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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
How do they know
- Thread starter will22
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 19, 1999
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- 2,959
A Thermos keeps hot things hot, and cold things cold.
How does it know?
In most cases, as long as you've re-assembled the knife correctly, they won't know. But they'll never admit that either.
Far better to buy from a manufacturer that recognizes that taking a knife apart and putting it back together is:
1. Not exactly rocket science
2. Important to proper care and maintenance of your knife.
3. Something that most users are going to do whether the company has a policy against it or not.
How does it know?
In most cases, as long as you've re-assembled the knife correctly, they won't know. But they'll never admit that either.
Far better to buy from a manufacturer that recognizes that taking a knife apart and putting it back together is:
1. Not exactly rocket science
2. Important to proper care and maintenance of your knife.
3. Something that most users are going to do whether the company has a policy against it or not.
- Joined
- May 7, 2001
- Messages
- 1,138
Other than Chris Reeve who is that?
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 32,359
I had a Spyderco/Centofante collaboration his first, I took it apart, I even had to make holes in the rubber insert in the handle to remove the screws. Eventually the screws stripped and I replaced the flathead with pan head screws, then the blade broke at the hole, an obvious case of a factory defect. I was afraid that if I sent it in for repair they would decline based on the fact that it was already disassembled, by someone other than a factory rep.
You know what? Mike Hayes from their warranty/repair dept. contacted me and offered to replace the knife with anything in their catalog of equal value.
Moral of the story it can't hurt to ask, just bear in mind that if you take it apart, and f**k up you risk the chance of voiding the warranty.
As to how they know, marks on the screws, scratches to the finish, especially on coated/anodized screws, and if they use locktite, which some do, they will see the stress marks where the driver was used to remove the screws.
Basically it's a crap shoot.
You know what? Mike Hayes from their warranty/repair dept. contacted me and offered to replace the knife with anything in their catalog of equal value.
Moral of the story it can't hurt to ask, just bear in mind that if you take it apart, and f**k up you risk the chance of voiding the warranty.
As to how they know, marks on the screws, scratches to the finish, especially on coated/anodized screws, and if they use locktite, which some do, they will see the stress marks where the driver was used to remove the screws.
Basically it's a crap shoot.
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 1,556
In my experience, more companies disallow it than those that do. Count Spyderco as another company that doesn't allow it.
Most companies don't really care if you take it apart, as long as it's not the cause of the problem. This isn't 100% though.
What I'm saying is, if you take apart a knife and can't figure out how to put it back together, most companies will charge you to do so. I guess this makes sense as they don't want piles of parts showing up in the mail from idiots.
If your knife breaks (like T. Erdelyi's did) from something that clearly is unrelated to disassembly, they'll probably fix it.
Of course, they could always just say "Screw you. You took it apart. We're not fixing it even if it was our fault. You violated your warranty." I've never heard of a company doing this, but maybe they have.
Just another CYA clause if ya ask me.
Most companies don't really care if you take it apart, as long as it's not the cause of the problem. This isn't 100% though.
What I'm saying is, if you take apart a knife and can't figure out how to put it back together, most companies will charge you to do so. I guess this makes sense as they don't want piles of parts showing up in the mail from idiots.
If your knife breaks (like T. Erdelyi's did) from something that clearly is unrelated to disassembly, they'll probably fix it.
Of course, they could always just say "Screw you. You took it apart. We're not fixing it even if it was our fault. You violated your warranty." I've never heard of a company doing this, but maybe they have.
Just another CYA clause if ya ask me.
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2000
- Messages
- 1,556
BTW - I forgot to mention. A while back, I sent in a liner lock AFCK to Benchmade because the liner had worn too far. I had disassembled the knife in the past and it was very obvious as I had left marks on the inside and the outside of the knife. They still took care of my knife for free under warranty. Their warranty states:
They clearly made an exception, so as I said, I guess it's just a CYA clause.
They clearly made an exception, so as I said, I guess it's just a CYA clause.
I also doubt Benchmade is really that adamant about the disassembly thing. If they were, why would they so prominently sell the bit-driver tool that is all that is necessary to completely disassemble any BM knife (I know, according to the catalog, it's to check all the screws for "tightness," yeah, right).
The "policy" just allows them to charge you to put your pile of parts back together without any griping from you. It also makes it easier for them to charge you when you break the knife or strip the screws during disassembly. Both of which are completely fair.
The "policy" just allows them to charge you to put your pile of parts back together without any griping from you. It also makes it easier for them to charge you when you break the knife or strip the screws during disassembly. Both of which are completely fair.
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,769
Maybe I can shed some light here. Usually, we can't tell when a skilled technician-type person disassembles and reassembles their knife. It's the unskilled ones, of course with a lot of good intentions, 
that really just screw things up! Disassembly and reassembly of a knife often is not a manufacturer's concern; it is poor reassembly and damage of knife/parts that will get the user into warranty fulfillment concerns.
Part of this topic relates to a liability issue. If a knife that has not been tampered with injures a user due to a manufacturer's related issue, the manufacturer could be liable. But, if the knife has been tampered with, incorrect adjustments or incorrect reassembly could cast the fault to the user, not the manufacturer. We want our knives to work properly, thus encorage the user not to tamper with their SOG knives.
But, you wanted to know how we'd know that knife tampering has occurred? Here's some good indications:
If the knife's action works smoothly and if there are no signs from the list above, we mostly can't tell (and don't really care a bit), but a knife like this isn't likely coming back in for service!
that really just screw things up! Disassembly and reassembly of a knife often is not a manufacturer's concern; it is poor reassembly and damage of knife/parts that will get the user into warranty fulfillment concerns.Part of this topic relates to a liability issue. If a knife that has not been tampered with injures a user due to a manufacturer's related issue, the manufacturer could be liable. But, if the knife has been tampered with, incorrect adjustments or incorrect reassembly could cast the fault to the user, not the manufacturer. We want our knives to work properly, thus encorage the user not to tamper with their SOG knives.
But, you wanted to know how we'd know that knife tampering has occurred? Here's some good indications:
- If it is reassembled incorrectly
- If the teflon washers are missing or incorrectly reinstalled
- If screws are stripped or show signs of use
- If interior parts are broken or altered
- If it is in pieces
- If there is documentation (with high quality photography) on Cliff Stamp's web site showing and descriptively explaining how he tampered with his knife
If the knife's action works smoothly and if there are no signs from the list above, we mostly can't tell (and don't really care a bit), but a knife like this isn't likely coming back in for service!