Problems with a knife company

S

Sacramento12214

Joined
May 25, 2015
Messages
104
I recently purchased a Case mini copperlock knife and love the finish of the knife but the blade centering was way off. When I brought this to Cases attention they offered no help other than to say that the knife was perfect the way it was and it met there quality standards but if I wanted to send it in they could "bend" the blade a little to see if that would help. This didn't sit well with me, am I being over critical of Case.
 
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Well i saw your other two threads on this and saw the pics. Why not return it and ask for a replacement from the seller? The blade actually looks warped to begin with. And i dont like the idea of bending heat treated blades to correct a problem that shouldnt be there to begin with.
 
I was going to return it to the seller but I decided to use as a worker knife after my discussion with Case. I was wondering what the opinion would be on Cases customer service in this instance. They didn't direct me to return the knife to them for a replacement. The best they said they could do was I could send it to them and they would bend it slightly to see if that would correct the centering issue
 
Do not start multiple threads on the same topic. I have merged these two.
 
So the knife is off center and possibly rubbing.
-Who makes the knife?
-Do you own other knives from that company, if so, do they also seem to be off center?
Is it new?
Can you send it in for warranty, or return it, if it was boot in a brick and mortar?

What you are showing doesn't seem to be "problems with a knife company" but more like a bad piece From a knife company.

Edit: this was posted after the threads were merged, prior to this there was only a photo.

Regarding Cases customer service, I don't have any direct experience with them. You could try looking through the vendor list on here for a Case Dealer and see if it common, and what they would suggest.
If they are a paying vendor here, chances are they are good people.
 
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I spent around $60 and got a knife that the blade sits as close to the liner without touching. Sent Case a picture of the blade and there response was that it is perfect. They said there should be a little blade play and that the crookedness of the blade was acceptable and fell within there quality standards. The most they said they could do was bend the blade for me so it would sit more centered. None of this sat well with me.
 
Well then call them and ask whomever answers to speak to their manager and if you have the name of the previous employee you spoke with who said that the knife is fine, keep it close.
Tell them that you have grown to know and trust their name due to your father and grandfather trusting the brand and using them on a regular basis as their "go to" knife. That you have owned knives from then in the past and this does Not live up to your standards and you would hope it doesn't live up to theirs. Also tell then that if this was the product they produced when your family used knives in their daily routine, then you doubt your father or grandfather would have held them in as much esteem, and you would likely be a "Buck" or (other comparable company) fan at the moment.

That you wouldn't like a replacement or a warranty "repair" and that bending the hardened steel blade doesn't seem like an acceptable response and you would like your money back. Make sure that you tell them you will be spending the return at a competing knife company and they will not have your business from now on.

If by now they are not willing to work with you and are still trying to get around replacing something that You don't feel is acceptable, then you could add a little dig along the lines of, You're glad your family isn't around to see their "fall from grace"...

Or, you could use it as a work knife and invest the same amount of time in research here and by what fits your wants and needs...
 
Yes, that seems like what I will be doing. Using as a worker and researching another company that puts out quality USA made traditional knives. All though I would like to tell them off further but honestly I don't think it matters to them that they lost a customer in me.
 
Keep in mind that with traditional knives bending a blade at the tang, or 'crinking' is a common practice, and either hasn't been done properly during construction, or hasn't been done at all. If I was you I would let them try it, the likelihood of them getting it wrong is low, and if they break the blade they should replace it.
 
I would have had that knife back in the box headed back to the dealer within minutes.
 
I'm a bit surprised that Case would look at that photo and call it 'perfect'. A bit off-centre is regrettably common, but that looks pretty bad. If going a rung or two up the customer service ladder and bringing up grandpa and log cabins and canoes doesn't work -- it should; nostalgia, their long history, and a multi-generational customer base is a big part of their sales -- getting it bent back toward center is better than leaving it as is. If it does end up breaking, you'll get a new blade or a new knife.
 
I wouldn’t have a problem with a properly done factory “crinking” job. Here’s an example of blade crinking at Canal Street Cutlery:

[video=youtube;rCv0Y3xzIHk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCv0Y3xzIHk[/video]
 
To be honest that issue looks so minor that I would probably not have noticed it. I just took a look at a Case Trapper that I own, carry, and enjoy, and noticed that the main blade is similarly off-center. Doesn't affect my use of it in the least.

My honest opinion, and not meaning to offend you, is that you have higher expectations of perfection than you are going to find in typical Case knives. There's nothing wrong with that knife that I can determine from the picture there. I agree with the Case representative in their assessment - that knife is well within their normal variation.

You should probably avoid Case knives in the future since you sound like you will continue to be disappointed by them. There are higher priced knives that frequently (but not always) have better fit and finish. You did overpay for that one - they can be had for about $45 shipped if you shop around.
 
It's a $50 knife. If it doesn't rub against the side and cause scratches, you can't really expect much more. It's a knife designed to be used and your un-centered blade does not affect function. However, Case offered to fix it for you and bending the blade is an old, acceptable, method of adjustment. You just didn't realize that. Slipjoint blades are thin and flexible for many reasons.

Case has excellent customer service. For their higher priced knives, they will repair for free fit/finish issues beyond what they do for their lower priced knives. They are a good company with good warranty repair service, I've used them twice.

When you decided it was unacceptable, you should have sent it back to the dealer. That's how the internet works, but maybe you didn't want to be out shipping or some restocking fee. Sounds like with your expectations, you really should go to a store and hand pick what you want.
 
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