Very Bummed with Spyderco's Warranty (again).

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Macchina

Macchina

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Two years ago, I sent in a Spyderco CPM-D2 Military that had a blade so bent it would touch the G-10 scale. I very clearly stated this in the email and letter included with the knife. They sent it back with a somewhat upset letter about how I didn't include the $5 for the fee (which was never asked for in the email exchange with CS) for the sharpening service (The knife was factory edge brand new when I sent it in and they ground off a 1/16" from the OAL of the blade :thumbdn:). The letter that came back with it said the knife was within their tolerance and could not be fixed.

Last month I started emailing Spyderco CS about a bent bladed Native IV I have. I really like the knife, but can't stand the bent blade because the blade rubs on the liner by the finger choil. Here is the email exchange:

ME:
Hello,
I have a Native 4 that has a very off center blade. I have tried to live with it, but it really bothers me on a knife this nice. The blade hangs left (not pocket clip side for RH carry) and touches the liner when I open the knife. Scratches are starting to form near the finger choil and I fear they only going to get worse. I have tried adjusting the pivot and that does not help like it normally does on liner lock knives. I sent in a knife before to have the blade centered and it was returned with no service. If I can't get this fixed, I will probably try to sell it on eBay or something. Please let me know if it can be fixed or not before I send it in.
Thank you for the excellent designs and customer service in the past,
Michael McGovern
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Spyderco:
Michael,

On that particular knife the washers are very thin and there is very little clearance between the liner & the blade and the blade does get marked when opening & closing of the blade. Regarding the off centeredness of the blade there is a slight bit that is tolerated thru QC. If your like to send your knife in for evaluation you can but if it falls within our tolerance it will be returned. If it is determined to be a warranty issue we no longer make the Native 4 so we could not replace it just issue you an in house credit.

Thank you and have a great day,

Charlynn
Spyderco
Customer Service/Warranty/Repair
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...The knife came back to me with no repairs made and a letter that said that they had sharpened and reconditioned it. There was no sharpening or reconditioning done to the knife. No mention was made of the bent blade at all. The blade is still just as bent as when I sent it.

To say the least I am bummed that I have a discontinued knife with a manufacturing defect that Spyderco will not cover under their "Spyderco warrants that all of our products are free from defects in material and workmanship" clause. This is the second time Spyderco has chosen not to do anything to a knife with a defect. I had hoped for a lot more for such an expensive knife.

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Buy a Kershaw next time. Seriously though, It doesn't look like the blade is bent in either pic, just off center. But, at the price of the much praised Millie, they should have just replaced it and been done with it. Good luck
 
my spiderco military has the same slightly offCENTERED blade. Your blade is not bent, the pressure of the lock spring can push it to the side. Sal would not send it back if actually bent
This is common with my emersons as well almost any strong liner lock will do this, if it did not have the tiny bit of play BEFORE lockup it would open stiffly not smooth.

I will bet that when the blade is locked it will look and be perfectly centered, show us a pic to prove your point.

Have you used this knife in any fashion to see if it is flawed?
With 2 separate issues about this I think you might share my OCD a bit but there is no problems with both of your knives.

In 2 years of using an offcenter on many fishing (200 plus fish cleaned )and camping trips it has not been the slightest issue.
I have had spidies for almost 20 yrs now
 
from the last pic on the side the blade looks like its going right (Bottom) but the tip looks like it is going up.

Looks like someone tried to move it by hand with some force. real light bend.

Sorry man. :(
 
Hey that's just spyderco. Obviously a blade rubbing a scale on a knife is within "QC specifications" for them. Don't know if this is true for other firms.

Next time send it back to the dealer when it's new, or pay the money to buy from a brick and mortar store where you can hand pick what you want.
 
It looks very slightly off-center. Not sure if that's what you mean by bent. I guess it's within their specs. Look at the Caly 3 - that doesn't have any washers so the blade gets rub marks immediately. So those marks aren't inherently a problem.
Also when you say they ground off a 1/16" of your mili blade, you mean when they sharpened it it ended up that much shorter? I find that hard to believe.
 
That's caused by the liner, not a bend. It's is a common problem with a lot of liner locks that has a simple fix. All they need to do is make the washer on the problem side a hair bigger. I've fixed a couple liner locks(A Kershaw Sweet and a Gerber), by taking a second washer from a dollar store knife, sanding it down a bit to make it thinner, and putting it on top of the one already in the knife. It worked, the blade no longer scrapes the frame and there are no problems with opening speed or blade play.
 
I hate to say it, but it looks fine to me. Nothing man made is perfct. I have a Kershaw Leek and its blade is much more off centered than your knife. It doesn't bother me. If you truly love the knife you might as well just forget it and use it like you stole it! ;)
 
Where did you get the knife in question? Why was the knife not returned to these seller?

If the knife was a secondary market purchase, why is this off-center blade a QC issue? The issue should have been noted by the seller.

If the knife was a new-in-box purchase, did you examine the knife before purchase?

As an aside, have you looked at larger in diameter washers? I notice that Spyderco seems to use relatively small diameter washers often.
 
vwb563 said:
I hate to say it, but it looks fine to me. Nothing man made is perfct. I have a Kershaw Leek and its blade is much more off centered than your knife. It doesn't bother me. If you truly love the knife you might as well just forget it and use it like you stole it! ;)
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At what point does it stop being ok?

A little off center is fine if Im not buying a knife that isnt selling itself as having good fit & finish. But if I get a knife that rubs the liner, it's gone, no exceptions.

I should be the one putting the scratches on the blade by using it, not the liner.
 
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I am extremely pissed off at Spyderco warranty for the shoddy job they did on my knife. Letting simple things slip through and basically sending me an unchecked knife with EXTRA damage. I still love Spyderco knives but am very wary of their warranty now. My knife still needs to be fixed, I'm out $35, and there is extra wear and damage now. Very dissapointing. Especially on a knife with over $250 MSRP.
 
Are you sure the blades are 'bent', not just off-center?

Still, I'd say you have every right to be a little cranky with that service. That CS just wouldn't cut it with me. :thumbdn: For knives as high-priced as the Military or the Native 4, there's no excuse for manufacturing flaws like that. That wouldn't be an issue for me with a 30$ beater, but if Spyderco turns out $190+ MSRP knives with problems like that, that doesn't speak well for the company.
 
I just checked after seeing Dorito Monk's price for $190 and that's what the cpm d2 Millie was in this link:
http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=297

If I paid anywhere near that for a blade that rubs the liner I'd be pretty PO'd. It's one thing to have an off-center blade but a rub is simply unacceptable. That goes for whether you purchased it in person or from an online retailer.
 
redisburning said:
At what point does it stop being ok?

A little off center is fine if Im not buying a knife that isnt selling itself as having good fit & finish. But if I get a knife that rubs the liner, it's gone, no exceptions.

I should be the one putting the scratches on the blade by using it, not the liner.
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I will agree with that. My leek does not rub either. If it did rub the sides of the handles I would send it back. My Sebenza is ever so slightly off center itself. Its hard to find perfect things in this world. :(
 
It should make no difference how much a product costs, If it is not right for the customer, it should be repaired or a refund given with no questions asked. One unhappy customer, is one to many. I will return a 20 dollar knife in a heartbeat if it is not done right. If they don't fix it, they can keep it and never see me again.
 
I have found customer service to be hit-and-miss with quite a few knife companies.

Quite a long time ago I sent a Calypso Jr in under warranty . Spyderco sent me back a fully serrated Police, for which I had to pay to return.

A little frustrating, but I'd still buy them.
 
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Well, as an update, my advice is just sell your knives or chuck them at a wall. Spyderco warranty will blatantly lie to your face, make excuses, and values a little bit of time over retaining customers. I tried to get my knife fixed again and was lied to repeatedly about it's condition. They tried to play off the fact that they overtightened my knife and stripped a screw, didn't even put the washers back in(because they stripped the screw). Now I am stuck with a $200+ knife that barely functions and I can't trust it. Can't fix it myself now either, can only sell it for a HUGE loss or I can chuck it at a wall. The third option is very temping.
 
HardUse said:
Well, as an update, my advice is just sell your knives or chuck them at a wall. Spyderco warranty will blatantly lie to your face, make excuses, and values a little bit of time over retaining customers. I tried to get my knife fixed again and was lied to repeatedly about it's condition. They tried to play off the fact that they overtightened my knife and stripped a screw, didn't even put the washers back in(because they stripped the screw). Now I am stuck with a $200+ knife that barely functions and I can't trust it. Can't fix it myself now either, can only sell it for a HUGE loss or I can chuck it at a wall. The third option is very temping.
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Have you tried contacting Sal on the Spyderco forums? Being the owner he just might be able to get you some satisfaction! :thumbup:
 
Is the original post a joke?

That's the only way I can make sense of it. Your photo's show what may be a slightly off center blade.
 
I was told I could send it in to them again but they probably wouldn't do anything. So there is NO point in sending it to them and wasting more of my money. I should have just bought a different knife.
 
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