of anything. I have bought every one of their collabs thus far and am using/carrying them all the time. My Gent has hae absolutely fine edge retention thus far and I dont mind the patina so am not looking for a refund, replacement, or any other form of compensation.

I received my Gent a couple of weeks ago, and did a full disassembly/cleaning/oiling as I usually do. I then proceeded to cut/eat a medium rare steak with it seasoned in sea salt and black pepper. When I washed off the knife afterwards, i noticed a patina. Thinking this was odd, i scrubbed at it with one of those green/yellow sponge things with a scrubby pad attached and some dish soap. It stayed on. I then carried it the next day and saw in better lighting that the patina was still there. I DM'd FFKW thinking they would be interested in an oddity affecting a product that bore their name/logo. This was their response: https://imgur.com/gallery/buk6k

I am by no means anything that even pretends to resemble a metallurgical expert, but in my experience, S35VN doesnt usually react this way to anything. Thoughts?

Edit: my very first msg to him. Not tryna hide anything, just wanted to keep my presentation neat: https://imgur.com/gallery/2ASr4
 
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My 52100 PM2 patina'd like that after I cut a steak with it. The only stainless steel I've had stain when I use it on meat has been a VG10 Delica. That was a grey stain, and looked nothing like this. I suspect that WE either had an unintentional steel mixup or messed up on the heat treat. Regardless, the response from FFKW means I won't be buying anything they put their name on in the future.
 
You should take this to Massdrop. They handle service and support for all the collaborations that they put out. I think the response from FFKW sounds a little jerky, but you are talking to the wrong person.

I've used my Gent a fair amount since I got it and haven't had any discoloration. So far the edge retention has seemed about right for S35VN. I'll try to use it some more for food prep and see if I pick up any patina.
 
Hackenslash said:
You should take this to Massdrop. They handle service and support for all the collaborations that they put out. I think the response from FFKW sounds a little jerky, but you are talking to the wrong person.

I've used my Gent a fair amount since I got it and haven't had any discoloration. So far the edge retention has seemed about right for S35VN. I'll try to use it some more for food prep and see if I pick up any patina.
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He made a fair point though, if it was my product with my name on it, I would have simply gone with "Thanks for letting me know, I can't say anything about the specific steel." and then either refer him to Massdrop or tell him that I will inform massdrop myself. End of story.
 
That's the part that gets me most. They mske a promotional video, put their name and logo on the thing, and provide 3rd party "pimping" services for it. That connects their brand and the quality they want it to stand for directly to the knife whether they intended for it to or not. Im not angry or upset or anything, but it tells me something about their brand when they say its not their problem at all.
 
W. Anderson said:
I've never seen S35VN react that way. I have an O1 blade that I use exclusively in the kitchen and it looks about like that. Sounds like we have a mystery.

And, if you say something that starts with "Not to sound like a jerk..." Well...
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My O1 CS TrailMaster looked very much the same .
 
Wow... Well, there are plenty of other knife makers in the industry that will offer much better customer service, even if they are not personally responsible for the product's issues (Sal and Mike Latham come to mind). I'll stick with them.
 

Early patina on O1 . I've never had yellow or brown shades on a "stainless" blade , only gray or black .
 
Jarvis959 said:
Remembering BRK's response on the CPM154 scandal, I got the patina off with brasso and elbow grease and cut up a pomegranate. https://imgur.com/gallery/DS3if The coloring seems consistent with what ive gotten on carbon steels used on meat vs acidic fruits.
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I can only say that the patina your knife is showing mimics what I have experienced in carbon blades and I’ve not had staining like that with S35vn.
 
Not a great response. Direct that energy toward Mass Drop and figure out what they're putting your name on.
 
SharpieB said:
Also, I would have guessed that knife was M4 based on such a quick patina. None of the many S35VN knives I own have patina-ed like that.
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M4 would be a significant upgrade.
None of my m4 blades show stain like that from m/r steak, but my 10xx blades do.
 
Man...after reading it again it's irking me even more. Especially the "I know more than you"-part, well IF YOU KNOW SO MUCH MORE EXPLAIN THE DAMN STAINING THEN?!
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interesting. never seen s35vn react and stain that way. wonder if it is a heat treat issue or wrong steel?
 
Really hoping Massdrop/FFKW cleans up this mess. I love the designs and collabs they have been doing with WE, but I'd be a little ticked if I got that response. Regardless if this matter should have been taken up with massdrop instead of FFKW, it was handled poorly.
 
That's a terrible response to your inquiry. I'd be interested to see if anyone else with the gent has this issue.

I have both the falcon and the Crux, and neither have shown issues with corrosion despite me sweating all over them fairly frequently. I'm going to go see if I can get them to patina by cutting some oranges.
 
I have noticed that my Gent has edge retention unlike what I expect from S35VN. Really good refined edge retention, the kind that S30V and S35VN don't really have.

That said, the edge retention is really nice either way, sharpened nicely, and I'm super happy with my Gent regardless of the steel.
 
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