valiantco darb crack??

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wicca100uk

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when i bought this darb from valiant, i found it had a crack on the spine. they said this was totally normal and not to worry, but what do you people think? see pics below: many thanks!

chris

b416.jpg


296b.jpg



http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41c0280az9e381246/43a7/__tn_/828a.jpg?phgPeKEBdotFN.vj

http://us.a1.yahoofs.com/users/41c0280az9e381246/43a7/__sr_/99a8.jpg?phgPeKEBi9UC8VfF
 
Your pic is too small for me to see. Please repost. I'm interested to see this crack.
 
I don't believe this will cause a problem as far as function is concerned, but visually I would not be at all happy with this if it were sold to me as a first quality item. If it were sold as a blem, and fully described before it's purchase, well that would be a different matter. Otherwise, it would be going back for refund or replacement.............. IMO.
 
i did email valiantco, and they said it was a normal thing to happen in damascus steel- could this be a blemish on valiants reputation
 
Oh, don't get me wrong, it may very well be that this type of defect is more common while producing damascus steel blades, but it would still not change the fact that what this is is an unacceptable defect (at least in a first quality item).... again, IMO.

I just think they are trying to pull the wool over your eyes on this. If they have seen photos of your concern, they should just offer to make it right.

With them saying........ "this is normal", well, let's just say that it surely does not make them look like they are a stand-up company, IMO.
 
Wicca;

Isn't there a knife review forum on BF? You might find more opinion.
I haven't seen your photos, but tend to believe if Valiantco says these are common than they probably are. I'm a paranoid sort, but I usually give the other folks the benefit of a doubt. Be careful about what you hear here or anywhere else-
I've misunderstood perfectly good equipment many times in my life because of not knowing enough.

munk
 
wicca100uk said:
i did email valiantco, and they said it was a normal thing to happen in damascus steel- could this be a blemish on valiants reputation
Click to expand...

Wicca, how long ago did you have this exchange with Valiant? I have sold several damascus blades by Valiant. All were fine except one that had some pitting. I contacted Valiant and suggested that rather than spend the money it would take to return the item to Australia that I sell it on auction as a blem. Suwandi agreed so I listed it for auction with close up photos of the blade. It sold for about half the "Buy it Now" price, and the new owner emailed me twice to say how delighted he was with his purchase. This is how I would handle any blemished item.

I am curious concerning the timing of your communications with Valiant because I haven't been able to get ahold of them except by phone for over a month. Suwandi still has serious family issues apparantly. Frankly, I haven't been able to restock for a long time and am beginning to run out of patience.

P.S. For whatever reason, I am unable to view your images.
 
Bwray,

Your way of handling the blemed Valiantco product was obviously an honorable way of doing so :)
You were honest in your description and offered photos of the defect(s), allowing people to make an informed decision. Somebody was interested, but knew beforehand what the defect was, and they obviously paid much less for it because of it.

Like I mentioned before, I can't say that the above defect does or does not happen more oftenly during the manufacturing of damascus steel products (which it probably does when considering the grain pattern of such steels), but the end quality result still has to matter. If this defect is more frequent in damascus products, then it only means that there should be a higher expected number of blems/defects in the "seconds" pile. Those should then be sold as such (in an honorable manner as bwray has done).
 
Looks like it won't affect performance, but I must admit I'd be a little miffed. BW you handled that well (of course), and Valiant seems to have treated you right. Could just be bad timing. I'd make contact again though and push a little harder.
 
JimmyJimenez said:
Hope we can somehow get the photos to be seen by everyone, since they really do show an obvious defect.

Maybe this will work (the least two blurry photos):

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2623/b4164qi.jpg

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3858/296b3yv.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks Jimmy. These display for me and I can see the crack clearly. Got to say I would not have shipped that blade with the crack. You pay a premium for a Damascus blade and have a right to expect more than a "user". For Damascus affectionados, part of the appeal is the beauty of the blade, so the standard of quality for a Damascus blade should at least equal that for a standard carbon steel blade.

You can check out the following web page to see how I handled a blemished Damascus blade:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6608621042&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESO:IT&rd=1

My customers can be assured that blemished blades will not be shipped without notification of the buyer with an offer of a discounted price. The other approach would be to auction the blade to the highest bidder as was done with the Large Damascus Bolo Camp Knife.:)
 
Bwray,

It's always nice to meet a middleman with good ethics,...... I wish you further success :)

Poor middleman service is a problem I was having with Khukuri House product vendors here in the US. It seems that KH is either sending second quality along with first quality items to their dealers here in the US (trying to get away with as much as possible), or the seconds are actually being offered to the US dealers at lower prices. KH should mark their seconds as such, and the dealers passing them on should sell them as "seconds".
Whatever the case may be, fractured, rusted, and other defective KH items are being passed right along to the U.S. buyers by these "dealers".

The KH people are not blind, nor are their US dealers, but yet all these issues seem to just slip by them....................... um, I doubt it.
They are not slipping by, not at this rate,............ they are simply being passed along. Many, if not most customers, will just simply not fight it when they receive such defective items (looking at it more as just being luck of the draw). Myself, I will and do fight for my being happy with my purchases. If the item has an obvious flaw that should have most definitely been noticed at some point in the feeding chain, I will not eat it, it instead will go right back for a refund or exchange.

I now own quite a few KH products, but only because they met my standards. To have the KH specimens that I now own, it took me ordering and exchanging quite a few of them to finally be happy. It also involved dealing with more than one KH dealer to see what they were all about. I currently feel that one particular KH dealer has the quality middleman standards that you have, that being Mr. John McCurdy, which from the get go sent me exactly what he described he would send me.

Though I only have one HI khukuri, it too was sent to me with a quality level that I expected. I know that Yangdu is not really a middle person, but rather the main headquarters for HI. With that said, if first impressions count, then Yangdu surely did a fine job the first time around :)

I enjoy dealing with people like bwray, John McCurdy, and Yangdu, it simply makes life much easier ;)
 
Thanks Jimmy I can see your pics. :)

I'd say for Aussie$ 300.....that is a blemish. Send them pics and ask for a replacement wicca. :)
 
Hi Astro! :)

To avoid having to go to an exchange rate website, would you mind telling me what that roughly translates to in U.S. dollars?

Thanks :)
 
bwray said:
You pay a premium for a Damascus blade and have a right to expect more than a "user". For Damascus affectionados, part of the appeal is the beauty of the blade, so the standard of quality for a Damascus blade should at least equal that for a standard carbon steel blade.
Click to expand...

I agree. I don't think that that flaw would affect the structural integrity of the blade, but when you buy damascus you are buying for the look just like you say Bwray!
 
Astrodada said:
roughly US$223.076923.00 :D

And I'd paid US75 buckos for my Malla :D
Click to expand...


:thumbup: Thanks!

Your right,......... though it's not high end custom blade prices, it surely is not low end Pakistani bladeware prices either! Funny thing is, even the low end Pakistani stuff is not usually expected to have these types of defects ;)

As customers, we have to set the bar high, otherwise,.................. mediocrocy flourishes.
 
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