My James - The Kline experience ...

[JZB]

Recently purchased a secondhand MIB Kline with original receipt. Upon further scrutinisation at home, I noted that there was substantial "rocking" motion once the blade is moved from locked open toward the closed position. This motion was brought about by a the pivot pin which was smaller than the blade hole and so on... After disassembly of the knife I have concluded that this knife whilst Made in the USA is definitely not playing in the price class being sold at from both a workmanship and technology perspective. The pivot pin measure .187 thou and the blade hole .191 thou. Tried to upload some pics ... no success. The date code on the Blade is: "23.04"

I contacted James with my story and hereunder is their reply:

"Hi Johannes,

Thank you for providing the additional information and measurements. I appreciate your thoroughness in addressing the issue with your knife.

After reviewing the date code, I can confirm that this particular knife was manufactured by a previous supplier. I want to assure you that there should not be any blade play or rocking at the pivot; this is indeed unusual for this model. It appears that this discrepancy may have been overlooked during the quality control process, and I sincerely apologize for the disappointment this has caused you.

Regarding your question about the pivot pin screw threads, I currently do not have the specific specifications for the proprietary threads used in this model.

Your feedback is invaluable to us, and I will ensure that it is shared with our product team for further review. We strive to maintain high standards of quality, and your experience helps us improve.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you enjoy your knife moving forward.

Best,
TJB Team"

 

[Weiss]

Well, swell of them to acknowledge the error, but a new or repaired knife would be sweller.

 

[Quiet]

"Thanks for letting us know your knife (that has our name on it) is deficient! Have a great day!"

A trash response, honestly, and one that would have me responding along the lines of:

"TJB Team,

I actually do have further questions and concerns. A concern that this knife is deficient, which brings the question of "How are you going to make this right?" It has your name on it as it is your product, and this is clearly a manufacturing defect, so I'm requesting a shipping slip so I can send this knife back to you for repair or replacement. Thank you for your understanding, and if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out!"

- JZB

 

[stonesell]

It looks like they have a return policy that can be followed. I agree that their response did not address your issue, and seemed somewhat evasive. You can always try doing a chargeback, if they decline any responsibility. Next time, just start a return on a folding knife that is unsatisfactory, and do not try a home repair, which can void the warranty.

 

[brownshoe]

Per their website warranty you should be covered:

“TJB guarantees that all of our products are free from manufacturers' defects in material and workmanship. This warranty does not cover loss, theft, or damages caused by misuse, abuse, alterations, accidents, neglect, improper sharpening, broken blades, and normal wear and tear. The use of our products outside their intended purpose is considered abuse and will not be covered by warranty. - If you have any TJB product that has stopped performing before its reasonable lifetime (not due to misuse or neglect), please give us a call and we promise to make it right - Like all tools, our knives require proper maintenance to function properly and are subject to normal wear and tear Knives and other products put to hard use for extended periods of time may eventually reach the end of their service life and should be retired from use and replaced.”

However the website is full of a bunch of hipster BS. There is very little clear information about who designs their knives, how they are made, and where they are manufactured. The background video tells you how cool their buyers are and nothing about company origin, the founders, what custom knifemakers participate in their work. They have an article about skater/photographer, Arto Sarri w/o any knife content. They seem like they are selling good feelings rather than cutlery.

I hope you can get them to honor their warranty. You should ask again and quote their warranty to them. If being reasonable doesn’t work, they may respond to a link to this thread.

 

[RoyalHolic]

The hipster knife brand doesn't cut to the chase............

 

[JZB]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for your comments .... Received the undermentioned message from "The James Brand" Team a few days ago, to which I responded yes for an exchange!

Waiting for their instructions on how to proceed from here....

Will keep you posted.

Hi Johannes,

I hope this message finds you well. I want to sincerely thank you for your patience and for sharing your detailed feedback regarding the issues you encountered with your Kline knife. We truly value your insights, as they help us uphold the quality and standards we strive for.

Understanding the disappointment you've experienced, we would like to offer you an exchange for a new Kline knife. We believe this will provide you with the satisfaction you deserve and ensure that you have a product that meets our quality expectations.

If you would like to proceed with the exchange, please let us know, and we will guide you through the process to make it as seamless as possible. Your satisfaction is our priority, and we want to ensure that you have a positive experience with our products.

Thank you once again for your understanding and for giving us the opportunity to make this right. We look forward to your response.

Best,
TJB Team

 

[JZB]

Hi Folks,

Subsequently The James Brand has agreed to replace my knife with a new one.

Returned my Kline to them about a week ago and learned yesterday that a new replacement was due to ship today.

Will keep you posted.

 

[JZB]

Hi Folks,

Just received a new Kline knife from TJB.

Fit for purpose product, for what it is supposed to be. ... a rugged everyday use knife.

The value of this knife is however highly debatable as it pertains to price and material finish/furnishing. (Blade excluded which is very good)

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

I would have been more emotionally invested if there were pics In any case, thanks for the heads up.

 

[JZB]

I would have been more emotionally invested if there were pics In any case, thanks for the heads up.

HI, Good point however could not manage to upload pics.

Can I send you a few supporting pics at this e-mail address?


Regards

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

HI, Good point however could not manage to upload pics.

Can I send you a few supporting pics at this e-mail address?


Regards

You can use a free image host like IMG BB, in that way you dont need to be a member to post pics. Need to learn how to do it sometime anyway

Oh and if you could edit my email out I'd appreciate it. I dont think spam bots index "signatures" the same way they do forum posts.

Much obliged!

Ps, there are a few tutorials on BF search, in how to post pics here.

 

[JZB]

Hi,

Thanks for the interest ... Sent a few pics via e-mail ...

Hope it works ... will gladly edit and remove your e-mail address, yet this forum does seemingly not allow me to edit incoming mail ... only outgoing, I.e. Mine.

Regards