Strider Knives?

[jbombelli]

Strider warranty does cover abuse where as CRK covers intended use, only, and that is a plus if you intended to abuse and pry with your folder. However, it doesn't mean much when the customer service is inconsistent, and you may be subjected to various forms of neglect, poor communication, rudeness and unnecessary waiting periods, as has been documented countless times on the forums regarding Strider CS.

A warranty is no better than the word of the man who extends it.

 

[knerd]

A warranty is no better than the word of the man who extends it.

Warranty is on paper. There's something called a legal system (in the US) that will help you dispute any issues if they ever arise. :thumbup:

 

[jbombelli]

Warranty is on paper. There's something called a legal system (in the US) that will help you dispute any issues if they ever arise. :thumbup:

But I have to ask how much that's worth when it costs you more to pursue the matter in terms of money, time, effort and aggravation, than replacing the knife would cost in the first place? I don't mean to be rude or boastful, but my time is pretty valuable. I don't make minimum wage. If I spend just a few hours out of my day hassling with trying to get satisfaction through the court system, I'll actually lose more than it would cost me to just buy another knife.

So to me, on an item that costs a few hundred bucks, a warranty is truly only as good as the word of the man extending it.

 

[tjsulli790]

But I have to ask how much that's worth when it costs you more to pursue the matter in terms of money, time, effort and aggravation, than replacing the knife would cost in the first place? I don't mean to be rude or boastful, but my time is pretty valuable. I don't make minimum wage. If I spend just a few hours out of my day hassling with trying to get satisfaction through the court system, I'll actually lose more than it would cost me to just buy another knife.

So to me, on an item that costs a few hundred bucks, a warranty is truly only as good as the word of the man extending it.

If email the right person, I believer her name was Heather, she will give you instructions for sending your knife in. I've only used their warranty once and I actually just got my SnG back today. Turnaround was right around two weeks and they did everything I requested.

I think their warranty service is just fine but getting a hold of them can be a hassle at times. From my understanding they don't have much in the way office personal, nearly everybody is out working in the shop.

 

[J85909266]

I really don't know anything about their CS first hand, but I have read some of the complaints. I've heard mainly great results from Spyderco's CS, but unfortunately, my one experience with them was slightly on the unsatisfactory side (Found here). I love Spyderco btw, but I'll call it like I see it. I actually left out one detail that kinda irks me when I think about it that I didn't mention in that thread because I didn't want to cause waves. Back to Strider, they seem to respond rather quickly when someone posts an "Oops, I broke my Strider" thread on their forum, which is probably the way I'd go if I wanted fast results. However, I would count that as a negative against them. One really shouldn't have to go that far to get attention from a company IF that's how they actually are.

Just because I don't plan on abusing a knife, it certainly feels better to know that a company would replace the knife regardless of the use (on paper). I don't want to abuse my knives, I just don't want to feel like I have to baby my knife to protect the warranty. That said, even though I don't wrist flick my knives, it's good to know they wouldn't make a stink of it if I did. Prying, I can understand if a company doesn't cover that, that's a little ridiculous. Wrist flicking seems a little tedious, from my ignorant customer perspective. Especially when other companies like Emerson don't worry about it either.

I agree that the Strider warranty is awesome in theory, but I just can't take it to heart after all of the things I've read. It's not like Busse or ESEE, the only other companies I can think of that offer a similar warranty, where they have stood consistently by the warranty and you know your money is well spent.

With Strider, there are countless stories of them doing poorly by their customers and citing all kinds of little details in their supposedly amazing warranty to get around replacing the knife for free. I've read that the warranty is no longer no questions asked, either, and that there are now lots of little rules.

There is a stark contrast when you look at CRK's warranty track record. Their knives are guaranteed for life, just not against blatant abuse. The flicking thing is more just to educate users about the potential damage of high inertia knife openings. You aren't going to void your warranty unless you sit there and slam the knife open as hard as you can for however long it takes to cause permanent damage, which I would image would be quite a long time.

Here is an official statements from CRK on it:

As for the flicking issue, what we discourage is the continuous (almost obsessive) wrist flicking that a few knife owners do over long periods of time. An example of this is wrist flicking the knife continuously while watching NASCAR every Sunday. Chris actually encourages a bit of wrist flicking especially when the knife is new or newly cleaned. It helps the lock settle. The reason the above mentioned flicking is discouraged is because it is unnecessary and will ruin your lock. The S30V of the blade is harder than the titanium lock and the constant banging of the two will cause the titanium to wear away.

 

[knifeshow]

Too many people here are getting caught up in the 'warranty' BS, if you bought the thing to use it, then use it how you see fit and when or if it breaks then BUY a new one; who really expects the manufacture or maker to replace something that was damaged out of stupidity or recklessness!

Do you take your car back to the dealer and demand that they replace it for FREE after you tried to beat a train and your car was totaled? Come on people get serious- if you have the means to buy a CRK, Strider, Hinderer or XXX then you can afford to replace it when you damage it.

 

[billygoat78]

owning a strider, i would agree, it's completely subjective. for the price i paid, which was far less than some prices i've seen out there, i'm not really a fan. it's a good knife, but i have 20 i like way better that cost half as much at most.

comparing a strider to a sebenza is apples and oranges. i own a sebe, its the epitome of precision, handle one and you'll know what i'm talking about. my strider however, and to each his own, but that. . . it's a bit of an ugly, lumbering beast. it has it's place, but the blade design isn't as useful for my purposes and I had the lock fail on me once on a camping trip where it was my only knife. figured it was solid and heavy, lets put it to use. again, it's an alright knife, but the quality control i experienced with mine was average at best

 

[tjsulli790]

Too many people here are getting caught up in the 'warranty' BS, if you bought the thing to use it, then use it how you see fit and when or if it breaks then BUY a new one; who really expects the manufacture or maker to replace something that was damaged out of stupidity or recklessness!

Do you take your car back to the dealer and demand that they replace it for FREE after you tried to beat a train and your car was totaled? Come on people get serious- if you have the means to buy a CRK, Strider, Hinderer or XXX then you can afford to replace it when you damage it.

It's not BS, they have replaced blades for people that pried with their knives. I'm not saying it's the smartest policy but it is their policy.

 

[230grains]

Too many people here are getting caught up in the 'warranty' BS, if you bought the thing to use it, then use it how you see fit and when or if it breaks then BUY a new one; who really expects the manufacture or maker to replace something that was damaged out of stupidity or recklessness!

Do you take your car back to the dealer and demand that they replace it for FREE after you tried to beat a train and your car was totaled? Come on people get serious- if you have the means to buy a CRK, Strider, Hinderer or XXX then you can afford to replace it when you damage it.

That's a totally preposterous statement, flat out ridiculous actually. When a company (Busse, SR, RC, Strider etc..) offers a warranty that says "warrantied against all unintentional damage for life", it increases the price of the blade somewhat because of the warranty. I buy mainly Busse combat knives BECAUSE they stand by their product for life, and because they know that sometimes stuff happens and knives break. I broke the tip off my boss street prying something that I probably shouldn't have. I posted about it and Jerry immediately posted to "send that baby in! We'll make her into a survival spoon and send you a knew one!!". I'm sorry, but stuff like that is the reason I will be a lifetime customer and in the end, spend 1000's of dollars with that company.

Just because I can afford one, doesn't mean I can afford to replace them. I don't expect a company to just warranty a product for no reason, but when a company states that the warranty is unconditional, I see no reason why you wouldn't use it as long as you didn't damage the knife intentionally! I have a Busse Killa Zilla prototype/test team knife. The knife goes for about 750 dollars on the exchange here.. Would I own it without the warranty? Probably not, it's way too much money to put up for a knife IMO with no warranty. I gladly pay extra to know that if I become overzealous chopping something and smash it into a rock, it will be covered, event though chances are the knife would be fine.

My experience with Striders CS was a nightmare, which led me to sell the knife at much less than cost. Several calls, emails etc.. NO RESPONSE. Their warranty doesn't mean a thing to me if you can't get in touch with them for warranty work, especially when its from a knife that came defective from the factory. Know the companies who stand by their warranty, like any of the Busse family knives and Esse (rat), are the ones who will get my business.

I don't expect a company to warranty a knife if I break it doing something stupid, but if a company prides itself in their warranty, saying "If you break it, we'll replace it", I will use the warranty if I break it. That's part of the reason I bought the knife to begin with. If I bought a car that had an unconditional warranty, that covered accidents as well somehow, and I crashed the car, I would absolutely use the warranty.

To say if you can afford one, you can afford a replacement is ludicrous. If that were the case, the company shouldn't offer a warranty at all.

 

[redisburning]

I've read that the warranty is no longer no questions asked, either, and that there are now lots of little rules.

There is one actual rule:

dont pimp your knife.

I guess some things, regardless of how many times they are said, do not sink in. IMO Strider's warranty is great. And I see a lot of QQing about Emerson warranty too. I just dont understand it, why does my experience always seem to differ? Still, I appreciate when people share different experiences, gives me something to think about and information to what I need to do to get my stuff taken care of.

That being said, and I strongly recommend this for any knife available in any decent quantity, buy second hand if you can.

 

[pvicenzi]

I've seen a bunch of these Strider threads, and the only thing I've learned is that people like to argue.

 

[bigmark408]

I own/owned several strider's and Chris Reeves and have dealt with both companies on customer service/warranty levels.

I have always had good luck with strider, i have always had any issues taken care of...i have had knives turned around in a week and in a month.

I have had knives taken care of by CRK as fast as a week and as long as a month...depends on work load and of coarse holiday seasons.

The important thing with me is communication (with any company i patronise)...i have no issue if a repair will take a month or more as long as there is communication.

CRK has great communication, you can always get someone on the phone and many times i have spoken with Chris himself....strider on the other hand (as much as i like there knives) has piss poor communication and it is very hard to get someone on the phone.

IMO ,there is no excuse for this...they sell enough product that they should be able to staff better so they can give there customers better service.

As far as the knives go, both companies make a great knife (IMO) but they are completely different animals and can't be compared on the same level.

 

[J.Vervoorst]

I've always had good luck with all my Strider knives and therefore never had to use their customer service.
However, I understand why they recently changed their "absolutely no questions asked" warranty to a more reasonable one. They said that many of their warranty repairs were from people who took the knife apart and couldn't put it back together again, messed it up in the process, or modified it and ruined it in the process, and now were looking for a free way out of their mess. I believe this and therefore I understand why they had to put some restrictions on this.
Not answering the phone, that's another matter! I guess all the combat-hardened 'operators' working in the shop are too cool to talk to customers. Get a secretary! If she can't handle the workload, get another one!!!!

 

[knifeshow]

It's not BS, they have replaced blades for people that pried with their knives. I'm not saying it's the smartest policy but it is their policy.

my BS statement was for those trying to use it as a justification for the price!

@ 230grains
IMO you are a free loader if what YOU did caused the knife to fail and then you EXPECT that the manufacturer should repair or replace the knife for FREE!

if you are using any knife in an unconventional manner- such as a pry tool, a screw driver, a step, a bludgeon, an ax, a log splitter, a throwing knife, etc; then you are accepting the fact that whatever the outcome you got more benefit from the act than the knife was worth. As I stated before if you can afford such knives as strider, hinderer, CRK, busse then when and if you break one out of recklessness or stupidity then you should be able to afford to replace it.

Knives are meant to cut things not take the place of a pry bar, an ax, a hack saw, etc.

 

[jbombelli]

my BS statement was for those trying to use it as a justification for the price!

@ 230grains
IMO you are a free loader if what YOU did caused the knife to fail and then you EXPECT that the manufacturer should repair or replace the knife for FREE!

if you are using any knife in an unconventional manner- such as a pry tool, a screw driver, a step, a bludgeon, an ax, a log splitter, a throwing knife, etc; then you are accepting the fact that whatever the outcome you got more benefit from the act than the knife was worth. As I stated before if you can afford such knives as strider, hinderer, CRK, busse then when and if you break one out of recklessness or stupidity then you should be able to afford to replace it.

Knives are meant to cut things not take the place of a pry bar, an ax, a hack saw, etc.

Then the MANUFACTURER shouldn't extend such a warranty if they don't want to honor it. And Busse never has a problem honoring their warranty. If you don't like a warranty because it's too good, feel free to buy a cheap POS.

Part of what we pay for when we buy a Busse is the ability to beat the hell out of it without having to worry about whether or not any damage is covered under their awesome warranty. Busse honoring their warranty is a big part of the reason they're as successful as they are. That warranty is an important part of the Busse corporate culture, and part of who they are. I've seen posts by JERRY BUSSE himself encouraging hard use of his knives. If HE doesnt have a problem with it, then who the hell are YOU to take issue and insult people?

And 230 didn't ASK for the warranty to be honored. He posted that he broke his knife prying something, and JERRY TOLD him to send it in for replacement.
That action by Jerry is a perfect example of the reason I own several Busses, and will never buy another brand of knife again.


You are dismissed. Be off with you.

 

[230grains]

my BS statement was for those trying to use it as a justification for the price!

@ 230grains
IMO you are a free loader if what YOU did caused the knife to fail and then you EXPECT that the manufacturer should repair or replace the knife for FREE!

if you are using any knife in an unconventional manner- such as a pry tool, a screw driver, a step, a bludgeon, an ax, a log splitter, a throwing knife, etc; then you are accepting the fact that whatever the outcome you got more benefit from the act than the knife was worth. As I stated before if you can afford such knives as strider, hinderer, CRK, busse then when and if you break one out of recklessness or stupidity then you should be able to afford to replace it.

Knives are meant to cut things not take the place of a pry bar, an ax, a hack saw, etc.

Busse knives are known to be used unconventionally. In fact, Jerry takes pride in people putting his knives to the test. He set out to make a knife that could survive anything you threw at it. Prying, throwing, using it as an axe. You say knives shouldn't be used as axes, but the Busse Killa Zilla is essentially an axe replacement. These arent thin slicers, they're heavy duty hard use knives, and as such, some of the premium in price is because if you ever break it, they replace it. It's a lot like insurance on a knife, that you pay in advance. I don't expect a company to just offer a warranty like that, but you're paying for it.

I had thinned an edge out a little too bit for an application on one of my Busses. I posted about it, and said I was going to regrind it a little bit to thicken the edge. Jerry posted to send it in and he'll fix it, even though it was MY screw up. I turned him down because it was a simple fix for me and I didn't want him to have to fix a knife I altered.

With the knife I broke the tip off of, it wasn't intentional. People pry with their Busses, it happens. Sure, he is sending me a replacement.. in the end, it's not costing him anything though as I will be purchasing, as I said, thousands of dollars worth of their knives because of their great service and warranty. If that's free loading, getting a replacement on a 200 dollar knife and then spending thousands more, BECAUSE of the great warranty, then I'm a free loader. What's the point of a warranty that covers ALL damage, not just manufacturer damage if you're a free loader for using it when something messes up? Ask Jerry if he thinks you're a free loader for doing so, I doubt he'd agree with you.

 

[MikeC]

Can we get a sticky on "Strider Knives" just link up all the Stirder Knives post and put a sticky on it. Second, since I'm complaining can we get a stick on Sebenza as well. I've been hanging out here for a while and this crap is starting to get old. I swear we get one of these post every 30 days or so. Enough. STICKY.

It's always the same, whats the deal with strider, is it a good knife, what's up with story concerning the owners, their qc is suspect, their customer service sucks, no its great. My blade was off center on a 500 dollar knife, mine was awesome I love it, it can cut through a tank, but it stays in a safe.

Heres some on sebenza, Noss destroyed one of his fixed blades, is it worth it, man the fit and finish is unreal, is it worth it, CRK qc and customer service rocks, is it worth it, I've heard his S30V chips easy, is it worth it?

Finally let's not leave out value is relative and or subjective, and by the way is either knife worth it???? Hmnn, I just can't decide.

ENOUGH of this already, STICKY, STICKY, STICKY, and one last thing, is it worth it?

Lets stop passing the popcorn and pass some asprin.

 

[bigmark408]

I'll tell you what bothers me more than repetitive threads....REGISTERED USERS that piss all over the bandwidth without buying a membership and giving back to the forum.

 

[Kaizen1]

my BS statement was for those trying to use it as a justification for the price!

@ 230grains
IMO you are a free loader if what YOU did caused the knife to fail and then you EXPECT that the manufacturer should repair or replace the knife for FREE!

if you are using any knife in an unconventional manner- such as a pry tool, a screw driver, a step, a bludgeon, an ax, a log splitter, a throwing knife, etc; then you are accepting the fact that whatever the outcome you got more benefit from the act than the knife was worth. As I stated before if you can afford such knives as strider, hinderer, CRK, busse then when and if you break one out of recklessness or stupidity then you should be able to afford to replace it.

Knives are meant to cut things not take the place of a pry bar, an ax, a hack saw, etc.

Not only is your logic flawed, but your posting style is rather obnoxious. If a company extends a warranty regarding some specific action(s) and it occurs, there's nothing "free loading" about it. One might as well say that one is free loading when he sends his knife in to get sharpened. The knife industry is the way it is, it's not some vague ideal that you imagine or knew at some time in the past. Expecting a company to do what they say, however ridiculous it appears to you is not unreasonable. Companies offer what they can to distinguish themselves in the marketplace. Whether or not it has any practical value has no relevance to whether or not they are obligated to follow through on their guarantees. If a company cannot do what they say they do, it's not magically the consumer's fault because of your romantic ideas about what knives are "supposed" to "be."

There's a thread in the Strider forum of a guy who broke his SnG prying some part of his engine because it broke down on the side of the road in freezing temperatures. He ended up fixing the problem and got it started again because of what he did with his knife. Strider told him it was covered and they would get a new one out to him. There's a thread in the Swamp Rat forum where a guy and his buddy got in a car accident in the middle of nowhere and were trapped in their truck. He had to cut his way out of the roof to free himself. It took hours. The knife didn't break and even if it did, it was covered. There's nothing ridiculous or stupid about either of these situations and it definitely increases the value in many reasoning people's minds about the knives themselves. One might wonder how often such freak situations can possibly occur. The statistics didn't matter to these guys.

Your knife uses don't immediately establish the universal rules for what knives can do. Get over yourself.

 

[knerd]

I don't see anything wrong with someone unfamiliar with a certain company/certain knives asking questions. This is a discussion board after all. However, I am sick of seeing every Strider thread turn into a clusterf!#k between Strider and CRK. If you can''t stay on topic then don't post. Strider =/= CRK, so stop bringing it up. Also, if you don't own or haven't owned a current Strider knife then you really shouldn't post. QC has gone up from what I've read/seen, my SNG has a centered blade with none of these problems I see the same people mention over and over. You at one time owned an SNG, good for you but it doesn't help if it years ago when the QC wasn't the best. And if you don't even own a Strider then don't post. I've seen this way too much around here, people hear the "groups opinion" and just go with it without ever owning the knife.

The OP asked a question about Strider knives, not a comparison with other knives, not about CRK, not about your opinion if you've never owned a Strider. It's always the same people that show up to say "CRK are better." "Strider sucks!" "I have no idea about Strider but I heard some things so I'm not supporting them!" "Striders are the best!" Just give an honest opinion, is it so hard?