That one bad experience that totally ruined the brand for you.

Kmikaz3 said:
I lost nearly 2k selling 3 knives of his… this was before the COO debacle. His knives were already depreciated before all that… and given how he runs things and with his almighty attitude, it will just go further downhill. But hey at least i got rid of these eyesores!
Click to expand...
Well I busted mine up with a green tip on my shooting range 🤣 just took the L on the $.
 
Blues said:
Folks, please keep politics out of this discussion. I've moved a couple of posts offline as this is not the place....(which is available elsewhere on the site should you wish to go down that road).
Click to expand...
Can you please show me where you moved my post about Benchmade to? I searched and can't find it. I didn't think that posting two simple facts was political and would like to know where those belong if they're not allowed in this thread/sub-forum. I was only trying to succinctly answer Boattale Boattale 's question about a bad experience that ruined a brand for me.
 
Cobalt said:
This was the last straw. Zero trust in the product means I wouldn't even take one as a gift.
iUY1FNK.jpg


yJP0YgW.jpg
Click to expand...
Bark River Modified Tanto!
 
You're welcome to discuss politics in the Political Sub-Forum. Not here in GKD. Don't presume where we stand on issues simply because we follow the rules and guidelines established for the site. If you have problems regarding the rules or their administration, take it to Tech Support where you can post and it will be seen by the mods as well as the owner.

Further off-topic conversation here will be moved offline without additional commentary.
 
lambertiana said:
Bark River. I had a Mini-Canadian, which, at that time, was touted by Mike Stewart as an outstanding whittling knife. The first time I tried to whittle with it, the entire edge crumpled like aluminum foil. I sent it back under warranty...they reground the edge, but at the same time, buffed off a scrimshaw on the handle. I sent it back again. After over a month of no response, I asked about it. Mike answered like a petulant child, essentially blaming me for the whole affair. He told me that I would have to contact the scrimshand, to whom Mike had sent the knife. The scrimshand told me that he had received the knife with no instructions, and assumed it was sent as a partial payment for what Mike owed him but had never paid, and also warned me that Mike was not to be trusted. I went back to Mike, and again he acted like a petulant child. At about the same time I received information from a former forumite (I think his forum handle was Snarl Slayer or something like that, his first name is Steve) who had placed and paid for a custom order of over 100 Kepharts. Mike made the knives, but then decided he didn't want that person to sell his knives, preferring another vendor. Steve asked for his money back, and Mike told him that he would have to wait until he sold the knives to someone else. I saw the original order and invoice, so there is no question about the truth of this matter.

Those and other dishonorable actions by Mike Stewart over the years have completely soured my feelings toward Bark River. Never again.
Click to expand...
I believe it all. You reminded me of the one, real screwup I've had with a knife company.

Bought a brand-new Bravo 1 (many years ago) with a plain handle and arranged to send it back to BR for some fancy high-figure/died burl (at additional expense). They called a couple of weeks later and told me that they had ground the handle wrong (screwed up) and that I had to pick a different material...but they had no burl in stock. Told them to simply send it back with no handles and no charge (I planned to try putting scales on it). They said they couldn't ship it out without handles and picked the ugliest scales I've ever seen. To be fair, they didn't charge me anything.

When it returned I took off the handles, then decided to scrap the knife in disgust. But, after screwing up a new knife and spending a lot of time and shipping costs to do it, I decided to fix it in the manner that Mr. Stewart & Co. deserved.

I think the duct tape and orbital sander added a little bit of class, all things considered. It still cuts stuff.

Haven't bought another knife from them.

IMG_0930.jpeg

Lol. Yup. This thread does bring back some old memories. :p
 
Insulting or Rude behavior
VorpelSword said:
Randall Made Knives:

Bought one for our son back in 2000. Waited four years and a bit. Paid for it " . . .more than a good bird dog . . ." as I have heard it said in West Virginia. Bought it on perceived reputation, knife lore and Chrisma (there is a longish poem).

It finally came and was given tyo the new Lieutenant at Twenty-Niine Palms as his unit began a serious training work up prior to deploying to Iraq in 2004. A few weeks later I was told that it was too shiney to take on a field training exercise in the desert. Twenty years later now, it is not clear in my mind if this came from someone iin the training cadre or from the young man himself. I got the Kinfe back and contacted the folks at Randall via e-mail and phone. I was asking for some OEM dulling treatment that was condoned by Randall Made. They said no. I asked for an off-site shop recommendation from them. They said no. I asked for a recommended treatment method I could arrange for myself. They said no. They had no interest in this issue.

At a time when the "Global War on Terror" was an everyday real thing, they were non-responsive. At a time when about every knifemaking outfit offered their tactical models with some form of anti-glinty treatment, Randall Mafe adamantly would not. Eventually I got with a local gunsmith who bead blasted the Randall polish down to a uniform dull grey. He wouldn't take my money.

I consider this to be a customer service deal breaker for me with Randall Made for any other purchase going forward.
Click to expand...
So not providing a service they do not offer is a deal breaker? You sound like an entitled Karen every time you tell this story.
 
DMG said:
So not providing a service they do not offer is a deal breaker? You sound like an entitled Karen every time you tell this story.
Click to expand...
That's not how I took what he wrote at all. He wanted a quality knife for his son going to war, they were the opposite of helpful. Many companies would have understood.
 
For me it was Al Mar . The "Pathfinder " . Not just a disappointment , a major feeling of betrayal and disillusionment . 😖

It was hyped as a tool that you could count on for anything . Chop and fight your way through any adventure . :rolleyes:

In reality it was a complete POS fantasy machete /sword fit for display only .

Completely fractured and flew apart during my first use . Luckily no-one was in the way . 🤬

Al Mar replaced it to me , but other design problems showed up later . Like the way the handle scales were attached at only one central point .

So of course it came loose !

I think Al Mar was not in charge by that time or something ? Certainly did not live up to earlier reputation ! :confused:

But I never even considered buying another Al Mar product and would never trust one again , even if given to me free .

This happened early in my budding blade interest...and so , was very "formative " .

 
scorpnsnake said:
LMAO! As I sit at my desk and read this thread. My latest acquisition arrives via fedex. Oh boy, time to check it out.

Low and behold. One CF inlay has an ugly, uneven, crooked gap between the inlay and the top bolster. One side of the grind is almost thin as a hair while the other is tall. Look at the centering.

This badboy is going back.

View attachment 2422654
View attachment 2422652
View attachment 2422687
Click to expand...

That centering problem is nothing compared to what was on the 480-1 Shoki that my father bought. It was rubbing the liner. He sent it in for warranty, and all they did was tighten the pivot until the blade came off the liner. Never mind that it was then almost impossible to open. As soon as the pivot was loosened to the point that the blade could be opened without pliers, it was rubbing on the liner.
 
DMG said:
So not providing a service they do not offer is a deal breaker? You sound like an entitled Karen every time you tell this story.
Click to expand...
It has been twenty years now. They still do not offer any sort of anti-glare finishing treatment that I am aware of.. In the end, all it took was a little bead blasting. Randall Made charges extra for many options, this shouldn't be that hard to work into their process.

Yet, the thing that bothered me the most was their total lack of interest in meeting the contemporary needs of a warfighter about to go in harm's way. Their needs in 2004 and 2024 are not what they were in 1944.

Every time I tell this story? I will always tell this story when the topic of customer service comes up in a thread here.
 
Last edited:
CRK Sebenza 31
I wanted to try a Sebenza and now that I have one I will never buy another. There's just no excuse for the thumbstud or the action given that knives that cost 20% as much as a CRK function as least as well. While the CRK tolerances are tight, so are their knives.

Granted the actual blade is fantastic but they're just a PIA as an in-and-out of the pocket user. No offense to the fan boys. I carry mine, and I use it, but I prefer most of the other knives I own for EDC.
 
My two 31's took a bit of breaking in. (No disassembly.) They're quite smooth now...with nothing done but opening and closing. (Not a fan boy, but a fan.) I do agree that it takes more work to reach that point than I'd prefer. But they aren't getting sold anytime soon either.
 
scorpnsnake said:
LMAO! As I sit at my desk and read this thread. My latest acquisition arrives via fedex. Oh boy, time to check it out.

Low and behold. One CF inlay has an ugly, uneven, crooked gap between the inlay and the top bolster. One side of the grind is almost thin as a hair while the other is tall. Look at the centering.

This badboy is going back.

View attachment 2422654
View attachment 2422652
View attachment 2422687
Click to expand...


I have one of those. The only difference on mine is the blade is more centered. Same scale gaps. Same overall fitment.

Mine needs the screw on the blade pivot thread locked. Because the blade wobble drives me nuts. It appears there was no thread locker used to begin with. But since Benchmade will flip out if I remove a screw. I gotta send it back.

What's the current turn around time on their warranty? How many weeks? Month?

This is one of their extra expensive knives too. So Yeah. WTF?
 
Spillproof said:
CRK Sebenza 31
I wanted to try a Sebenza and now that I have one I will never buy another. There's just no excuse for the thumbstud or the action given that knives that cost 20% as much as a CRK function as least as well. While the CRK tolerances are tight, so are their knives.

Granted the actual blade is fantastic but they're just a PIA as an in-and-out of the pocket user. No offense to the fan boys. I carry mine, and I use it, but I prefer most of the other knives I own for EDC.
Click to expand...
I felt your pain, literally in the thumb and agree the thumb studs are a poor design but I will say that once they break in they become a real pleasure to use and are worth the effort. Also the thumb studs become less of an issues once broken in, even if it is because of a callous, lol. Id recommend trying an inkosi, they’re much smoother brand new with an adjustable pivot, more ergonomic handle and are all around great knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top