New Strider failure

[DaveH]

I'm flummoxed as to why people would accept anywhere near that kind of failure rate and still patronize the company

It's COOL, It's BADASS, It's BITCHIN! That's why. Since when to people make rational descisions?

how in the heck is a production folder worth $400

Totally different issue unrelated to the topic at hand.

 

[hardheart]

I would think it is related in some ways. People don't have to be 100% rational and pragmatic in their choice of cutlery, but when the particular product is lauded for being bulletproof and made by a good guy/outstanding maker for the harshest environments, to me that generally equals to 'doesn't need warranty work new out of the box'. If it was just advertised and sold as an art knife, then QC issues may be less important as long as it still looked decent. But these aren't one of a kind works getting by on their looks (well...)

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Damn, there's a lot of assuming going on in this thread.

 

[spyken]

returning knives that do not work or have issues out of the box for an international buyer is very frustrating as we pay more for shipping, we pay customs duties, we endure full risk of shipping (usually because sellers/dealers don't want to), and we wait longer. if the knife ceases to work after a couple of years and you have to return it, ok...no problem...it's like a normal warranty issue. but if it doesn't work at all, then I think the dealer and/or manufacturer should pick up the tab for the shipping. that's only fair.

otherwise, your $400 knife soon becomes a $500 knife due to extra shipping.

if the acceptable rate of return is, say, 1%, then that 1% should not just be a statistic but a cost - materials and time AND expenses (including losses, damages owed to the buyer). I work for a chemical company and if the customer returns defective goods, we cover all the extra shipping and handling costs, and even cost of destruction should it be the case where there was no point returning the product. often, returns allow the manufacturer / seller to examine what went wrong and rectify it, in the effort to maintain and improve manufacturing standards. we call it product stewardship and continuing commitment.

that said, regardless of the loctite solution, you should really call Mick / Duane and speak to them about it. I don't think Mick or Duane would like a situation like this, and I think they do deserve a chance to make it right. Explain to Mick about your concerns on shipping costs, customs etc...and I'm confident he'll do the right thing. Just don't send a regular email to the customer service or general thing - they are a small shop and may not attend to emails as promptly as a large corporation with a dedicated customer service, and it may not have the same impact.

I know most custom makers would want the hear about issues, and would want the opportunity to make it right to their customers. They are usually knifeknuts themselves and they know the feeling.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Damn, there's a lot of assuming going on in this thread.

You got that right.

Strider vs. Sebenza, Spyderco vs. Benchmade, my daddy can beat your daddy, Chevy is better than Ford, Buy AMERICAN ... what else is new?

Some of it's assumptions, some of it's reading comprehension, some of it's Whine & Cheese.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

returning knives that do not work or have issues out of the box for an international buyer is very frustrating as we pay more for shipping, we pay customs duties, we endure full risk of shipping (usually because sellers/dealers don't want to), and we wait longer.

For a new knife which is defective, it would not be unreasonable to assume the manufacturer/maker would pay any cost to address as-made defects.

-Cliff

 

[spyken]

For a new knife which is defective, it would not be unreasonable to assume the manufacturer/maker would pay any cost to address as-made defects.

-Cliff

Cliff, I wish that there were the standard. But I have had to pay the additional shipping on several occasions with reputable knifemakers, something I was quite unhappy about...the fact is, it costs $10 to ship a knife to me USPS Global Priority, but it costs me $40 to ship it priority to the US. See how the cost add up? Even if the seller/maker shipped it back to free after repairs, I'm out of an additional $40 and have to endure wait time (some of them don't work on it right away).....

So for international buyers, these things can sometimes just be too much....

I try and stick with makers who are reputable and are known for great QC these days, and in the secondary market, I ask exact questions. Shit still happens, as I have now to resend a folder I just purchased back to the maker for a refurb cos the seller mis-described it (he did do the right thing and offered to pay shipping both ways, but the maker is quite backlogged)....

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Did you bring this up specifically and they told you that you had to eat the costs?

-Cliff

 

[notdos]

I may have misunderstood the post but if the knife came from an individual you shouldn't have posted this (imho) as it suggests that the knife came from the factory that way. If you did buy from an individual and it arrived in that condition the more appropriate post would have been in the gb&u about this person shipping a defective knife.
If the knife came from the factory that way,,it should have simply been returned for repair.
I would suugest that you never try to "repair or modify" a knife yourself as it may void the makers/manufactureres warranty.

Phillip

 

[hardheart]

Wasn't bought from an individual, plus sending it back is problematic in this case.

I thought about sending the SNG back to the company in the States i bought it from, but this could bring on some problems as i live far away in the Netherlands, not in the States.
In my country, things have a habit of disappearing when Dutch Customs are involved in any way, so i was happy to get it in the first place.

 

[Artfully Martial]

As Cliff mentioned earlier, minus conspiracy theories, the lockbar could not be the fault of a previous owner. Abuse makes the lockbar wear faster, not in reverse. The pivot perhaps though.

 

[GibsonFan]

Totally different issue unrelated to the topic at hand.

(I asked how a production folder could be worth $400)

It is 100% relevant. Marketing a product as vastly superior, and then charging 3-4 times the price of almost exactly-similar products infers an extremely high level of quality and performance. If I spend $10 at the gas station, I'll know there's a reason it's so cheap, and won't expect much from it. When you're talking aboiut a WEEK'S PAY (for many people), I expect a helluva lot more.

I think Lynn Thompson and Mick Strider should get together and go bowling. (anyone recognize that paraphrased quote?). EDIT bahahahah, I just noticed the "who is Strider Knives" q on the Strider site's FAQ brings up a blank page. Funny.

On the other hand, DaveH is right about ration and reason having little to do with many folks' buying decisions. After all, someone is buying all those Dark Ops knives and whatnot.

On the OTHER other hand, it appears I was mistaken about the voiding-the-warranty issue and I edited my previous post to reflect that. From their website:

What is Strider’s warranty?
Per Mick Strider:

"If you break it, I'll be impressed. If I can’t fix it, I will replace it."

"We'll fix anything, but we won't fix anything for free."

"We Guarantee that your knife will perform. We don’t guarantee that it wont get wear marks from use."

"Function and Sharpness are free, like new frills cost."

So I guess it will cost you? Or is the knife falling apart covered under "Function..., like new frills cost" (whatever that means.)

Thanks for this thread, after looking into it, I definitely won't be ordering any Strider products.

 

[Artfully Martial]

Well, *if* the Strider knives lived up to the rep, I can get why people pay 400+ for one. I probably wouldn't myself, but we all buy knives we don't need...there's a coolness factor built into having something billed as the toughest ever.

I even like the design of a lot of striders...the RCC I like a lot (not how it looks, but the nice choil and rounded RC based handle).

I'm betting even these days, a functional strider occasionally slips through the cracks and makes it to the consumer, and that one functional strider is probably pretty good. It's no Manix or 710, but I'll bet it performs acceptably.

It probably sounds like I've got this big thing against Striders. I really don't, it's just instances like this with any company would get me angry. Just a few threads ago in a ZT0300 review, I mentioned how much I liked his custom strider.

At least these days, Strider fans get the option to buy a Kershaw, so we know that will at least be put together well. Even more fortunate is that KO's interpretations of Striders are far more attractive and, in general, just seem like a superior design. And cost far less. Since the lockbar actually contacts the tang on Kershaw knives, that almost guarantees it's much tougher as well.

 

[Revierler]

Except, for one thing. Strider and T.A.D. ARE working on tritium thumbstuds for the SnG's and SMF's and by accounts the CC's. But, maybe that has nothing to do with this subject, but maybe everyone should know what they're talking about.

But they have none so far, as SnG and SMF require different sizes, and even more different sizes for correcting bladeplay if it occurs.

 

[Ravaillac]

(hey, people wake up, even $100 is a LOT for a knife)

This had to be said.

 

[T.K.C.]

I may have misunderstood the post but if the knife came from an individual you shouldn't have posted this (imho) as it suggests that the knife came from the factory that way. If you did buy from an individual and it arrived in that condition the more appropriate post would have been in the gb&u about this person shipping a defective knife.
If the knife came from the factory that way,,it should have simply been returned for repair.
I would suugest that you never try to "repair or modify" a knife yourself as it may void the makers/manufactureres warranty.

Phillip

I agree 100% with you Philip.

 

[n00b3r]

$400 for a production knife?
Hardly, with the "production" model, Strider uses the same process as the "custom" knives from CRK or emerson. Had over half a dozen Striders, none of them had any problems.

 

[Artfully Martial]

A production strider has nothing in common with a custom emerson. Custom emersons are far out of the league of even custom striders.

I don't think anyone believes CRK are customs either.

I think that CRKs are also hideously overpriced, but at least they're good at what they do.

And even if you were right, you would really have only accomplished that we should buy custom Emersons and production sebenzas instead of Strider. I'd agree with that much.

And again, why against the seller? I don't get it. There's no way the person the guy bought the knife from bent the lockbar out of the way of the tang.

If this story is legit (if), then I'm not going to pull any punches this time. There's no way they're going to walk away from this one with everyone singing merrily about how awesome Strider is and how cute it is we have to send our 400+ dollar knives back over 50% of the time we receive them.

 

[n00b3r]

How would you know, considering you never owned a Strider?
Over 50%? Just a thought, where did you get your stats from?
The only time I ever sent my strider back to Mick was when I couldn't get a proper sharpener.

Quick note, if strider knives are crap, the why is the SMF being issued to SOCOM members?

 

[hardheart]

if Striders aren't production knives, then how are they being issued to SOCOM members?