Northwoods Scagel

[crbauhs]

ok well here are my pics. i got the knife today, was reasonably sharp, after i stropped it. i reprofiled it. and everything. now it is redicuolsly sharp. my only beef witht the knife is 2 things. the stag is really thin in some places. im kinda afraid it might break. the other thing is what really bugs me. the knife is great when closed. no blade play or anything. but when it is open there is side to side play. i can see the scales and liners moving side to side. not alot of play but enough to bug me. is there anyway to tighten everything up without sending it back? i jsut got it and am not prepared to send it off for weeks at a time. kinda bugs me. so yeah. other than that, i love the knife. it is perfect size. if only it had no blade play. for 150 it should have been atleast no blade play...ok so that really bugs me. but i love the knife. grrr i wish it was perfect. is there anyway to tighten the scales and liners?

 

[sir woodley]

I can only imagine your disappointment. If it was me I'd send it back to be fixed. I figure you've lived your whole life without it so far, a couple more weeks it'll be back to be with you from here on out. The way it should be. I know it sux, but I think it'll be well worth it years from now. Good luck, M

 

[crbauhs]

well i want to send it back and i called askin bout their warrenty, but northwoods says they dont honor the warranty for bolsterless knives. im seriously pissed right now. contacting them adn trying to speak to the higher ups and whatnot. i guess i might have to look towards customs fixes but i already spent 160, i dont really wanna spend more now. college is expensive enough and now this...but i swear man, besides the bladeplay...wow..the spring is strong and the ergos are great. i jsut gotta get it fixed.

 

[kidwholaughs]

Maybe you could do an exchange?

 

[crbauhs]

i want to exchange it if i can. i know northwoods wont but maybe derrick will...i dunno

 

[cnas122]

Did you order it directly from northwoods knives? If so, I think you have a legit beef. Under the terms and conditions on their website, it states "if for any reason you are not pleased with your purchase please contact us. We will give you a refund if the item is returned within 10 days."

 

[Blues]

Relax. Talk to Derrick and I'm pretty sure he'll offer some solution to the problem.

Let's wait until reasonable options fail before starting a rant.

 

[crbauhs]

sorry blues not trying to rant, jsut frustrated. i am waiting till tomorrow so i can call derrick. from what ive heard he is a great guy who tries and helps us out alot. i also sent dave, from northwoods, an email asking if what i was told about the warranty is correct.

 

[crbauhs]

ok blues here is what has happened and anyone else whop may be interested. i just got a message from wendy saying that if i send it back to them, she'll ship me a new one and she'll personally check before it ships to look for blade play. As for northwoods, they say that they wont support it because "it is made of stag and everyone knows to not flex a blade with stag scales side to side." their words not mine i promise. but im mean not even the liners were tight. i could move the pivot pin up and down the scales cause it was so long. doesnt that strike you as odd? and a manufaturer defect? but wendy is making it all right, and derrick sent me an email saying to send it back to them too. so i am looking foreward to getting a good one, but im very dissapointed with northwoods.

 

[Will Power]

This sounds very odd. I've got quite a few stag scaled knives and a)no blade play in them b) they are thick knives.I cannot see why flexing a blade with stag scales is any more hazardous than with any other material, unless it is hyper thin and not attached properly....

Anybody else got thoughts on this?

 

[brownshoe]

I bought the first scagel single blade. The fit and finish was horrible, gaps between the spring and liners. Grind marks on the blade. It appeared the spring sides were not at right angles to the back, because the gap was on one side of the spring from the back, and the other side from the top, but the knife was real tight. The blade was dull, the grind thick and almost unuseable.

I was so pissed upon receipt that I thought about returning it, however the knife is shipped with no guarentee, no address, no phone number, no website and there is no guaretee on their website, so it is caveat emptor. I didn't ship it back to the purveyor since they had already "hand-picked" it. The stag was nice and smooth, and the swells were perfect for the hand; great for a user and what I wanted. It was tight with a strong backspring, so I put a scandi grind on it, polished out the grind marks, and used it hard. Although bolsterless and stag, the thick liners kept it all together and I've seen no blade play. However, found out the heat treat couldn't take the thin grind, and it chipped, but the steel was soft (good or bad I don't know) and i readily reprofiled about 1/2" of the tip to remove the chip. Now I use it only as a slicer, had it for 2-3 years, but no blade play. All in all, I wouldn't recomend Northwood's products, but I've only had one.

 

[crbauhs]

sadly bronsoe i wish mine was even as well put together as yours. it is pretty sad spending so much and they wont warrant it. buck warrants EVERYTHING and kershaw, benchmade, case,..etc and for much less. this too will be my last noorthwoods product.

 

[STR]

If you just want it fixed as a user there are folks around here that can fix that right up for you probably faster than NorthWoods could and since there is no warranty concern I don't see whats stopping you from contacting one of them.

There is a man I know out in Ohio by the name of Bob Picklesimer that could fix that thing up just about any way you wanted it and make it so stunning it would knock your socks off with new handle scales and anything else including file work if thats what you wanted.

There are always options. Take sour comments with a grain of salt including your own and don't jump to the conclusion based on one bad experience that all are this way from NorthWoods or any other company. I've bought, owned and used at least one of each of the Scagel models to keep in my collection since the first two blade folder came out and I have seconds and even thirds of some I've bought specifically for users or because I liked them after seeing one and they are overall fine examples of Scagel reproduction folders IMO.

By the way, natural handle materials, IE stag, horn, bone, and even wood to a large extent can have some natural flaws. Stag can have thin spots at times, be prone to some cracks etc etc. All that is usually expected by those that buy these natural handle materials. It goes with the territory. The side to side play is not going to affect how the folder works and many pinned slip joints have a bit of lateral movement. I've bought customs for a lot of money with lateral movement. If they peen it tighter you'll then complain about no spring many times or weaker spring snap to close it. Can it be tighter? Probably but for production pieces it can be tricky to get each one to that exact standard of very little visible side to side movement and good snap. I'm sure it can be tweaked some for you though.

Lastly, you or anyone else here can't judge the whole barrel (all of NorthWoods products) by one bad apple. Truthfully I couldn't make a sound argument or judgement for their products after only seeing and owning the small fraction of them that I have esperienced personally.

Choosing not to recommend them because I saw one that was not on par with the ones I own myself would be premature and jumping to conclusions and making judgements that don't hold water. Any production company will have some examples that are exemplery and others that are good but not as close to the ideal and some may fall below the standards for tolerance of the ideal in everyway and slip out to end line users anyway. As I said though it can be very easily remedied via several options. If you want to get in touch with Bob or someone else that can help you that works on and likes those slip joints best simply ask. Any one of us here probably knows several guys that could help you make the folder more to your liking as an everyday user.

STR

 

[crbauhs]

i agree str. i am probably jumping to conclusions here. ut man, even jsut speaking to the guys at northwoods, it seemed like they didnt really care. i am sure they have alot of great products, but all it takes is one really bad experience with a company...and as for the blade play, the sclaes, liners, and pin itself move. i get a half inch of movement from side to side. that is alot of movement, even my case/buck/camilus/schrades/saks dont move that much. but i do wanna contact that guy about the file work. i want that sooooo badly. but i guess ill reserve judgement on the next scagel i get. hopefully it will be a better idea of what northwoods ha got to offer.

 

[Blues]

I'm glad there is light at the end of the tunnel (as I suspected), but we've now moved into territory more appropriate for another section of the site and thus this thread is being moved for those who wish to continue it.

 

[crbauhs]

sounds good blues. i realy didnt mean for more than a review to come outta it...i seem to do that alot. sorry bout this once again

 

[hardheart]

I don't know what you're apologizing about. You contacted the manufacturer, they told you they won't honor a warranty, and then you brought it here. You are allowed to not be pleased with a product, and you are allowed to not want to involve third parties and spend more money to get a proper product. You have been level-headed and taken the steps you felt necessary.

That said, for $200, I got a Scagel folder by Ray Kirk with a forged blade, titanium liners, and stabilized wood scales, shop around And I hope your replacement at least matches the fit and finish of knives we can get all day long for 1/5th the price.

 

[crbauhs]

dont worry hardheart. i am on rays' list for his scagel. was jsut hoping for something to tide me over till then lol

 

[John T Wylie Jr]

what i dont get it this:

STR you said:

If you just want it fixed as a user there are folks around here that can fix that right up for you probably faster than NorthWoods could and since there is no warranty concern I don't see whats stopping you from contacting one of them.

Why should he have to spend more money to have another maker fix something that should be covered in the first place ?

That's like taking a new car off the lot , having trouble with it and being told " oh well , you bought it , look under mechanic in the phone book ".

I can see why he would a bit irked to recieve a new knife like that.

I will avoid buying a Northwoods , what dealer did you buy it from ? The dealer sounds like someone I will support with my money since they are standing behind what they sold. An attaboy for them !

 

[crbauhs]

what i dont get it this:

STR you said:


Why should he have to spend more money to have another maker fix something that should be covered in the first place ?

That's like taking a new car off the lot , having trouble with it and being told " oh well , you bought it , look under mechanic in the phone book ".

I can see why he would a bit irked to recieve a new knife like that.

I will avoid buying a Northwoods , what dealer did you buy it from ? The dealer sounds like someone I will support with my money since they are standing behind what they sold. An attaboy for them !

that is what i was thinking. why should i have to go and fix something when it is brand new adn i spent a crapload on it, a crapload for me atleast. and jsut so everyone knows...i bought my knife from KNIVESSHIPFREE.COM they now have a repeat customer. derrick and wendy are wonderful people. they have been in contact with me and are 100% set on helping me. I would buy from them in a heartbeat. i support them 100%. I cant wait to get my new scagel from them, which wendy said she'd personally check before it ships out.