New Knives that aren't perfect

I am pretty picky about new things I buy also, user or not. If i bought something new I expect it to be new. Now if you should get something used that a different story.

On the other hannd maybe its just knife fashion, kinda like the jeans people buy that already have holes worn in the knees.:p

I dont buy those either though so what do I know.
 
My BM 913D2 Stryker touches the right liner and I have tried to fix that, but I will just live with it.
 
jill jackson said:
You order a brand new knife and wait with great anticipation.
Only to get it open up the box and it's not so perfect.:mad:
Has a little nick or scratch someplace, the edge isn't ground so evenly, or maybe the lock-up isn't as perfect as you'd like.
Do you live with it or send it back?
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I generally notice it, make a note of it, and then live with it. Very rarely do I send anything back because of a small aesthetic flaw. Almost all the knives I have seen in my life (countless) have had some kind of imperfections, visually - scratches, small dents somewhere on the blade or handle (not on the edge), unevenly ground edges and especially tips and such. Slightly uneven grinds in particular (and at the tip of the blade especially) are extremely common even in expensive knives - from hand-made folding knives to traditional Finnish puukkos made by even skilled smiths to heavily built hard use knives like Busses. I notice it, but I don't care. If it doesn't affect performance, it isn't much of a problem for me. :) I have a very sharp eye for all kinds of imperfections, though, and some of them I actually like as kind of a beauty mark that makes that blade unique in a way. :D Where I see some kind of a flaw, most people don't notice anything, because they don't look very carefully.
 
If the knife were unusable, that would be one thing. But as long as it works, I'm good to go.

If I bought expensive knives, I might be pickier than I am. But, I don't buy expensive knives, so blemishes don't bother me.
 
id say it depends.

for instance, if i bought a nib ug sebenza, i would expect that it not have any scratches on the scales and the graphic colors to be as advertized. if its going to get scratched, its going to be my fault.

when i received my s90v millie, i noticed the backspacer was not flush with the scales, it is slightly inset. but the blade was perfect, no scratches, and the grind was even. its going to be a user, so i dont care about the backspacer.

when i buy a strider folder, i know exactly what im getting. i know the tiger stripe coating wont be perfect, but the fit/finish on everything else is always excellent.

i always expect solid lockup, a centered blade, and no or minimal blade play on every folder.

fortunately, ive never had to send one back to any company or maker for lock or blade issued.
 
jill jackson said:
You order a brand new knife and wait with great anticipation.
Only to get it open up the box and it's not so perfect.:mad:
Has a little nick or scratch someplace, the edge isn't ground so evenly, or maybe the lock-up isn't as perfect as you'd like.
Do you live with it or send it back?
I'm pretty picky about anything I buy brand-new and I just sent a high-dollar knife back because it had a mark on both sides of the blade, from the handle rubbing a mite. Very small marks but the knife retailed for 350 and I wouldn't live with it. (doesn't matter the brand it can happen to any of them)
How bad does it bother other members when a new knife isn't just as perfect as you'd hoped for? How much does it take to make you send it back?
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As I basically said in the other thread you may be referencing, it depends on the knife.

If its a Strider intended for hard use, who cares? They just don't come from the factory in perfect condition; sometimes they have some scuffs or scrapes or whathave you.

If its a Microtech, MOD, Chris Reeve, or some other knife where it is generally expected that the knife will be more or less pristine upon arrival to the first customer, it's a different story.

Personally, I'm extraordinarily anal about stuff like that and I'm trying to get better about it. I'm glad the MOD Mk1 I just bought has a few little dings and imperfections because it will help me not feel so bad as I use the knife.

It also depends if you intend to USE the knife or not. If it's going to sit in a display case, yes, it better be perfect. If its going to be a user, then who cares if it has a ding or two as long as it does not affect functionality?
 
One thing that has always bugged me, is off-center blades. Price doesn't seem to be a factor, nor does country of manufacture. I have yet to have a blade off-center to the point that it hits a liner, but if it did, back it would go.

From my experience, Kershaw and Benchmade have the greatest number of consistently centered blades and much as it pains me to say it, Spyderco and Buck seem to have the greatest frequency of off-center blades. In all cases, price doesn't seem to be a factor. I have a greater number of Byrds with crack on centering, than I do Spydies. Go figure.
 
I only buy users and I don't buy customs, so that limits me to production knives that are intended to be carried and used. That said, it depends on the kind of flaw.

If the flaw indicates an ongoing problem with the knife (like a lock problem or an off-centered blade), then I'll return it for another or send it in for CS to fix it. If it's a one-time flaw like a scratch on the blade or handle, or uneven bevels on an otherwise sharp blade, none of that matters much to me since I'm gonna put my own scratches and bevel on the blade anyway over time.
 
Is being a bit off-center when closed really a defect?
As long as the blade doesn't rub the liners and the gap is even on both sides the entire length?
Seems Manixes all are a little uneven in that respect to me. Looking at them it's hard to say if it's the blade grind that makes them appear a bit off or something else, but it sure doesn't hurt the way the blade locks up and I've never seen one rub the liner.
To tell the truth I never would have noticed it without reading so many fellow members talking here about it!
 
jill jackson said:
Is being a bit off-center when closed really a defect?
As long as the blade doesn't rub the liners and the gap is even on both sides the entire length?
Seems Manixes all are a little uneven in that respect to me. Looking at them it's hard to say if it's the blade grind that makes them appear a bit off or something else, but it sure doesn't hurt the way the blade locks up and I've never seen one rub the liner.
To tell the truth I never would have noticed it without reading so many fellow members talk here about it!
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I own three large Manixes and one mini. All mine are centered enough to look centered but one of my Large FG's is super tight at the pivot and more than 3/4 to the left when looking at it from the tip back. I'm sending that one in this week for service because of both issues. It's NIB. This is what really gets me. A super nice knife that is either assembled without care of has a flaw that Q/C allowed through. I hate to say it because they are my favorite production knife and someone else already mentioned it but I have had more off centered blades from Spyderco than any other big name production knife, not including Spyderco's Seki City knives. The fit and finish is much better from Seki City on a volume basis. IMHO of course.

The Spyderco's are really hard to soften the Loctite so I am going to let Spyderco fix it rather than me stripping the screws.

I've actually had one BM710 that had a slightly bent blade and that is why it was not centered. It's not always just assembly. It can be a hole punched off center or a slightly bent tang, etc. That is why off centered blades bug me, you don't really know what the issue is sometimes.
 
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Being as how I probably put the "A" in anal, I want perfection in everything I buy. But I'm also realistic and know it ain't gonna' happen! I've tinkered with enough knives to be able to fix or improve things on my own, such as lock fit, and lock stiffness. I've also been able to center most any blade that comes to me uncentered. As far as stiffness in the locking, I like more stiffness than most come with, in fact of all the knives I've had only one came with a lock I didn't try to improve and that was the Blade-Tech Rijbak. Well, I never tried to improve anything from CRK either, but that is a given!:D The only time I've ever sent a knife back was when the knife came obviously flawed with some type manufacturer defect and that's only happened a time or two. Another thing I've done to minimize dissapointment is to do my research on the knife. For the longest time I would not buy a ZT0200 because I actually thought it was too cheap to be any good....talk about a snob!:o, then I got one and I've never looked back. Another one was the ZT0500 MUDD. Thought it was too light at the advertised 4.8 ounces to be my type of carry knife, but finally took a chance, and much to my delight it actually weighed in at 6.8 ounces. Scratches and nicks have not been a real problem for me as knives I've gotten have always seemed to come in fine condition. There was one occassion where I bought a Case slipjoint, sight unseen, from a local B&M. Got out to the car and looked at it and the bolsters were scratched up something awful, so I went back in and traded it for another one that was perfect.
 
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A while back I bought a new Spyderco S90V Military with a blade as off center as it could be without touching the inside of the scales. I shelled out $200+ for it. I told myself I wouldn't let it bother me. Then I saw this thread. Now it bothers me!

It's been a long time since I sent something back to a manufacturer. It's a PIA. You pay the shipping, and you wait. Will Spyderco even replace a knife when all that's wrong is an off center blade? If not, why bother? :confused:
 
KeithAM said:
A while back I bought a new Spyderco S90V Military with a blade as off center as it could be without touching the inside of the scales. I shelled out $200+ for it. I told myself I wouldn't let it bother me. Then I saw this thread. Now it bothers me!

It's been a long time since I sent something back to a manufacturer. It's a PIA. You pay the shipping, and you wait. Will Spyderco even replace a knife when all that's wrong is an off center blade? If not, why bother? :confused:
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My S90V Millie was way off center when I got it. To the degree that it rubbed.

I removed the pivot, twisted the scales just enough to remove the blade without removing the lanyard tube, cleaned it and reassembled and it came back perfectly straight.

That's the good news.


The bad news is that when that happens you know for certain that the $200 (give or take) knife was simply assembled with little care about the fit and finish. This bugs me. The other two elements to worry about when this happens is you face paying to ship your knife back to the MFG which adds money to what you paid, just so you can get it out of the box the way you'd expect it to be. Also, disassembling your knife will void the warranty by many MFG's. Even if that is a veiled threat or not you think about it.

The bottom line is, if you can straighten a blade yourself by reassembling it then it should have been that way from the factory unless you are buying a $20 knife.
 
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KeithAM said:
A while back I bought a new Spyderco S90V Military with a blade as off center as it could be without touching the inside of the scales. I shelled out $200+ for it. I told myself I wouldn't let it bother me. Then I saw this thread. Now it bothers me!

It's been a long time since I sent something back to a manufacturer. It's a PIA. You pay the shipping, and you wait. Will Spyderco even replace a knife when all that's wrong is an off center blade? If not, why bother? :confused:
Click to expand...

I would say yes, they should. If the blade cannot be centered at all then something is amiss in the knife. An off centered hole, bad punch or a invisibly bent blade, etc.
 
I want that knife to be close to Perfect. I once bought an inexpensive ball-lock folder, $10. that had a perfect, uniform edge, better than my newly arrived Emerson. I had Emerson swap this knife for another one.
 
KeithAM said:
A while back I bought a new Spyderco S90V Military with a blade as off center as it could be without touching the inside of the scales. I shelled out $200+ for it. I told myself I wouldn't let it bother me. Then I saw this thread. Now it bothers me...
Click to expand...

Reeek said:
My S90V Millie was way off center when I got it. To the degree that it rubbed.

I removed the pivot, twisted the scales just enough to remove the blade without removing the lanyard tube, cleaned it and reassembled and it came back perfectly straight.

That's the good news.


The bad news is that when that happens you know for certain that the $200 (give or take) knife was simply assembled with little care about the fit and finish. This bugs me. The other two elements to worry about when this happens is you face paying to ship your knife back to the MFG which adds money to what you paid, just so you can get it out of the box the way you'd expect it to be. Also, disassembling your knife will void the warranty by many MFG's. Even if that is a veiled threat or not you think about it.

The bottom line is, if you can straighten a blade yourself by reassembling it then it should have been that way from the factory unless you are buying a $20 knife.
Click to expand...

Coincidentially, one of my S90V Millies is quite off center as well, but in all fairness, it is the only one of the four CF Millies that is. It is now my 'user'.

A quick check in my Spyderco drawer revealed the following -

S90V Millie (Golden) = Off center.
BG-42 Millie (Golden) = Centered
S30V Millie (Golden) = Centered
ZDP-189 Caly 3 (Golden) = Centered
Volpe (Italy) = Centered
Tenacious (China) = Centered
Sage (Taiwan) = Centered
Para-Millie (Golden) = Off Center
PE Police (Seki) = Off Center
Police 3 (Seki) = Off Center
Native (Golden) = Centered
CatByrd (China) = Centered
Cara Cara G-10 (China) = Centered
Flight G-10 (China) = Centered
Crossbill G-10 (China) = Off Center
Raven (China) = Centered
Flight SS (China) = Centered

The above is just a small sample, but I think that it shows a trend. The domestic Spydies seem to be hit and miss and the Seki Spydies are not much better. Taiwan is at least as good as Seki, when you consider the Sage and China is trying more and more to upgrade it's quality.

Don't get me wrong as I am only looking at centering here. The overall fit and finish of Spyderco products is excellent and Spyderco is still my most purchased knife line. Now if only they could work on that centering...
 
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I send it back. I've tried to "live with it" before, but I work hard for my money, and I like to get my money's worth.

I recently received a pretty expensive knife (for my budget) with uneven edge grinds, a back lock with a lot of play, and a few pretty notable cosmetic defects.

Sent it back to the manufacturer, and they fixed the locking problem, but ignored the grind and the cosmetic problems.

On a brand new knife, that's just not acceptable to me. I've ended up having to return it to the seller because I'm tired of dealing with it.

I love getting new knives, but I absolutely agree--when you spend a lot of coin on a brand new, "high end" knife and you expect certain reasonable things from it, it's really disappointing to to get a knife you really like where the quality just isn't up to par.
 
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