River City Sheathes / Mike Sastre

Simonp

Simonp

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I am going to post this here as it seems the most logical place however if I am wrong, Moderators please move the posting.

Question: Does anyone live by / have dealings, i.e. face to face with Mike Sastre of River City Sheathes? I do not wish to start complaining or bad mouthing him here (or anywhere else for that matter) at this point in time, however I sent him three knives to make sheathes for 3 months ago, at the time he had a big order or show coming up so he told me to send them in right away so he could get them back to me in 2-3 weeks otherwise it would be longer (the knives went out that day). Since then I have called and emailed
numerous times to inquire about the status, mostly I get no response.

Twice I have managed to get him on the phone, had nice conversations -concluding with I am just about done, they were delayed due to..... I will have them in the mail in the next day or so & then nothing, last call was about 3 weeks ago now I can't raise him again.

As I said I am not starting this thread to bad mouth him, I have heard nothing but great things about his sheathes & I have given his name and information out to a number of people. I know how easy it is to get backlogged or sidetracked in a one man shop and I am certain I am not his biggest customer, although I do have 5 other knives that I need sheathes for. At this point I am just frustrated as hell and looking for some way to amicably give Mike a nudge. I am hoping that there is someone on the forum who sees him or can see him and say "hey, Simonp is frustrated as all heck - why don't you give him a call or email and let him know a definite date when you will complete his order" If anyone else has any ideas or has had a similiar problem in the past with Mike and wants to let me know - please do so. If you want to email / post and say hey his standard turnaround is about 6 months so just be patient - then great, I will at least have an idea where I stand. Being miles away and unable to contact someone who is in business just is incredibly frustrating, at least for me.

Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions or help.

Simon
 
I've know Mike for MANY years and as far as I'm concerned he makes the best kydex sheaths around. Most of my kydex is made by him. He is a one man shop tho, and he does get a LOT of orders!

I've had to wait for his stuff too. As far as I'm concerned it is worth waiting for. Heck, he's had my Bagwell Hells Belle (the real thing that is)for a sheath (Southern Comfort) so I trust him implicitly. Some things are worth waiting for, and his sheaths are definitely worth it!
 
After waiting a little more than I find comfortable, I look in the mailbox today, and - Hallelujah!

My dynamite River City Sheath came in!

Yes, it's a little unnerving to not hear back from Mike when he's all jammed up, but - damn if this sheath isn't excellent for my needs! Fit and finish is great - more important, it WORKS great!

Good job, Mike!
 
I have never questioned his quality or workmanship, just would like to get it into my hands one day soon :D

As I said in my original post - I was just looking for a way to get into contact with him or spur him on somehow if possible.
 
Mike is a gold member so I sent him a Private Message directing him to this thread. Being that you are a basic member, I do not think that you are able to send PMs. Hopefully he will see my message soon and he will contact you.
 
Thank you for your help Sir, I appreciate it. My hands have been itching to touch those sheathes for weeks
 
Do a search, (though I know it's almost impossible with these forums now but Kevin is going to upgrade...yes indeed!), and you'll see this has been discussed many, many times before. I even recommened a long time ago that if you wanted to order from Mike, be prepared to wait for a long time!

I have done business with Mike since the early days when he was a virtual unknown on these forums. He like me, is a kayaker and we live to be on the water and this we had in common in the early days. His work was/is superlative but the wait was LONG even in the old days. He truly is a nice guy but his business practices are questionable. Mike, (like some others here), should be taken to task for their business practices!

Mike has no excuses any longer and he should advertise on his site that if you want one of his sheaths, be prepared to wait and WAIT a long time! I don't care who you are and how "great" and "popular" you are here and on other forums, it's time to fess up! All the "ass-kissers" in the world that come to these "popular" makers defense, shouldn't cut it anymore! After all, the "ass-kissers" come to these maker's defense so they'll be put at the top of the list! Do the right thing Mike and just say, "I'll get to it when I can, and if you can't live with that then don't order!"
 
I wanted the best and am prepared to wait for the best :) but I just didn't plan on waiting this long. I know talented people are in demand as they should be, I guess I would have been / still be appeased in just getting a honest, realistic due date - that is all I ever ask from anyone and what I am held too by others. :)
 
You won't be dissapointed by his work, I'll tell you. He's probably out in that kayak again.
 
Mike will live longer than all of us. There was a song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy." And Kayaking can produce some superior upper body strength and general fitness.

We have surfers in this fine sandbar beach area called Long Beach, who over time have grown up to be businessman. But you will often find a hand-written carboard sign on the door that says, "Gone surfin'", and these guys do not return within one hour!
 
Originally posted by Keith Montgomery
Mike is a gold member so I sent him a Private Message directing him to this thread. Being that you are a basic member, I do not think that you are able to send PMs. Hopefully he will see my message soon and he will contact you.
Click to expand...

Keith, just wondering if you ever heard from Mike??? Just curious since in addition to your pm I have emailed him 3 times and called him at least 3 more with no response :mad:

I am getting to the point where I am starting to consider hopping on a plan and going to Mike just to take my knives back sheathes done or not :grumpy:

I will repeat my inquiry, does anyone live near or deal with Mike personally?? if so would they be willing to stop by his shop and shove his phone into his hand please!

Thanks to all in advance
 
Thanks for trying Keith. Seems that Mike has dissapeared off the face of the earth. At this point I really have no idea what to do. I recently did a search on bf re: Mike and noticed the number of horror stories in terms of 6 months or more, no responses to calls/emails, saying something is going out and then it not. I know that he is supposed to be amazing at what he does but I don't think any level of skill should allow someone to operate in this manner. :( I am truly dissapointed, this is the first problem I have had with any bf member.
 
I'VE DONE BUSINESS WITH MIKE IN THE PAST. HE LIVES ABOUT 25 MINUTES FROM MY HOME TOWN IN OHIO. NOW THAT I'M DEPLOYED TO KOREA, I'VE WAITED ABOUT 7 MONTHS FOR 7 FOLDERS OF MINE. I ADMIT THAT IT DOES GET FRUSTRATING TO HAVE TO WAIT BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT THE BEST, THEN IT'S WORTH IT. HE WORKS CRAZY HOURS SO SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO GET AHOLD OF HIM. I'VE SENT HIM NUMEROUS EMAILS WITHOUT ANY RESPONSES. HE'S TRULY A NICE MAN. WE'VE TALKED ON THE PHONE SEVERAL TIMES AS WELL. MIKE DOES A LOT FOR FOR THE KNIFE COMMUNITY AND MANY BLADE CRAFT EXPERTS TURN TO MIKE FOR THEIR NEEDS. SOME KNUCKLEHEAD PRETTY MUCH TRIED TO KNOCK HIM OFF AT THE KNEES IN THIS FORUM AND THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW THE FACTS. I SINCERELY HOPE YOU RECEIVE YOUR KNIVES SOON. TAKE CARE!!


IF WAR IS HELL, TAKE A BETTER PITCHFORK THAN THE DEVIL
 
It's time to call a spade a spade! Listen, I'm not trying to flame here but enough is enough! Yes, Mike's a nice guy and his work is good as I said above. You all have read the posts. If you want to wait FOREVER then do business with Mike and good luck but QUIT JUSTIFYING his business practices!
 
Well I emailed Mike once again yesterday. This time I just laid it on the line politely and requested that he return my knives and money immediately so that I can take my business elsewhere. After all this time passing it is apparent that he is putting other orders in front of me and that just isn't good enough in my book. Of course there has been no response as yet. I will post as things develop. I just hope things do not degenerate any further where I need to take legal action or more drastic measures.

Simon :grumpy:
 
I have not dealt with Mike personally, but have dealt with a few knifemakers / sheathmakers over the years. Im sure he makes fine sheaths, but so do plenty of others around here. Although not common, it does happen when makers start letting their popularity sufficing as an excuse for bad business it many times is the beginning of the end for them. There have been those who have your knives and it gets to the point that you are lucky if you ever see them again. I know its also common for others to say "so he told you a week, but it might be a year but is WORTH IT!". Well no its not worth it, to many other hard working makers that will come through to continue putting up with ones who wont.

I dont know how much your knives are worth so it might be easier to accept that they are gone (which would suck). If they are worth going after you might try contacting the attorney general of the state he is in, or the police department there and see what they can do for you.

To add, I think such huge delays would not be such a problem if the maker would just say the first time "look, im sorry but its going to be much longer" and then make an extra effort (LIKE STAY OUT OF THE KAYAK WHEN YOU HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS) to get it done. When I was a locksmith, I never would have gotten by with taking somebodys stuff to work on, tell them a week and then 6 months later keep stringing them along (or heading out to the beach).
 
Richard thanks & I agree with your sentiments. I could not/ can not operate in this manner and I don't think anyone, regardless of skill or popularity should be allowed to do so. As for writing off the knives, I am not prepared to do that. Between the 3 we are talking a thousand dollars, that may not seem like much compared to a lot of the custom knives that people on here own but it is enough I think, not to mention the time investment it would represent to contact the makers and have them make replacement blades.
I certainly hope that I do not need to resort to using the police or the Attorney general although as a non-practicing attorney I am aware of and willing to take whatever legal steps are necessary to get my knives back.


**Keith Montgomery - as a moderator can you tell me if Mike has logged onto BF in the last month? Does this board allow you to track individual ISP's? Just curious, please feel free to respond to this either here or privately as you see fit.

Thanks
 
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