Knife that most disappoints you

In my case, a recently acquired Spanish folder or "navaja." It has no groove to secure a grip on the blade, which has to cycle through several ratchet steps before it finally locks open. I needed a cloth to get a good grip on the blade to open it. Also, the blade is retarded point Bowie type, so when you grab it to open it, it tends to nick the outside of your palm if you're not extremely careful. The handle does not completely cover the upturned point when closed -- you can feel a light snag if you probe it with a finger. Perhaps it's just the particular model, for I can't imagine anyone ever using this fabled knife in self defense, as I understand they were used in Spain for over 300 years or more. It would have been more dangerous to the user than to his antagonist. And I don't even want to talk about the latch...

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If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

 

Cold Steel Hudson Bay Skinner. I ordered a couple of these through a friend, and both of them came with edges that were literally sharpened like a butter knife. It took a lot of time on a coarse carbide stone to reprofile the edges. And after all the ranting I have heard about Carbon V, I was very disappointed in the edgeholding, I have many production blades that hold an edge much better than these Carbon V blades.

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Die Entropie der Welt strebt einem Maximum zu - R.J.E. Clausius

 

I've been disappointed by a number of knives... a custom slipjoint I bought (and returned to the maker) a couple of years ago was so bad it looked like a four year old had taken a Dremel to it. I was also a bit disappointed with the Elishewitz Focus... not a bad knife function wise, but the overlay thing just didn't work for me, it looked sloppy. Also the ironwood didn't look right with the beadblasted handle.

I can vouch that Darrel Ralph's more recent Apogees are much better than those apparently made while his health was suffering. This one is sweet! Too bad I can never manage to hold onto a knife for long.




Ryan


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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

 

I have a small left hand DDR Apogee and like it very much. The knife was dull when I got it and the thumb studs caught on the seam of my jeans whenI drew the knife. Sent it back to Darrel and he put a razor edge on it and fixed the thumbstuds. I like it because it is thin and has a nice blade, I seem to like it more each day. My disapointment was with the Elishewitz striker grinds were uneven and the liner went all the way over. Sent it back, he fixed the lock but the blade is not ground evenly.

 

Just FYI, I've owned an Apogee from nearly each of it's "evolving phases" and they are nearly perfected to date. After probably too much feedback on my very first Apogee...it ended up being one of the nicest knives I've ever let slip through my hands. Darrel listened to every idea I had, and made the changes on my Apogees, and even made some of them standard on the rest. You guys have stated your gripe about Darrel's work before, maybe it's time to try again?

My biggest disappointment was probably the WH Spearpoint and the REKAT Pioneer. The WH is a great knife, but I didn't expect it to be so slim / small / light. I've been considering a Commander, so hopefully I won't be kicking myself for not listening better to you all with Commander complaints.

-AR

 

BTW, those Apogees look AWESOME Darrel and Ryan.

-AR

 

For me it was the now discontinued Gerber LMF. Solid construction gave the impresion that it would make a good allround camp knife. The poor steel, and deep hollow grind made for an incredibly fragile edge. Firt time I tried to use it resulted in 4 large half-moon chips in the blade. I reworked the blade and pulled the edge above where the blade chipped (about 3/16" behind the original edge) and ended up with a pretty solid knife.


GREENJACKET

Re. Wilkinson Sword Survival Knife

We don't see too many of these over here. Do you still have a copy of your review?

 

Luckily, I got to handle Elischewitz knives at the Blade Show back in 1997 when I first started this expensive hobby. Actually, I probably cycled everything on Les Robertson's table 3-5 times. On a positive note, I discovered Broadwell, Chamblin, Carson, & JW Smith on this trip. Elischewitz' stuff was the worst fit & finish on the table. Alan seems to be trying to make and sell as many as he possibly can crank out, rather than getting his precision dialed in. He may have gotten a little better in past couple years, but not much. I can make similar comments about the Crawfords folders, unfortunately. They do make a nifty, truly lightweight skeletonized neck knife however.

Disappointments, not all "terrible", but for a variety of reasons:
1. Gerber stuff in 420Mod or whatever... wouldn't take OR hold an edge.
2. Valloton Chameleon... blade was ground very thin and delicate.
3. S&W Sigma series in .40S&W... oops. Wrong forum.
4. Spyderco products in AUS-8. Won't hold an edge very well, but not as terrible as Gerber, or others below.
5. SOG Bowies in 440A, which is a very mediocre edge holder. Chopping was not considered in the handle design.
6. Buck knifes from 420HC or whatever.
7. I thought the Camillus CQB2 was a nifty knife, but realize it needed a palm swell at the butt pretty quickly.
8. Camillus Talon (Simonich). I truly feel weird about holding a knife like this where the guard is just not really there... I realize Talonite is expensive and they kept price down by not adding a guard, but this design has problems. Just doesn't feel secure in my hand. For this reason, I could not use a Japanese guardless knife if it had the least bit of slickness (e.g. wood) to it. I'm going to have RJ Martin build a Kozuka with a bit larger diameter wrap at the handle/blade junction for this reason.
9. Emerson Specwar folder. Liner was sticky and took forever to loosen up and cycle without me using a damned screwdriver to release the lock every 4th opening. And the chisel grind on the wrong side for right handers is intolerable...just stupid and hardheaded of Ernie not to fix this design flaw for the sake of looks, etc.

There is a lot of junky, overpriced, poorly designed stuff out there. I could have a long list here, I handle a lot of product before I buy and try to avoid clunkers, but tried to learn quickly when I got started (thanks to Les Robertson for my early education!) and so I tend to make many fewer mistakes now in my purchases, both in steel & heat treat, in overall design, and in what I can expect fit & finish-wise at a given price point. But you have to start somewhere... and you learn by making purchasing mistakes.

By the way, my Apogee from Darrel (1.5 yrs old maybe) is a dandy. The Damasteel takes and holds a good toothy edge too, so I feel like the heat treat went right as well.

I've had good luck asking custom makers to have another look at my knife if it didn't meet my expectations... so far, I've always received a satisfactory response and product tweak.


[This message has been edited by rdangerer (edited 02-11-2001).]

 

Over the years I've learned quite a bit about buying/using knives. One of the most important things I've learned is NEVER buy something because it looks cool! I have ALWAYS ended up disappointed with flashy knives that end up serving no other function than taking up space in my toy box. But here are the biggest:

1. Gerber BMF - with the saw on the spine. I was going through my Rambo phase and wanted a big knife. Should've bought a CS TrailMaster!

2. Colt Python Elite folder - I've learned NEVER EVER buy ANYTHING that says United Cutlery on it! Good looking knife but no lock up, tiny liner, too much play, and you can't keep the dog-gone thing sharp!

 

Over the years I've learned quite a bit about buying/using knives. One of the most important things I've learned is NEVER buy something because it looks cool! I have ALWAYS ended up disappointed with flashy knives that end up serving no other function than taking up space in my toy box. But here are the biggest:

1. Gerber BMF - with the saw on the spine. I was going through my Rambo phase and wanted a big knife. Should've bought a CS TrailMaster!

2. Colt Python Elite folder - I've learned NEVER EVER buy ANYTHING that says United Cutlery on it! Good looking knife but no lock up, tiny liner, too much play, and you can't keep the dog-gone thing sharp!

 

Not all can be perfect, but I expected my Cold Steel Ultralock to hold up better than it did. The work on a farm demands good tools
and a knife gets used. Screws kept working loose (retightend many times with an allen wrench)untill they got dropped in the barn.
Also after months of use the handle material is to slippery. Well, looking for a new knife
now. See new posting.

 

My biggest disappointment would have to be a Benchmade 750.

The lock galled the back of the blade so badly that it would not pass a certain point any longer because of the trench it had dug.

Once locked, it almost took a screwdriver to unlock it.

I traded the high-dollar POS back to the dealer I got it from for a new BM Darkstar, which was ugly, but functionally fine.

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The second worst would be a CRKT M16-03.
It had terrible thumbstuds, and they were badly deformed on top.

The liner lock failed about a week after buying it.
With reverse pressure on the blade it would just close right up.

The bead blasted AUS-8 blade took and held a good edge, but it rusted in a heartbeat.

I tossed the M16-03 in the trash can after seeing how much steel cable it would cut by being pressed through with a vise.

 

Just a small positive note regarding Elishewitz Knives.

I have owned six different models of his knives over the last couple of years and everyone was perfect in fit, finish and function. His customer service is also top notch.
I've gotten some poor workmanship from other makers that was promptly corrected, I bet most makers take enough pride in their work to take care of problems if they know about them.
I'm not trying to pee in anyone's boat, just sharing my experience with custom knives
I have a harder time with quality problems in factory knives.
--Tony