Recommendation? Mcusta - Experiences with Customer Service?

[soundless]

Hey guys,
My Girlfriend bought a Limited Edition Mcusta Mokume Damascus knife for my birthday. I already own a similar knife and had no problems regarding fit and finish/quality control. But this one is pretty much garbage.
The blade scrapes against the handle of the knife to the point where it will scratch up the blade sooner rather than later, the screw which holds the blade in place does nothing and just rotates freely.
I already contacted the manufacturer via their European site as well as the shop where she bought the knife to no avail.
I mean if this was a 50€ knife I wouldn't even have bothered and just write it off as a loss, but the version my girlfriend bought was >300€. Pretty disappointed in the customer service so far. I'll share a few pics to illustrate my point.
Now to my question:
What are your experiences with Mcusta's customer support? What is your Overall impression regarding the quality of the brand?
Any ideas how to proceed further with my knife? I thought about contacting them via their .jp website but I certainly don't speak Japanese and also know no one who does...

https://imgur.com/a/QsEBBCd

 

[shane45-1911]

Any ideas how to proceed further with my knife? I thought about contacting them via their .jp website but I certainly don't speak Japanese and also know no one who does...

I would still contact them, and include your pic. There is no translation required for that image. Also, I am sure they have access to Google Translate.

I have no experience with Mcusta, but that is just wrong regardless of who made it.

 

[soundless]

Thank you for your reply!
After quite a bit of google-fu I was able to find an email address apparently belonging directly to their factory in Japan.
I wrote them and will update if there is any response.
The shop where my girlfriend bought the knife was maxknives.fr, the collaboration partner in France for this knife.
Like I said no reaction to my complaints after almost 2 weeks, keep that in mind if you consider buying anything from there

 

[shane45-1911]

Just out of curiosity, did you try loosening the pivot and re-tightening? There is a (slight) chance that things were out of alignment and you might be able to get the blade more centered.

 

[soundless]

Just out of curiosity, did you try loosening the pivot and re-tightening? There is a (slight) chance that things were out of alignment and you might be able to get the blade more centered.

The pivot screw sadly does nothing. The counterpart to the screw spins while trying to fasten/loosen the blade

 

[shane45-1911]

The pivot screw sadly does nothing. The counterpart to the screw spins while trying to fasten/loosen the blade

Sorry, I did read that in your first post but wasn't clear what you meant. If you can find a way to hold the "nut" side of the pivot while turning the screw, you may be able to loosen it. Chances are it is held together with threadlocker. A bit of heat from a hairdryer may loosen the bond.

Or.......just send it back, hopefully.

 

[soundless]

You mean like loctite or something like that? Just for shits and giggles I tried unscrewing it with a nitrile glove over the screwdriver and one to hold the nut in place but no dice, it just rotates along. I'm not inclined to give it the full spa treatment with hair dryers and gentle massaging I'd rather just return the damn thing.
At this point I'm frustrated, my girlfriend is disappointed although it's certainly not her fault, and I'm hoping this situation gets fixed by the merchant or the manufacturer

 

[splinterprone]

I just notched the opposite end. I did the same thing to a SOG that had a free spinning pivot. Designers should be

 

[POCEH KOCEB]

I have a Tactility and straight out of the box it’s not the most presentable knife… The clip had two loosened screws and liners didn’t precisely follow the scales.
‘Still, the issue with centering the blade is fixable and I personally wouldn’t waste time to deal with dealers or manufacturer.
Otherwise I absolutely love my Tactility, besides the little things that give them some personality, they are great knives

 

[soundless]

I just notched the opposite end. I did the same thing to a SOG that had a free spinning pivot. Designers should be

That's a pretty ingenious fix in case no one should get back to me. Interesting that the issue with the pivot screw seems to be a common occurrence as the picture in your post is also a Mcusta.
How did you make the notch? Dremel?

 

[soundless]

I have a Tactility and straight out of the box it’s not the most presentable knife… The clip had two loosened screws and liners didn’t precisely follow the scales.
‘Still, the issue with centering the blade is fixable and I personally wouldn’t waste time to deal with dealers or manufacturer.
Otherwise I absolutely love my Tactility, besides the little things that give them some personality, they are great knives

I get your point and I appreciate the diy mentality. But things like that shouldn't happen to knives in this price range and I'm certain the whole ordeal will impact my buying decisions regarding Mcusta in the future. QC should prevent cases like mine and in other brands, even those half the price this doesn't happen and if it does the customer support react in a reasonable time frame.
How did you fix your centering issue?

 

[splinterprone]

That's a pretty ingenious fix in case no one should get back to me. Interesting that the issue with the pivot screw seems to be a common occurrence as the picture in your post is also a Mcusta.
How did you make the notch? Dremel?

Yes. Bubba von Dremel

 

[KenHash]

Now to my question:
What are your experiences with Mcusta's customer support? What is your Overall impression regarding the quality of the brand?
Any ideas how to proceed further with my knife? I thought about contacting them via their .jp website but I certainly don't speak Japanese and also know no one who does...

https://imgur.com/a/QsEBBCd

I have two Mcustas and both are perfect. But as with any brand an unsatisfactory product can get through.
You can email the .jp site in English. They do sell all over the world.

 

[soundless]

Thank you for your reply! Like I said I already tried contacting them via the European website and did find their .jp email address. No reply at all from the European website and no reply from maxknives. Let's see how long it takes to get an answer from their .jp site, it was the weekend after all

 

[A.L.]

Man I feel your pain. I bet it feels bad to think she had such good intentions and was willing to spend so much. That's why I kind of want to just buy my toys and screech all by myself so I don't have to either die inside and or return things that were gifted to me (luckily I haven't been there though). I hope it goes well.

Would one option to be to send it for some knife maker to fix it?

 

[POCEH KOCEB]

How did you fix your centering issue?

I didn’t have blade issue with my Mcusta but when I have off center blade I usually use similar technique as this one:

 

[WValtakis]

You mean like loctite or something like that? Just for shits and giggles I tried unscrewing it with a nitrile glove over the screwdriver and one to hold the nut in place but no dice, it just rotates along. I'm not inclined to give it the full spa treatment with hair dryers and gentle massaging I'd rather just return the damn thing.
At this point I'm frustrated, my girlfriend is disappointed although it's certainly not her fault, and I'm hoping this situation gets fixed by the merchant or the manufacturer

Sometimes squeezing the blade hard against the stop pin in the closed position will provide enough friction on the pivot to break the loctite...just another idea.

 

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I didn’t have blade issue with my Mcusta but when I have off center blade I usually use similar technique as this one:

I'm really happy to report: This fixed the issue...kinda
I used duct tape to keep the backside of the pivot screw in place and was finally able to disassemble the knife. Tried the fix in the linked video and it made things better to the point where the blade isn't scraping anymore. It's still way stiffer than a similar model I own in full Damascus, so I'm not able to flick the knife open. Still it's much better than before. I guess I'll try the whole route with the loctite and applying the fix some more times until it gets hopefully to the point where I'm satisfied.

Thank you very much for your help and a huge thank you from my girlfriend, as she was probably even more disappointed than me.
Is there a possibility to buy you a beer or something?
And of course thanks to all the other members who offered ideas and kind words.
This was my first post on this forum and it was a really warm welcome!