sheffield knife supply

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foxbat34

Joined
Dec 26, 2008
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I am a new maker and have been lucky to have a good friend, who has been making knives 20 years, mentor me, also he has given me quite a bit of steel to work my first few knives with. I decided to buy him some steel back as well as get myself more, he had used sheffield supply, and so thats where i ordered from. (let me say though that i had previously ordered all my handle mat., pins, gaurds from Tracy at usa knife supply, cant say enough about how great his customer service is!! A+)
Than being said i assumed all suppliers would be like dealing with him, I was wrong. After giving my order to Ann Sheffield I asked her about how much shipping would be, she told me she had know idea. I thought OK I can understand that seeing the some of the steel is random length. Then I asked for a total of the order to which she replied "I dont work on a computer!", really how about a @#%##@ calculator!!! When I pressed on the issue she told me that if i wanted a total i would have to call back Monday because the order would not be shipped until then, I called at noon today, friday. So she was note only rude as hell, but is going to wait 3 days to ship my order!!!
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but i just wanted to know if anyone else has had the same problem, and if so where do you get your steel?
 
I am in Canada and wanted a Canadian supplier ROB and marilyn @ ranger are top knotch people they will ship to the states. I made a order and had the material 36 hours later excellent service and people. SHIPPING TO THE USA WOULD BE A FEW EXTRA DAYS . Kellyw
 
I buy most of my supplies from Sheffield, and haven't had any problems, except a couple orders they got an item wrong, but they always made it right at their expense. If you want a total, you can add up the prices of what you're buying yourself. I always do that so I know if I'll be able to eat the next week. :D

BTW, welcome to the forums.
 
I haven't had any dealings with them personally, but if you are that upset with the service you got, there is always the option to cancel your order and get it elsewhere. There are lots of good suppliers to choose from including Midwest Knifemakers, Alpha Knife Supply, and Ranger Original.

Brad
www.AndersonKnives.ca
 
I've never had anything but pleasant experiences with Sheffields. My order usually arrives within 3 days of placing it and they've yet to make a mistake on one of them. Granted, I have never asked them for a total or anything like that, I usually just add the prices up myself while I'm preparing the order prior to calling them.
 
I've had good experiences with SKS.... Ann is well... she's Ann and depending on how you catch her she's great or she's Ann. I buy all my phenolics from them.
 
Sheffield's has been in business a LONG time; they have a very loyal following. Ann is no spring chicken, and she's not well; sometimes people get a wee bit short when they get like that. She might have been short of help today, too.
They are an old school mail order retailer. Calling on Friday afternoon to a place that ships mostly UPS, it's not really surprising that it might not ship until Monday. That ain't too awfully bad, actually.
I ordered some stuff yesterday for woodcarving from a different place. They didn't offer a total, and told me it would arrive within 10 business days. So be it; I wanted the stuff.
Some places are a day or two slower than others. If you don't like it, don't order from them again.
 
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I too have had nothing but good dealings with Sheffields. I really like the wide variety of supplies and specialty tools that are knife related. The shipping from there to here is expensive though. Its completely across the United States.
 
Will Leavitt said:
I've had good experiences with SKS.... Ann is well... she's Ann and depending on how you catch her she's great or she's Ann. I buy all my phenolics from them.
Click to expand...

Well said, I've never had any dealings with Ann stop me from ordering from her and she's like one of our local hardware stores compared to the big box stores, she usually has what you're after.
Ken.
 
I find that as usual I'm on two sides of this issue. I've ordered from Sheffield's before and felt okay about it, and I do remember not getting a total when I called. I just sucked it up and decided I would trust that they could add the same as me; and that they'd get it right. They did.

But it does make sense that in the 21st century, any mailorder house would be able to give you a total when you place your order along with a delivery estimate. Not doing so seems like a competitive disadvantage to me.

I almost always order stuff online, so I do get a total including shipping, along with a printable receipt. Companies that don't have a functional web presence just don't get much of my business. I placed an order on TruGrit's website a while back, and after a week had gone by with no response, and I'd received the stuff from every other supplier that I'd ordered that day, I wrote to ask about my order. They hadn't noticed that they had it. That got the ball rolling.

Mostly it seems to me the knife supply houses are generally not on the cutting edge of internet marketing. :) Some things we still have to get from them because they are the only ones willing to take the risk of stocking such an odd assortment of specific, non-mass market items. This is a valuable service, and one that should not be discounted.

I'll be in hog heaven when I find one place that stocks everything I need, regardless whether they give me a total and if the only way I can place my order is by phone. I'd about hand carry a check - maybe crawl on my knees - if I could find a place like that... :D
 
Ann does me right. No problems with Sheffield. I call and 3 days later I have my stuff.
 
Sheffields is great -- Ann is old school, but they are an honest company that stands by their products and their company. I'll take that any day over a crappy company with a computer.
 
When Ann says she doesn't work with a computer she's not kidding :p When the box comes in it has a hand written receipt. No neat little labels, just chalk marks and sharpie notes :p Their catalog is right next to my bed and I just like to look through it every couple of days.
 
I placed my first order with Sheffields in 1981.
Ann can be a little short sometimes but always comes through.... I like old school :)
 
The first time I ordered from Ann, she had me crying I was laughing so hard. In spite of her gruff/tuff attitude, she is a real sweet heart.
I actually look forward to talking to her when I place an order now.
 
I have never ordered from Sheffield. I have made my first few orders with Jantz. If you want your order shipped within two or threes days of placing it, don't go with them or you will be really pissed. :foot:

I'll give Sheffield a go for my next order, I'm green and still figuring out what is best for me.
 
Hey guys thanks for the input. When I re-read my original post I guess it did sound a little harsh, but as a small business owner myself I just cant see not going the extra mile for every single customer. After all that is how to grow your business. Just tonight i was in Wal-Mart and heard a man ask for ammo, the clerk told him they were out of several calibers so I gave him my business location and phone #. I understand no being up to date with websites and such, my gunshop just barely has one, it was just that she didnt seem interested in seeing that i had everything i needed. I guess she has a pretty loyal customer base and is satisfied with the revenue that generates for her.
I really meant no disrespect, I promise Im not one of those guys:foot:
I really did like doing business with Tracy, his service was great.
I guess its because everyone Ive met so far in the custom knife trade has been more than willing to help a new guy, whether it be from suppliers to my good friend who has welcomed me into his shop, given me materials, and let me use his machines, (BTW he is helping me build a KMG clone) and especially all of you guys on this forum, who have answered all of my questions no matter how silly or trivial.:D:thumbup: To have all this talent gathered in one place is amazing. I cant say enough thanks for your help.
Again let me say that i meant no disrespect to Ann or to any of you. If it seems that way I apologize.
 
I think Ann warms up to you after your 2nd or 3rd order.

Pro’s
+Great prices
+Have probably the widest selection
+Honest and fair – the miss filled my order (A bunch of Loveless bolts about $15 worth.) I don’t believe they even looked at the order ticket before saying they would send the right ones, wouldn’t let me send them back or at least pay for shipping on the new ones.
+Took the time to go find the information from a previous order. She must have a good filing system to keep those tickets organized.




Con’s
+Site/Catalog isn’t “modern” and pricing isn’t always correct in the catalog. When Nickel shot up the pricing increase wasn’t reflected in their catalog, though they did inform me of this when I ordered and wasn’t a big deal.
+Ann isn’t (as far as I know) a knifemaker. She is pretty limited in terms of being able to help you with applications especially compared to someone like Tracy.

All and all I think they are good people and worth ordering from - YMMV
 
foxbat34 said:
Hey guys thanks for the input. When I re-read my original post I guess it did sound a little harsh, but as a small business owner myself I just cant see not going the extra mile for every single customer. After all that is how to grow your business. Just tonight i was in Wal-Mart and heard a man ask for ammo, the clerk told him they were out of several calibers so I gave him my business location and phone #. I understand no being up to date with websites and such, my gunshop just barely has one, it was just that she didnt seem interested in seeing that i had everything i needed. I guess she has a pretty loyal customer base and is satisfied with the revenue that generates for her.
I really meant no disrespect, I promise Im not one of those guys:foot:
I really did like doing business with Tracy, his service was great.
I guess its because everyone Ive met so far in the custom knife trade has been more than willing to help a new guy, whether it be from suppliers to my good friend who has welcomed me into his shop, given me materials, and let me use his machines, (BTW he is helping me build a KMG clone) and especially all of you guys on this forum, who have answered all of my questions no matter how silly or trivial.:D:thumbup: To have all this talent gathered in one place is amazing. I cant say enough thanks for your help.
Again let me say that i meant no disrespect to Ann or to any of you. If it seems that way I apologize.
Click to expand...

First things first,
You call yourself a small business owner, then in the next paragraph you talk about shopping at WalMart
WAKE UP! Every time you buy from WalMart another American job goes to China.
Second, I buy steel from people I know at this point or frrom people who people I know reccommend. Aldo Bruno is my first go-to for steel, Kelly Cupples is number two, Miscellaneous knife related stuff, Tracy Mickley, High temp supplies, Darren Ellis.
I have not yet dealt with Sheffield, but now that I know more about them I will actually look at their ads in case there's something they carry that I need that isn't being supplied by the previously mentioned folks.

-page
 
sunshadow said:
First things first,
You call yourself a small business owner, then in the next paragraph you talk about shopping at WalMart
WAKE UP! Every time you buy from WalMart another American job goes to China.


-page
Click to expand...

I actually do detest wal mart but i live in a very small town, sadly its all we have.
While i dont like them, i do like to eat and wear clothes.:)
 
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