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I love Spyderco but they disapointed me

J

jlaplant

Joined
Mar 8, 2013
Messages
103
Time to rotate the knives to Spydercos so I got them all out and cleaned up and sharpened. I noticed a couple had week clips so I got on line and ordered 2. I got an email back saying they would send the clips but I had to pay $14 first. Not a lot of money but when you pay good money for a knife I thing the least they can do is replace a clip when you need one. I know first hand that Benchmade and Gerber do without question and I'm sure other companies too. I was wondering what thoughts you guys had on this?
 
A clip is a wear item. I don't expect the dealership to replace my brakes on my truck when they are worn and I don't expect a knife company to replace a clip when it is worn either.

Take it off and and rebend it until you have the desired tension.
 
Yeah, the clip itself is not weak, but if it gets bent out a little from usage then you can bend it back like Brother Johnny said. You have to remove it to tighten it. And you need a Torx driver in the proper size to do that. Good luck.
 
johnny_boy02 said:
A clip is a wear item. I don't expect the dealership to replace my brakes on my truck when they are worn and I don't expect a knife company to replace a clip when it is worn either.

Take it off and and rebend it until you have the desired tension.
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Bingo. I'm not upset that the oil in the engine of my truck won't last the life of the truck...I change it when I need to. Same with tires, brakes, etc. I have yet to need to bend any of my clips to increase the tension, but I'd certainly try that before whining about why I don't get a free clip whenever one feels weak.
 
I agree, a clip can be removed and bent to accommodate a lot of tension or minimal tension. It's kind of a common sense thing I thought. Kind of like if your shoes hurt your feet because they are laced too tight, then you need to loosen the laces and retie them. Beats buying a new paid of shoes.
 
I guess its just me because every time I bend a clip back it either looses its retention strength or it breaks .I think thats the idea behind spring steel. As far as "wear items" everything is a wear item what ever that means. The point I was trying to make was other companies that make quality expensive knives Benchmade and gerber for 2 that I have dealt with don't want another 6 bucks for a clip.They send you one no charge. Its not the 6 bucks and I am not putting Spyderco down I was just surprised when I got the email.
 
jlaplant said:
The point I was trying to make was other companies that make quality expensive knives Benchmade and gerber for 2 that I have dealt with don't want another 6 bucks for a clip.
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Emerson sells clips.

From your initial post it sounds like you don't have broken clips even...you want to get new clips.

If a company sent them to you for free, hey, great. Happy day, and dance a jig.
But I'd be expecting to pay for them, if I was getting extra clips.

Expect to pay for things.
Free is just a nice surprise when it happens. :)
 
Pocket clips are not all made from the same material. Some are Titanium (or were), but for the most part they are stainless steel, probably some 400 series. They usually do not bend out of shape and loosen up unless you are stuffing a lot of material between the clip and the handle. When you bend a clip back, easy does it. Slowly and steadily gets it done.

Also, some companies can readily send clips out, others not so much. They have their reasons I'm sure. Keep in mind, Benchmade, Kershaw, Emerson, Spyderco, Case, CRKT, etc are all different sized companies, different profit margins, different production schedules, different staff sizes, different facility sizes, etc. It's tough to honestly try and compare what one company can and does to to another. Just my thoughts on the matter anyway. Best of luck.
 
To me, clips are kind of a wear item and when makers replace them for free I certainly appreciate it greatly, but it's not something I expect whatsoever given clips get beaten up and destroyed over time with regular usage.

I find that once most steel clips bend and need to be bent back, they just aren't as strong as before in most cases. While not an expert on the topic, I assume this has to with metal fatigue.

Spyderco is probably where Benchmade and Kershaw are with this and this probably explains the charging. Years ago, all of these makers were SUPER generous with sending clips, and would often send clips on their own dime despite not being required. However, this was abused badly and now makers aren't quite as generous as they were before some people decided to take hardcore advantage of this (and ruined it for everyone but I can't blame the companies).

If what you are saying is that your knife is currently at Spyderco and being serviced, it may be worth verifying the price of $7 a clip if they are standard stainless-painted 3-holers. Some makers will replace the clips for free when the knife is sent in for service, where as others charge. Depending on what is wrong with the clip may also impact this (ex: cosmetic-specks of paint coming off vs. functional-bending or cracking). Spyderco does note on their website that clips cost money to be replaced outside of standard warranty and, although they do not list pricing, this information is clearly stated.

Another possibility is that $14 can probably buy two custom titanium clips or CF clips often sold on a few major retailers for reasonable prices (and pretty good quality).
 
WOW !!! I is disappointed with this thread it's like talking to 12 year olds. Forget I said anything
 
jlaplant said:
WOW !!! I is disappointed with this thread it's like talking to 12 year olds. Forget I said anything
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Why? Because you can't talk English good?

Benchmade has had QC issues on and off recently and they don't want the problems to piss off too many people who write about it online. Gerber replaces issues because their products are garbage and they expect things to break, they make them so cheaply that even with replacements they still turn huge profits.
 
Only time they disappointed me is when I ordered washers for my southard and had to have a 30 min conversation to make the lady understand that I did indeed want washers. She said she would send them right out. 2 weeks later I got pocket clip screws in the mail. Not sure how that happened. But hey one bad experience out of a dozen or so ain't bad
 
I've always been disappointed in pocket clips regardless of brand. Find a nice belt sheath, take the damn things off, and have a nice life.
 
stabman said:
If a company sent them to you for free, hey, great. Happy day, and dance a jig.
But I'd be expecting to pay for them, if I was getting extra clips.

Expect to pay for things.
Free is just a nice surprise when it happens. :)
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Exactly this. Some companies do choose to send out free clips. Yippee. But it's a nice bonus, not an industry standard.
 
If you go through pocket clips that quickly, it might be a good idea to find a better suited place to clip it, or just take the clip off and carry it in your pocket. Should not be having that many issues with clips if carried properly, most seem to do just fine. I certainly can't hold it against Spyderco to charge for a wear and tear accessory.
 
jlaplant said:
Time to rotate the knives to Spydercos so I got them all out and cleaned up and sharpened. I noticed a couple had week clips so I got on line and ordered 2. I got an email back saying they would send the clips but I had to pay $14 first. Not a lot of money but when you pay good money for a knife I thing the least they can do is replace a clip when you need one. I know first hand that Benchmade and Gerber do without question and I'm sure other companies too. I was wondering what thoughts you guys had on this?
Click to expand...

The last I heard, Benchmade was three times the size of Spyderco, and Gerber's parent company, Fiskars, is three times the size of Benchmade and Spyderco put together. KAI (Kershaw's parent company) is at least as big as Fiskars. Sensing a pattern here? For me, a hundred dollars is a lot of money, but for someone making ten times what I do, it's pocket change. Bigger companies can afford to give away more free stuff than smaller companies, it's that simple. As for getting free replacement parts just because you don't like what you have, that shows the sense of entitlement that is destroying our society.
 
As stated, each company has their own reasons for either sending clips/screws/hardware free of charge or not. I really like the Kershaw warranty for the fact that I know that when a torsion bar breaks, I can submit a request and get a new one at no charge. I had an issue with some handle screws and they gladly sent me a brand new set. But, I could also see this system getting abused quickly with people just wanting to stock up on knife supplies and in the long run would get quite expensive for the company. I agree with the above comments about the clip being a "wear with use" item and I do not mind purchasing a new one if needed. I have only had one instance with purchasing a new clip from Spyderco, but I only had to because I purchased a knife off the exchange that was missing its clip. I did have one instance where a kershaw clip got caught on a seat belt and was bent all out of shape. But, Kershaw was terrific to work with in that situation and sent me out a replacement at no charge. Just understand that the big companies or knife makers are not obligated to send free parts, but do appreciate it when they do.
 
Complimentary pocket clips are a nice gesture and I have received them from BM but I view it as just that, a gesture/bonus and not a disappointment that other brands like Spyderco does not.

Ive worn down screws on clips but never broke one before... I do adjust the retention on many of them without an issue so far. Spyderco has sent me on several occasions pocket clip and scale/pivot screws free of charge but I never had a need to order clips. BTW, I requested clips from BM because I prefer their standard oxide and arrow oxide clips to their standard painted ones not because they broke or anything.

yablanowitz said:
The last I heard, Benchmade was three times the size of Spyderco, and Gerber's parent company, Fiskars, is three times the size of Benchmade and Spyderco put together. KAI (Kershaw's parent company) is at least as big as Fiskars. Sensing a pattern here? For me, a hundred dollars is a lot of money, but for someone making ten times what I do, it's pocket change. Bigger companies can afford to give away more free stuff than smaller companies, it's that simple. As for getting free replacement parts just because you don't like what you have, that shows the sense of entitlement that is destroying our society.
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Good point.
 
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