Smokey Mountain Knife Works Buyer Beware

I two have had excellent service from SMKW, I have been to their showroom three times, and never have I once looked at a Frost knife, they are cheap. It is not your fault, you did not know, but it is also not SMKW's fault either, they just sold you the knife you told them you wanted, and as for the missing tool, that is probably a Frost error (they probably just forgot or it fell out during packaging), and SMKW was nice enough to fix that problem.
 
I have had nothing but good dealings with SMKW. Of course I researched the knife I was interested in prior to purchase. They are there to sell knives, not hold everyone's hand through the whole buying process.

Look at it this way:

You did not buy a crappy knife, You bought a lesson in buying knives.
 
The point has been made about cheap knives and quality. I only want to add my experience as well; I have had 2 good transactions with SMKW, actually both were close-outs at terrific prices, for instance a flawless Spydie Lum Chinese for $50. They do sell good stuff as well as cheapos and the best solution, as mentioned above, is becoming an educated consumer. I have no doubt that if you hang around these boards for a while you will be an expert on the good stuff in no time.
 
Cannot blame smokey, you are the one that boughtg a $2.00 knife and expected quality. That is just plain ridiculous!!!!:jerkit:

What did you expect you would get for $5.00?

Spend some time reading and studying BFC and you will never make that mistake again.

Live and learn, feel relieved that this lesson only cost $5.00!!!
 
I have odered from them a time or two even though they are only a 40 min drive away.I have allways had good luck with them.Most of there market is selling the very cheap impoted knives but if you buy quility chances are you will get quality.
They have a very nice store with tons of cheap crap and some nice stuff.I would say that 90% of the people that walk into the store are after a very cheap item as a souvenir from thier trip to the Smokies,10% being real knife people.As many people that go through that place in a day that is still alot of real knife people.Last time I was up there I ran into a couple of thier salesmen that really knew what they were talking about,a couple more that didn't know their but from a hole in the ground,ie, (me)do you still have any CRK knives in stock (saleskid) uh yeah,the Columbia River stuff is over there.(me) no I mean Chris Reeve Knives (saleskid) UHHHH WHO! (salesman broke in)we do not carry them anymore,didn't sell enough of them.
 
Cougar Allen said:
TA436.jpg


If I understand you correctly ... the entire handle is made of one piece of plastic? Including what looks like a pivot screw that could be adjusted with that tool, but it's actually all one piece of plastic? :eek:
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Cougar, You understand me correctly: what appears to be the pivot screw, that could be turned, is just plastic and part of the handle. To be fair there IS a metal screw in the center of what looks like the pivot screw either side with a flat slot that could be turned with a regular flat screwdriver or a thumbnail for that matter.
 
I was buying knives from SMKW many years ago - LONG before the Internet - and was always very pleased with the prices, the service, and the quality of the merchandise. I bought some of their less expensive stuff, and found all of it to be a bargain for what I got. I also bought some great collectible stuff from them, which I still have. Since I tend to collect older knives now, there's not much in their current catalog that's of interest, but I wouldn't hesitate to do business with them.
 
I think that the clue was in the $ 4.99 price. What the hell did you think you were buying...a Sebenza. Give me a break!
 
I want to thank everyone for replying. I agree that I have purchased a lesson in buying knives and have learned a bit about the absolute necessity of researching even minor purchases online. My cost was not the $5 price of the knife, it was $12.50 LANDED cost...about half way to the cost of a decent knife at a local dealer. It hasn't been my intention to imply that Smokey Mountain is "Smokey and the Bandits" They aren't crooks...they sent me a knife..it just wasn't quite what it looked like, and I am largely at fault for not following the "Buyer Beware" admonition I put in the title of this sub-thread...that's the point of the post: to caution others, who like me, are not familiar with which brands are crap, to be cautious and dubious when it comes to low-priced 'bargain' knives. While I have bought knives for under $10 that I was very satisfied with, the chances of doing so online where you really can't see what you're getting are not good.
Take care and thanks again,
Frogbert
 
You asked us to cease buying from SMKW because you think they should have given you a lesson in "How to buy a quality knife" or warn you that you just ordered a POS?

SMKW did absolutely nothing, for us to "Beware of"!!!! Your post sounds like you feel SMKW had some sort of obligation to immediately E-mail you upon getting the order to inform you the knife was a POS? The $4.99 price should have been all you needed. Furthermore, you complain that the entire sale cost you a whopping $12.50 when you add shipping/handling. Again, your fault, you could have ordered a $300 knife to go with your $5.00 wonder knife and another $200 in other goodies SMKW sells which would have made the S/H charges incidental.
Next time you buy a knife please take a few minutes to reasearch it before hand. Simply start a thread here and post: "guys, I am looking to buy a Frost Talon (or whatever they call this model) from (Insert internet retailer here) at a cost of $5.00. Is this a good knife?" I believe that the colorful posts that will follow will have you laughing so hard your kidneys will ooze out of your nose. I promise that upon conclusion of your thread you will know exactly what knifeknuts think of Frost knives.
 
wolfmann601 said:
I promise that upon conclusion of your thread you will know exactly what knifeknuts think of Frost knives.
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I think he already does.

This is definitely a learning experience. However, don't think that just because a knife is $5.00 that it is a piece of junk. That is what I am getting from many of the posts here. I have purchased many Opinels and Frosts (Sweden) knives for about that price, and believe me, they are not junk. You have to learn which inexpensive knives are good and which ones are junk. Bladeforums is a good place to do that learning.

Strange that SMKW would list the knife as having a composition handle if it is one piece. That is misleading. Neither composition nor composite means plastic. It means something made of two or more parts.
 
I just want to add that shipping cost is shipping cost and to order a $5 knife and pay more in shipping than the knife itself costs, well just not something I would have done...I wait until I am going to order a bunch of stuff so that shipping is a bargain...Anyway, I understand it was not what you expected and ordering online can be hard since you can't hold the knife and get a real feel for it, and many of us here have bought knives online and not liked them that much, we then sold them here or elsewhere or trade for other knives, just kind of happens it taking a chance, the best thing you can do is research, and find out everythign you can online about that given knife so you don't get too many surprises...
 
"Composition" would not mean metal, wood, bone, antler, micarta, carbon fiber, etc. It could, and often does, mean plastics, compressed fiber, or any other non-descript, lesser quality materials. When I see "composition", I think lower quality. What it does tell me is that the seller doesn't want to tell me exactly what the material is, possibly because of it's quality, or possibly that the same knife might come in a variety of plastic like materials, not always the same each time.
 
Some of us are getting distracted by the brand name and the price. Us knife knuts know what the name Frost on a knife means, but most people don't (they must not, or Frost wouldn't be able to sell anything).

Of course no one expects much for $5, but it would be reasonable to expect the knife to look like the picture. Look at that again:
TA436.jpg


I've seen plenty of knives for $5 and even less that have a steel or zinc handle, sometimes with composition inserts for grip very much like that drawing appears to show. Haven't you?

I don't suppose most of us would order a $5 knife from a catalog, but suppose you did, what would you expect to get? No doubt you wouldn't expect it to be anything great. Would you expect it to look like the picture?

If it didn't what would you do?

I reckon I would roll on the floor laughing, and then I would log on to Bladeforums to tell everybody about it. I would post photos to compare with the catalog picture, too. Can you get hold of a digital camera and take some pictures, Frogbert? I'd love to see what that thing really looks like.

I don't know, maybe what's really distracting some people is that thing was sold by a dealer they patronize, and they feel they ought to either defend the dealer or stop buying from Smoky Mountain. I don't know as I believe either action is necessary, but that's something we'll all have to decide for ourselves....
 
FROGBERT said:
While I have bought knives for under $10 that I was very satisfied with, the chances of doing so online where you really can't see what you're getting are not good.
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I have successfully been purchasing things from paper catalogs for decades before Al Gore invented the internet. It simply requires a bit of research, to either know the product or know the manufacturer. You've now learned that, starting with all the excellent advice you've already gotten in this thread.

But I can empathize. I am what is known as an equipment freak. Whenever I have gotten interested in a particular activity, I tend to buy lots of stuff, even before I've learned what stuff to buy. If I had a nickel for every thing involving knives, dogs, guns, mountain climbing, and backpacking, that I have purchased over the years that I wish I hadn't, I'd...well, I'd be buried in a ton of nickels.

With regard to knives, the level of knowledge on this forum is unsurpassed by any source you could possibly find. I rarely post, but I read a lot, and never cease to be amazed at how much I've learned here. You've come to the right place.
 
I've never had a problem with SMKW, whether ordering by phone or online. And in this instance I have to say this is hardly their fault.
 
I would love to hear how many on Bladeforums have purchased a $5.00 (retail) folder and were/are happy with it's performance.

That is of course if you have the guts to admit it!!!:D :D
 
I have purchased two Opinels and a few Frosts knives that ran from $5.00 to $10.00. I am extremely satisfied with the performance of these knives. I also picked up a Victorinox on sale for $6.99 and it has been just fine.
 
You bought an exceedingly cheap knife made by a manufacturer known to produce exceedingly cheap (as in "cheesy") knives and blame SMKW for delivering just what you'd purchased? Um...

Btw: I bought my CRKT S-2 (large) on clearance at SMKW. Item was as-advertised and I received it in a timely manner.
 
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