Should a Custom Knife Warranty be for the Original buyer only?

[DavidZ]

Just want to see what you all think. My view is that a warranty is for the item, not just the original owner. If it was only for the original owner, the secondary knife market and the maker would be the big loser. No one would want to buy on the secondary market, and most people would be hesitant to buy new, unless they were sure that they wanted to be married to the knife forever! Also, knife makers would have to somehow keep a very good record of who got what, and I bet most cannot do that without serial numbers.

 

[Kyle Royer]

I voted for. No, Warranty is for the knife, and it's performance.

 

[Gossman Knives]

My warranty is for the knife no matter who has it.
Scott

 

[D lisch]

my bet is that most makers will fix a problem on a knife on matter who has it. It would be a very poor business practices to not fix the knife. No maker want's a knife out there that dose not shine a good light on there work. I had a friend bring me a knife I made him the wood scales where gone and the knife was black with scale. his house burned down and he found the knife in the ashes he ask me if I could fix the knife I said I would do what I could. and I will.

 

[LX_Emergency]

Do you give warrantee on the owner?

No, you sold and made the knife. That's what you garantuee.

 

[Lorien]

in most businesses, the warranty is limited to the original buyer only, and a receipt of purchase is also required.

My question is; what makes custom knives different?

 

[on_the_edge]

in most businesses, the warranty is limited to the original buyer only, and a receipt of purchase is also required.

My question is; what makes custom knives different?

I don't think that most businesses do it, but some do. IMHO, it is a way of avoiding liability, say when the washer springs a leak or the refrigerator dies and the food is lost.

But I am not aware of anything custom made where, as a matter of general practice for makers of those items, the makers warrant only the original buyer. Think about this hypothetical: You make custom knives that are ordinarily very reliable, but you had a bad heat treat on one knife. Now the end user (whomever that is) is properly using the knife when a large portion of the edge suddenly breaks off. The user is not abusing the knife, but doing something that ordinarily would not have caused any damage to a knife that had been properly heat treated.

As the maker of the knife--
1. Do you care about your reputation (your maker's mark is on the knife) and what people will think when they see the broken knife or hear the "I broke my __ knife" story? If so, you should warranty it.
2. Do you care about the end user who is willing to try to make things right even though he/she is likely as busy/frustrated/befuddled/etc. as you are? If so, you should warranty it.
3. Can you definitively say, "Regardless of your story about how the knife I made broke, that knife has obviously been severely abused in a way that no knife could reasonably withstand and, as such, I will not warranty it."? If not, then you should warranty it.

 

[tonym]

In my oppinion a knife should be warranteed against failure of materials and workmanship for any and every owner. To say I'll warrantee a knife for John, but not Bill is nonsense.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Being in wholesale/retail business and then the construction industry for many years, I have dealt with warranties as the honorer and honoree more than I would have liked too. I would suggest to a maker to do everything in your power to do it right the first time (even though sometimes that's not enough) as generally no one wins in a warranty situation.

Historically, a warranty was created as a result of a transaction between buyer and seller/manufacturer as somewhat of a contractual insurance of performance and did not transfer to subsequent owners. In most industries that's still the case.
However, as a result of the automotive industry starting to allow the transferring of new car/truck warranties as a sales incentive, warranty transfers have become more common.

I feel both makers and buyers/collectors can benefit from the transferring of warranties on a knife, however I feel the maker has more a responsibility to the an original buyer than to a secondary buyer. I feel a maker has the responsibility to go "all out" to "make it right" with an original buyer, however theirs limits for a secondary buyer. It in my opinion, secondary owner warranties need to be evaluated more on a case by case basics.
Also, if a maker has a warranty for an original purchase knife at the same time as a secondary then I feel the original purchase warranty takes priority.

The good thing is, that as a percentage of the whole we really don't have a problem with custom knife warranties. Let's be thankful of that.

 

[notdos]

Yes, the warranty should be for the original purchaser only. As a buyer, I wouldn't even consider asking a maker to warrant a knife when I can't assure him that it had been used or maintained properly prior to me.

Phillip

 

[peterinct]

From what i've experienced talking with knifemakers (I have never had a warranty issue with a custom) most would WANT to make it right whether the owner was the original owner or not.

I realize there IS a difference between "custom" and production knives, but Buck is renowned for their lifetime warranty irregardless of whether the owner is the original.

Also, I found a Leatherman Charge TTi on a gravel road that looked to have been run over. I contacted Leatherman hoping get the cost of repairing it. They didn't even ask about ownership and simply said that product is warranteed for 25 years. I sent it in a they sent me a new one.

Peter

 

[Lorien]

Kevin, that was a very insightful post, thank you for that.:thumbup:

I deal with warrantees quite often, and in my industry the smaller high end producers tend to warrant their product regardless of who owns it. These guys are almost always 'sole authorship' manufacturers where damn near everything used to make the component is manufactured in house. They like getting stuff back so they can see how it held up. It allows them to constantly refine their proprietary, patented, products.

Here's advice for knife makers who don't yet do this- include a printed receipt with every knife you sell.

It's so simple to do and yet very few seem to do it. Not only does it give you a duplicate copy so you can go back over your records to detect trends and the like, but it is very useful for the buyer.

 

[Kevin Jones]

Yes, the warranty should be for the original purchaser only. As a buyer, I wouldn't even consider asking a maker to warrant a knife when I can't assure him that it had been used or maintained properly prior to me.
Phillip

I feel the same way. I would expect to pay and would offer payment for any repair work on a knife I didn't purchase from the maker or a dealer acting as agent for that maker.
Now if the maker did not charge me I would accept the free repair as a nice gesture and would recognize him/her as providing exceptional customer service.

 

[Amoeboid]

What about knife dealers? I've seen many dealers buy knives off the secondary market, and NEVER mention that they didn't get it directly from the maker, let alone that the knife may have been used.

 

[tom mayo]

Loaded question..............

I have a pretty much no questions asked warranty....but I have gotten knives back that have been SERIOUSLY abused by people and then sold to other unsuspecting customers who want it fixed.......

So my answer is ......YES.......but!!!!

 

[severedthumbs]

i think the warranty should follow the knife and cover defects in workmanship and materials

repairs due to abuse should be fixed at a cost

these are knives not jet engines, the maker should be able to tell what caused the defect quite easily.

 

[on_the_edge]

Loaded question..............

I have a pretty much no questions asked warranty....but I have gotten knives back that have been SERIOUSLY abused by people and then sold to other unsuspecting customers who want it fixed.......

So my answer is ......YES.......but!!!!

I agree, Tom -- when obvious knife abuse has taken place, all bets are off.

 

[Fort Henry Custom Knives]

A Warranty is really about a Name. If you purchase screwdriver at a Flea Market that has no name on it you buy it with a different view of performance than if you go into Sears and purchase a set of Craftsman screwdrivers - becuase of the name.

When a Maker puts his name on a product he is selling not only the product but his name with it. We all, either through paid Advertising or verbal recommendation, have different views on different products due to the name on them. Most guys won't argue that Black & Decker hand tools are better than DeWalt, both make Drills and Recip Saws, but DeWalt makes them different and due to Advertising and word of mouth most guys would rather own a DeWalt.

When a Maker wants to use his name to sell he must also accept that his name will stay on the product no matter who buys it in the future and thus that buyer who makes his decision on whether to purchase this product- due to the name.

When a Maker warrants his product (knife, tool, etc) to only the Original Buyer - he is stacking the deck in his own favor, making the original Buyer pay for the name but not wanting to accept responsibilty for the product should someone else own it. Having his Cake and eating it too.

This is not about abuse per se, I know it occurs and that should be handled on a case by case basis, sometimes a Maker has to face that. This is about the product in general - for a knife it could be Handle Shrinkage, Poor Heat Treat, Scales falling off, Thong Hole shrinking - etc.

A Maker publically saying that he will only warrant a knife to the person that purchased it from him - cutting his own throat if you ask me.

 

[John White]

My warranty on workmanship is good as long as I'm still alive and kicking. As with the other makers here, that's my name on the blade, and my reputation goes with it, from owner to owner.

Additionally, I've encouraged collectors who've sold or traded my knives to ship them through me if there was any "fluff and buff" needed even, from normal wear. I had one such knife, originally bought through a dealer, purchased by a third party, and shipped to me for re-finish. The knife had obviously at some point, been scratched, and then buffed. It took me only a little while to put an original rubbed finish back on the blade at no charge. How much better an ambassador is that knife for my workmanship, and how much is that worth to me?

I'll bet that this is the way almost every custom maker feels about their work, not to mention many high end manufacturors. The poll seems to be bearing this out.

John

 

[RogerP]

^^^ What John said.

Roger