Most disappointing knife purchase?

Thomas Linton said:
This has nothing to do with rude. You have increased the sum total of information. Turns out the crapsters have the brand now and are pushing out what crapsters do. It's now a sub $20 POC.
Click to expand...

I have had two of their fixed blades and they were actually pretty decent. Considering that they were dirt cheap and convex ground, I couldn't complain much. I didn't see very even edges, but I have a pretty low bar for sub $30 knives from unknown factories. I used them as a cheap way to familiarize myself with an appleseed grind.
 
So, forgot about my Benchmade Monochrome Red class.

I haven't bought a benchmade since that piece of crap.
 
I didn't buy a Spyderco Caly 3 in G-10 until they were discontinued. I'm very disappointed I waited so long.
 
Schrade Cliphanger, circa 2002. Thumb protrusion that made opening weird as hell, the flimsiest liner lock I've ever seen. A standard single-edge razor blade (not a utility blade) is actually thicker. Scales were cheap plastic, and no liners. I could squeeze the locking liner closed with minimal pressure by actually flexing the scales. Incredible POS.
 
My Hubertus 4" leverlock let me down. The action was weak right out of the box. After I fired it a few time the spring fell out on the floor. I re-set it but it never really worked as intended. I won't sell it to anybody like this so it's been retired to my CCC drawer until I bite the bullet and send it to Bill D to get it right .To bad it's a nice looking knife.

 
Sword and Shield said:
Schrade Cliphanger, circa 2002. Thumb protrusion that made opening weird as hell, the flimsiest liner lock I've ever seen. A standard single-edge razor blade (not a utility blade) is actually thicker. Scales were cheap plastic, and no liners. I could squeeze the locking liner closed with minimal pressure by actually flexing the scales. Incredible POS.
Click to expand...

I remember wanting a Clip Hanger when they first came out. Glad I didn't!
 
7 pages so far and not one single mention of a disappointing CRK, maybe I'll buy one. I just got a XM18 spanto and for the money I was not very happy to see a torn Teflon washer and discoloration on the inside of the lockbar near the detent ball. Machine flaw, idk. Probably not a huge deal I know, but its still mildly irksome for a new $500+ knife. Don't get me wrong, I love the XM-18 but I might start flirting with the idea of a CRK sebbie especially since no one has made mention of them in this "disappointment" thread.
 
Just got in a knife I got for my brother for his birthday. Wish I would have got one for me too, very disappointed.
 
I also once got a spyderco deli that had a chipped spine and was scratched to hell like it was a return that somebody sent back but not before they beat the hell out of it.
I contacted FogDog sports where I got it to fefund or replace and the guy said that he had no way of knowing that I didn't cause the damage and they would not be able to help me. I waited for a second and before I could even get one syllable out the line disconnected. Real sweethearts
 
After owning CRK Sebenza and a Rockstead Higo, many knives seem to disappoint me in comparison. However, one of them really stands out. My Mikkel Willumsen midtech Maddox. The knife is just...off. I like the design, but that's about it. When I got it, the knife deployed fast, which was good. However, there was significant blade-play, which is unacceptable in a knife that costs that much. The centering was also off a bit. In order to fix the blade-play, I tightened the pivot, but to remove blade-play completely, it has to be over tightened, which stops the knife from deploying so fast. Tightening the pivot also made the centering even worse, almost to where the blade touches the frame. In order to find a happy medium, I loosened the pivot just enough so that the blade-play was not so much, and the centering was only off by a little, but after a few openings, the pivot loosened up more. All in all, a very disappointing purchase.
 
Cold Steel Triple Action
I got the double edge one and it is a hoot to flip....Then you fluff the opening, the handles hit the edge ( or the point!) and put a notch in the steel that takes an hour to remove. The edge or point digs lumps out of the inside of the handles at the same time
The alloy of the handles is butter soft- the pivots wear fast, get sloppy and it's impossible to get them tight again. The whole thing gets very loose and rattly.
Even without the handles bashing the edge, edge retention on the steel is worse than the £5 Chinese Leatherman clone in my toolbox.
Also- a complete lack of any noticeable grip on the polished alloy of the handles
A shame.

SOG Flash 2
Great blade in the tanto form, superb edge retention, lovely polish....the nice bits stop there.
Slop in the blade in all 3 dimensions after light usage.
Lock is wobbly and lazy too.
Handle appears to be made from the same cheap plastic they make Poundshop toys from. Horrible- with so poor a texturing that the AO action 'recoil' flipped it out of my hand more than once.
Not worth the money.

Spyderco Double Bevel-
Much smaller and lighter than I expected. Couldn't get on with the blade shape at all- I so wanted to like it after hemming and hawing for a while, but it just didn't cut well enough, despite the high sharpness. The microbevel 'transition' between the thick area and the thin areas of the blade had a noticeable step.
Plus I had the blade bounce off my thumbnail on closing a couple of times. It was going to be a case of "When" not "If" I was heading to A&E for stitches.

CRKT M16-12Z
Blunt, couldn't get it sharp.
Utterly unergonomic.
The thumbstuds are cosmetic and the flipper action dragged.
The sharpest thing on the knife was the jimping- which actually cut me.
And that AutoLAWKs is the work of the devil- only there (to my mind) to stave off potential litigation.
Hated it.
 
I'm still reasonably new to collecting, but so far I'd have to say the Buck Vantage that I bought (and returned) to Sportsmans Warehouse. For a flipper, it sure had trouble flipping smoothly. I personally think the flipper protusion is just a little too small to make it work without some wrist action.
 
demoncase said:
Cold Steel Triple Action
I got the double edge one and it is a hoot to flip....Then you fluff the opening, the handles hit the edge ( or the point!) and put a notch in the steel that takes an hour to remove. The edge or point digs lumps out of the inside of the handles at the same time
The alloy of the handles is butter soft- the pivots wear fast, get sloppy and it's impossible to get them tight again. The whole thing gets very loose and rattly.
Even without the handles bashing the edge, edge retention on the steel is worse than the £5 Chinese Leatherman clone in my toolbox.
Also- a complete lack of any noticeable grip on the polished alloy of the handles
A shame.

SOG Flash 2
Great blade in the tanto form, superb edge retention, lovely polish....the nice bits stop there.
Slop in the blade in all 3 dimensions after light usage.
Lock is wobbly and lazy too.
Handle appears to be made from the same cheap plastic they make Poundshop toys from. Horrible- with so poor a texturing that the AO action 'recoil' flipped it out of my hand more than once.
Not worth the money.

Spyderco Double Bevel-
Much smaller and lighter than I expected. Couldn't get on with the blade shape at all- I so wanted to like it after hemming and hawing for a while, but it just didn't cut well enough, despite the high sharpness. The microbevel 'transition' between the thick area and the thin areas of the blade had a noticeable step.
Plus I had the blade bounce off my thumbnail on closing a couple of times. It was going to be a case of "When" not "If" I was heading to A&E for stitches.

CRKT M16-12Z
Blunt, couldn't get it sharp.
Utterly unergonomic.
The thumbstuds are cosmetic and the flipper action dragged.
The sharpest thing on the knife was the jimping- which actually cut me.
And that AutoLAWKs is the work of the devil- only there (to my mind) to stave off potential litigation.
Hated it.
Click to expand...

Thats a double on the SOG Flash ll. It opened alright, but it felt so poorly made that a stiff wind might break it.
 
Last edited:
dustyGmt said:
7 pages so far and not one single mention of a disappointing CRK, maybe I'll buy one. I just got a XM18 spanto and for the money I was not very happy to see a torn Teflon washer and discoloration on the inside of the lockbar near the detent ball. Machine flaw, idk. Probably not a huge deal I know, but its still mildly irksome for a new $500+ knife. Don't get me wrong, I love the XM-18 but I might start flirting with the idea of a CRK sebbie especially since no one has made mention of them in this "disappointment" thread.
Click to expand...

I bought a large Sabenza some time ago and although it worked perfectly fine , I was just underwhelmed by it. IMO no matter what inlays they put on it to pretty it up , it's still just so blah. Could be that the true "beauty" of this thing is that it will last for many years and that's when one can really appreciate it. Or so I've been told. But for over $500 I want more. I have Spydercos and ZT's with superior blade steels and they have lasted years and years while possessing much more attractive aesthetics. But to each his own.

I have nothing against the Seb. But after reading people rave about them , I was just a little disappointed to see that it was merely "meh". That's my opinion anyway.
 
7 pages and not one single mention of a disappointing CRK...
Click to expand...

Page 5

senoBDEC said:
4. Two 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.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Same thing happened to me wolverine. I started with a few CRK when I really got into knives, but after owning other brands I realized how plain they were. Perfect fit and finish but too bland for me...
 
I paid $650 for a 3" Hinderer XM-18 about a year ago, I'll admit mostly to see what the hype was about. For the life of me couldn't figure out why people would pay those prices for that knife. Sold it a week later for $750.
 
Matteo Escobar said:
I paid $650 for a 3" Hinderer XM-18 about a year ago, I'll admit mostly to see what the hype was about. For the life of me couldn't figure out why people would pay those prices for that knife. Sold it a week later for $750.
Click to expand...

As a teenager up til a couple years ago I mainly had sub $40 knives such as Gerber assisted openers, sogs and the like. Never really put much thought into what kind of knife I bought but after getting into knives for a lil while and about 15 spydercos later I got it into my head like an infectious brain disease that I needed an RHK.
After about a month or so of really pursuing one I finally got a 3" XM and a few small criticisms aside I had never had anything of that caliber quality wise in a knife. I think ricks selling practices and the chase involved coupled with the price of the knife irks people but when I actually look at the knife and flip it open I think its one of the best I've ever seen but that's just my 2¢ but then again I didn't pay $650 for mine I paid $450 so not as bad of a sting I suppose
 
I'm decently new to the knife industry after migrating from torches--an industry completely saturated with cheap (cheap price, not necessarily quality) Chinese stuff. Right now I'm the proud owner of 4 knives, my original Buck mini taclite, a black PM2, a Sebenza 21 large insingo, and a yellow case sodbuster jr. While It's hard to lay blame on a knife that cost less than $25.00, the Sodbuster Jr. isn't really much to be excited about. It came with scales that look like they were grinded by a drunk man, and I can't seem to find a use for it in my EDC lineup. Now, you may say this is a ridiculous notion because it's competing for my pocket against two of the greatest knives money can buy, the PM2 which costs as much as 5 Sodbuster Jr's, and the Insingo which costs as much 20 Sodbuster Jr's. But before you discount my most disappointing knife purchase, I bought my business partner an Ontario Rat 2 for his birthday recently, and it cost $5.00 more than the Sodbuster Jr., and it's an absolute gem!! I'm actually going to buy a Rat 1 in coyote brown just so I can give some relief to my PM2 while my Insingo is on vacation in Idaho. In Case' defense, the knife is manufactured in America, is extremely simply built and attractive (IMO), and would probably outlive cockroaches and dirt in a nuclear blast. I just can't find a use for it beyond cutting night crawlers when I go fishing.
 
jtwodogs said:
I know I will probably catch a lot of flak for this but I gotta speak my mind.
Have had several Busse knives and kin. While they may be extremely tough, I have yet to be able to sharpen one to shave super thin paper. I know that is not a huge test of any knife. But I like to think that it is possible.
It may be the composition of Infi steel, large carbides of what ever.
I am pretty sure it is not my sharpening skills, as I have attain that type of sharpness with just about every other steel out there. I once sent a bear cub back to Busse to be sharpened, it came back to me pretty much the way it left me.
Click to expand...

That is why I never managed to get interested in them. Cutting thin paper is pretty minimal in my book... I think they do these edges because with all the weight (22-28 ounces in some?) the things get deeply stuck in wood when chopping, so they can't make them really sharp: The problem of diminishing returns would become too obvious... Then a 17 ounces San Mai III Trailmaster comes along, and it does stick itself in a few times, but basically it goes through a log quicker... Maybe some models are hollow ground and do better, but I wonder: I've seen videos of Battle Mistresses losing out in chopping: I'd like to see some videos of them winning... Cliff Stamp used to be a big proponent of Busse, but I'm sure the things were heavily, heavily re-profiled...

Gaston
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top