Have you wasted your money on a production knife that turned out to be junk?

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Have you wasted your money on a production knife that turned out to be junk? Which knives should we avoid buying because of low quality/defects?
 
I bought Meyerco Strut 'n' Cut few years ago, mainly because it's got the Blade Magazine's Most Innovation Knife of year '94, . . .it's a B I G mistake.
 
I've had a Klotzi Wimpff folder I bought for $145 for 2 years now. Bad decision - I could have gotten 2 Benchmades for the price. I liked the wharncliff design but didn't know enough about folders. It could just have been a lemon, but overall i was not too happy with the QC for the money I paid.

The lock was sloppily fitted and a knock on the spine will break the lock loose. The locking bar only meets the back of the blade halfway. Not to mention the overall fragility (lock loosened with just light use), misgrinds and none-too-hot edge holding. I can overlook these on a $30 economy folder, but this in a knife costing near $150??! If the shipping charges were not so high, I'd have returned the knife after the first few days of use.

The retail prices of some of the Klotzi and Boker folders are as high as a Sebenza or Micro-Tech which are, in my opinion vastly superior products. Not to mention, anything from Benchmade, Kershaw, or CRKT offers far better value for money.



[This message has been edited by redvenom (edited 09-12-2000).]
 
Originally posted by Santi:
I bought Meyerco Strut 'n' Cut few years ago, mainly because it's got the Blade Magazine's Most Innovation Knife of year '94, . . .it's a B I G mistake.
Click to expand...

If it was a mistake - and specially if it was a BIG mistake - I'd like to hear the facts.

About mistakes - first knife I purchased online was Junglee Babyon. I shouldn't.
It was cheap, so I should have guessed...

What's wrong with it?
- only one (metal) liner (blade rattles)
- poor finishing in the back of the blade (what finishing?)
- poor desing of the stop pin of the blade (needs an awfull dent made into the blade)
- poor placing of the belt clip (rides high)
- belt clip swings (it shouldn't)
- opening stud is a plasitic pin (feels shaky)
- etc.

I'm trying to get rid of it...
 
Right now I'm steamed about my non-locking CRKT Point Guard, but hopefully an exchange will correct that situation.
 
I bought a SOG multi-tool a few years ago, the one with the pliers handle sticking out to one side. Turned out to be one of those tools that does nothing very well. Now retired to the 'future fishing sinker' bin.
 
I purchased one of those S & W tactical folders, you know the ones with the carbon fiber scales. I got it second hand from a cop I know. He moved up to a spyderco. He said it was a nice TOY and that he loved playing with it all the time.

He must of played with it ALL THE TIME!!!
The lock was shot, and the blade was a pain to sharpen! thank jesus it was dirt cheap.

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What we do today in life...echoes in eternity...
Every man dies...not every man lives...
 
I second what Strider said, I recomended a cliphanger to a co-worker who wanted a fairly good knife without spending alot
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. I had only read about the knife at the time and one writer had said it was the best value under $50. Well its not worth $10.

[This message has been edited by Lone Hunter (edited 09-12-2000).]
 
I was one of the many that thought Smith & Wesson would be a little more descrete about who they sell their name to. I love their guns, but the fools they loaned their name to for the making of *tactical Knives* have done a great job a tarnishing a good name. I bought a few of those (like my knives in pairs) S&Ws, biggest pieces of crap I have ever owned!!! I ended up giving them away in disgust to a few *associates*, not friends. I should have known by the price, but figured "if S&W will put their name on it, it must be decent", WRONG. Even the autos suck. That's why I made them part of my auto signature!!! CRKT on the other hand surprised the hell out of me. I thought "Taiwan Crap", not. I don't know which sweat shop their made in, but the "boss-man" must watch his slaves closely!!! The machining is superb for the price, blade material is average 440C. I am infatuated with the Mirage, one nasty little knife, very well built. I remain a Boker man though.
smile.gif
 
Dirty Dave, I have one thing to say:
BWAAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I was in the tavern last winter and won a S&W on a punchboard. 20 punches at 10 cents a punch.... you'd think for 2 bucks I'd have a sweet deal. WRONG! I feel that I got ripped for $1.98 (Just my .02
wink.gif
)

I have a feeling that C.R.K.T. gets their slaves by Shanghai-ing them off the docks in Portland, Oregon. Good enuff rumor to start.
 
Although it isn't a bad knife, per se, I think the Gerber Coverts are overpriced. It frequently sells for over $100 U.S.

I suspect a good chunk of that is the money you pay for Gerber's heavy advertising, and licensing fees to Colonel Rex Applegate's estate than anything else.

Good points: Looks cool, has a LAWKS-type safety, solid lock-up, ATS-34 blade, dual liners, allen/torx screws allows you to tweak, fast liner action.

Bad points: Liners kinda thin, expect G-10 scales at that price, needs another synthetic washer on the safety side, and has little to do with original REX APPLEGATE fixed blade fighter concept.

Conclusion: Spend a little more for a BM AXIS, or a much less for a CRKT C/KFF (which is much more solid overall).
 
The Boker Brend I bought turned out to be one of the biggest POS folders I have run into to date.

The rivet holding the G-10 scale to the titanium liner was placed right under the contact point of the pocket clip and popped loose after a few draws from the pocket ripping my pants pocket.

The thin locking liner pops loose with just a regular grip on the handle.

When dis-engaging the liner-lock, there is virtually no resistance. (There is a point on nearly all my liner-locks where when you go to disengage the lock, you feel the liner dis-engage from the blade tang. Not so on this knife.)

After about 50 cycles, the blade developed vertical play in the open and locked position.

While the overall design of the knife looks like it has possibilities, my sample left me feeling like Boker needs to take this puppy back to the drawing board until they can get it right.

Poor fit and execution in my not so humble opinion.

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The individualist without strategy who takes opponents lightly will inevitably become the captive of others.
Sun Tzu
 
Buck Crosslock Solitare. My experience is that, generally speaking, Buck Knives will take and hold quite an edge. This one had a blade like putty. Traded it for a used Simmons 3-9x scope for my .223. It won't fit the scope mounts I have now so it sets in a drawer, but I'm still better off. At least I don't have to try (again) to get an edge on a scope.
 
I bought a Cold Steel SRK when they first came out - what a lousy knife that was. The grind was uneven and so thick it was tough to cut with. In addition the finish practically rubbed off. I've consigned it to the tool bin and use it essentially as a pointy and not-to-sharp prybar. I was brave and several years later bought another (after seeing pics of newer models). I have to give it to CS they have dramatically improved this knife. But boy the first one was rotten - at least as a knife.
 
CRKT Lightfoot Urban Shark.

The moment I got it into my hand at the store, it was an instant sale. It felt perfect. Really beefy feeling little knife as opposed to some of the flyweight Zytel crap out there. Nice size for daily carry. Razor sharp and really easy to resharpen. Cuts nicely, and seems to hold a decent edge for AUS-6. So far so goood right?

WRONG!!! The damn thing unlocks in my hand and the blade RUSTS! I mean, even after I ground off the little teeth that stick up on the locking liner, the flesh of my index finger still squeezes in there and slighty releases it, causing terrifying up and down play in the blade. (An I'm a real scrawny b*stard so it's not my fat fingers!) This may be a QC issue, since the liner does not "gall" as much as any of my other pieces (CRKT or otherwise.) and is easy to unlock anyway. However, It's too late now for warranty since I've already gone at it with a Dremel.

Oh well. There's the MT-LCC out now, and it looks like I'll be having lots of $$$ to blow at the October show up here in Toronto, so I can maybe get a real Lightfoot for collecting and an MT-LCC for hacking things up with!
 
I have a Buck 181FX Straight edge thats a POS
ATS-34 that cant hold the slightest of edges.
No liners just composite scales that wont support any serious cutting jobs. Liner lock usually fails do to this.

Unless I got a early version that had problems, advise if such is the case.
 
Ok, I'll share my sad experience too.
My biggest disappointment was Buck M9 field bayonet or field knife, whateer it is.
I got it because it looked cool & I knew almost nothing at that time about knives.
Well, basically the major problem is that its 425M steel can't hold no sharp edge whatsoever and if you try to use diamond sharpener it's really hard to sharpen it
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Diamonds are just too agressive for this one.
Its sheath scratches the blade too. The handle doesn't feel very ergonomic either. I've tried to use it 2-3 times, but gave up.

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Have Fun,
Alligator
 
Gator97, I take it from your post you bought the M9 bayonet to use as a field knife. It was never meant to be strictly a field knife. It was meant to be a bayonet that could substitute for a field knife. Having worked in Army R&D and having read the documentation that established a need for a new bayonet over the then M7, I can tell you the priority of use for the M9 is (1) bayonet, (2) combat/field knife, (3) wire cutter, (4) probe for mines and booby traps, and (5) limited capability to saw. When you try to make something do too many things, it can't do any of them as well as a dedicated tool! Many other attributes of form, construction, and use, are heavily compromised in the M9 so that, even though I recently retired with 23+ years as an Army Officer, I don't own an M9. I do; however, own a surplus, new M7 and a Camillus fighting/utility (generic kabar) knife (purchased with my own money, not purloined from the US Government) and would gladly carry both of these rather than the M9. Plus, taken together, they are lighter than the M9!

Bruce Woodbury
 
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