Most disappointing knife purchase?

Had many I didn't care for....the latest was the Stedemon Bastian. Many issues with it and for the price, many others I would rather have.
 
Sog trident folder was super flimsy
Benchmade infidel that was very unreliable
Hinderer xm-18 flippers that just flipped terribly
 
Hinderer XM-18 3.5 inch Spanto with textured cf scale


It underwhelmed me, and I hated the size and bulkiness. The cf scale was cool though. I'm hoping I can find one for the 3 inch slicer I've got coming in a few days.
 
First production bark river bravo 1. Grind lines and plunge grinds we're off as well as the point. To add insult, I called the company and I was told that those issues will not affect affect the knife's performance.
 
Kershaw Camber...I was excited by what seemed like the perfect EDC: 3" S30V blade, aluminium handles, deep carry clip ability to be deassisted. Unfortunately, it pretty much was a total let down for several reasons.

1) The blade grind on mine was totally screwed up, looking at it from the top of the spine the bevels at the point were almost a millimeter imbalanced. That may not sound like much, but in a spot like that it's a huge difference.

2) The flipper is really stiff to actuate and, despite being jimped, is quite slippery if your hands are anything but dry and clean. Also, the assisted action was really jerky and not pleasant at all. I tried taking it apart and cleaning out all the packing grease and replacing it with quality gun lubricant (CLP) and it didn't make much of a difference.

3) I took the torsion bar out but it just didn't work deassisted, the detent was too weak and it just took too much of a wrist flick to fully deploy, the only to make it deploy reliably was to loosen the pivot to the point that play and centering went to crap.

4) Rust...yea, on S30V...I was unpleasantly surprised when my blade started rusting badly under the pivot and on the tip. I have several other S30V blades, I like the steel a lot in general, this was a letdown.

I still have the knife, don't do much with it though, $90 not well spent on a knife from a company I did and do hold in high regard.
 
Krissig12 said:
Hinderer XM-18 3.5 inch Spanto with textured cf scale


It underwhelmed me, and I hated the size and bulkiness. The cf scale was cool though. I'm hoping I can find one for the 3 inch slicer I've got coming in a few days.
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I honestly don't understand why anyone buys Hinderers, for the price you can get essentially the same design but with vastly superior quality from ZT and have 2-3 knives for the market cost of a single Hinderer.
 
John_0917 said:
I honestly don't understand why anyone buys Hinderers, for the price you can get essentially the same design but with vastly superior quality from ZT and have 2-3 knives for the market cost of a single Hinderer.
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"Vastly superior quality" is debatable to say the least.

But I'm not going to argue with you. Buy what you like:)
 
Mcusta Nami. This is a framelock with a thumb stud. It needs two hands to open.
Great Eastern Cutlery back lock, I think it was the model 72 with a 3 1/8" blade. It came with too much blade play, so I sent it in to the manufacturer. It came back with no play, but the blade doesn't close properly, since the point is up from the frame and exposed slightly when closed.
I have a Spyderco Kiwi 4 with an offcenter blade, but it works and I carry it from time to time.
 
Everything I've owned by Benchmade, which is why I no longer own anything by them.

Brian Tighe mini Tighe Rod--Everything was perfect, but the combination of the small size and curved handle made it uncomfortable with my large hands.

Spyderco:
Southard--hated the flipper shape and operation, overall the knife just wasn't for me
Nilakka--Would not keep an edge if you paid it to. Gigantic, heavy handle with a skinny little blade.
Endura w/ wave--received in a trade, I wasn't sure what to expect, but was disappointed with it, namely the blade shape.
Caly 3 ZDP/CF--Opened the box, and the whole knife was slathered in oil, like a rancor drooled on it. The cf was very, very smooth to the point it offered no grip.

CRKT M16-12Z--Chipped so badly it became a full serrated blade in short order.
 
SOG Flash II; bought several of them as work knives. Blades had a lot of wiggle. They all disappeared within a week of providing those knives to worker bees. I no longer provide knives except utility knives and only while the job is ongoing and tool needed. The utility knives are to be put back in my storage area once the need passes. My experience is that if I provide real knives, they keep them and I have to provide knives again the next time they are needed. This was one of life's little lessons.
 
Buck Tarani-Strider. Flimsy liner, off center blade, too heavy, G-10 suitable for grating cheese. Horrible knife.
 
2 for me:
Hinderer Flipper: They don't flip. I've heard all the lame excuses but they just don't make up for a flipper that doesn't flip. If Rick purposely designed them so they would flip like crap he shouldn't have designed them at all. Which is odd considering how good of flippers his ZT collabs are.. (Not the Gerber Firestorm collab, that one flips like crap too.)

Carson Custom M4
Fit and finish issues but the disappointment came more from all the buildup of the Carson name I think.. and the aftermarket price point. If I had gotten it from Kit at the price he sold them for at the time I think my disappointment would have been less and I might have had him fix the issues and kept it.
 
John_0917 said:
I honestly don't understand why anyone buys Hinderers, for the price you can get essentially the same design but with vastly superior quality from ZT and have 2-3 knives for the market cost of a single Hinderer.
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Same build quality, better tweaked designs with the ZTs though I've found.
 
Benchmade Contego was the only purchase I really was disappointed in, and just because it was too big for me and had too much aggressive jimping to be comfortable. It wasn't a bad knife, just not the kind of knife I was looking for. (the 950 Rift I own is fantastic)
 
I would have to say that my most disappointing knife purchase would have to be my Becker BK2. As soon as I saw pics of one online, I wanted it. It was super beefy, and looked so strong, you could pry the moon out of orbit with it. When I got it and got it in hand, I loved it at first. Then I wore it out on a short hike and the tremendous weight of the thing just kept dragging me down. I swapped it out in my pack for my Ratmandu and that knife was just about perfect. So, my BK2 sits in my fixed blade storage chest. I haven't actually ever cut anything with it. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably put it up on the Exchange. A shame.
 
Quiet said:
I would have to say that my most disappointing knife purchase would have to be my Becker BK2. As soon as I saw pics of one online, I wanted it. It was super beefy, and looked so strong, you could pry the moon out of orbit with it. When I got it and got it in hand, I loved it at first. Then I wore it out on a short hike and the tremendous weight of the thing just kept dragging me down. I swapped it out in my pack for my Ratmandu and that knife was just about perfect. So, my BK2 sits in my fixed blade storage chest. I haven't actually ever cut anything with it. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably put it up on the Exchange. A shame.
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I felt the same way about the ESEE 5. I got it in a trade and had no expectations, so it wasn't really "disappointing."
 
Most disappointing was probably the Bark River Featherweight Hunter. I selected one with a nice dark curly maple handle, I loved the styling/look, and was looking forward to using the thin Elmax blade...then I got the knife. As soon as I had it in hand my excitement died. It was just what I wanted; but the way it fit in my hand was exactly wrong. I have a hard time taking advantage of a company's generous return policy if there is nothing wrong with the knife; so I contacted BRK about modifying it so it would fit better. Unfortunately, the skeletonized tang wouldn't show for the degree of reshaping I felt it needed.
 
Spyderco Delica 4 Wave. The saber grind was very thick and did not slice well. I was not surprised and got a refund. Probably will get a regrind if i ever want another one.
 
Gerber Air Ranger.

What a pile of you know what. Got one on sale at Cabelas after seeing so many great words, I took a gamble. I have hated every Gerber I have ever used. Just terrible quality IMHO.

I opened the pack and took out the knife. It took two hands to close it, which amazed me...sooo tight. I went to adjust the pivot, but found the screw head was stripped! HOW?!?! So I lube it up and get it open...two hands again. NOW the lock won't disengage!

I sent a nasty note to Gerber and returned it to them...MY COST! I've had the knife less than 5 minutes and it hasn't touched anything but air. I hear nothing back.

A week later a brand new knife arrives in the mail, still in the package. No personal note, no swag for the hassle or shipping...nothing.

This one works, but I tell everyone my story and how I am 100% done with the Gerber family and their low quality product. Stay away!
 
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