Bad Survive! Deserves A Permanent Post In The Hall Of Shame

[EngrSorenson]

He’s stated numerous times that he doesn’t have the money for an attorney.

Also stated he doesn’t have the money to have sheaths made for knives according to him that have been completed and ready to ship since 2020.

If he’s so broke that he can’t afford sheath work, how in the hell is he going to afford the Euro steel that he keeps bleating about… Oh, that’s right, more pre orders

Ah, thanks for that- I went back and watched one of these videos and caught that same thing.
I've never thought of a company going out of business as being a spectator sport, but Guy's doing a great job making this a dog-n-pony show.

 

[ncrockclimb]

He’s stated numerous times that he doesn’t have the money for an attorney.

Also stated he doesn’t have the money to have sheaths made for knives according to him that have been completed and ready to ship since 2020.

If he’s so broke that he can’t afford sheath work, how in the hell is he going to afford the Euro steel that he keeps bleating about… Oh, that’s right, more pre orders

Guy has stated a lot of things. Many of them are not true.

He always seems to have money to keep when he needs it.

I am not saying that he is not running out of cash, but I am saying that his excuse about the sheaths might be BS.

 

[EngrSorenson]

He always seems to have money to keep when he needs it.

Well I'm sure preorders aren't going to be able to keep up with the legal fees from the termination of his nuptials.
The perfect storm is brewing.

 

[EngrSorenson]

Maybe he can get some sponsors for the daily YouTube soap opera...like Oxydol, Palmolive or 20 Mule Team Borax. Just a thought.

And now...back to today's episode...

If Guy only knew about all the great ideas he could receive from the community here at BF...

 

[EngrSorenson]

 

[ncrockclimb]

Removed some of my unsympathetic posts. Every time I make a sarcastic barb at his expense, I feel bad for doing it afterward. Just doesn't seem sporting. I mean, I do think he brings it on himself...but I don't like to kick a guy when he's down...even this Guy.

You are a better man than me.

 

[PirateSeulb]

Also lets face it funding or no a legal battle is likely to bring to light the crooked and/or negligent aspects of his "business" which would probably be worse for him than most the options he does have.

 

[beeinak]

Removed some of my unsympathetic posts. Every time I make a sarcastic barb at his expense, I feel bad for doing it afterward. Just doesn't seem sporting. I mean, I do think he brings it on himself...but I don't like to kick a guy when he's down...even this Guy.

Some guys deserve to be kicked!

 

[Danny Linguini]

Removed some of my unsympathetic posts. Every time I make a sarcastic barb at his expense, I feel bad for doing it afterward. Just doesn't seem sporting. I mean, I do think he brings it on himself...but I don't like to kick a guy when he's down...even this Guy.

I agree. I’m trying not to pile on, but he keeps dumping fuel on the fire with all his bullshit videos. Trying to throw so many well-respected members of the knife community under the bus for what are most probably his own screw-ups is not helping his case any - it’s only making him look desperate. And now bitter.

I hate seeing any business fail, especially a small one. I’d expect if someone is just green at it that they’d learn as they go. But when they keep making the same mistakes and bad decisions, and blaming everyone else for their resulting failures, I can’t bring myself to have any sympathy for them. In this case, there are victims - all the people who have been waiting years for knives they pre-ordered in good faith and cannot get refunded, while this guy fabricates his twisted reasons why that’s an ok way to do business. I can’t feel sorry for him for that.

I don’t think this business is an intentional Ponzi scheme, as much as it certainly looks like one. He’s not that smart. I think he’s just an idiot, with maybe a few other mental issues at play.

 

[Blues]

You are a better man than me.

Unlikely. Just different thresholds. (And he's never gotten a penny from me, so it's not quite as personal as it might be otherwise.)

Some guys deserve to be kicked!

No doubt.

 

[Meridian]

Some guys deserve to be kicked!

Yea he had a good thing going and a loyal fan base. Minimal work putting together basically kit knives from different manufacturers. A solid product for a good price, yet his greed and deceitful nature got the best of him.
I hope everyone with unfulfilled orders can get their refunds from this clown.

Wild seeing him throw Larrin under the bus, I've got many magnacut and 3v knives from custom to production with none of these issues he's crying about. I recommend architect knives for a similiar style. They are just as good, often better, and you actually recieve them. Just ordered an ak 5.5 in magnacut, my 4.5 in magnacut is a champ. No bs ,no excuses they get you a quality product within 3-5 days.

 

[EngrSorenson]

Removed some of my unsympathetic posts. Every time I make a sarcastic barb at his expense, I feel bad for doing it afterward. Just doesn't seem sporting. I mean, I do think he brings it on himself...but I don't like to kick a guy when he's down...even this Guy.

Self moderation is a sign of good moderation.
Maybe one day when I grow up I'll learn how to do some of that.

 

[Blues]

Self moderation is a sign of good moderation.
Maybe one day when I grow up I'll learn how to do some of that.

At the very least it'll get you noticed by Senpai.

 

[El_Bribon]

You can call me a shill for trying to be balanced on this issue and I will not take offense because: 1. You don't know me. 2. Even if you did, I am at the point in my life where I'm past worrying about what ankle biters think of me. So there's that.

I own four Survive knives that were produced in the past year. I purchased one from Survive and the rest were purchased from a click-and-mortar store. I did have an order for a GSO 5.1 in Magnacut but cancelled it and received a refund. From the advice of others who posted here, I went through my credit card company to get the refund.

I can say the quality of his work is outstanding, it just is. When I compare his work against some highly respected knife makers here on BF, or from other larger makers in my collection, I am very impressed. But none of that matters because of the extensive backlog he has allowed to build. And his lack of concern with getting his oldest orders completed is arrogance to the nth degree. He reminds me of these characters you see in movies who are gifted but lack any empathy for others. He justifies this because "they will see the value in the end." I've listened to him talk about the GSO 10 and 12 blades. The reason it is taking so long to get them done is because they are difficult to make and he doesn't want to spend the time to get them done. He has mentioned that he charged too little for them and continued work on them just means more money lost. That's his problem and he should not be making his customers wait because he doesn't want to eat the cost.

As far as the latest issue about the voids and inclusions in the knife, I think NSM could be making the steel in a way that introduces the problems. I've worked in other industries where everyone is pushed to get some product delivered. People will start taking shortcuts to get there, especially if there is a huge financial incentive. Maybe that has happened here. And the fact that other knifemakers haven't said anything doesn't disprove his arguments. These manufacturers who have to work with NSM because they are not big enough to work directly with CPM may be getting batches of steel that are kind of dodgy too. Because most of their steel comes from CPM/NSM, they can't afford to get on their bad side. But Guy could be lying about this too. His credibility is about as good as the sh!t in my septic tank right now.

 

[Blues]

I think NSM could be making the steel in a way that introduces the problems. I've worked in other industries where everyone is pushed to get some product delivered. People will start taking shortcuts to get there, especially if there is a huge financial incentive. Maybe that has happened here. And the fact that other knifemakers haven't said anything doesn't disprove his arguments. These manufacturers who have to work with NSM because they are not big enough to work directly with CPM may be getting batches of steel that are kind of dodgy too. Because most of their steel comes from CPM/NSM, they can't afford to get on their bad side. But Guy could be lying about this too. His credibility is about as good as the sh!t in my septic tank right now.

I don't think your post makes you a shill at all and you bring up reasonable concerns.

But...what would make you "think" that Crucible could be making the steel in a way that introduces the problems...as opposed to, say, the way the maker is working with the steel?

And at least one other maker has reported past issues he had with the steel and as far as I know, Crucible was able to determine which batch, or portion thereof, was "tainted" and take steps to address it. (I do not know specific details as it is outside of my need to know and I did not pry.) My understanding is that it was isolated to that one case. Also, it has been reported here in this thread that the knives returned by Survive! to be tested...were tested independently...and not found to have been outside of spec.

I don't necessarily think that Guy is lying...he may be...or, giving him the benefit of the doubt, he may not know any better...or is inadvertently introducing the flaws into the blades through some process of his own. (I am not nearly qualified to answer that, but I do know how to run an investigation and what questions to ask in the search for truth.)

The issue as I see it is that a problem or problems arose...things got out of hand, orders went unfilled, money was not refunded in a timely manner, and when the pressure reached a certain point, Survive! began throwing everyone and everything under the bus to try to limit the damage to their own reputation and business...to the exclusion of everyone and everything else.

In a perfect world I'd like to see everyone get the knives they want (or wanted), or their money back...and for NSM and Crucible not to be unjustly defamed.

Then we could get back to arguing important things like whether forging is better than stock removal.

 

[EngrSorenson]

You can call me a shill for trying to be balanced on this issue and I will not take offense because: 1. You don't know me. 2. Even if you did, I am at the point in my life where I'm past worrying about what ankle biters think of me. So there's that.

All this text telling us that you're not worried about it makes it seem like you're worried about it.
It doesn't matter though, because I don't think you're a shill; you're just giving the benefit of the doubt to a guy who deserves much doubt.

And the fact that other knifemakers haven't said anything doesn't disprove his arguments.

We've read in this very thread that there are enough fans of NSM that have positive experiences that I would sincerely doubt that Guy is just the only one speaking out about these issues.
NSM sounds like the kind of company that is good on their word and delivers for their customers.
I do have a lot of evidence that Guy is continually missing deadlines.
Guy's list of excuses is a mile long and either he's the most mistreated, unluckiest person in the world, or he's just making excuses for why his company doesn't deliver.

Regardless, whether it's the fault of Guy or not, it's clear that his business model isn't robust enough to handle these setbacks.
My personal feelings about Guy asside- the business isn't going to last and that has everything to do with the thoughts in the brain of the guy who started it.

 

[B12buddy]

You can call me a shill for trying to be balanced on this issue and I will not take offense because: 1. You don't know me. 2. Even if you did, I am at the point in my life where I'm past worrying about what ankle biters think of me. So there's that.

I own four Survive knives that were produced in the past year. I purchased one from Survive and the rest were purchased from a click-and-mortar store. I did have an order for a GSO 5.1 in Magnacut but cancelled it and received a refund. From the advice of others who posted here, I went through my credit card company to get the refund.

I can say the quality of his work is outstanding, it just is. When I compare his work against some highly respected knife makers here on BF, or from other larger makers in my collection, I am very impressed. But none of that matters because of the extensive backlog he has allowed to build. And his lack of concern with getting his oldest orders completed is arrogance to the nth degree. He reminds me of these characters you see in movies who are gifted but lack any empathy for others. He justifies this because "they will see the value in the end." I've listened to him talk about the GSO 10 and 12 blades. The reason it is taking so long to get them done is because they are difficult to make and he doesn't want to spend the time to get them done. He has mentioned that he charged too little for them and continued work on them just means more money lost. That's his problem and he should not be making his customers wait because he doesn't want to eat the cost.

As far as the latest issue about the voids and inclusions in the knife, I think NSM could be making the steel in a way that introduces the problems. I've worked in other industries where everyone is pushed to get some product delivered. People will start taking shortcuts to get there, especially if there is a huge financial incentive. Maybe that has happened here. And the fact that other knifemakers haven't said anything doesn't disprove his arguments. These manufacturers who have to work with NSM because they are not big enough to work directly with CPM may be getting batches of steel that are kind of dodgy too. Because most of their steel comes from CPM/NSM, they can't afford to get on their bad side. But Guy could be lying about this too. His credibility is about as good as the sh!t in my septic tank right now.

I'm not going to call you a shill. Being ignorant is different than being a shill. Because I'm kind, I'll try to fix it so you don't end up like the other bots on Survive's channel.
1. You say that Guy has no credibility, true. But then you take Guy's word as gospel to attack NSM/Crucible for taking shortcuts for "huge financial incentives".
1a. You have zero evidence that Niagara took any shortcuts. Zero evidence exists that this is a rolling defect.
1b. You have zero evidence that some "huge financial incentive" exists. Niagara and Crucible will not close their doors whether Guy buys from them or not. However, the incentive exists on Guy's end to keep the hard money lenders (his words) from shutting him down. Survive! is not a customer of Niagara or Crucible.
2. Other knifemakers remaining silent doesn't disprove his arguments, it also DOESN'T PROVE THEM. Guy has made claims of others reaching out, well where is the transparency in that then? In any industry, it is a terrible idea to throw suppliers or customers under the bus publicly. Perhaps Niagara understands that making 3 YouTube videos a day calling everyone out isn't good for business. Perhaps other knife manufacturers understand a professional way of working with suppliers.
3. Crucible does not sell a single pound of steel to knife manufacturers. Crucible cannot roll sheet.
4. To say there aren't other options is incorrect; there are other players in the game. If you don't like Crucible then call Bohler, call Sandvik, or get yourself some super high quality Chinese D2. Since you can't name a single manufacturer other than Survive that has been cut off, your point is invalid.

 

[EngrSorenson]

There's a colloquial saying that goes something like "when you think everyone else around you is an ass...it's time to look in the mirror".

Then we could get back to arguing important things like whether forging is better than stock removal.

"Yes son, I remember when S!K was imploding. In those days Blade Forums had a common enemy and there was peace throughout the land.
After S!K folded and Guy went to jail, old lines were drawn in the sand once more."

 

[Thescrawnylumberjack]

He’s stated numerous times that he doesn’t have the money for an attorney.

Also stated he doesn’t have the money to have sheaths made for knives according to him that have been completed and ready to ship since 2020.

If he’s so broke that he can’t afford sheath work, how in the hell is he going to afford the Euro steel that he keeps bleating about… Oh, that’s right, more pre orders

I’ve been wondering where the money is going to some from for independent testing of these knives if he can’t even refund peoples money.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I’ve been wondering where the money is going to some from for independent testing of these knives if he can’t even refund peoples money.

He sent them to his cousin jo-bob with a jeweler's loop and a 20 dollar bill.