The Bad--pappy1959 - Tim Balda

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VictorCoelho

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I decided to go public with this matter to alert others from getting hurt as I did.
Mid December I bought some goods from Pappy1959 (Tim Balda), I made two purchases, one of $600 and another one of $4500.00.
The other day exchanging emails with someone that also got hurt with Tim, I said that my loss was a little over $3500.00 but going through my records I saw it was $4500.00
With some delay I received the first order but never got anything from the second purchase.
He rarely answers my emails and when he does he comes with some excuses.
I’ve been a member of this forum since 2005 and done a lot of good deals and this was the first time anything like that happened.
Even though, there is a Sticky with suggestions for having a good trading experience, the search engine is down for non-paying members, making impossible for anyone search for any info that might help to close a deal.
I ask the moderators to reconsider and bring back the search engine.
He is a newbie, registered last year and probably will vanish from this forum as they always do!...but I would like to leave this as an alert to others and the least I can do, is to update this thread at least twice a month.
Watch out for Tim Balda!
Victor Coelho
vctapeti@uol.com.br
 
My Story:

I purchased a knife from Tim earlier this year. Shipping was prompt and I was quite pleased with the knife. I sent him a PM stating that if he ever had a slipjoint in Ivory I would be interested. A few weeks later while in Florida I received a PM from him stating he had a Equal End Pen Knife. We agreed on a price and Tim gave me what I felt was a very fair price. I paid via Paypal while in Florida. When I arrived home 7 days later I was surprised to find that the knife was not in my mailbox. I sent Tim several PMs to which I received no response. Finally I sent one more PM asking where this knife was. I received a email saying a PP packing list had been printed and a few days later I received the knife. Again I was quite pleased with the knife. Then the problem started.

I sent Tim a PM asking him about a Straight Carver that he had for sale on the for sale by makers folder section. After I sent the PM I realized that the knife had been marked as sold. So I sent another PM saying to the effect I see that this knife has sold nevermind. I recieve a PM back from Tim stating that the knife was still available but the Ivory bead needed to be replaced because it cracked and that If I did not mind another different bead the knife was mine. I agreed to PP him the following monday. Which I did. Since that time ( Two weeks ) I have not heard from Tim, I have not received my knife, He has turned off his PMs and will not answer emails.

At this point I am going to wait until monday then I am filing a claim with my credit card company and Paypal. I think I have been screwed.

I also doubt the claim now that these knives are hand made in Ohio. If this was the case the equal end pen knife and the knife that is missing should have been in my hands asap. I think ( though I have no proof other than a gut feeling) that Tim recieves these knives from Russia or somewhere and he gets pictures ..and posts them..and the knives come from a manufacturer over seas. The reason my gut tells me this is because of Years of dealing with other makers who have posted "available" knives that I have bought they are shipped pronto. I do not think that the straight carver I bought and have not recieved is in Ohio, I do not believe that the bead needed to be replaced. I believe now that the knife is being made somewhere overseas and Tim is avoiding contact with me. Yes I am impatient but when someone says a knife is available I expect that knife and suitable communication within a reasonalbe time frame.

I have also been contacted by the OP of this thread stating that Tim owes him over $4k worth of knives and there are others that have also contacted me with complaints. I am a honest person and a senior member here. I have rarely posted in this forum about a bad deal. But this one wow...Artsig?

So I am calling foul on this guy...beware..
 
VCTapeti said:
Even though, there is a Sticky with suggestions for having a good trading experience, the search engine is down for non-paying members, making impossible for anyone search for any info that might help to close a deal.
I ask the moderators to reconsider and bring back the search engine.
Click to expand...

This part really belongs in the Service & Support forum, where it gets answered regularly.

The search engine is restricted to paying members because searching puts a tremendous strain on forum resources, and slows everything down for everyone.

Spark, as the forum owner, is the only one who can make a decision on this, and does so on the numbers. Since he still pays out of his own pocket to keep Bladeforums running, he is entitled to ask that anyone needing an expensive function like this, please contribute the few dollars.

You can however search Bladeforums using any search engine by adding site:Bladeforums.com to your search terms.
 
earlier this year I was feeling great, I thought I'd just started a great new partnership with an American company Amherst cutlery. Tim offered me UK and European dealership. I sent him $1000 in February for an initial order, since then I've had hardy any contact the last time I asked for a tracking number he sent me a false one. Any other reply has been excuses. He's damaged my reputation and damaged my business by letting me make promises to customers I can't keep and taking my $1000 and giving me nothing.

Thanks Tim, for nothing!
 
Man, I hope this gets cleared up. I almost pulled the trigger on a couple of Pappy1959's knives, but had to use the money for other things. I really hate seeing good hardworking members getting screwed. I put a lot of faith in Ren's gut instincts, if he is calling foul, then Tim has some explaining to do.:grumpy:

Tim, step up and clear up this issue.
 
Tim is one of those members that checks out the forum in stealth mode. I hate that, because you can't tell when these members are checking out threads. It sure would be great to have his explanation for what the heck is going on here.

I'd be very interested in Tim providing us with a location for his US based factory.
 
oh no, not this again...

me and a good handful of members had an issue last year. tim stepped up and made things right, but i see not much has changed. my personal issue took many, many months to resolve. though, they did not get resolved until i posted in here.
 
FYI I have rec'd an email from Tim he is going to send me a check for both my equal end pen knife and the straight carver which he says is in route. Upon which I will be sending both of those knives back to him.

Ren
 
Glad for you Ren!
I also got an email from Tim saying he will send the tracking numbers on Monday.
Let`s see!....last time he said that he sent me a phony tracking number.
 
Ren and Victor, I'm glad that Tim is addressing the matter in his own way.

Like Keith, I would appreciate hearing where these knives are actually made, since there seems to be a great deal of uncertaintly about that issue. I know I won't consider a purchase from Tim until I have a clear answer to that questions.

Good luck guys!
Ben
 
VCTapeti said:
That`s the problem Ben!
Click to expand...

Yes, it would be better if Tim would deal with this out in the open, instead of sneaking around in stealth mode and using emails. Doesn't look good for him, even if he is on the up and up. Hopefully you will see your knives, or your money back soon. If not, you certainly have grounds for escalating this issue. Like I said before, I don't like to see BFC members getting screwed by anyone.
 
VCTapeti said:
. . .The other day exchanging emails with someone that also got hurt with Tim, I said that my loss was a little over $3500.00 but going through my records I saw it was $4500.00 . . . I’ve been a member of this forum since 2005 and done a lot of good deals and this was the first time anything like that happened.
Even though, there is a Sticky with suggestions for having a good trading experience, the search engine is down for non-paying members, making impossible for anyone search for any info that might help to close a deal.
I ask the moderators to reconsider and bring back the search engine. . . .
Click to expand...

Hi friend, sure hope this works out for you. That's a real chunk-o-change fer sure. :mad:

On another note, (not to bust your balls too hard or anything . . . well, maybe just a little:p) you mean to say that you can drop that kind of coin on a knife deal(s) but can't afford $25 to support BF and avail yourself of its most excellent search function? I mean . . . $25?? :confused:

Anyway, off my soapbox and back on the bandwagon. Like I said, hope it all works out for you.
 
You`ve got a point!
To be totally honest with you I simply never thought about being a paying member but from now on I’ll sure get a membership upgrade.
 
Ren the devils trailboss said:
I also doubt the claim now that these knives are hand made in Ohio. If this was the case the equal end pen knife and the knife that is missing should have been in my hands asap. I think ( though I have no proof other than a gut feeling) that Tim recieves these knives from Russia or somewhere and he gets pictures ..and posts them..and the knives come from a manufacturer over seas. The reason my gut tells me this is because of Years of dealing with other makers who have posted "available" knives that I have bought they are shipped pronto. I do not think that the straight carver I bought and have not recieved is in Ohio, I do not believe that the bead needed to be replaced. I believe now that the knife is being made somewhere overseas and Tim is avoiding contact with me. Yes I am impatient but when someone says a knife is available I expect that knife and suitable communication within a reasonalbe time frame.
Click to expand...
his first knives offered were in a japanese alloy, and in one of his posts, he claims that they make standard knives by stamping parts, but their 'customs' are edm'd and hand fit. a search of he Amherst phone # lead to ebay listings (lightning rods, 100% feedback), whose email address was at ivoryworksltd.net, registered by Tim Balda in July 2001. That website doesn't have ay products listed, but it does have a line that says 'we are not knife makers'. The address for Tim is in Elyria OH, and Amherst is in... Amherst, just a few miles apart. Dunno how the operation works, there's 12K ppl in Amherst, and 56K in Elyria. Bein the skeptic I am, I would guess the scale materials are provided by Ivory Works Ltd, but the knives are foreign construction. It would need to be verified that the steel used is 154CM and D2. Starting out with a foreign alloy is a bit suspect, but who knows.
 
This bums me out. :grumpy: I said some nice things about him in the thread linked below (the last time this man had problems). Now I am second guessing myself. I've never had any dealings with Amherst Cutlery myself but he seemed willing and anxious to right his wrongs. Looks like he may have hit another snag. Hopefully he will make an appearance here and make reparations. We will see.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608775
 
I was thinking the same thing:confused: I mean, I have very limited funds and did not have the $25 to pay for a membership last year. I managed to scrape it together because I felt if I was going to be buying knives and participating here on the forum it was a contribution towards the effort Spark provides for everyone. My whole knife collection currently stands at just 7 knives and don't even total $2,000!

I do hope this Tim guy cleans up his act, and maybe the Mods have a way of preventing folks like him from operating in 'stealth mode':thumbup:

Ruzster said:
Hi friend, sure hope this works out for you. That's a real chunk-o-change fer sure. :mad:

On another note, (not to bust your balls too hard or anything . . . well, maybe just a little:p) you mean to say that you can drop that kind of coin on a knife deal(s) but can't afford $25 to support BF and avail yourself of its most excellent search function? I mean . . . $25?? :confused:

Anyway, off my soapbox and back on the bandwagon. Like I said, hope it all works out for you.
Click to expand...
 
A knife is such a personal thing that if the dealer/maker turns out to be dishonest I want nothing to do with them or their product.

Bums me out to see these issues keep coming up. I have a small ivory toothpick at home waiting for me. I'm lucky in that it actually arrived. However, if one feels slimy every time they use it then the enjoyment sure is gone!

I was thrilled when they appeared on the scene. Done with them now since this is not a first time event and I don't have the time or energy for someone like this! Don't need more drama or hassles in my life.

Will be curious to see what the truth is in the end, but only out of morbid curiosity.

For the other members that have money on the table I hope he makes it right in some way in then end.
 
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