Rusty Polk

Update:

Rusty just sent me a pic of the knife and gave me a very reasonable explanation of what what delaying him. It seems like he is a good guy after all!
 
It looks like it took this posting to turn him into a "good guy after all". Don't forget the unanswered emails and phone calls.
 
hope it works out for ya - i sure have seen a lot of probs like this especially the last year or so, prior to that it was a not a common thing to happen, regretfully that seems to be changing.

i know its been said a thousand times but here we go again:

NEVER pay up front for a custom, a small deposit (not more than 10%) might be required if ya use exotic materials/its a 1 off design, if someone wants payment in full up front imho thats a danger signal.

no matter how much ya want the knife dont do it. i have bought a lot of customs thru the yrs and have only been asked to pay up front one time, didnt do it and am glad i didnt the guy ended up on GB&U for taking deposits and not delivering the goods. a legit smith wont ask ya to do it anyway, so if one does, look out.
 
L. Uebelein said:
Update:

Rusty just sent me a pic of the knife and gave me a very reasonable explanation of what what delaying him. It seems like he is a good guy after all!
Click to expand...

That's good to see, but hopefully in the future Mr. Polk will be better at communicating. That's all it takes. Most people will be very understanding of a knife being late as long as they are kept in the loop.
 
Well I see I am not the only one currently waiting for a knife. I too have been waiting for about 5 months now on a knife Rusty was making for me that was going to take 2 weeks to deliver. I got various e-mails stating a pic would be forth coming as well......no pic or knife yet. He stated he had been busy at shows and hunting with his boys and would send me a pic of the knife that evening. I will wait a few more days and see whats what.
He truely seems like a very pleasent person however his communication and keeping his customers up to date is not so good. If there are delays proffesionally or personally I fully understand. Life takes some strange turns, but I would at least like to be kept in the loop and not have to ask for updates / information all the time.
 
You know, as a maker every once in a great while I screw up a knife and have to start over. It does not happen often but it can happen. But I never take a deposit unless it will be a really spendy knife and I need expensive materials I don't have. Or the knife is a white elephant that I could never sell otherwise. And I don't take payment before the knife is ready to ship. Those two traps are obviously catching far too many makers.

A good name is really important and a few bad apples can really give the rest of us a bad name. That really sucks.

Rant over.

Gene
 
I am also a little slow at times, well most of the time if you really want to know. I have made a blade to a customers specs that wasn't really my style. I will not do that any more. I also took a deposit once, I will not do that any more. I may take longer than I thought to finish a knife for some one that orders it, and I have had a couple pass away before I got the knife done.
I made 6 quillion dagger blades before I got one right, 4 damascus bowie knives that I still haven't gotten right, and a score of others that didn't pass my evaluation. These knives will hang some where in the shop till some one comes by that likes them and they will take them home and finish them. These are the things that cause me not to take money up front any more. All my customers have the right to say "no" when I contact them about being ready to start on their knife. When it is completed, I like to send a pic to them so they can see what is coming. If there is any reason they don't like what they see, cancel it and I will try to sell it at the next knife show.
Just thought I would throw out that bit of information about my practices and it may apply to other makers as well. I don't know if it does or not. I do know Rusty Polk and it could be that he just overloaded his a$$ a bit and didn't know how to take care of it. It happens.
 
if he's overloaded then he needs to talk to folks and get it straightened out imho, silence only does one thing - worry people.
 
Ray, you make an excellent point. It sure does happen - I've seen it before and more than once. Some makers don't know how to deal with it and resort to sticking their head in the sand, plugging ahead and hoping everything somehow works out. This is always the wrong move. Staying in touch with your customers, being completely candid with them and re-establishing some realistic delivery goals is the way to go.

Roger
 
Just got an e-mail from Rusty saying he would have a picture out to me this week. I really hope this all works out as he genuinely sounds like a good guy. As others have stated above.......most buyers of a custom knife will understand delays. These things happen wether proffesional ( supply of materials, a mis-hap with the design etc etc ) or personal. I just want to be kept in the loop.:)
 
:thumbdn: :grumpy:
Still no picture or follow up communication. I'm done and will take my business elsewhere !!!! Have had very pleasant dealings with other custom makers and will continue to do so ( Mr PJ Ernest you have $$ coming your way again :) ).......as for Mr Polk....Never again.
 
Just got an e-mail from the person whom started this thread........got a pic but still no knife and still POOR communication ( won't answer e-mails etc etc ) !!!!!!!!!!!:barf: I will not get into specific's as it is not my place but I have encouraged him to keep this posted........ He needs to start communicating with people he promised knives too, especially when he already has $$ from them !!! I thankfully did not have any $$ sent to Mr Polk so he can cross me off his "to do list". NEVER AGAIN !!:mad:
 
I have exchanged some emails with Tazz ab. Its true I havent recieved any reponse from Rusty since the pic. But I still think he is a good guy and I will probably eventually get my knife, when? I have no Idea. To me, knife making is an art form, so delays come with the territory and are completely understandable. I can count on one hand the amount of times a knife has actually ever been delivered to me within a month of its scheduled delivery date and Ive ordered at least 50 knives. However lack of communication and lies are not acceptable no matter what the trade.All in all though, I just wanted a pic to know that the knife existed and I got that, so Im content for now. If I still dont have the knife come the new year you might hear from me again.

All the Best and Happy Holidays!

-Leo
 
Still no knife and no communication from Rusty.I sent several emails and a phone call, left a message on his machine. I was gonna let this slide a little longer but I heard he was at the Little rock show with knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top