Most disappointing knife purchase?

I'd have to say the Zt 0452. The detent was crazy strong barely operable. The CF was full of imperfections. I think it was a lemon and sent it back to the seller. I have another on the way. I'll post what I think of the new one.
 
Brous Turpin Strife. Ridiculously fat in the hand, quite a few fit and finish issues, way overpriced for materials and build quality. Not to mention the "custom tech" marketing scheme irritated me. It was clear that no maker hand their hands on the knife with so many quality control issues. If no maker has their hands on the knife, it's clearly not a "midtech," let alone a "custom tech."
 
Lionsteel Daghetta, the lock tension is so strong, that its impossible to open one handed.
I get angry just looking at it.
 
The Benchmade Adamas. It worked well enough, and I liked flipping it open and closed with the axis-lock; but after a couple days I realized it was fairly useless as a cutting tool, and I had no need for a folding pry-bar.

The Southard is an excellent knife, and the one I received was functionally flawless. But the design didn't work for me at all... it felt strange in my hand, and even a month or two trying to adapt to it, I finally had to concede that as much as I liked the look, materials and action, I would never get comfortable with it. That was disappointing.
 
CRKT M16. Absolutely the worst piece of steel I've ever owned. You can spend all the time you want trying to put an edge on it but as soon as you drag your thumb across the edge to see how sharp you got it, the new edge actually chips off.
 
ZT0770CF

Good looking knife but it flipped horribly when de-assisted. Flimsy internals and poor tolerances in the CF milling caused very poor support for the washers. So it had terrible blade play and poor centering. The stop pin had way too much wiggle for my liking. The CF handles had too much flex due to the milling for speedsafe, not to mention the pathetically small washer on one side. You needed two hex drivers to adjust the pivot. Raw carbon fiber feels like a chalkboard. The original aluminum version is much better.

It was a great knife ruined by Speedsafe and ZT jumping on this silly carbon fiber bandwagon.
 
My experience with knives I am not pleased with would be mainly with the Italian-made Viper Knife Company.

I bought one of the first Viper Starts when they became available a few years ago. It didn't have a pocket clip and the back end of the handle has a sharp corner that is quite annoying if my hand hangs over it.

I also bought one of their Keeper knives a year or so back and it is even worse! The handle isn't comfortable to hold. The wire pocket clip is extremely flimsy and it pokes my hand.

It has the dual-guard that is supposed to be able to be used as a flipper or "waved" open. But the pivot action is quite stiff and not adjustable at all. It requires a serious arm motion to flip it open.
 
Easy for me. SOG Flash II. That knife was a POS!!!!!!!

Out of the box, it had horrible side to side blade play. The locking mechanism was garbage, with the blade fully deployed, the lock thumb switch didn't have enough force to stay completely in the up position. Kind of floated half way between fully locked and in the position it needs to be to close the knife. Obviously the spring inside was crap. You could also literally push the knife 40% closed when it was open just by putting force on the spine of the blade. I took the knife apart and stretched the locking spring out to give it more tension. That fixed the issue, but I still hated the knife. Feels extremely cheap and very weak. Just feels like you could break it so easily. The only good things it had going for it was that it did indeed come sharp, and it was very light and had a good deep carry clip.
 
Perrin Le Shark. Sold few hours after receiving that expensive tiny piece of chisel grind steel.
 
BM 520 Presidio...twice disappointed. First, when I bought it, it was dull for a knife of its price out of the box, had a nonexistent sweet spot in the pivot (no happy medium of smoothness without excessive play), and pants shredding scales. Decided to give it a chance and put some work into it so I rounded the sharp portions of the clip side scale, replaced and buffed the washers, and replaced the solid backspacer with some Ti standoffs. It transformed into a completely different knife...one that I came to really enjoy using. The second disappointment came when I lost it.
 
1. Ka-BAR FIN Velocity folding knife. Heavy, clunky, needlessly complicated to disassemble/reassemble with pitiful blade steel and dumb design (tough folder with weak lockback and thin blade?) and poor overall fit and finish. Dozier folders much better.

2. Kershaw Shallot, slippery stainless steel, poor ergos, combined with an oddly slow but snappy assisted opening that could easily knock knife out of slippery hands....

3. Benchmade Onslaught, very thin blade with slick G-10 handle and poor detent Axis lock. Made no sense as a "hard-use" folder. Possibly a good fighter except for slick handle.

4. Two CRK Sebenzas (first knives over 200 USD), a new Micarta 21 and used BG-42. Amazed at fit and finish, then I started using the BG-42. Ergonomics are awkward, opening is slow and stud is slippery. I like a deliberate opening myself but having to practice and concentrate each time I opened it was ridiculous (EDC for 6-7 months and no change). Steel was similarly disappointing, expected better heat treat, edge stability, and overall geometry than my Spydercos costing 1/4-1/3 the price... nope. Eventually traded or sold both.

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?

Also there are some amazing low-tech high-value folding knives in simple carbon steels available for under 30 USD and that is primarily what I use these days.
 
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clampdaddy said:
CRKT M16. Absolutely the worst piece of steel I've ever owned. You can spend all the time you want trying to put an edge on it but as soon as you drag your thumb across the edge to see how sharp you got it, the new edge actually chips off.
Click to expand...

This plus scary lock that requires a second lock because its shady as hell
 
Spyderco Dyad Sprint .

This was my first " expensive " knife and it was the most uncomfortable unergonmic folding knife I've ever held in my hand.

It really clouded my judgement of Spyderco for a long time and I refused to buy another , then I got a cheap secondhand Resilience because I needed a big folder for a camping trip last Christmas .
When I got home from my 2 week holiday I ordered a Delica within hours of walking in the door .
The rest is history and I'm now Spyderco's biggest fan and have bought 7 in the last 5 months plus a Byrd Medowlark

Ken
 
must qualify mine. i had not been seriously disappointed by any of my purchases. but when i received my case xx chestnut bone peanut and tiny toothpick, they were so miniscule i wanted to throw them away. but they gradually "grew" on me, especially the peanut. there's a market and clear functionality for a well-made knife less than 3 inches closed.
 
Sosa said:
I'd have to say the Zt 0452. The detent was crazy strong barely operable. The CF was full of imperfections. I think it was a lemon and sent it back to the seller. I have another on the way. I'll post what I think of the new one.
Click to expand...

Hopefully the one you get soon is good!
 
Wavester said:
Before this week - I had a few that could have vied for that title. Alas - I have a new champion of disappointment: Blackjack Mini Mamba!

[video=youtube;7NGrHALpWPU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NGrHALpWPU[/video]
Click to expand...

Did you consider that you are "reviewing" a counterfeit? Commonly faked. Paid $20.00. Worst looking "Mini Mamba" I have ever seen. Handle scales don' even fit - tang is proud of the scales. "Dull": Blackjacks came very sharp. Obviously "tinned" edge. Incorrect box. Marked "Made in China." Obvious fake. A little knowledge can be useful. You have defamed the brand. The good advise is do not buy obvious crap fakes.
 
clampdaddy said:
CRKT M16. Absolutely the worst piece of steel I've ever owned. You can spend all the time you want trying to put an edge on it but as soon as you drag your thumb across the edge to see how sharp you got it, the new edge actually chips off.
Click to expand...

We need a video, as we would if you claimed that you can flap your wings and fly.
 
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