Kizer Begleiter defect

aikiman56

aikiman56

Joined
Sep 18, 2022
Messages
36
Hi,
I purchased a titanium Begleiter (framelock flipper) back in Sept. and only took it out a couple of times (hasn't even cut anything...my knives are mainly for tactical emergencies).
It flipped open like a dream at first, but when I came home after its third outing...the blade was locked in the closed position. What I noticed was that the lockbar had moved even closer to the blade making any detent virtually impossible.

I'm a relative newbie when it comes to knives, so I figured best to contact Kizer for warranty service. They responded saying they could send me a replacement handle, which I find a bit strange. There's obviously some kind of manufacturing defect...here's a video I made illustrating the issue:

Should I accept a new handle from them ? I've only opened an EDC once...
 
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Have you try to disassemble the knife to see what happened? A disassembly pic might also be helpful.
 
No, I haven't, because their warranty explicitly states that they won't repair a knife that's been disassembled. But it's confusing because their response contradicts that since they want to send me a part (another handle).

So wondering if other Kizer owners can enlighten me here...
 
Looks like the detent ball is sticking in the detent hole in the blade. Hole too deep or not properly sized? Detent ball sticking out too far? No way to know, but if the problem is with the hole in the blade, a new handle may not help.
 
G. Scott H. G. Scott H. Thnx for your response...yep, I was thinking that it probably has something to do with the detent ball.

They don't seem to want to repair this practically brand new knife. I understand that Kizer is a Chinese firm, but sending parts out to people when there's a serious issue like that seems like a cop out imho...
 
How could they know that you disassembled anyway... You would need to clean or oil it sometimes as well. It is a knife, not some kind of electronic, unless you see it as jewelry. The people on customer service don't know more most of the time, they simply follow a set of instructions.

Though, you can go with guarantee agreement, No pressure.
 
I had a Kizer that seemed unusable at times because the lock bar was too sensitive to barely rest the end of a finger on it. I got so frustrated with no real service options to my country, I decided to take it into my own hands. First I opened knife halfway and pushed on the frame lock to a flat part of the blade to ensure the bearing was seated properly. This helped minimally. I then went extreme and touched the hole with my dremel bit with very little force a few times and damn, it works awesome now. All my Kizers lock bars sit flush to the blade when closed and work fine.
IMG-2447.jpg
 
DrHarmony DrHarmony Thanks for your response, but I'm somewhat of a newbie with EDC knives. It's beginning to look like they (Kizer) don't want to service their products, so I'm probably going to have to eventually open it.

But what if G.Scott H. is correct and the bearing hole is either too deep or not properly sized ? That would be a manufacturing defect, and I'd be sh*t outta luck...
 
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I had the same experience with a Kizer Guru, though it’s a thumb stud model. It will open flawlessly and smooth 100 times but then it locks up to the point that I can’t physically open it without two hands. It has torn my thumb trying to roll it open. I haven’t had a chance yet to look in-depth but I suspect it has to do with the detent hole/ball interface
 
I've owned like 30 Kizers. I've used their warranty or customer service a few times. Disassembly was never an issue for me. In fact, they sometimes want to see. The way it usually goes is that they ask you to email them a picture or short video of the defect. Then they send you whatever part you need to fix it. They sometimes ask $5 for shipping but generally offer spare/replacement parts for free. Of course, it can take a few weeks shipping directly from China.
 
I have a Kizer Begleiter and it had issues too. The lock wouldn't engage on mine at all. I took it apart and sanded it down to get it to where it was atleast safe to use. Personally, I just avoid Kizer.
 
So i buy their product, it’s faulty, I might have to pay shipping for the part I need , then fix the knife that I paid for, NO
 
pholder said:
So i buy their product, it’s faulty, I might have to pay shipping for the part I need , then fix the knife that I paid for, NO
Click to expand...

Look, no company is perfect. Some companies void your warranty if you take a knife apart. Some companies won't ship internal parts. Some domestic companies charge more than $5 shipping for a part. Some companies require you to pay shipping to send a knife into their warranty department for who knows how long...

Usually, it's best to exchange a knife at the dealer level if something is wrong. Even then, some dealers are much friendlier about returns or exchanges than others.
 
I make X-amount per hour at work. My time to work on something else is not worth less than what I earn there. To fix a knife that I shouldn’t have to only increases the cost of said knife.NO
 
pholder said:
I make X-amount per hour at work. My time to work on something else is not worth less than what I earn there. To fix a knife that I shouldn’t have to only increases the cost of said knife.NO
Click to expand...

Good for you. What I said still stands. Kizer's service seems pretty decent relative to other companies I've had to contact over the years.

I'm sure some companies are better. Since you have such a strong opinion, I'm sure you have a list of such companies handy?
 
Had a similar experience with Kizer.

I ordered two Graziosos directly from Kizer's website. One flipped perfectly; the other, despite all attempts at breaking it in, refused to behave. I went through the song and dance with Kizer about sending photos or a video, which led nowhere. I mean, how do you photograph something like that? I finally--and firmly--requested an RMA and got one.

Here's where it gets weird. I got a replacement, and it, too, was extremely stiff and refused all attempts at break in. So I took it apart and noticed that the liner lock was pushing exceptionally hard against the blade. So I bent it back ever so slightly; the knife flips perfectly now and locks up smartly.

I then wrote Kizer, explained what I had done, and suggested that they may have a QA problem. The wrote back to thank me, and that was the end of the matter.

Was it a good experience? No, not really. Kizer should have initially offered to exchange the knife. But, such is life. I still like the brand, and have subsequently bought more Kizers, thought not directly from Kizer. This way, I will at least be dealing with a vendor who is a bit more customer oriented.
 
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