Good manufacturers' POS?

[Quiet Storm]

What knives made by famous quality manufacturers are real POS?

I'm not talking about a single "lemon" apparently produced on a Monday, but knives that seem decent if you look at their pictures and specs, but as soon as you handle them, they are inherently crappy.

I'm not trying to start a flame war in here, I just want to save me some money. Fortunately, I never had such a bad knife yet and in order to prevent me (and possibly other forumites as well) from buying a knife that truly sucks. I believe that it should be possible to report valid complaints about crappy, but not inexpensive knives.

If this thread looks like it's only going to draw flames, then I'd like to politely ask Spark or a moderator to close it.

Remember, no single cases of a faulty piece. And no manufacturers that are known for their poor quality and no expensive knives that are a bit overrated - POS from quality companies only.

 

[DaveH]

How about just plain ole disapointing?

*cough* Buck Crosslock Series *cough*

 

[Architect]

Sorry Dave H - although I am not too fond of the Crosslocks, my father-in-law and his hunting buddy consider the Crosslock 180 - the 3 function hunting knife - the be pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Comes in camo, sharpens easily, and has a built-in saw that knock apart deer pelvis's in seconds flat.

Considering the real POS he had before, the Buck is his dream come true.

 

[BurkStar]

Any of Boker's liner locks are junk. Their lockbacks, slipjoints and fixed blades are slightly above average.

 

[Cargun]

CRKT M16 was very unimpressive to me. From all the praise I heard about them, I was expecting more.

 

[BlackRazor]

.....

 

[extremefishin00]

Oooh..Black Razor, you better don the flame proof suit and crawl into the bomb shelter. As far as lemons go, the one and only Benchmade Ascent I owned was crap. Half of the tip was missing, it was dull, and when I tried to reverse the clip it turned out the other attachment point hadn't been formed correctly. The clip stuck out from the side of the knife, so it was pretty much useless. Another lemon I've posted on before was a Gerber Chameleon. It was sharp out of the package but it required both hands to open. Absolutely impossible to open one handed.

Chris

 

[DaveH]

Camillus made "BRK special" spyderco natives.

 

[VampyreWolf]

I've a a lemon, and I've had complete &#99rap.

The lemon is/was my CRKT BearClaw. The one time I carried as neck, it rusted. I now have a mirror finish on it. All surfaces(I took it apart and used the demel). My real problem with it is the one set of holes. The set near the tip on the sheath ARE NOT tapped on mine. I'm forced to carry tip down clipped, and would prefer tip-up for boot.

The Piece o' &#115hit? Gerber Gator. I've posted many a time, and I'll keep posting about it. 13yrs down, and *1* knife broken. I hadn't had it for long, same week of purchase even. I'm out in the bush whittling after a couple days of sharpening and lubing, and it breaks on me. The pivot just gave out, and it didn't want to work after that. It didn't make it out of the bush with me, so it could be lying there collecting rust, or could have been rescued by someone. I didn't feel it was worth hauling back out and shipping in.

Don't know if Gerber has improved in 2yrs, but I'll never buy another one, and I've told everyone I know not to either.

 

[Darkjedi2]

The blade that sticks out in my mind was the Cold Steel WARLORD.

I bought it and took a couple of swings at some pallets in my backyard. The blade snapped in half, and then contacted their customer service. They said they would send me another one. Six weeks went by I heard nothing. They said all the blades were not tempered properly and the model was closed out.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Originally posted by Darkjedi2
The blade that sticks out in my mind was the Cold Steel WARLORD.

I bought it and took a couple of swings at some pallets in my backyard. The blade snapped in half, and then contacted their customer service. They said they would send me another one. Six weeks went by I heard nothing. They said all the blades were not tempered properly and the model was closed out.

So did Coldsteel ever make things right?

Emersons were my biggest disappointments. all three of my Emerson folders had the same issues. the locks wore prematurely (one didn't work to begin with) I hated the chisel grinds on the two Commanders, and I thought the steel was brittle. Guess it's just my bad luck, from what everyone else says about them. Happily though, my Griffe still is still with me 24/7 and continues to impress me. Matter of fact, I'm thinkin' of gettin' one of the Titanium ones.

Spyderco "snap it" wasn't a bad knife altogether, but that cheesy lil' clip never held. Tried carrying it a few times, but it kept getting lost.

Spyderco Perrin- was once my most beloved knife, period. Then a few weeks ago I dropped it about eight feet and the blade snapped in half. I'm pretty sure Spyderco will make things right though. Then all I gotta to is get over my developed phobia.


That being said disappointments are VERY rare for me. Of all the dozens and dozens of knives I've owned over the years they only register as a miniscule blip on the screen.

 

[DaveH]

Runs With Scissors,

If you ever "find" your snap it, I'll take it off your hands for you!

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Originally posted by DaveH
Runs With Scissors,

If you ever "find" your snap it, I'll take it off your hands for you!

dang...looks like yer a bit late there...Just sold it a couple of weeks ago for $15....which then went straight into the gas tank. Darn...kinda depressing when knives turn into gas money...

 

[Aniketos]

Yea I got one that comes to my mind. SPYDERCO... I don't know about any of you here nor can anyone tell me otherwise based on my personal experience. But what A-PIECE-OF-****! Which ones? Well ive had 3 go through my hands: Police, Military and a Delica. What happened to em? Well on ALL of them ive had teeth break and tips come right off!! Just from cutting stuff as carpet, boxes, and unabusive things you can cut with a knife. Save your pennies to get a Microtech.

 

[JamesA]

Originally posted by Aniketos
Yea I got one that comes to my mind. SPYDERCO... I don't know about any of you here nor can anyone tell me otherwise based on my personal experience. But what A-PIECE-OF-****! Which ones? Well ive had 3 go through my hands: Police, Military and a Delica. What happened to em? Well on ALL of them ive had teeth break and tips come right off!! Just from cutting stuff as carpet, boxes, and unabusive things you can cut with a knife. Save your pennies to get a Microtech.

I can't imagine teeth breaking and tips coming right off of ANY knife, especially not a Spyderco, if you're not doing anything abusive. Especially Spydercos. I've beat the heck out a LADYBUG with no damage to the teeth or the tip, and that /was/ being abusive.

You haven't had any problems with any other knives? Just Spyderco?

 

[Richard]

Some of the knives listed above, such as the broken Gerber Gator sound more like lemons then actual bad knives in general. I have had a gator for several years and used it pretty hard. Finally gave it away to a friend, but it served well.

As for your question of generally good companies with POS designs, Schrade stands out for me. They make exceptional traditional designs which are worth every penny they cost and more. Then they release this abortion of a knife called the Clip-Hanger. This thing is a real piece of crap with incredibly wobbly blade and literally a paper thin piss-poor excuse for a liner lock. When they first came out I worked at a knife shop. We got a shipment of about 25, and each and every one was a huge POS. Possibly the worst knife I have ever handled.

 

[Aniketos]

Yea just the spyders gave me trouble james. I believe its the fact I am a big strong guy and the force I throw on knives is greater then a average user? I dont mean this to be a post on how strong I am but I think thats what it is. Look at the blade thickness on the spyder. Like tinfoil thickness at some points in my mind..

 

[Ironman]

KaBar has some knives made in China. They call it the international line. Nothing wrong with that, I guess. Kershaw made the Vapor in China. But, the KaBar folders are really POS. They are just like regular CCC, but marked KaBar. A shame, because the handles are super comfortable and the blade shape is great. The liner is thin, it has no ball detent, and you can close it like a slipjoint.

 

[Cosmic Superchunk]

I agree with Ironman. Those Chinese made Ka-Bar International knives are crap. I am surprised that a company with such legendary classics as the USMC model as well as the Dozier collaborations would even consider putting their names on such rubbish.

Anyway, I have owned good knives, outstanding knives, mediocre knives and some really bad (what the hell was I thinking) knives. Based on the bad ones I've bought, handled or otherwise received as gifts, here is my POS list:

Böker: Böker-matic, Gemini series, Heckler & Koch series, their cheap Magnum line.

Schrade: Cliphanger, Beast, Switch-It, Simon, X-Timer, Avatar, Lake & Walker II. (A darn shame considering I like their traditional slipjoint folders)

Gerber: Chameleon (The original Bolt-Action was better).

Meyerco: Speedster SR, Rascal, their entire Camp USA line. :barf:

Smith & Wesson (Taylor Cutlery): Cuttin' Horse series, SWAT series, S&W Auto openers (especially their knockoffs). :barf:

United Cutlery: Hibben folders, Colt folders, Rigid folders.

CAS Iberia: Citizen folder.

Gutmann Cutlery: Walther P99 Silhouette folder, Junglee Foreign legion and Sahara Jr folders.


The following are brands that I consider the ultra dookie, mega poop, beyond crap and just plain smeared with foul disgusting fecal matter:

Master Cutlery :barf:
Fury (Joy Enterprises) :barf:
Frost Cutlery :barf:

(Whew, stinky!)

 

[R. Lemmen]

Umm... Maybe I shouldn't be the one to post this considering I've never even played with one?!? I've heard a lot of bad things in this forum about the SOG Flash .