More QC issues lately in knives...anyone notice this...??

C

czombie

Joined
May 26, 2011
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Has anyone noticed a more than normal amount of QC issues with knives lately than in the past....?? Maybe it's just me but of the last 3 knives that I've purchased I've had to send two of them back to be replaced. Now I'm talking about what could be considered minor, but significant issues (if that makes sense) to me. Such as loose construction pins, burred washers, clicking rattles, etc.

Now I fully understand that your gonna have QC issues with the mass quantities of knives these manufacturer's produce but some of these issues are just uncalled for IMO.

Now I'm not complaining or anything....just curious if anyone else has noticed this too..??
 
I think you just had an unlucky stretch rather than the problems you experienced being indicative of a general, industry-wide rise in QC issues.
 
I think percentage of QC issues has remained the same, it's probably just with the volume being produced now, there are more specimens with the issues.

And I also think that you had a particularly bad stretch of luck there.
 
Hmmmm...interesting to see where this thread goes.

I know everything in the general Industrial type industry, from appliances to ball joints to tools just aren't made to the high standards as once before.
 
neuron said:
Do you have any data to back this up?
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The data is all around you.

Example, a few months ago I bought a bookshelf at Wal-Mart, it comes unassembled. The damn thing had cardboard as a back! Cardboard! And the particle board shelves were so flimsy that once I put it together it could not handle the weight of my books without sagging. I had to return it.

Fast forward to a few weeks later. I am at my Grandma's house and mention the bookshelf incident. She says she has a bookshelf I can have that she also bought at Wal-Mart. The difference is, she bought her shelf 25 or so years ago. Even though both shelves were from Wal-mart was a night and day difference. The older Wal-Mart bookshelf had actual wood! Not just particle board! And it had a solid perfboard back instead of cardboard. It seems as solid as a rock compared to the newer one, they are not even in the same league.
 
I worked at a fixit shop for awhile. 90% of the stuff got fixed with no problems. Smaller percentages had increasing degrees of difficulties. But then there was a small minority of units that were just cursed. ;)
 
czombie said:
Real life experience is the only data I have....;)

Anyone in any Industrial, etc related fields knows this as well.
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James0723 said:
The data is all around you.

Example, a few months ago I bought a bookshelf at Wal-Mart, it comes unassembled. The damn thing had cardboard as a back! Cardboard! And the particle board shelves were so flimsy that once I put it together it could not handle the weight of my books without sagging. I had to return it.

Fast forward to a few weeks later. I am at my Grandma's house and mention the bookshelf incident. She says she has a bookshelf I can have that she also bought at Wal-Mart. The difference is, she bought her shelf 25 or so years ago. Even though both shelves were from Wal-mart was a night and day difference. The older Wal-Mart bookshelf had actual wood! Not just particle board! And it had a solid perfboard back instead of cardboard. It seems as solid as a rock compared to the newer one, they are not even in the same league.
Click to expand...
I bet that what she paid for her bookshelf, converted into today's dollars (i.e., adjusted for inflation), is significantly more than what you paid for yours. If, instead of just assuming commensurability because they're both "Wal-Mart bookshelves", you purchased a bookshelf at the same real (inflation-adjusted) price as she did, you'd stand a very good chance of getting one with the same materials/quality as hers.

Anyway, this is threatening to turn into a politics/economics/W&C thread rather than a knife thread, so I'm going to leave it at that. It's an interesting topic, to be sure, but this isn't the place for it. :)
 
People get more picki and complain more that they used to. They do not enjoy the life and simple nice things the way how their parents and their grandparents did. Many people in the past had to go with really simple basics and poor quality staff, and did not think a big deal about it. Their car would have to be serviced every couple of thousands miles, and nobody minded, and it would brake inbetween, and it would rot - they were just happy to have a car... Because we are not talking about Rols Royce here, right?
Now it's all about things, and people really start loosing the prospective. Like understanding what is cheap shit and what is really expensive staff. Ask your parents, they will tell you, that to buy an expensive high quality product you probably have to plan and to save for a few months... The staff you buy on impuls - that is cheap shit.
The knives I had when I was a kid were nowhere compared to the ones I have now. The steel was not even close. The technology level utilised in that industry at the time would probably not support most of todays designs... What are we talking here about?
Or are we saying: forget about 30 years ago, lets just wain about last 3-5 years... It's ridiculous, man!
Everybody is getting older, that is true. When I was a teenager the sun was brighter, grass greener and sommer longer. I do remember that - you can bet! But just do not tell anybody, they would know you turning an old man! ;)
 
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I believe its the new business model in general. once a company gets too big and has more "suits than elbows" they start skimping and cutting corners to make more cash for the higher ups.Got to pay the lawyers and upper managment!

It's well discussed here on the forums that some MAJOR knife companies have headed this way for some time.

My advice to you is if you continue to notice this in a brand you were once loyal too, move on. they dont deserve your $$$ anymore.
I remember this issue being discussed about knives back in the mid 90's during the whole "tactical" boom.
There's always a newer smaller more competitive company wanting to try harder and satisfy you with a better made product, while the established guys sit on their laurels and count the money. YOU just have to take the first step and move on.

Don't forget, if prices keep going up and quality down, maybe its time to look at custom makers. There's some very affordable ones to be found here on BF for all types of knives.

Good Luck.
 
Poez said:
People get more picki and complain more that they used to. They do not enjoy the life and simple nice things the way how their parents and their grandparents did. Many people in the past had to go with really simple basics and poor quality staff, and did not think a big deal about it. Their car would have to be serviced every couple of thousands miles, and nobody minded, and it would brake inbetween, and it would rot - they were just happy to have a car... Because we are not talking about Rols Royce here, right?
Now it's all about things, and people really start loosing the prospective. Like understanding what is cheap shit and what is really expensive staff. Ask your parents, they will tell you, that to buy an expensive high quality product you probably have to plan and to save for a few months... The staff you buy on impuls - that is cheap shit.
The knives I had when I was a kid were nowhere compared to the ones I have now. The steel was not even close. The technology level utilised in that industry at the time would probably not support most of todays designs... What are we talking here about?
Or are we saying: forget about 30 years ago, lets just wain about last 3-5 years... It's ridiculous, man!
Everybody is getting older, that is true. When I was a teenager the sun was brighter, grass greener and sommer longer. I do remember that - you can bet! But just do not tell anybody, they would know you turning an old man! ;)
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Yeah I get what your saying......I guess in the end we demand as "consumers" a quality product for a cheap price. Supply and demand.

That's the negative side to technological advancement. It breeds impatience and laziness. Lots of variables involved....

On a side note: The sun is brighter today than what it was 30 yrs ago:p but I know you didn't mean that literally...;):D
 
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I am very particular about QC and yes, I too have noticed a decline in the attention to detail, materials used and overall craftsmanship of goods (and services for that matter). I think a lot of it started a long time ago, though (as far back as the 1950's, following WWII). There's a reason the term, "they don't make 'em like they used to" is so popular.
 
Yes, I have noticed a decline in quality. My last two purchases were so disappointing, I have pretty much stopped looking at knives. When you spend 200.00 bucks on a knife that is way off center and dull it tends to make you evaluate things.

Honestly, I feel I'm pretty much done with 100.00+ knives.
 
James0723 said:
The data is all around you.

Example, a few months ago I bought a bookshelf at Wal-Mart, it comes unassembled. The damn thing had cardboard as a back! Cardboard! And the particle board shelves were so flimsy that once I put it together it could not handle the weight of my books without sagging. I had to return it.

Fast forward to a few weeks later. I am at my Grandma's house and mention the bookshelf incident. She says she has a bookshelf I can have that she also bought at Wal-Mart. The difference is, she bought her shelf 25 or so years ago. Even though both shelves were from Wal-mart was a night and day difference. The older Wal-Mart bookshelf had actual wood! Not just particle board! And it had a solid perfboard back instead of cardboard. It seems as solid as a rock compared to the newer one, they are not even in the same league.
Click to expand...

Is this thread talking about knives or cheap shelves bought at Walmart? :rolleyes:

@ czombie

I haven't noticed this at all. In fact I've noticed the exact opposite. All my recent production knife purchases have been excellent.
 
I think there's another side of this, which we've all discussed in other ways in other threads: Knives are no longer seen as necessary tools, they're now curiosities and trinkets. In fairness to businesses (I can't believe I'm writing this): They produce for a mass market. Those of us here, on BF, are not mass market; businesses don't build for us. If we stop buying knife x from company y, yet the rest of the buying public keeps on purchasing the product...it will keep getting made, and made to the lowest sellable threshold.
 
yep. got a batch of 4 different models from the same big brand name company. some made in america some made in taiwan and japan. 2 american made both had issues. from poorly misaligned jimping on one to a lock that wouldn't fucntion properly on the other. the taiwan made had no issues. the japanese had two issues, blade rubbed the side of the scale badly, and it had no point, due to a poorly done grind that knocked it off. i was able to fix the lock on the american one, but it's still not functioning as the other models of the same brand and make do. the other issues aren't a big deal. that is still 75% with qc problems, in that small batch all from the same brand, but different models. yes qc to me is going down a bit from what i see. i have no statistics to prove it but i see a decline across the board in knives and everything else for that matter.
 
Interesting, yet with cars we see service intervals 4 or 5 times as long as what was considered normal, korean and malaysian cars with 7 year warranties, cars regularly go 200,000 miles without a rebore, maintenance free engines where you can only put oil and water in. Many things have become cheaper over the years, particularly electrical/electronics and I remember in the '70's when anything electronic and you were the test dummy for it. Digital watches that lasted a week and cost the equivalent of an Omega Seamaster, calculators, mobile phones, computers all getting smaller better faster and more reliable. I think on balance, most things are getting better, but our expectations are higher and even back then you had to pay for quality.
 
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