MolokaiRider
, count me in for the thanks of starting a great thread. So far... so good! No politics (OK, a little...), but lots of great information and burning memories about Kershaw. While I wasn't confirmed, they were as close to converting me to a fan boy as any knife maker has ever been. Lots of good memories actually waiting to see what Kershaw did next.
For Thomas, it was his dream job, that went in the ditch. Then sank.
We emailed back and forth a few times and actually talked on the phone a couple of times. If you were reasonable with him, he was reasonable with you. I had problems with one of the Kershaws I bought and he had me send it straight to him (I can't remember what model, damnit) so he could see it. He sent me a new one right away.
He was NOT, NOT, NOT cut out for social media type people. Social media was starting its demanding roar of immediate attention about the time Kershaw was re-working things. Thomas was pleased that they had so many new knives coming out in a stream, but wished they would slow down. Certainly it happened here, more than once. He became the face of customer service, the face of Kershaw, and was expected to answer all questions big and small, respond immediately (or sooner), have every answer at hand, and treat every single poster here or on other sites with great respect and attention. Remember that Kershaws were inexpensive knives for the most part then, and I remember thinking that people were pretty demanding over a purchase that much less than a night out with the boys. Thomas thought of most of the Kershaw line as work knives, or duty knives and not collector's pieces. And he never got the outrage he faced when it took him more than 24 hours to respond (he was reported by indignant, tearful Kershaw owners here more than once) and apologized by explaining BF wasn't his full time job, nor was customer service, but he did it as a favor to all here.
It got worse for him. Machining techniques aren't what they are now, nor are CNC processes, plasma cutting, and robot controlled manufacturing techniques. Back 15 (?) years ago there was still some hand assembly and manufacture. The poor guy couldn't understand why it was important that someone had a blade that was noticeably off center (maybe 1/32nd or so!) or wasn't ground perfectly at the price point they sold Kershaws at in those days. Since he knew the cost and the time involved in getting a prototype to manufacture, he was honestly hurt when a contest would erupt here or on other venues with the posters trying to out smart-ass one another expressing how much they hated the new knife. Not liking the new offering made him upset; making fun of Kershaw, its people and products pissed him off.
He quit answering my emails, and I noticed that he got pretty mean, pretty vindictive, and hated being here. Kershae forum went away for a while, then came back, and with Thomas as the Kershaw rep wound up in the same position. Thomas didn't want to be here, and no one wanted him to be here anymore. Realizing that BF comprised a microcosm of their end of the global knife world, Kershaw and Spark came to an agreement (details to me unknown) and Spark generously allowed the archives to remain here with their subforum closed. At the end of it all it was more than obvious that Thomas was not a good fit for the whipping boy he needed to be on occasion. Yet when he complained or fired back, the dog piling started. Injured parties declared he should not have taken the job if he couldn't stand the heat. (He has as many as 150 emails from customers a day...) Pissed off people called Kershaw to complain about their service and ridiculously think that KAI cared if they never bought another KAI product. He told me himself that people would call every day with hurt feelings to talk to his superiors over the tiniest butt hurts.
And, as he pointed out to me, Kershaw did/does have excellent customer service. It was a hallmark of building the company. Yet, to those feeling entitled after purchasing that $25-$35 knife, only Thomas could give them the recognition and attention they needed.
I have a life sized picture of Thomas in this position now; no telling what would happen if he read a review about a $35 knife (that some here discuss as disposable). "It wasn't drop shutty, I had to move my wrist a bit to get the blade to fall." "I got my micrometer out, and sure enough, the blade is a full 3/1000s off center." "I had to disassembly the knife as I could feel that the bearings had
too much lube on them. I was able to fix it, though." "I took apart the knife for routine maintenance (I cut a lot of dirty FedEx envelopes about once a week and it had been 6 weeks since the last cleaning) and when I put it back together it didn't line up perfectly. Man am I disappointed; I guess I am not as good as the factory with their fancy jigs and tools. They made this knife too complicated." "This knife just doesn't fidget well. For $35 I could have had a ChiviviKubey that fires like a rocket." You get the idea. Since it is the style everywhere now to pick at every detail so you can present yourself an expert, he would never make it. Maybe he got away in time!
They really don’t care where a product is made, only how much it cost, and apparently most of us agree.
Hope ya heal up quickly. 
