Knives you would never buy again!

Hearing a lot of SOG, I wouldn't buy anything newer of theirs but some of the older stuff, is way better, i have the SG1 Bowie made in Seki Japan with a SK5 blade and it blows away the new one with aus-8. Some of the older fixed blades were also made with BG-42, Id love to find some of those. More that I wouldn't buy are Mtech, I mostly bought them to dick around with.
 
I don't want to ruffle feathers. I'm just seeking clarification. I don't understand why SOG is catching so much flak. Obviously, they make knives at each end of the spectrum from base-quality, low-price offerings, all the way up the chain. It seems pretty unique in that regard. Gerber appears mostly low-end, whereas I can't see anything from BM and Spydie that one could argue is low-end. You could point to Byrd, on price...but not quality FOR the price. I don't have enough experience w/Boker, but I am guessing somewhere above Gerber, nudging up on SOG? CRKT? Between Gerber and Boker? Kershaw's line up?

Anyway, I got a severe bite in my thumb opening the first of the Kershaw Onion types when the assists came out. Gun shy of that technology ever since. Wouldn't buy one, but doesn't mean they're not a decent production knife, depending on model. CRKT's w/auto-LAWKS...no thank you. Benchmades? Just don't care for any of them save for a little H-D Trapper I found, or a plain old Pika. Super quality stuff, none of which appeals to me (that's just me).
 
VictorLouis said:
I don't want to ruffle feathers. I'm just seeking clarification. I don't understand why SOG is catching so much flak.
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A lot of it is due to some questionable marketing a couple of years ago that riled a lot of folks up. Do a search for "Sogzilla" and you'll probably find some of the threads.
Almost all the negatives are about their folders. Lot of folks seem to have had problems with blade wobble/looseness/etc. in the lower end of the line.
The fixed blades and hawks seem to much more highly regarded.

Anyway, I got a severe bite in my thumb opening the first of the Kershaw Onion types when the assists came out. Gun shy of that technology ever since. Wouldn't buy one, but doesn't mean they're not a decent production knife, depending on model. CRKT's w/auto-LAWKS...no thank you.
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Might be worth a second look. The Kershaw Ken Onion designs are overall very good. So are the CRKT Onions. IIRC the assist feature can easily be disabled on most CRKTs, not sure about the Kershaws.

Can't argue about the auto-LAWK. I mostly find it annoying.
 
Spyderco Delica. That lock is too easily disabled by lint. Knife is the right size for me, but that lock is just dangerous on a knife that's meant to be clipped inside a pocket, IMO.
 
Moondrop said:
Spyderco Delica. That lock is too easily disabled by lint. Knife is the right size for me, but that lock is just dangerous on a knife that's meant to be clipped inside a pocket, IMO.
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damn, you might have just changed my mind about buying one. i've read nothing but great reviews but always someone with a different point of view.
 
I absolutely hated the Kershaw Leek that I had... easily bent the tip, the scales kept coming loose, sent it in, terrible terrible beast! couldn't wait to replace it.

replaced it with Buck Vantage Pro (small) and so far so good.
 
ESEE 5.

I really liked it for a while, then developed different preferences.

I don't like to say "never", but at this point in my preference evolution, it's probably safe to say I won't buy many more production knives:)

I would caution many to be careful here, because many of the knives I see listed above are favorites among others. Preference is a funny thing sometimes;)
 
Emerson Raven.

Dan57 said:
Guys... you realize that pretty much every knife company warranties their blades, right? A lot of the complaints I see could be fixed with a quick call or email to the manufacturer.
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I had an Emerson Raven I sent back three times for a a faulty lock. You could close the knife like a slip joint. Each time the knife came back the same as I sent it. A warranty is only as good as a the company behind it. Now this was over ten years ago and maybe their customer service has improved, but it left a bad taste in my mouth for all things Emerson.
 
Sebenza. They're a pain to open and the pocket clips are the flimsiest I've ever come across.
 
I wouldn't buy any of the SOG Flash series as I have owned two or three and they all had too much blade play. They were work knifes. I don't damn the entire SOG line because of the Flash series. I like the Vulcan and Mini-Vulcan, Twitch XL, the fixed blades overall, and the little Access Card 2.0. But I have moved past buying SOGs in general and have been focused on other brands. The imatation spydie hole (Sogzilla) turned me off in general.

Won't buy... most CRKT knives. But I may make an exception or three if I handle them in person at a knife shop. I want to get the larger Razel folder. The Razel Stubby is a pretty nice knife considering its made in China. The Ringed Razel is one I just can't get used to... I got cut by it too often that I don't even keep it in my work bag anymore.

Frost Cutlery (Chattanooga)... just poor quality overall. I have given them a chance, but they just don't fit my concept of knife quality even at $10-$15 each. Value.... they probably are a good value. I won't even give one as a present. I have a number sitting around.

Bear & Sons blades... just haven't seen the quality that I would expect for the price.

For now, I won't buy such brands as Smith & Wesson, Colt, current Schrades, Camillus and so forth. They are all cheap chinese renditions that sell because of the name.

I would have said Mora, but I bought a carbon steel Companion on a whim and like it. So, I will consider them again.
 
It's not a bad knife. It's just that I was having to check the back end of the blade where the lock engages for lint. I started doing that after the first occasion that I noticed it didn't sound right when I opened it. Closed it, opened it again. Still sounded wrong. Not as loud as it should have been. Closed it, started examining the knife and found a wad of lint in that notch. Once I removed it, it locked into place as loud as it had done previously. But if you're unaware of that potential issue and aren't paying attention when you open it or open it in a loud environment or are just plain hearing impaired, I can see it becoming a hazard. I did a search and found that others had had that problem with lint. I imagine it's not just the Spyderco lock, but a general lockback issue.


I really wanted to like that knife more. But between checking for lint and checking to make sure it hadn't fallen out of my pocket (separate issue having to do with it being a 1st generation delica), I knew that if I ever lost it, I wouldn't be buying another.
 
[video=youtube;Kx5pCMmB0Eg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx5pCMmB0Eg[/video]
[video=youtube;0JWyM97G6QY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JWyM97G6QY[/video]
[video=youtube;PKMms4JlXMc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKMms4JlXMc[/video]
 
any of the newer modern case pocket knives i'm out on. they don't compare to the ones from years ago.
 
jstrykr74 said:
Emerson Raven.



I had an Emerson Raven I sent back three times for a a faulty lock. You could close the knife like a slip joint. Each time the knife came back the same as I sent it. A warranty is only as good as a the company behind it. Now this was over ten years ago and maybe their customer service has improved, but it left a bad taste in my mouth for all things Emerson.
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Had exactly the same experience but with a happier ending. After 2 tries the lock-up problems was permanently cured; if only I could do something about the thumb disc
placement---
 
I wouldn't buy another Sog flash 1 or 2. Too much blade play for me. Also wouldn't buy any Frost cutlery period, they are really cheaply made. I have a lot of them that my dad bought for me years ago and he still give the men in the family one every Christmas.
 
I bought a CS Bushman... I can open it... and it is secure when open... but you need a pair of vice-grips and an anvil to undo the locking mechanism... not a folder you want to open if you plan on closing it again...
 
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