KOA Yukon belt knife - send it back?

V

vale82588

Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Messages
23
Hi guys,

I´ve wanted to buy a Knives of Alaska Yukon belt knife for quite a long time and now I´ve finally gotten one.
The only problem is that I´m absolutely not happy with it.
The first knife I got was a complete disaster in my opinion.
The grind lines were completely asymmetrical, the logo was partially off the blade and blurry and the grind was waaay too steep.
Furthermore it looks like they´ve changed the coating on the knife without writing it on the page (it looks much lighter than on the homepage).

So they´ve been so kind and replaced that knife (they paid the shipping and everything - thanks for that) but the replacement knife I got is just as bad as the last one....
But maybe it´s just me and I´m too picky.
I´ll upload some pictures, so you can tell me what I should do.
Thanks!

NZs3a.jpg

the grind was asymmetrical and very steep
NZ3Ne.jpg

the logo is barely on the blade
NZKik.jpg

and the grind doesn´t look very nice again


The first pictures are the knife I already sent back and the last two pictures are from the knife I got as a replacement


NZp9x.jpg

this is the picture from their website so you know why I´m not happy with it and what I meant by the coating is different..


If anyone from KOA is reading this, your opinion is appreciated as well.
 
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The logo issue wouldnt matter to me personally but its your knife and your money.

The color IMO is a non-issue; you cant go by the shade/hue of the coating in the pic, as several factors are in play - (flash) light being one of them.

Its a $89 knife, if you dont like this one either, get a refund instead of yet another substitute. As this is the second knife, you dont care for from that company, chances are, that you have soured on their product and will be critical of the next/third knife as well.

At least thats how it sometimes work.
 
Thanks for the reply, the logo isn´t much of a problem for me either, but I think it shows the level of commitment they put into these knives.
The coating on the other hand is in my opinion not just the lighting but the uncoated version that also exists..
But the thing that really annoys me is the grind.
It´s a factory new knife and it already looks like it´s been resharpened by myself for a couple of years...

But maybe I´ll go with the refund as you mentioned.. thanks again!
 
Didnt notice there was an uncoated version - good point.

I see what you mean about the grind.

As before; if two out of two dont meet your expectations, chances are, a possible third one wont be either - maybe better to get a refund and look for a knife else where.
 
I knew of the KOA company but this thread made me go look at the Youkon and their other offerings.

(Though this thread is not the best of recommandations) I quite like the Boar knife, Alaskan Brown Bear for meat processing and the Magnum Ulu.

I blame the OP!

Look forward to hearing other opinions about this company and their knives.
 
This thread isn´t about KOA themselves or their other knives, it´s about a knife I got that I´m not very happy with and I wanted to hear your opinions about THIS knife in particular and if I should send it back or not.
 
vale82588 said:
This thread isn´t about KOA themselves or their other knives, it´s about a knife I got that I´m not very happy with and I wanted to hear your opinions about THIS knife in particular and if I should send it back or not.
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Wow, take it easy, slugger.

I merely mentioned that in order to help you, I went to the KOA site to check out the knife in question, as is the custom.

That I quite like some of their other knives is a by-product of me visiting the site in order to answer your questions better.

And that I like some of their knives doesnt denigrate the company - quite the opposite!!

A KOA knife is of course about KOA.

Further more, the experience of other members will tell us whether or not these 'problems' are par for the course in rgds to KOA and their products.

If you dont want it to be about KOA as well, you shouldnt have mentioned the company.

How you can make a snarky post based on me helping you and me actually LIKING some of the KOA blades, is beyond me.

I guess, it takes all kinds.

Sometimes this forum is a vale of tears.

Have fun with your thread and your stay af BF - Im out.
 
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Lol well.. my opinion is get a refund and write the owner of the company and tell him how salty you feel. Explicitly. Then end the letter with "good day to you sir!"
 
BladeScout said:
Wow, take it easy, slugger.

I merely mentioned that in order to help you, I went to the KOA site to check out the knife in question, as is the custom.

[...]

Have fun with your thread and your stay af BF - Im out.
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I´m really sorry, I absolutely didn´t intend to sound that snappy.. your help is very appreciated! I just read your post wrong and thought you wanted to say that I am to blame for not liking the blade and I didn´t want the thread to drift off in the wrong direction.
What you wrote about bf is absolutely right, and thanks for going the extra mile and checking background info for me..
Sorry again, and please keep up the work you´re doing for this forum!
 
vale82588 said:
I´m really sorry, I absolutely didn´t intend to sound that snappy.. your help is very appreciated! I just read your post wrong and thought you wanted to say that I am to blame for not liking the blade and I didn´t want the thread to drift off in the wrong direction.
What you wrote about bf is absolutely right, and thanks for going the extra mile and checking background info for me..
Sorry again, and please keep up the work you´re doing for this forum!
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Apology accepted.

Even though its evident, that I praised the look of some KOA knives as a direct result of this thread, I could/should have put a smily icon after the 'I blame the OP' bit to stress the jocular intention.
 
V vale82588

As far as KOA products. I am picky about finish. I have handled a few and had the same experience as you. They look great in photos and then are less than expectaions in hand. Now, I have never actually used one. I am only talking about the finish. Functionally they may be perfect. I cant actually comment on that.

If you like Canadian styled knives there are lots of makers that you can get one from. So far I have found the LT Wright Northern Hunter to be my favorite.

The Grohmann’s are pretty much the originals and a a good choice as well.
 
I work hard for my money and I don't ask others about returning something as personal as a knife.
If I am not absolutely 100% satisfied I either return it or sell it at a loss. I personally am not a perfectionist or hung up perfection. That being said the knife pictured in this thread I would return and get a refund.
 
Thanks for all the input so far!
Has anyone the same knife and can tell me if theirs is finished in a similar way?
 
It's a hundred dollar knife. I've never heard a bad thing about the utility of a Knives of Alaska knife. If you bought it to be a user, I'd use the hell out of it and see if the shape works for you. If you bought it as a collector, I'd send it back and buy the style from a different company. OTOH, if it makes you unhappy either way, get a refund.

If you want the original, as a collectible or a user, the Grohmann only costs 15 bucks more. If you just wanna try out the shape, Cold Steel makes one for way less.
 
number9 said:
It's a hundred dollar knife. I've never heard a bad thing about the utility of a Knives of Alaska knife. If you bought it to be a user, I'd use the hell out of it and see if the shape works for you. If you bought it as a collector, I'd send it back and buy the style from a different company. OTOH, if it makes you unhappy either way, get a refund.

If you want the original, as a collectible or a user, the Grohmann only costs 15 bucks more. If you just wanna try out the shape, Cold Steel makes one for way less.
Click to expand...

I've never heard of Grohmann Knives until this post. I just took at look at their website. Nice stuff and affordable as well. Might have to pick something up from them.
 
I would not be too worried about the coating or logo. However, for a using knife, the edge bevel is WAY too thick. It is much thicker than the stock photo from their website. If this is going to be a user, it will not cut as well as it should. I would return it for that reason. Since both knives had this problem, it would appear that thick edge bevels are standard for this knife.
 
Yeah same here... most of the knife looks pretty good to me, but that edge is jacked up. Whoever put that final edge bevel on the blade needs more practice before their work should be sold IMO
 
All of the KoA knives I've seen had very thick factory edges. Never seen ones with grinds that sloppy, and that's what I'd be upset about given the price point. You can thin an edge, but it's hard for an end user to fix a sloppy grind. As a heads up, they're made in Texas, rather than in Alaska as their name would imply. :p
 
Yep...I seem to recall that once upon a time...there was a town in Japan that was named "U.S.A." in order that they could sell products that were "made" in U.S.A.
 
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