Protech is a stand up company, they fiixed it

Steve775 said:
I received a Protech TR-4.5 the other day in the factory bag, filled with metal shavings. Looking closer I saw that in the button/lock area is covered with many round, unfinished machine marks that look like the same size as the button. I also asked if it was normal for the lanyard area to be so sharp. I went to the local Protech dealer where I was told by all four employees that the visible tool marks (no special light needed) are not normal and they offered to send it back for me free of charge. Derek Lawrence of Protech responded to me with this email:

Hello Steve, so on the TR-4 there are some very fine marks that may only be visible when the knife is held in a certain light\angle. They are extremely fine machining marks, and because they are in the recess, there isn't too much we can do to remove them. We have that area of the knife blasted heavily to lessen the effect of them, but there's no finishing tool that will fit into the tight recess to totally finish that area of the knife.
On the steel pommel, those are hardened, finished, then surface ground. So the edges on it may be crisp, but they're also 90 degrees in angle. So they're safe and not thin enough to cut or damage anything. We have versions of the TR-4 and TR-5 that we ship with lanyards, and we've never had one damaged by these edges on the pommel.

-Derek Lawrence-
Customer Service & Social Media Manager Extraordinaire

This is a $500 knife, and I expected more. So your telling me that you don’t have the tools to finish your own knife? Any thoughts? I will include a picture when I figure out how. Steve
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Does the knife work or not? Like does it cut?
 
Why in the world would ANYBODY find any benefit in using not only two different size torx screws, but also a completely different type fastener on one knife? I think a better question is why would it even occur to a company to do this.
 
gpo1956 said:
Why in the world would ANYBODY find any benefit in using not only two different size torx screws, but also a completely different type fastener on one knife? I think a better question is why would it even occur to a company to do this.
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I'm sure Rick Hinderer has a canned answer about why you need 4 different drivers to disassemble an XM-18.
 
Danke42 said:
Is it not clear why a larger bolt is used on the pivot for support and smaller bolts on the scales to increase clearance? Like just about single other folding knife in the world?
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But a manufacturer can use the "correct" diameter screws for the application AND use the same type driver on them if so inclined. Or not. Some manufacturers even spec their own screws so the same SIZE driver can be used. Some don't. I know which I prefer. I only have two Protechs and haven't seen reason to disassemble them and I haven't pored over them enough to notice fastener sizes or types.
 
josiahg52 said:
But a manufacturer can use the "correct" diameter screws for the application AND use the same type driver on them if so inclined. Or not. Some manufacturers even spec their own screws so the same SIZE driver can be used. Some don't. I know which I prefer. I only have two Protechs and haven't seen reason to disassemble them and I haven't pored over them enough to notice fastener sizes or types.
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I'm not sure about the reality of this. My knife today has a T6 on the clip, T7 on the scales, and T10 on the pivot. Which should it be, all T6 so you can't tighten some of the parts to the right spec or all T10 and then they don't fit?

Should cars also be made with only 12x1.25 nuts so you can use the same size wrench to change a tire or adjust the values? That could make for really enormous motors and see Snap-On going out of business.
 
Danke42 said:
I'm not sure about the reality of this. My knife today has a T6 on the clip, T7 on the scales, and T10 on the pivot. Which should it be, all T6 so you can't tighten some of the parts to the right spec or all T10 and then they don't fit?

Should cars also be made with only 12x1.25 nuts so you can use the same size wrench to change a tire or adjust the values? That could make for really enormous motors and see Snap-On going out of business.
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Wasn't saying it should be that way and I don't know if this is really a problem with Protech knives. Just saying some do it a certain way. As far as torquing to spec, I think when we're talking in-lbs or the like, we'll be all right.

Of course, a typical vehicle probably contains a few thousand fasteners. A knife might be a dozen parts of which half or less might be fasteners. Seems like most companies should be able to keep the varied hardware to a minimum in the case of a knife but maybe not.
 
Danke42 said:
Should cars also be made with only 12x1.25 nuts so you can use the same size wrench to change a tire or adjust the values? That could make for really enormous motors and see Snap-On going out of business.
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Hey, I'm already happy if they don't mix metric and imperial (as in my Fatboy).
 
I’m sure if they used the same torx size for all the different screws, someone would find a way to put the wrong screw in the wrong place. I’ve seen it happen many times. There’s a reason why different sizes are used in different places.
If a manufacturer did use the same screws for everything I would suspect cheaply made knife as the result. Some mechanical tools require a bit of intelligence. 🥴
 
Lesknife said:
I’m sure if they used the same torx size for all the different screws, someone would find a way to put the wrong screw in the wrong place. I’ve seen it happen many times. There’s a reason why different sizes are used in different places.
If a manufacturer did use the same screws for everything I would suspect cheaply made knife as the result. Some mechanical tools require a bit of intelligence. 🥴
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Different sizes, yes. I wouldn't want the same screw that fixes the lock bar insert on a frame lock knife to be used as a pivot. Or vice versa. Diameter, length, and thread pitch should be appropriate for the application. Drive size could be largely harmonized on most designs. I think a couple of my knives are like this. It's not something I insist on but it's nice.
 
I tell you what Yo Mama. I’ve got a Hinderer Eklipse this is beat all to hell, BUT the blade is sharp as hell and it cuts. How about giving me retail price for it. Following your lame logic, there shouldn’t be any reason not to.
 
Let be real here guys. Some manufacturers use different size screws for pivot and body but use the same torx size. I know that manufacturers use two different sizes of torx screws for pivot and body screws. I can see that there would be some mechanical advantages for doing so, especially on a hard use knife like a Hinderer. But please explain to me why they would need to throw in a completely different head type. Why not just use one torx for the pivot (whatever the size) and all the body screws torx of the appropriate size? And by the way, I love Hinderers, but I don’t care what anyone says, they could be assembled just easily and efficiently with the current pivot screw and all body screws of torx. I think he throws the Phillips screws in to be contrary.
 
And yes, the appropriate diameter, length and thread is essential to the construction. The head configuration isn’t.
 
gpo1956 said:
Let be real here guys. Some manufacturers use different size screws for pivot and body but use the same torx size. I know that manufacturers use two different sizes of torx screws for pivot and body screws. I can see that there would be some mechanical advantages for doing so, especially on a hard use knife like a Hinderer. But please explain to me why they would need to throw in a completely different head type. Why not just use one torx for the pivot (whatever the size) and all the body screws torx of the appropriate size? And by the way, I love Hinderers, but I don’t care what anyone says, they could be assembled just easily and efficiently with the current pivot screw and all body screws of torx. I think he throws the Phillips screws in to be contrary.
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Let's be real here, you are a great knife designer with many successful models and an accomplished engineer? Please do tell us how Hinderer and Protech should change. Maybe Spyderco next?
 
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gpo1956 said:
I tell you what Yo Mama. I’ve got a Hinderer Eklipse this is beat all to hell, BUT the blade is sharp as hell and it cuts. How about giving me retail price for it. Following your lame logic, there shouldn’t be any reason not to.
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OP only has a button lock with some internal minor finishing marks that absolutely no one could see (still no pics).

So, why would your used Eklipse mean anything to the discussion? Seems you and op are connected somehow, you seem to be real invested in this.
 
Answer my question. Shouldn’t you be willing to pay retail for a cosmetically damaged knife? After all, you infer that if it does cut then there shouldn’t be any reason to complain. Every review on any knife will list things the reviewer thinks should be done differently. Why should I be any different? I’m stating my opinion.
 
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