Fred, a similar incident happened to me. I sent in a 105 which had a broke blade. A dumb move by my nephew while field dressing a buck. I was not present when he did it but I heard about it and he admitted to it. So, I took the knife and sent it in to Buck. After examining it, they sent me a new knife with a letter, thanking me for being a Buck customer. Also, in the package was a check signed by Chuck Buck, paying me for the cost of shipping the knife to them. I thought about it for a day or two and decided 'NO'. This is not right. So, I sat down and wrote Buck a letter about this incident. Explaining how I suspected my nephew abused the knife during use and included a check for the knife. Thanking them for being a good American company. In return I received a letter from Chuck Buck thanking me for this. I still have the letter and check. I never deposited it. I write this just to give you some ideas on how to handle this matter. DM