Most disappointing knife purchase?

Various Striders. I feel that I'm "lucky" to get one w/o blade play or lock stick. Unresponsive customer service. Don't see myself getting another one.
 
Spyderco Manix 2 LW w/ S110V. Knife came in so stiff it was not possible to flick open and barely able to open all the way with one hand. Can't disassemble the knife so cleaning it out thoroughly isn't going to happen. Loosened the pivot a bit but it doesn't really help that much. Blade didn't come centered and can't get it there either.

Bought a Kershaw Camber and it came in so dull I could drag it across my palm and couldn't break skin.

CRK Sebenza, yes a Sebenza. Came in so stiff you COULD NOT open it one handed. Had to use two hands. Had to open and close it two handed hundreds of times to get it to break in. Nice knife now, but from the factory, I expect much better from CRK.

ZT0562CF came in so stiff almost couldn't flip it open. Took hundreds of times of opening and closing it to get it to smooth out. Again, a blade I expect better from right from the factory.

I have only purchased 7 knives, all in the past year. Four of the seven came in with issues. My Dragonfly 2 w/ G10 scales, my mini Grip and regular Grip came in as I would expect them to.

Not a real good ratio of good to bad blades.
 
Benchmade Griptilian. Not a bad knife but outclassed by some many Spyderco's (PM2, Manix2, Stretch, etc.. ) and Kershaw's (especially the Knockout).
 
Quartermaster qse10 biff tanen. What a stonewashed turd. Didn't flip for shit. Had lock rock. Sent it back for a fix. They just sent me a new one that had slightly less lockrock. but hey at least it was sharp and looked nice... That thing is long gone now.
 
The older Spyderco Large Wayne Goddard model, specifically in plain edge. I saw them for the first time long after they were being produced, and it was the first Spyderco knife I ever saw and immediately thought LOOKED good. Normally I think they look weird, but perfectly utilitarian. This one looked good. I liked the polish on the blade. The traditional drop point and hollow grind, with the straighter, more traditional handle to blade angle. I kept professing my love for its looks all over the forums and got a PM by a nice user who saw one come up for sale. And it wasn't a combo edge, which was great for what I wanted.

I got it and... I was impressed. Nothing about the quality of the knife let me down, but just certain design features really didn't jive with me. Handle is VERY thin, it might be my thinnest knife, it's right up there with the Leek. and the blade stock is quite thick, it leaves a very blade heavy feeling knife whereas I usually like more handle weight or neutral balance. I used it off and on for awhile then threw it in the drawer.

Ended up pulling it out of the drawer a few months back and put it back in my pocket however, and something clicked. It's been a mainstay of my carry for these months. When I'm not just carrying a traditional, the WG is my modern folder of choice. So it's not altogether my most disappointing, just at the time it was...

Yay, happy ending!
 
A Lightfoot folder, can't remember the exact type. It was great fit, but not good finish. Not really bad, but edges sharp enough to be uncomfortable and no depression for the thumb stud so using it was almost impossible. I've never held any of his other folders (his one fixed blade I have is pretty nice), but looking at pictures some of them seem to have that same issue. I'd always wanted one of his folders, love the designs, but was pretty bummed out about it.
 
LadyEarth said:
Cold Steel Spartan. The handle material was so uncomfortable and parts of the handle bites into my hand (where the blade goes in to rest in folded position, the edges there is just a pain in the ass)
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^ pretty much what they said. as much as i appreciated it as gift its just too much knife. Granted the lock on it is pretty solid, its so hard to open it one handed, i've had it spring back and bite me, that sucked. and trying to sharpen the recurve blade is horrible. same thing for a tacticool smith and wesson folding knife, horrible blade play and off center, makes me shudder every time i think about flicking it open. :barf:
 
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Kershaw lifter $20 for it way overpriced I bought it to replace a $5 flea market knife that broke and now I wish I just woulda gotten another flea market knife. I can barely put a working edge on it which is why I pocket carry my leatherman wave now.
 
Hands down ZT 0561 :eek: This was not in any way down to the knifes quality though! Fit and finish was perfect +++ Just not a knife for me. Traded it for a gen1 Rattweiler! :) Later i came across a review of the ZT on youtube, by Apostle P, where he put my "meh feelings" about this knife down in words.
 
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Ravenbrook: Do you see a common theme emerge from your list of disappointments?
Not a very common problem IME, and even so, it's one that can be remedied with a simple adjustment of the pivot and/or frame screws. Otherwise, it would be smart to take advantage of good customer service if you can't solve the problem yourself. Why is it that you can't disassemble your folders?
Never have I received a knife that has been too difficult to open one handed, especially not from CRK, Spyderco, or ZT.
 
My example is actually a sword. Never purchased one before and thought I would give it a try just as a collectible. I did some research and decided on the Cold Steel Napolean saber. Nice looking sword. Bit it fell apart almost instantly just handling it. When you get a sword, your first inclination is to play around with it, swing it like a pirate etc. Well, i swung it, the handguard fell apart and the blade dropped to the floor at my feet. Never got it assembled again in working order. Sent it back and got a replacement and the handle started loosening again after time. Just keep it as a display piece on the wall in bedroom. Also, both samples were duller than a butter knife even though they are classified as working blades.

Total junk. Cold Steel makes some good knives but from what I read and experience, their swords are garbage.
 
Mine have been with SOG, albeit only two - the Twitch and the SV-68 X-Ray Vision Ti.

Both had vertical blade play, the Twitch had it in every direction.

I have a friend who has the larger Twitch XL, and it had the same type of play.

I know these are not hi end knives, but I was 'disappointed' nonetheless. I did some research on other SOG knives and found some people had great ones, others did not.

I sent the SV68 back for a refund and kept the twitch in my dirt bike camel back pocket. It will probably not see any use, but it's there.
 
I'm rarely disappointed by cheap knives. Rather, I try to be pleasantly surprised by cheap knives. When at a low price point, keep expectations low. That's the beauty of the RAT.

My two greatest, recent disappointments have been Spydercos (:eek: I know, heresy)

First was The Rubicon. I pre-ordered, waited, paid full price and was rewarded by a clown knife. Tiny blade and a handle with all the ergos of a wet, immature yam. It not only under-delivered for the price point, I found myself actively disliking it in my pocket. "Is that a Rubicon in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me"? It caught the next flight back to the seller...but that's OK, there was another Spydie coming out soon that would make it all right...

And that leads us to disappointment Number 2, The Positron. I'm going to give up on Spyderco making a flipper that can actually flip. By the way, did anyone bother to test a handle with more hot spots than Scottsdale in August? That one left my collection quickly too.

I was all in on the Nirvana, but now I'm on the fence. I'm fairly certain the knife value will be far below the price. I'm honestly a little afraid of being disappointed once again by a brand I respect and admire.

I know I may sound like a Spyderco hater. I'm not, but I think they've shown a marked price creep that's unjustified by design innovation and build quality. That's disappointing.
 
Large Sebenza 21. Considering the hype/cult, I was expecting to feel the quality. It wasn't that ergonomic for such a simple handled knife (the blocky butt), it had lock stick, and it wasn't nearly as smooth as other washer/bushing knives I've had (felt more like a linerless frn Spyderco in action). Of course, that's all relative to the price, which I consider very high for a full production knife.
 
I forgot how bad the Spyderco Dyad was. I liked the idea of a small knife with two blades one PE and the other SE. However, holding that little knife in your hands and trying to use it proved to be a pain. The knife just never felt good nor was it something I though I could get used to so it was sold when I liquidated some of collection. Not one that I missed.
 
Microtech Troodon. Put up with minor issues with it for a bit then it failed...likely a broken spring and is now a $300 paperweight...that even if I get repaired will never trust.

I've had issues with other knives over the years but most were meeting/exceeding the useful limits of the tool...the Troodon is different...wasn't used much, just failed.
 
senoBDEC said:
So my experience has been: stick with proven companies and designs, avoid fads like the plague (i.e. ignore commercial reviews in general), and realize that above around 100 USD you are receiving severely diminished returns for the price. I think as knife knuts we all love amazing construction quality but is it ever worth 2-5 times more than performance?
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+1 Well said. Succinct summation of my conclusions as well.
 
jtwodogs said:
Thats a double on the SOG Flash ll. It opened alright, but it felt so poorly made that a stiff wind might break it.
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Make it a triple on the SOG Flash ll. There's nothing actually "wrong" with it. Just looks and feels cheap. Glad I got it for little or nothin' in a package deal in which the other knives were highly satisfactory. :soap:
 
HuntBomb said:
Ravenbrook: Do you see a common theme emerge from your list of disappointments?
Not a very common problem IME, and even so, it's one that can be remedied with a simple adjustment of the pivot and/or frame screws. Otherwise, it would be smart to take advantage of good customer service if you can't solve the problem yourself. Why is it that you can't disassemble your folders?
Never have I received a knife that has been too difficult to open one handed, especially not from CRK, Spyderco, or ZT.
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The ZT flips nicely now. I adjusted the pivot screws but it does take a forceful pull because the Detent is the strongest I've ever had to deal with. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Just came to me so stiff you could hardly flip it open and I would expect better from a company in this price point. As for the Spyderco, I did adjust the pivot screw a bit and it does flip better but still not what I would expect. And yes my Sebenza came so stiff it actually took two hands to open it. I decided to try to open and close it a bunch before taking it apart. It's much better now, but again, certainly not what I would expect from a CRK given their reputation. Someone in another thread asked if the knife was old stock, perhaps sitting on the resellers shelf for a while. I bought the knife within 3-4 weeks of it being made. It's pretty smooth now even though I haven't taken it apart. I guess my disappointment in these knives is that given all 4 of the manufacturers reputations I expect much better quality control. I don't feel that I should have to disassemble a knife and tweak it, to get it to what the manufacturer intended it to be, as some right of passage to own it. Just my thinking. All the knives are basically where I want them to be now, so in the end I'm happy.
 
Any knife that comes wilt such an uncomfortable handle that makes using it a pain in the palm. Yes I could use gloves but should not have too. Hope there is some good knives for 2016 we will see. Faron.
 
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