Not half the man they used to be...

[mendezj]

Ok, so I'm spoiled. For some years now I've only bought Bose folding knives (and fixed ones, for that matter). However, reading posts here prompted me to buy a production knife that I thought might be a nice little addition to already too many knives, and also an opportunity to see what $50 can buy now days. The result wasn't a happy one, I must confess. No more, no more.

I bought a two blade Eye Brand 3.5" folder, crabon steel blades, bone scales.

First, no box, no nothing. Oh, but that's perfectly fine, not a problem. Then my eyes go straight to the escutcheon which is not centered on the scale and twisted upon its axis (see pics.) The blades are not centered between the spacers, not one bit, both rest heavily on one side. Then, the pin on the back of the knife, on one side, cuts through the inside of the spring; no good. The center pin sticks out of the handles enough to hurt your fingers as you pass them along the side of the knife, or as you hold the knife to cut.

Maybe I'm just tight or too old, but I feel $50 for a knife put together in a rush is a rip off. Of course, it serves me right for buying sight unseen from the Internet. However, what I see at knife shops is not much better. I must say that at least the blades on this Eye Brand are sharp; which is not same that can be said for some more expensive knives been sold now days.

No more impulse buying for me. Hey, thanks for reading.

 

[comoha]

That'll teach ya to go slummin'.
Back to the pearly gates of Wilfred Works with ya.


Actually, its a normal reaction. Your eyes have been calibrated to Bose standards.
Anything else is bound to look sub-par.

 

[VCM3]

mendezj,It really depends on who made the knife
I do not know about eye brand knives,but it could have been poorly built,at the time
I have recently traded into a Case WT,a Schatt improved muskrat (more like a moose),and a Case Mini Copperlock. While they do not compare to the custom handmade knives I am accustomed to,they all have nice bone,actions & nice cutting blades for the price ranges they are sold in.

I think production knives are a real hit or miss purchase. The way older real nice stuff,well,if it is in excellent condition,it brings big dollars.

Have you thought about a T Bose / Case Tribal ?

Honestly,I am surprised at the knife you are talking about,not happy with.
I would have figurted you to go for something different,than it,for this purchase.

What is the tang stamped ? on that eye brand ?
And sorry to hear of your disappointment.Good one for a G-A perhaps
-Vince

 

[mendezj]

The tang has the eye logo and the word "Germany". Shabby work puts me off. I have a Bose/Case ordered. Back to the pearly gates, baybee.

 

[VCM3]

I can't see,how you would not like the Case / Bose & yeah,you get what you pay for. Maybe it was built during Octoberfest

-Vince

 

[silenthunterstudios]

The tang has the eye logo and the word "Germany". Shabby work puts me off. I have a Bose/Case ordered. Back to the pearly gates, baybee.

A lot of them are being made in China, or so I have heard. The Eye Brand models, not those made by Tony .

 

[knifeswapper]

If you bought that as a new/mint knife, don't you dare keep it. Much of the stuff that is talked about these days is cosmetic and/or personal preference; but glaring pin cracks are unacceptable. There are better Eye Brand knives for $50, and many other brands have nice offerings for the same. Mind you, they are not a Bose.....

"A lot of them are being made in China, or so I have heard."
I have not seen any Eye Brand yet that I thought came from china. But would like to see a picture of a suspect or a thread that infers such ;>

Mike Latham
CollectorKnives.Net

 

[VCM3]

Maybe pocketknives are like presidents....

They do not make them like they used too , and , you need to lay down a few "dead presidents",in order to obtain a good one
-Vince

 

[thejamppa]

If you've been driven Rolls Royce for your entire life Mercedes feels cheap... But like stated, you've set high your standards due premium stuff you've bought, still all the problems should not happen since most sub $15 Rough Rider china mades rarely suffer same problems so I basicly cannot justify if my $50 folder has worse fit than my $12 folder.

 

[338375]

Welcome to the world most of us live in Menz

Just kidding.... I think most of us that live here have the same feeling you do about knives we consider sub par. You will find plenty threads of folks not happy with brand xyz knives that were 50 bucks or even less.

IMHO, us knife nuts are a lot more critical than the average consumer, who just buys a knife and puts it in pocket. Doesn't excuse shoddy workmanship though.

If we go back and look at knives that were made 50-60 years ago, in general the workmanship was terrific. Heck, look at the old Case and Schrade knives.

With the modern equipment they have available today, there is no excuse for poor workmanship making it out the door. YMMV

 

[spydutch]

Welcome to the world most of us live in Menz

Just kidding.... I think most of us that live here have the same feeling you do about knives we consider sub par. You will find plenty threads of folks not happy with brand xyz knives that were 50 bucks or even less.

IMHO, us knife nuts are a lot more critical than the average consumer, who just buys a knife and puts it in pocket. Doesn't excuse shoddy workmanship though.

If we go back and look at knives that were made 50-60 years ago, in general the workmanship was terrific. Heck, look at the old Case and Schrade knives.

With the modern equipment they have available today, there is no excuse for poor workmanship making it out the door. YMMV

Very well said:thumbup:

 

[texasflyfisher]

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you can send it back and get a refund.

I hardly impulse buy. If anything, I research things for months sometimes before I pull the trigger. And if whatever I get, whether it is a knife or wireless router, doesn't meet my expectation, back it goes the next day. I would rather lose a few bucks in shipping than have it wear on me every time I see or use whatever it is I paid money for. This also gives the seller feedback that they need to make some changes to avoid refunds.

 

[shaldag]

You could buy one of those Case/Bose collabs-- just not for 50 bucks. But they are pertty dang close to custom F&F.

But they are still a step down from the real thing.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Ok, so I'm spoiled. For some years now I've only bought Bose folding knives (and fixed ones, for that matter). However, reading posts here prompted me to buy a production knife that I thought might be a nice little addition to already too many knives, and also an opportunity to see what $50 can buy now days. The result wasn't a happy one, I must confess. No more, no more.

I bought a two blade Eye Brand 3.5" folder, crabon steel blades, bone scales.

First, no box, no nothing. Oh, but that's perfectly fine, not a problem. Then my eyes go straight to the escutcheon which is not centered on the scale and twisted upon its axis (see pics.) The blades are not centered between the spacers, not one bit, both rest heavily on one side. Then, the pin on the back of the knife, on one side, cuts through the inside of the spring; no good. The center pin sticks out of the handles enough to hurt your fingers as you pass them along the side of the knife, or as you hold the knife to cut.

Maybe I'm just tight or too old, but I feel $50 for a knife put together in a rush is a rip off. Of course, it serves me right for buying sight unseen from the Internet. However, what I see at knife shops is not much better. I must say that at least the blades on this Eye Brand are sharp; which is not same that can be said for some more expensive knives been sold now days.

No more impulse buying for me. Hey, thanks for reading.

Thats a bugger mendezj...Im sorry-I know the terrible feeling of dissapointment when buying a knife that was ( in my case) described terribly wrong :grumpy:
The centre pin aggrivating rub would realy get to me...could you fix this by carefull filing?( which I know isnt the point)
Your knife.... this is the Carl Shlieper isnt it?...now please forgive me if I am wrong...but I thought C.S eye brand was quite sort after....I have owned several of the fixed blade bowie type knives from the 50's and 60's and nice knives they were, and from what I have seen by the prices that the "vintage" models go for in the folders...it seems the same quality was practiced there as well.
I have just bought a 1980 mint canoe that was apparantely made only in that year-I may put it up so everyone could help me with it...

As silenthunderstudios has mentioned...China?...are Carl Schlieper knives now made there?...and if they are since when?...Im in dread now thinking my latest was...help!

 

[TLARbb]

I am going to stick my neck out a little here, but I'll be willing to bet most custom manufacturers have better equipment than production knife companies. Especially if those production firms are owned by public traded companies. I know that in the realm of manufacturing that I was in for so many years that after the big NYSE traded company bought our company, capital investment went to a fraction of what it had been. So, maybe some of the folks that have gone out of business have done so due to not improving the processes or buying better equipment.

Add that to the fact that it takes experience and more skill to build a quality knife on older equipment. Might be that when a particular knife was made a junior employee without much experience put it together.

Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, there still is no excuse to ship a substandard piece of cutlery unless the standard is substandard to begin with. However, you can't really expect production knives to match the quality of our best custom makers.

Ed

 

[SVRIDER1]

What about a Case Swayback Jack Chestnut Bone in Cv? I have now seen it for as low as $45...that's less than what I paid for mine. As far as F&F I didn't cherry pick mine but it is to me perfectly acceptable...and I am very up tight about centered blades, no play, matching bone color and just about every other aspect of F&F.

 

[sunnyd]

Sorry Mendezj,

But you got robbed from the looks of that one.

You could have done a helluvalot better for $50. USD or even less just by shopping here at BF.com's 'production sales by individual' threads. Try that next time and I'll wager you won't be disappointed for the money. I'v gotten some real fine slippy's in there over the years and supported some fellow blade brothers in need in the process.



Best,
Anthony

 

[rprocter]

You cannot judge production folders based on 1 example.
there are literally 1000s of different patterns, many countries and many manufacturers and at least 200 years of knives to choose from.
This is what makes collecting production knives so interesting and addictive.
It's a huge body of knowledge that you will never fully master.
there is a learning curve of a few years before one can semi-reliably sort out the good ones/average ones/terrible ones and exceptional ones.
Some of the vintage Sheffield knives exceed Mr. Bose's best work.
I have lots of Eyebrand knives, all without the issues yours has. you overpaid for yours because you are a novice.
Quit and go back to current customs but you will miss out on about 99% of the fun of knife collecting.
roland

 

[mendezj]

You cannot judge production folders based on 1 example.
there are literally 1000s of different patterns, many countries and many manufacturers and at least 200 years of knives to choose from.
This is what makes collecting production knives so interesting and addictive.
It's a huge body of knowledge that you will never fully master.
there is a learning curve of a few years before one can semi-reliably sort out the good ones/average ones/terrible ones and exceptional ones.
Some of the vintage Sheffield knives exceed Mr. Bose's best work.
I have lots of Eyebrand knives, all without the issues yours has. you overpaid for yours because you are a novice.
Quit and go back to current customs but you will miss out on about 99% of the fun of knife collecting.
roland

Thank you for your kind thoughts, however, I buy knives to use them, and I use knives a lot in my daily life; I'd guess "collecting" is something else. Thus, I'll stick to the good and proven and there is nothing I'll miss. Except another Bose knife. I reckon, I'll always want another Bose knife.

 

[rprocter]

Quote: "I buy knives to use them, and I use knives a lot in my daily life"
Well there are production Traditional style folders, with very good fit and finish and excellent quality control that are always hair-poppin sharp on arrival: Rough Riders made within last 1-2 years, and none are over $20, many are about $10.
I am not being sarcastic because you like Tony's knives. I'm totally serious.
The RR's are the biggest enigma, best surprise in knives today. Enigma because how can even the Chinese sell a knife so cheaply ?
And surprise because they are well made and the incidence of any 'issues' is way below that of every other brand on the planet, and yes they edge hold really well.
i have about 80 RR's (but no Bose, yet) and none have any problems, and i've been using/carrying a couple of them for ~ 2 years(outdoors, bush work, most days) and it's nearly time to touch up the edges.
I also have 30 custom folders (but, no Bose, yet), and i love them and will keep acquiring more, but what really has amazed me, is that a $10 knife cuts and works, almost as well (say 90% +), as my $500-$1000 customs.
I've tried to sell some of my custom FB Hunters to local, very hard core hunters. Can't do it. They're all using a variety of inexpensive Chinese knives which they say stay plenty sharp for 3 elk(field dress and butcher). Then they give them to a local kid, nephew, whatever, and spend another $15 for a new one.
roland