FFKW Gent Patina & Response

I tested my Gent with a little mustard on the blade and let it sit for about an hour. Not even a lick of discoloration. Definitely have a new respect for the WE heat treat on S35VN.
 
Well, I’ll jump in.

A few weeks ago after doing some kitchen work with my Crux, I had what I thought was a patina too. I had to use some metal polish to get the blade cleaned up.

I’ve got some Heinz spicy brown, my Crux, and a 940-2 in S30V. Time for a test.

Any recommendations on how long to leave the mustard?
 
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Ok, I’m exhausted and only left the mustard on for 15 minutes then I rinsed the knives in cold water.

DE6E21E4-57A4-4127-A16E-01E94C347505.jpeg

Both had ring shaped marks that disappeared with hot water, dish soap, and vigorous finger scrubbing. I may try longer tomorrow, mostly because the experience I mentioned above left me curious.
 
I have given up on the Massdrop collaborations. I got a Gent I thought 80.00 for s35vn and titanium was a good value. I went to move the pocket clip and stripped one of the screw heads. I sent a note to Ferum forge asking for a screw they sent me to massdrop. Mass drop replaced the whole knife but I was afraid to move the clip. The screw messed up the tip of my whia T6 bit. I had to cut a slot in it with a dremmil to remove. Nice looking knife but the clip is garbage and the clip screws were weird.
 
http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/ch-knives-ch-3504-wow.1510700/page-2#post-17362919

Per the quote from Bob,
We could shoot a knife with our Niton gun if anyone wants it checked to make sure it's legit. Send me an email at bob@nsm-ny.com and I'll give you shipping information. We'll cover the cost. We don't sell direct to CH but they could be buying from one of our distributors.
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they can test it to see if it's legit s35vn.

As Emler already did a video on this showing his didn't have any issues... Not all of them are like this. So it could be 1 of many variables that caused this.

After getting a falcon I didn't like at all, I didn't want to try the rest. Nothing but inconsistentcy from we knives in general in 2017.
 
My Falcon had issues from the get-go, and the lock failed on 2 youtube reviewers, one of them Zelrick42 who distributes WE. Both of them made temporary fixes to the issue. I need to return it to Massdrop, but haven't touched it since it has been returned - almost 3 months. It's sort of an odd coincidence the only 2 knives I've ever had Ti fail on both had FF logos on them. One thing that other YT reviewers have noticed is the odd dark appearance of the FF/WE blades compared to other S35VN.

(To be fair, when I first got the Falcon and the "oil-pack" wore off, the knife had problems deploying. To their credit, Massdrop and WE both responded immediately to my IG post, WE sending new bearings to Massdrop if I needed them. I said I'd take it apart - and as it turned out there was a sizeable metal shaving that moved into the bearing path. A good cleaning and a couple drops of oil and it was all good. I'd only had it a week or so and sent straight to a YT reviewer (Stassa23) to review while they were first hitting the streets. It was with him the lock issue started.)

I see FF's IG is alight with people calling the Sub Reddit a circle jerk, which simply shows a lack of reading comprehension. The OP was demanding nothing other than showing an issue he had with a (cheap) knife. I like Mike, but the fact that he doesn't have an issue with 1 out of 1k knives means nothing to me. Just like 1 out of 1k knives having an issue doesn't mean they're all like that. But I expect the former, not the latter when buying a product. I'll also add that my Crux blade has needed a bit more attention than my other knives, and it never really occurred to me until I saw this unfolding.

This post of mine may or may not be interesting to those considering FF - but it's a straight lift of my conversations with FF when my Spinner lock failed some months back. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/looking-for-feedback-on-ferrum-forge.1547437/#post-17795610
 
91bravo said:
s35vn does not stain like that. Sounds like you've got a mystery carbon steel...
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What I find interesting is that we get a response that everybody has tested it and says it's S35VN. How random is the testing? Is it possible that it could be S35VN and something was done to the steel? It's also fascinating that we get the "why are you telling me? We don't make the knives - I only designed them, I've got nothing to do with this" while at the same time they're advertising them as "our knives". Ok, huh?

Regardless, the response to the OP - who seriously seems to be anything but a whiner - is juvenile at best. Why the chest pounding? Yeah yeah, you're a steel expert. Who apparently expresses zero curiosity as to how a stainless steel like this can exhibit this sort of issue. I mean seriously, this would take a bit of work and a huge amount of neglect with most of my knives. Or some serious chemicals. I tend to believe the OP as he started by simply pointing something out - something that should have warranted a "thanks, we'll look into this" instead of "I'm the steel expert whereby all other steel experts can cease to exist" jargon. I wonder if Massdrop has had anything to say on the issue?

TBH, I never heard squat from FF when I had problems, but Massdrop and WE were right there to answer the question. Is this just being ignored?
 
I've cut tons of stuff with my s35vn blades. Especially acidic fruit and vegetables. I'm not one to wipe my blade off after use either, and even then, no hint of any kind of patina on my s35vn PM2. I don't care what kind of tests they run, s35vn should NOT patina like that.
 
Jarvis959 said:
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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Thanks for posting. I'd be of the same train of thought as you. If my name or logo is on something, regardless of my level of direct involvement, I want to know about any issues that arise with it and this definitely constitutes an issue.

I've never seen even a tiny bit of discoloration on s35vn. Plenty of steaks, apples, citrus, etc. cut with no Patina at all.

More staggering than the patina though is his response. Look bud, any time you have to start a sentence with "Not to sound like a jerk..." you sound like a jerk and since I, the customer, don't know you personally I have to take that as evidence that you probably are a jerk. I'd prefer not to do business with a jerk. Bad move.
 
Not to be a jerk :confused: but Ferrum Forge is now on my ignore list.

EDIT - OK some slack. FF has stood up to being a jerk and apologized openly and with feeling. Too bad for the drama but good comeback. :thumbsup: Still - why the patina?

Jarvis959 - you, on the other hand, seem like a class act :thumbsup:

I generally like patina on knives but ...

Ray
 
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While the patina is odd, I wouldn't read too much into Elliot's response. Not sure if you guys have ever seen the Ferrum Forge YouTube videos, but they are both quirky and awkward as hell, and his response is probably the brunt end of 20 or so accusatory DM's regarding the We collab knives.

In a perfect world, I'm sure Elliot would love to pay someone to answer his DM's and emails, but I doubt they make enough.

Either way, I have no dog in the fight.
 
This is an unfortunate situation that should never have happened. Fortunately, FFKW has owned up to the terrible responses and apologized generally. There’s no excuse for treating anyone like that, let alone a customer, whether direct or indirect, but we all screw up and learn. I hope this is ends up to be a positive experience for all involved.

For those of us familiar with the FFKW boys, we know they are regularly very casual with their public image. To many, this is a refreshingly genuine look into their lives. For others, it can be grating and eye-roll inducing. We all have varying levels of tolerance for what would traditionally be referred to as “unprofessional behavior.” I always prefer someone to be genuine, and I try to accept them as they are and hope for the same in return. The only reason I say this is that they are frequently a little rough around the edges, but seem to be genuinely good guys. I’m hoping they can get past this, and that the OP can accept whatever offering is extended. No one is perfect, but owning your mistakes in a way that exposes more people to what you did in the first place is an admirable first step.
 
SharpieB said:
Sure is. Amazing how we dehumanize people online when they are a being a bit of a dick. Likely a good dude having a bad day. Good for him for posting that.
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This. Stress gets to the best of some of us.
 
very nice of those ferrum fellas. takes a big man to admit publicy they can do better.

that aside as i didnt really find him to be as harsh as others have.....so used to heckling down here it just bounces off.....hard for me to even notice it anymore..........

so im more interested in why the steel stained.......wonder where it goes from here........
 
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