Review of Atlas mini forge:

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Ome108

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I did extensive research on gas forges, missing the differnce between most of the well made established companies having a sealed line between the propane and the burner, and the few that do not.
I ordered it on monday morning 9/15/14 at 4am and recieved it on friday 9/19/14.
We examined the box, no damage, and we unpacked and assembled, looked good so far.
I was so stoked to finally get to hit some hot steel. First thing after assembly, we noticed leak in the factory crimp on the regulator and hose line.
Then we both looked for any instructions, none.
So where does the gas come from to get to forge?
We googled to find a picture that looked nothing like what we got,and it was from their website.
So now, I am ready to spend some money on a quality forge, and go to pay pal for a refund, and this, Charles only wants to give back $205.
Bottomline, if you want a forge thAt is a sealed hose to burner system, skip this one. Atlasknife.com is his website, even though he is changing his user name fr zaph1 to his website name, atlasknife.com. Interesting.
Mainly for no phone # and only email to the owner, who just keeps telling you the small amount of times a mistake has been made.
No concern for the customer.
This is a brand new unit, never fired up, and came broken!
My advice is steer away from this forge and save your money and buy a really well made forge with a sealed gas to burner system.
Jon
 
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we ordered a new atlas mini from the website.
We got a forge and tube and regulator and whatever else it came with, literally jammed into this usps box. .......maybe 2 boxes is the answer.
Anyway, leaked like a mother, from the cheapo chinese factory crimp.
No sealed fitting to tube to propane.
This had a different system, that no one, I might add, on the thread I posted, chimed in to say otherwise. Then after 2 days, I go to pay pal to refund, and Mr Nice guy, Charles, only wants to refund 205.
Why, it is brand new , never fired?
No return policy? Nice Guy to deal with/NOT
THIS REVIEW WILL NOW GO TO ALL THE WEBSITES I BELONG TOO, SO ALL KNOW NOT TO DEAL WITH ATLAS MINI FORGE. This company website is atlasknife.com and Zaph1 used to be his user name, but he is changing it to his company name, hopefully to avoid confusion.
I recomend chile forge, great people, alot of forge for alot more money, but well spent.
Jon
 
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Surprised to see this, I've had an atlas for a year or two and been very happy with zero problems. Just my .02
 
I think this is certainly not the place for such a thread. I am moving it to The Good, Bad, and Ugly.

FWIW, while I am not a big fan of mini forges in the first place, I se no real problem with the Atlas. It seems well built and I have not heard of any major complaints. I know you have returned it to Charles, and think you would have done better to keep the discussion between you and him until the situation is either resolved or at an impasse.
 
Stacy,
There was no discussion, it was like talking to a robot. All the man cares about is making a sale, period.
Jon
 
I have an Atlas forge and am pleased with it, for my purposes. I had no problem with it whatsoever. I did check each gas joint with soapy water to check for leaks. Did you?
 
Yes, checked with soapy water thru out the entire hose and connectors.
It was bubbling out where the factory crimp is.
Cheap chinese hose and regulator, USA IS WHAT I WILL BE WILLING TO PAY EXTRA !
Jon
 
Ome108 said:
Yes, checked with soapy water thru out the entire hose and connectors.
It was bubbling out where the factory crimp is.
Cheap chinese hose and regulator, USA IS WHAT I WILL BE WILLING TO PAY EXTRA !
Jon
Click to expand...

Sounds like you could have asked for a new hose. Or a partial refund to purchase the hose of your preference. I don't see why you're dragging this company's name through the mud over one defective part.
 
I agree, a defective part or one damaged in shipping is an easy fix. The hose is inconsequential to the forge. You could get a new one at any welders/propane/camper/RV supply.
I would guess that most all commercial forges use an imported hose and regulator.

I do a lot of business by mail. Most problems like this are best handled with calmer voice. Calling it a "Cheap Chinese Hose" and demanding a refund is not nearly as likely to succeed as calling it a "defective or damaged hose" and asking for a replacement part. 99% of the time, a problem like this is solved by the seller express shipping the replacement part with no questions asked.
 
Also, have you ever actually set up and lit a venturi burner forge before? I'm not sure that you know how they work. The line always terminates in an orifice at the venturi, jetting gas down the burner tube. Charles' setup looks different than the sidearm burners and some other types, because the gas orifice just sits above the end of the burner tube and is not enclosed by a venturi housing. It works the same, and is no less safe- either way, the gas is jetting into open air before combustion.

I know this, because I've tested a few of his burners and they work well.

I'm sensing that perhaps you could use some more real world experience with forge equipment, reasonable expectations, and communication skills.
 
I'm sensing that perhaps you could use some more real world experience with forge equipment, reasonable expectations, and communication skills.[/QUOTE]

You know, I find it interesting that all of you who dissagree with my support for Quality made here in the usa , are all service providers .
I go out of my way to pay extra for items made in the USA.
I call it as I see it, and this is not about getting a replacement hose.
I do not want it, i am sending it back, and found out how Charles chooses to treat his customers. Right away, only wanting to refund 205. Not 255.
Never used, just want nithing to do with his product or company.
When atlas mini forge was on ebay, I emailed zaph1 asking if he was the same zaph1 on bladeforums, I never got an answer, and then weeks later, no more on ebay.
Why?
 
May I ask why he decided to only want to refund you $205 instead of the full amount ? And did he refund you. I have one of his forges but I have a T-Rex burner in mine I also have relined my interior just to get a little more room. I have nothing else to compare it to so I cant say one way or another how nice or how bad it performs . And I did not buy it directly from him either so I cant tell you how his customer service skills are in general . Did you come out swinging or did you just lay the facts down in cordial manner the first time you talked to him about this ?
 
The reason why you are seeing service providers is because we are the most likely to have purchased his product. Honestly, there's no bro code or anything nefarious between us.

I'm sorry that happened to you. My experience with Charles was overwhelmingly positive. I expressed a need to find some soft fire brick. Couldn't find it locally. Anyway, he sent me several bricks AND a free burner out of kindness. I basically ended up with a free forge. I even followed instructions that he posted on how to build one for yourself. Anyone can do the same. That does not sound like a greedy man to me.
 
I've tried to stay out of this complaint, letting it run it's course without my obviously biased interference. However, I feel the need to address a couple points:

rescenter.jpg

I offered $205 because of his reason for returning it. He filed the claim not as defective, but "not as described." Specifically, he mentioned:
"Now, if you had mentioned that it was not a side arm and different, i would never have ordered it. "
"I was also under the impression that all parts were from and made here, not some chinese factory. "
"No idea they made them like yours, and that is why I choose NOT TO USE IT, not that I can't use it."

This all felt like backpedaling on the regulator being defective and an attempt to rationalize returning a working product. Therefore I calculated a 15% restocking fee after shipping, which comes out to $204. The disclaimer for a restocking fee is on the bottom of the forge pages on my website. Paypal has chosen to award him a full refund, if he returns the product in good condition.

As for the item not appearing on eBay, I have recently made updates to the forge and cancelled the listing until I had good pictures. The new forge, same as you received, is now listed on eBay again.

Here are some past e-mail interactions that may shed some light on this:
Nope, way off on this one, but for good reasons. Most forges use inswool and a refractory coating. The refractory is very thin. This makes them very fragile. I use solid, insulating firebrick which isn't nearly as fragile as inswool. If we have a bad brick in the forge when we build them, sometimes we have to hammer and chisel the bricks to get them out. I wouldn't be concerned about damaging the sides of these.

Charles


On 7/28/2014 12:40 PM, Ome108 - BladeForums.com wrote:
> This is a message from Ome108 at BladeForums.com ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forum.php ). The BladeForums.com owners cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of the email.
>
> To email Ome108, you can use this online form:
> http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=379739
>
> OR, by email:
> mailto:jtds@**********
>
> This is the message:
>
> Hi,
> I sent the message to you thru ebay , not realizing that it was you and your son's company!
> My question, refers to the walls, nit the floor of brick.
> I have heard the insulation sprayed with itc100 or whatever its called, gets damaged easily if by mistake, a hot piece of metal hits or touches the side or top of the inside insulation, since this is a first attempt at anything having to do with knifesmithing.
> If it does damage, do you sell the pre sprayed and cured insulation like chile forge does?
> Thanks,
> Jon
> Ps
> Does it matter which website, yours or ebay, which will get here faster. Ny
> Jon
Click to expand...

Yes, I do. It's easiest to purchase them from me at www.atlasknife.com, but I can answer any questions.

Charles


On 7/28/2014 11:10 AM, Ome108 - BladeForums.com wrote:
> This is a message from Ome108 at BladeForums.com ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forum.php ). The BladeForums.com owners cannot accept any responsibility for the contents of the email.
>
> To email Ome108, you can use this online form:
> http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=379739
>
> OR, by email:
> mailto:jtds@**********
>
> This is the message:
>
> Hi,
> Do you sell atlas mini forges?
> Thanks,
> Jon
Click to expand...
 
Consider my impartial opinion here Jon; transparency is a powerful truth here, and I'm not seeing anything wrong with the way he's handling his business platform. I'm checking out his site for the first time and it's in plain english, written clearly, exactly as he's described on the bottom of the page that there is a 15% restocking fee.

If the product was defective, why not annotate it as such?

Was/Is there a "defective" or "damaged goods" option available when making a paypal claim?

Also, regarding the "Chinese" comment. I'll let you in on a little secret when it comes to the components that go into making these forges... Whether you're purchasing from atlas, chile, diamondback, I hate to break it to you but you're purchase is going to have parts and components from China. I have a diamondback 3-burner forge, I dropped almost $700 shipped for it... It was jam packed into a little box and has some Chinese components such as black iron pipe, crimped rubber hoses, etc. I'm 100% satisfied with it's performance and understand the purchase to be more of a luxury cost than anything. I could have taken the time to make the forge myself for a quarter of the cost, but for me the ends justified the means... All in all I believe that it's fair to say that my $700 went towards an American product, made by an American man, supporting an American family. I highly doubt he's a mustache-twisting villain showering himself in profits earned by outsourcing the manufacturing of forge components overseas...

I hope you take the experience in it's entirety with a grain of salt.
 
Thanks for coming by a laying down the facts. I think this is more a case of buyers remorse than anything else . We all have to deal with the fact that the Chinese sell all types of things in this country.
 
Yelling to only "Buy only American" while typing it on a computer or a phone made in China....is kinda funny though
 
If you bought and used products made only in America you would be living in 1955!!!
 
Just to let everyone know, I did receive the forge back from him today. True to his word, it didn't look like it had ever been ignited. However, here's what I noted:

1. The regulator was open all the way. This is probably why he thought it was leaking. Regulators turn CW to open instead of close. Wide open and unlit, it could be confused for leaking.
2. Absolutely nothing wrong with the regulator. I lit a forge with it and tested for leaks with a lighter and found none, despite his assertion that he tested and found a leak. I guess I don't get how you could test for a leak if you couldn't get the burner lit. Gas would exit through the unlit burner orifice before it would exit through a bad crimp, of which there isn't a bad crimp.

I want to thank everyone for their support in dealing with this. It's pretty stressful the first time you have a customer complain like this and try to drag your name through the mud, especially for something that turns out to be completely untrue and only based upon their ignorance of the product's proper usage. This does tell me that I need to create some more detailed videos and instruction on how to use a forge, just in case.

Charles
 
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