Nitpickety

JJHollowman

JJHollowman

Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Messages
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Maybe it's me, but when I buy a knife or other weapon I buy it with the assumption that it's mine for life. I'm not going to be trading it or selling it. To each his own, but sometimes I read posts here and in other forums that are downright "nitpickety" in my honest opinion. Some stuff is worth a hassle to send a knife back to the maker, like blade centering, or failure to fire with an auto, or a glaring visual defect, but other things, like color not being exactly what was pictured, maybe off a tiny shade, or sharpness, or a heap of other things I see people gripe about just seem nitpickety. I wonder if makers and retailers don't get those returns and think "oh joy, another pain in the butt", and then add that person's name on a list of people to be wary of. I'd like to hear feedback on how reasonable expectations of satisfaction should be. Is there a point where it's being nitpickety? Does the price matter, considering I'm certainly more vigilant on something costing $500 than $100? Is there an expectation by manufacturers and makers that a certain amount of "smoothing out, tweaking, and repair" should be done at home by the purchaser? I'm just wondering, because on any given new offering thread here you're likely to see 2-3 people sending knives back over an issue, some not so serious, some glaringly so.
 
I've seen a few that make me shake my head a bit. I suppose I buy my knives with the intention of using and I am proficient enough at reprofiling/sharpening, but people that get bent out of shape over uneven grind lines has always given me a chuckle.
 
Here's my nitpick.

I don't consider a knife to be a weapon. It's a tool.

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The only knife I sent back was a Sukhoi 2.0........they forgot to put an edge, any edge at all, on it.
I see people whining over FF on a $60 knife, demanding perfection. Really??
Might've worded my response differently in W&C!
Joe
 
I always shake my head at "when I apply all my strength to the blade, there is a tiny bit of blade play, is this acceptable?" Exaggerated maybe just a bit but still.
 
palonej said:
The only knife I sent back was a Sukhoi 2.0........they forgot to put an edge, any edge at all, on it.
I see people whining over FF on a $60 knife, demanding perfection. Really??
Might've worded my response differently in W&C!
Joe
Click to expand...

See, now on a near $400 knife, I would probably find myself moderately upset about an oversight like letting a knife through QC with no edge. I don't understand going ballistic over slightly off center, near indiscernible blade play that can be fixed with 1/32 turn on the pivot screw, or a pocket clip thats not in the ideal position. At some point, you have to come to grips with the fact that you bought a mass produced tool and go out and use it. Obviously, none of this should apply to buying a high dollar custom.
 
jpm2 said:
I've never sent a knife back or in for warranty.
Click to expand...

Neither have I.

The point about the difference between those who use their knives and those who just collect or flip is well-taken. If I bought an expensive knife new, I suppose I'd return it if it had a noteworthy flaw, but part of the reason for buying expensive knives is their consistently high quality.
 
I used to be much more nitpicky than I am now. But IMHO when spending $100+ on a simple tool like a knife, you should be picky. Paying $100 for something with defects and not holding the company accountable then you essentially set their quality standard by saying its ok that they sell items with finish flaws as perfect. Either way, everyone is in this for their own reasons and we all put our knives through different uses. There is no wrong or right. Bottom line when you buy a new product, it better be new. Just because its a tool and is going to get beat up doesn't mean the customer should give up the right to put that first scratch in the product.
 
To be clear, my failure to return or send any knife in for warranty is not due to my acceptance of flawed products. I've not received a new knife that had any issue that could not be set right by pivot adjustment, lubrication, or simple break in. I've also not had any knives develop problems that required warranty service.

Just lucky, I guess. :cheerful:
 
Just yesterday, I took apart a brand new knife to remove metal from the inside of the back spacer, where the blade was hitting when it snapped close. If I had not felt comfortable doing that, I would have just continued to sharpen the edge down till it no longer made contact.
The blade had some spotting on it. I spent about a minute with iron oxide crocus cloth to make it flawless.
The rest of the knife was fine, and now "perfect".
In the next few weeks it'll get beat up and none of that will matter. I did this stuff "just because", plus a good excuse to take it apart.
 
I have only ever returned one knife, it as an $800 Semi-Custom that had a defect in the coating resulting in random specs of blade steel showing through the coating. This to me was big enough to warrant a return. Now warranty work is different one a knife has an issue (lock rock or such) It goes back as having an expensive $400+ folder with lock rock is unacceptable to myself personally.
 
I sent my Umnumzaan in to CRK to be made mechanically perfect because that's what I'm buying in a CRK. I sure ain't buying one for their incredible styling.
 
I think there is a huge difference between being overly picky and just getting what you paid for.
I don't put any new knives under an electron microscope, but I'll check them out. I won't send a knife back if I can adjust or fix tiny issues.
They are being mass produced and will never be perfect.
There have been threads started by people sending $30 knives back with an off centered blade. That's a bit much.
Joe
 
As a weapon I would not care, a shank will do, but also have a good lawyer and some luck (you open up a can of worms, when you show a blade). As a day to day tool, I have bigger expectations as far as fit and function for a folding knife from a reputable maker. I want to get the product that made the maker reputable/popular and try not to settle for anything less with my money...a reputable maker will have a good warranty to back up their product, so I will use it, I would be an idiot not to. A no name brand, you get what you pay for
 
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