Spyderco Quality Control/Warranty Issues

H

higgsfield

Joined
Mar 4, 2013
Messages
460
Let me start by saying that I love the knives that Spyderco makes. The Delica 4, Caly 3, Sage 1, 2, Southard, Manix 2 and Para 2 are all knives I own and are superb knives. However, I had some issues with their QC recently and was wondering if anyone else experienced similar results.

I purchased a brand new Para 2 about a month ago from the Cutlery Shoppe and it came with a badly marred mark on the G-10 scale. It looked like someone accidentally machined the G-10 and instead of being textured it was smooth and was about the size of a nickel. I sent it in for warranty and although they replaced it, it was accompanied by a letter stating that Spyderco does not warranty issues related to wear and tear and that this replacement is offered to me as a one time exception. I was offended to say the least as the letter implied that the knife did not leave the factory in this condition and insinuated that I tried to weasel my way into getting a used and damaged knife replaced by a brand new factory one. I even included my sales receipt showing it was purchased less than 2 weeks ago. I was very upset and disappointed to say the least. I contacted them via e-mail to express my displeasure regarding the letter, and the reply was a simple "that letter was a mistake and you should have received the regular letter."

A couple of weeks later, I purchased another Para 2 from Howes Knife Shop. This one came with a missing screw on the G-10 handle. I contacted warranty via e-mail requesting a new one be sent to me. I get a reply referencing the earlier knife along with the suggestion that I buy my knives form local vendors to avoid future problems. Again, I was offended. A badly marred scale and a missing screw are issues beyond a customer's control. I feel that in both of these instances, Spyderco did not own up to their manufacturing mistakes and implied I was the problem.

Sorry for the long rant, but I feel unfairly treated in light of these occurrences and was wondering if I was the only one. Not sure if huge demand for the Para 2 has their QC lacking out of Colorado since I have had zero issues with stuff coming out of Taiwan and Japan. I love their knives, but it makes it hard for me to continue to support the company when they treat me this way.
 
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In all fairness to you, I don't think you deciding to not support them is going to hurt them. Personally I've never had an issue with them fixing anything I've sent even YEARS after. IE I sent them a moonglow manix prior to christmas for a warranty on the lock and they didn't ask a single question nor charge me a dime. I've sent in several knives to them without fail.

Personally, I havent seen any of the issues you mentioned and while I'm not calling you a liar, I'd consider their side. Someone is sending them knives which look used or toyed with. Your issues werent a grind issue, they appear to be carry or manipulation issues IE you swapped scales from a carry knife or you needed a screw for a user you lost. I KNOW what you're saying in that you acquired them new but considering how few issues I've seen with their Para 2, their bread and butter I'd say, your issues really would surprise me as well if I were working in Colorado.

Consider their side and the fact both issues were fixed. They offered you a means to not have the issue happen in the future to cover them as well as you.
 
I can't blame you for being a bit offended with those replies, but I wouldn't give up on them just yet.

Their suggestion to buy from local venders to avoid future problems doesn't do much good if there are none around. No one in my county sells them, and when I buy one it has to be online.

Bad luck getting two in a row with a problem. Stick with them, you'll probably have very good luck for a while.
 
Reignman said:
In all fairness to you, I don't think you deciding to not support them is going to hurt them. Personally I've never had an issue with them fixing anything I've sent even YEARS after. IE I sent them a moonglow manix prior to christmas for a warranty on the lock and they didn't ask a single question nor charge me a dime. I've sent in several knives to them without fail.

Personally, I havent seen any of the issues you mentioned and while I'm not calling you a liar, I'd consider their side. Someone is sending them knives which look used or toyed with. Your issues werent a grind issue, they appear to be carry or manipulation issues IE you swapped scales from a carry knife or you needed a screw for a user you lost. I KNOW what you're saying in that you acquired them new but considering how few issues I've seen with their Para 2, their bread and butter I'd say, your issues really would surprise me as well if I were working in Colorado.

Consider their side and the fact both issues were fixed. They offered you a means to not have the issue happen in the future to cover them as well as you.
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Clearly, me not supporting them isn't going to affect their bottom line. But its like being in an abusive relationship; why would I want to keep coming back for more? In all honesty I like the knives too much to never buy another. Just venting to see if anyone else had issues related to warranty, fit and finish out of Colorado, etc. And in considering their side, as a company I feel like you should give the customer the benefit of the doubt unless he proves otherwise.
 
How is it a manufacturer's mistake, when you cannot be sure it wasn't done by whoever you bought it from? And why wouldn't you take up these two issues with the seller? I wouldn't buy a brand new knife and let it slide if they sent it to me marred or missing a screw. Don't automatically assume the middle man is safe on these issues.

Plus, Spyderco said the first letter was a mistake, and you're still offended? Did you expect them to come over and offer a back rub to suffice?
 
I understand your disappointment and think that I would feel the same. But in my experience (during the years I sent to Spyderco few knives for evolution) Charlyn and Amanda before her were always nice and willing to help.
 
I understand why you're upset but I wouldn't dwell on it too long.
If all is well who cares what they insinuate?
The letter sounded like a generic response anyway. I wouldn't take it personally.

I am curious though, why didn't you immediately return the knives to the dealer for a quick replacement? In my experience, working with a good dealer is easier than involving the manufacturer.
 
minimize said:
How is it a manufacturer's mistake, when you cannot be sure it wasn't done by whoever you bought it from? And why wouldn't you take up these two issues with the seller? I wouldn't buy a brand new knife and let it slide if they sent it to me marred or missing a screw. Don't automatically assume the middle man is safe on these issues.

Plus, Spyderco said the first letter was a mistake, and you're still offended? Did you expect them to come over and offer a back rub to suffice?
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HAHA. No need to be condescending although your response is quite comical and made me laugh. These are authorized Spyderco dealers. Howe's and the Cutlery Shoppe were contacted and although they would refund my money, a replacement would not be sent as the Para 2 are basically out of stock there and everywhere else. The only recourse in both cases if I wanted to keep the knife was to go through Sypyderco. And if you can read between the lines, you would understand their admission that the letter was a mistake, although quite possibly could be true, could also have been an attempt to do damage control and said simply to diffuse the situation.

I was hesitant about posting this as I am sure there are fanboys on here that get offended when anything negative gets said about their company so I expected comments like this. Thanks anyways for contributing.
 
Speaks a lot about Spyderco warranty department. Blaming the customer for finding faults in the knives. (missing screw really?)

Edit: He purchased them from legitimate reputable dealers. Howes and Cutlery shoppe are top shelf dealers. I would trust them far more than a franchise brick and mortar store.
 
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Ken44...Exactly my point and thanks for understanding. I can't go to a local vendor when they are sold out everywhere, the only place I can buy them is online when they are in stock. Furthermore, whether these knives were purchased in store or online, the issues remain the same. Instead of me, it would have been someone else contacting Spyderco to resolve these problems.
 
higgsfield said:
Clearly, me not supporting them isn't going to affect their bottom line. But its like being in an abusive relationship; why would I want to keep coming back for more? In all honesty I like the knives too much to never buy another. Just venting to see if anyone else had issues related to warranty, fit and finish out of Colorado, etc. And in considering their side, as a company I feel like you should give the customer the benefit of the doubt unless he proves otherwise.
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Out of the Spyderco's I owned (So far 3 Golden, 3 Taiwan). The Taiwan beat the snot out of the USA made ones in terms of QC and defects. It's no comparison.
PM2 (LNIB): Off center, blade play, very dirty. Couple of marks here and there.
Manix 2: Terrible grinding on both. One was 1mm off. Little bit better finishing than the PM2. Also rattling lanyard pin on the 2nd new one I bought. Off centered blade also blade play present.

I had to put in a little work to get my 1st Manix 2 and PM2 to decent centering, and solid lock up.

Techno/Southard were pretty much flawless in comparison. In finishing, and fit as well as QC.

(Techno/2x Southard vs Pm2, and 2x Manix 2's)
 
Luis G. said:
Speaks a lot about Spyderco warranty department. Blaming the customer for finding faults in the knives. (missing screw really?)

Edit: He purchased them from legitimate reputable dealers. Howes and Cutlery shoppe are top shelf dealers. I would trust them far more than a franchise brick and mortar store.
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Thanks for the support. I don't think I am ready to say the warranty department is terrible as I can only speak from my own experiences which clearly aren't great at the moment. It sounds like other members have had very good service from them. I think it would be dangerous to make such a conclusion based on one person's experience. I posted to see if anyone else had similar experiences to mine.
 
Only Spyderco knows exactly what the defect rate is from each of their production sources, and you can understand why they don't open that can of worms by telling you the chance of finding a defect in one of their knives.
That said, you've offered an explanation of why we're seeing more complaints about Para quality control lately: Purchasers are choosing not to return defective merchandise because the retailer does not have stock for a replacement. The result is end users choosing to deal with warranty issues directly, and that leads to more posts of this type.
 
Luis G...That has been my experience as well. Sage 1 and 2, Southard, Delica 4 out of Taiwan and Japan were all awesome with no issues whatsoever. I purchased a couple of Para 2's last year and they were also very good. This year, as you stated, the Para 2's I have received, were either dirty, had blade play issues, or had minor marks and imperfections on the scale. None as bad as the one I sent in for warranty, and not bad enough for me to return or make a fuss about, but nevertheless there. This is why I hypothesized that due to high demand for the Para 2 that they can't meet, maybe they are pushing out products out of Colorado that they normally wouldn't. Just a thought.
 
If I were you I would be frustrated as well, however I would chalk it up to a run of bad luck, of the 24 Spydercos I've had (including 5 PM2s) I've never had a problem with any of them (besides a very slight amount of blade play on 2 that was fixed with tightening the screws).
 
I am leaning towards chalking it up to bad luck. As stated, I am a big Spyderco fan. Half of my collection consists of Spydercos and they are easily my favorite production folder company. Ill likely develop a case of selective memory, forget this ever happened, and keep on trucking with more Spydercos. Thanks for all the replies.
 
higgsfield said:
HAHA. No need to be condescending although your response is quite comical and made me laugh. These are authorized Spyderco dealers. Howe's and the Cutlery Shoppe were contacted and although they would refund my money, a replacement would not be sent as the Para 2 are basically out of stock there and everywhere else. The only recourse in both cases if I wanted to keep the knife was to go through Sypyderco. And if you can read between the lines, you would understand their admission that the letter was a mistake, although quite possibly could be true, could also have been an attempt to do damage control and said simply to diffuse the situation.

I was hesitant about posting this as I am sure there are fanboys on here that get offended when anything negative gets said about their company so I expected comments like this. Thanks anyways for contributing.
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lol. Sarcasm = condescending? Fanboy? Nope. Couldn't care less. I just find it amusing that you are offended despite being given an explanation. Either way, feel better. I hope this doesn't ruin your day. Remember, sometimes... life is like a box of chocolates, you never know if the retailer ate one or if the manufacturer forgot to put it in.
 
Reignman said:
In all fairness to you, I don't think you deciding to not support them is going to hurt them. Personally I've never had an issue with them fixing anything I've sent even YEARS after. IE I sent them a moonglow manix prior to christmas for a warranty on the lock and they didn't ask a single question nor charge me a dime. I've sent in several knives to them without fail.

Personally, I havent seen any of the issues you mentioned and while I'm not calling you a liar, I'd consider their side. Someone is sending them knives which look used or toyed with. Your issues werent a grind issue, they appear to be carry or manipulation issues IE you swapped scales from a carry knife or you needed a screw for a user you lost. I KNOW what you're saying in that you acquired them new but considering how few issues I've seen with their Para 2, their bread and butter I'd say, your issues really would surprise me as well if I were working in Colorado.

Consider their side and the fact both issues were fixed. They offered you a means to not have the issue happen in the future to cover them as well as you.
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If you've read years of posts by Sal Glesser, who owns the company, I doubt you'd post this. Stuff happens in real life, but I'm sure Sal would be the first to call a spade a spade and express his apologies.
 
higgsfield said:
I am leaning towards chalking it up to bad luck. As stated, I am a big Spyderco fan. Half of my collection consists of Spydercos and they are easily my favorite production folder company. Ill likely develop a case of selective memory, forget this ever happened, and keep on trucking with more Spydercos. Thanks for all the replies.
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I think you're right. Kind of like Moore, OK. I heard someone from the SPC in Norman saying that was a 1 in 4 million tornado, as was the one in 1999... :(
 
The part about buying from local vendors is what kinda burns me.
My so called local dealers have no Spydercos.
There isn't a single place that has more than 3-4 total knives and they are either a Salt h1 or a Delica
It's most likely because competing with online vendors is pretty much useless.
I'd love to put my hands on one and inspect it but even though I'm in a small City (Greenville SC) there isn't a place.
 
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