Spartan Knives - Huge Disappointment

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Before my stroke I was helping a village blacksmith as a teenager in the late seventies - then went to college to do an Higher National Diploma and BTEC in smithing and metallurgy - made loads of scythes, sickles, hoes and horseshoes to help in a town with too many horses and farmers and not enough smiths and farriers - I learnt to shod horses - there was loads to do lol !

I graduated to making Asian style knives out of Yellow, White and Blue steels then dabbled with stainless and semi stainless in forges in Hong Kong and Macau - just did it as a hobby then, 25 years ago my arthritis got too bad to do it anymore and I had to stop driving etc.
 
So I sent an email to DLT asking for a replacement, to confirm they had one in stock before I sent mine back. Of course, this was their last one. And of course they sent it being damaged...I'm kinda disappointed in DLT Trading, I'd wished they had higher standards.

I did also send an email to Spartan, it was over the weekend so hopefully I get a reply today. Fingers crossed!

How do I insert an image directly? I saw others inserting images, but where do I get a link?

DLT email reply
 
The knife having issues is one thing, but do people REALLY care that much about packaging?

Nice fancy, branded boxes and form fitting foam inserts, info cards, stickers, swag......all that stuff costs money. And companies don't give it to you for free.

Its built in to the cost of the knife.
 
I liked my large SHF folder but the lack of sharpening choil/blade to tang transition bugged me and it didn’t feel as solid a my CRKs. For Sebenza money it should make me as happy as a sebenza. YMMV.
 
J. Doyle said:
The knife having issues is one thing, but do people REALLY care that much about packaging?

Nice fancy, branded boxes and form fitting foam inserts, info cards, stickers, swag......all that stuff costs money. And companies don't give it to you for free.

Its built in to the cost of the knife.
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To be honest my absolute favorite packaging for a folder is a nice lined folder zipper case. I like to keep original packaging for resale and/or collection storage, and pouches are the best way to store folding knives with protection but minimal bulk and waste of disposable materials.
 
I just picked up a brand new Magnacut SHF and I absolutely love it! It came in nice packaging, flawless condition and sharp as a laser beam! I also have a Pallas and a Harsey Fighter that I am equally proud of! I do love all the different designs, but I ended up choosing the timeless PJ classic! Give Spartan a chance and don't base your experience on one transaction that sounds like a reboxed return rather than a new representation of a quality product.

Here is my new PJ SHF...

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Sorry to hear about your experience. I’ve only had great experiences with their knives. All harsey’s, 2 full 4” and 1 3.25”. I had one that was off center and a little scratched up coating on the blade. Emailed them, explaining it was purchased secondary. No problems at all. They paid shipping both ways and it came back perfect! I think they re-coated the entire blade. Super responsive throughout and even sent a t-shirt. Can’t speak highly enough! I hope the problem gets remedied for you.

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I have a few SHFs. I have received most that were sharp from the factory, a couple dull. As previously mentioned, I usually sharpen many new knives to my liking, not always though. They are definitely robust "hard use" knives. I do really appreciate the various special editions. In addition to the ones shown below, I have more that I do not have pics of.

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roaduck said:
How did people cope before stainless at sea or on a farm etc - it must have been constant maintenance with wire wool, wire brushes and oiling - hard work !
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A number of years ago we took a scout troop on a fishing trip out of Monterey, and we put the lines in just off Pebble Beach. We caught a lot of rockfish and ling cod. On the way back in the guides filleted all of the fish with a carbon steel fillet knife. It was very dark with patina but had zero rust. With proper care carbon steel works fine in a marine environment.
 
kongfool said:
This is my first time buying from Spartan knives, although it's through DLT Trading. I just want to say firstly, DLT Trading has already responded and helping me process the refund. I also would like to make sure everyone understand, I am disabled now, with only 1 working arm/hand. I am extremely careful handling my high end collection knives. From 10 years of knife collection, I have never seen anything like this.

I have had my eyes on the Spartan Harsey line for quite some time. As an Marine combat vet and an ex professional poker player, I purchased the Spartan Harsey 2022 - Royal Flush edition. Anyone who's been stationed at Pendleton knows Oceans 11 lol, I practically lived there when I was station at Camp Pendleton. With poker, it dramatically helped with my personal finances, which led to helping me with the purchase of our first family home in Oceanside. Also, I wanted to support a vet business, and this knife looked absolutely beautiful online in the images. I was extremely eager to receive something I've had on my Wishlist for nearly a year.

My first impression as I opened the package was already an immediate disappointment, the Spartan brand packaging just looks terrible... I then open the knife box, it's in a plastic baggy with two foam sponge protections on top and bottom. I finally pull out the knife, and this is what I see. Visible scratch marks or production faults on the brass pivot. I used 3 different materials cleaning cloth to try to clean it, and some brass non-abrasive polishing oil but it didn't do anything. I then go to flip open the knife, it's extremely tight but it's understandable being a new knife. But, the frame locking mechanism is too tight, it's already grinding the base of the blade. Next I try to cut some printing paper, which should've been an extremely easy task for any S45VN factory edge, it failed that too. The blade is just straight up dull! I am extremely disappointed in this entire first time experience with Spartan brand, I had high hopes and high expectations for a $500 knife.

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You know. If you ever feel inclined. Say maybe some guns were jumped a little or Spartan takes care of you. You are always able to edit the thread title. Just sayin.
 
J. Doyle said:
The knife having issues is one thing, but do people REALLY care that much about packaging?

Nice fancy, branded boxes and form fitting foam inserts, info cards, stickers, swag......all that stuff costs money. And companies don't give it to you for free.

Its built in to the cost of the knife.
Click to expand...
I'd like to clarify, the reason why I personally was disappointed by receiving a dull factory edge knife is the fact I'm disabled. I lack the motor capabilities to sharpen a knife to my liking.

Secondly, I've been in the Import/Export business for over 15 years since I left the military. Trust me when I say, to include a simple case with logos attached would cost you $1.50 a piece even if you put in a small oder MOQ of 1000 pieces. You as a knife maker, I'd assume you want your product to be respected and recognized? A good overall packaging would highlight a beautifully designed, manufacture knife. It would boost the overall quality of the product. It's not that how much we as customers care for the packaging, it's what a high quality knife should have. I wouldn't dare to think that a $500 knife would come in a maple wood box, hand crafted and all that. But to show up in a cheap cardboard box with a plastic bag and a sticker is kinda crazy. When these lower, cheap budget brands like Civivi and M Miguron, even those come with a zip up bag with a micro fiber towelette and stickers. But, I don't think it's absolutely necessary it's just personal preference. I only learned of the Spartan Harsey line from other knife collectors, and I heard nothing but great things. So I think I just had too high of an expectation, perhaps it was too high.

From the responses I've gotten here, I'm happy to see that the majority SHF owners all had awesome experiences with Spartan brand. Also, an update from DLT Trading, they've contacted Spartan on my behalf and will fix all the issues and send it back to me after. So, with all that being said, I'm very happy with the result and customer service from DLT Trading. I am going to buy my next SHF next month, so my wife don't see in our CC bill that I'm slowly building up a SHF collection! 😂 😂
 
cutchu said:
I have a few SHFs. I have received most that were sharp from the factory, a couple dull. As previously mentioned, I usually sharpen many new knives to my liking, not always though. They are definitely robust "hard use" knives. I do really appreciate the various special editions. In addition to the ones shown below, I have more that I do not have pics of.

wypVWr9.jpg


YvK1fxS.jpg


NYByHwf.jpg


eFZpChj.jpg


m9FF8km.jpg


bld0Fsz.jpg


WpFmCbJ.jpg
Click to expand...


Your collection is magnificent!
 
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