Francisco Vaz —-

I did receive 5 absolutely beautiful knives from Francisco back in May or June of this year but those were delayed to the point that I thought he was trying to scam me.

This is the second set I've purchased, now 2 months past due. Ordered in August and I was hoping to have them delivered in October or November. I believe Francisco means well, his empty delivery promises and setting up DHL tracking numbers without giving the package to DHL is what has me irritated. Francisco Vaz Francisco Vaz
 
There are too many solid RELIABLE makers to spend calories on one that can't get it together, no matter how well meaning or talented in my opinion. There is obviously a pattern here.
 
I’m in the same boat . Had many knives from him but the latest I haven’t heard back in a few weeks
 
I should have searched out this thread sooner as I’ve been in the same boat. I ordered a total of 8 knives back in March. The first batch were for immediate shipment, the remaining 3 customs to be shipped by May.

The initial shipment got caught up in the floods, Francisco has been keeping me up to date and it now looks like I’ll receive the shipment on Monday, having now arrived in the UK.

I’m now waiting on confirmation of when the 3 custom knives will be complete. These are the ones I really want and it’s been a little frustrating not to have any information on them. I realise Francisco may well have had an extremely torrid year and suffered from loss of business. However we are where we are and it needs to be put to bed.
 
Jagged77 said:
I should have searched out this thread sooner as I’ve been in the same boat. I ordered a total of 8 knives back in March. The first batch were for immediate shipment, the remaining 3 customs to be shipped by May.

The initial shipment got caught up in the floods, Francisco has been keeping me up to date and it now looks like I’ll receive the shipment on Monday, having now arrived in the UK.

I’m now waiting on confirmation of when the 3 custom knives will be complete. These are the ones I really want and it’s been a little frustrating not to have any information on them. I realise Francisco may well have had an extremely torrid year and suffered from loss of business. However we are where we are and it needs to be put to bed.
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Further to my above post I’m pleased to say the first batch of 5 knives has arrived safely this morning.

I shall forgo comment on the trials and tribulations of upfront payments and waiting 9 months for a part order, but will say Francisco has provided a steady flow of information throughout on the first 5 knives.

All that remains is the delivery of the remaining 3 commissioned blades which are the most important pieces. I have not had any information on these. I am hopeful to receive a comprehensive update as to the current status and remaining delivery time in the next couple of days.
 
Further to the above and on reflection I think its important to add a little more context to the situation. This delayed order is actually the third order I have placed with Francisco and I have been using many of his knives everyday for the past couple of years. They are absolutely superb knives and I'm sure most would be happy to have them in their collection. The deals he creates for payment upfront are (I think) worth a wait - how long a wait is down to each of our tolerance of such things of course. However during this delay (of which of course I was not happy about) I can honestly say at no point did I ever think that the delays were not genuine or not down to matters entirely out of his hands. It is, one of those things.

I'm happy to post a pic of my full collection of FV knives, they are numerous and I wouldn't personally rule out buying more (other than the fact my wife would probably put her foot down and there are only so many kitchen knives one can realistically use). I would hope that the situation is recoverable and FV gains back his following.
 
I’ve been holding off commenting on Francisco’s situation. I also have a modest collection of his knives and my wife and I really enjoy his work, excellent grinds and very thin, just what I’m looking for in my kitchen. In some ways he’s to communicative, with him informing me that items are on the way only to find out that another delay has occurred. At no time did I feel that he was feeding me a line, he was just dealing with a shipper many miles away that was informing him of his orders. Second hand information that was incorrect. True he used some handle material that wasn’t stable but hopefully he has corrected this. I for one am going to continue purchasing from this young maker, hopefully before he builds make his clientele and he figures out what his skills are truly worth.
 
Jagged77 said:
Further to the above and on reflection I think its important to add a little more context to the situation. This delayed order is actually the third order I have placed with Francisco and I have been using many of his knives everyday for the past couple of years. They are absolutely superb knives and I'm sure most would be happy to have them in their collection. The deals he creates for payment upfront are (I think) worth a wait - how long a wait is down to each of our tolerance of such things of course. However during this delay (of which of course I was not happy about) I can honestly say at no point did I ever think that the delays were not genuine or not down to matters entirely out of his hands. It is, one of those things.

I'm happy to post a pic of my full collection of FV knives, they are numerous and I wouldn't personally rule out buying more (other than the fact my wife would probably put her foot down and there are only so many kitchen knives one can realistically use). I would hope that the situation is recoverable and FV gains back his following.
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Let’s see the FV collection
 
woodysone said:
Wow this is a great collection! Have to ask though, do you work in a commercial kitchen or have a big family as it looks like a lot of use on a couple of those blades? Thanks for sharing😉
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Thank you! No, not a commercial kitchen, we just cook a lot from scratch at home. The carbon steel gyuto is my favourite (top centre left). The smaller suji is magnacut and wonderful to carve thick cooked steaks. I have a few duplicates in the collection and will give to family members at some point. I’m just now waiting for a Damascus gyuto, bread knife and a santuko to complete my collection.

They are all users and brilliant to use too.
 
By way of an update from the guy who started this post: Francisco made a prompt refund that we agreed on for all the undelivered knives so things were resolved with me back when this started. Francisco recently sent me a very nice knife as a gesture of good will. It is a very nice knife. Francisco makes very nice kitchen knives at reasonable prices. I have been buying custom knives for about 30 years and I am not impatient or difficult. My frustration was caused by long delays after being told the items were complete and shipped. Francisco would give me a DHL # but the package would remain with the 3rd party shippers for another 30-90 days before DHL would get it. I think most of the problems were with the 3rd party shipper Francisco used to get his products to DHL. He did a poor job explaining the use of, and need for, a 3rd party to carry the products to the ultimate shipper (DHL). Maybe it was language failures. His English is much better than my Portuguese. In any event, it seems from watching this post that Francisco has found a better 3rd party shipper or developed a better relationship with them. His knives are very good quality. I hope that he is successful and everyone gets what they need to resolve all his issues and move on.
 
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I was just using these last night and this thread came to mind. While the process for ordering and the delays were not the greatest of experiences, the knives are an absolute joy to use. I hope Francisco gets his business process down and more people can enjoy his work. Eventually I would like to add a couple more to this set, if he's game.
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StoneAndSteel said:
I was just using these last night and this thread came to mind. While the process for ordering and the delays were not the greatest of experiences, the knives are an absolute joy to use. I hope Francisco gets his business process down and more people can enjoy his work. Eventually I would like to add a couple more to this set, if he's game.
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Nice looking bunch, I’m assuming that a paring knife is on the future’s list😉
 
woodysone said:
Nice looking bunch, I’m assuming that a paring knife is on the future’s list😉
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Indeed. When I placed the order for these I could only justify the four knives. If came down to the 4” utility knife, and the paring… and I went with the utility.

Great knives. I really enjoy them.
 
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