Waiting over two years for my knife !

hiwa

hiwa

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I ordered a S kookum bush tool two years ago from Rod Garcia. In my opinion, he seems like a great guy. We've talked on the phone a couple of times, as well as E-mail a few. My knife is a standard, red micarta. The only change I asked him to do was to change my order from 0-1 to A-2 steel. Reasonable request. Everytime I ask him (every 3-5 months or so), he says he's starting on it soon, or it is still a month or so out. I've been nothing but a gentleman with him, ,his interaction with me seems truthful, and he seems to be a swell guy. All other people's comments about him reflect the same thing.
I know I didn't have to put a deposit ,or pay for it,but two years seems really long. Is the waiting list that long ? Maybe other customers are getting preferential treatment, and receiving their orders sooner,I'm not sure. I read a thread on a UK survival forum a while ago, that said some people ordering a skookum ( apparently really popular there), are getting their knives later, than someone who ordered after them, indicating it's not a first-come-first-serve situation. There's no point in me giving up, as I'm not out any money, but I am very frustrated, as this will be the most expensive knife I've ever purchased and I like it a lot. Has anyone else ordered one , and have to wait so long ? If memory serves , I ordered it in Sept. 07.
 
I took a look at his website to see what a "Skookum bush tool" looked like because I was not familiar with his work. His website states he is again accepting orders as of April 1st, 2009, so I would think he is getting towards the end of his backlog, but it does also state that there is a 10 month + backlog, so who knows.

Here is his website:

http://www.skookumbushtool.com/
 
If you get frustrated and give up (which I am not necessarily suggesting that you do), check out Koster knives here in the Makers forum. Kosters designs are very similar and his reputation is very good. Just a thought...:)
 
Knifemakers don't work first-come-first-served. They do batches of a particular knife, or at least a particular steel so they can heat-treat more than one knife at a time. If he doesn't often work with A2 it could be a while before he does an A2 batch.
 
GregS said:
If you get frustrated and give up (which I am not necessarily suggesting that you do), check out Koster knives here in the Makers forum. Kosters designs are very similar and his reputation is very good. Just a thought...:)
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I checked out the Koster site already. It is one of my top back-up options.
Cougar Allen said:
Knifemakers don't work first-come-first-served. They do batches of a particular knife, or at least a particular steel so they can heat-treat more than one knife at a time. If he doesn't often work with A2 it could be a while before he does an A2 batch.
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Thanks for informing me that makers don't work on a FCFS basis. I did not know that. Rod usually works with A2 on his knives. I think maybe he's just swamped, as his knives are very popular, and I'm just an anxious customer !
 
My advice after seeing the knife in question would be buying a carbon steel Mora for 12$ instead.For the saved 190$ you can buy a good dremel,a drillpress,a torch and enough O1 barstock to make at least 10-15 of these 2-year-wait knives.
 
anythingsharp said:
My advice after seeing the knife in question would be buying a carbon steel Mora for 12$ instead.For the saved 190$ you can buy a good dremel,a drillpress,a torch and enough O1 barstock to make at least 10-15 of these 2-year-wait knives.
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Thats a cute answer, but the fact is, Rods knives are friggen perfect for thier intended purpose...thats why there is a wait. I ordered 2 right after his first right up in a major knife magazine. I had to wait close to a year..that was a while ago. All I can say is, wait, and call him every 3 months, thats what I did...sooner or later, you will get your knife, and you will like it, if you spend any time in the woods.
 
If a maker quotes a time frame (wait) to me,at that point,I make plans to pay the man.I would not want to do a job & not get paid
If,he is earlier,or later,to some reasonable extent,I can live with that ,after all,stuff happens
But if I was quoted,let's say 7 mos. & it turns out 21 mos. ,or three years,only to wait after the three,another year,I won't sit here & say to you all , that I do not want that knife any longer,but,that kinda stuff shure takes a lot of the fun out of the deal,coming from this side of the fence
-Vince
 
anythingsharp said:
My advice after seeing the knife in question would be buying a carbon steel Mora for 12$ instead.For the saved 190$ you can buy a good dremel,a drillpress,a torch and enough O1 barstock to make at least 10-15 of these 2-year-wait knives.
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oops i doubled..........
 
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anythingsharp said:
My advice after seeing the knife in question would be buying a carbon steel Mora for 12$ instead.For the saved 190$ you can buy a good dremel,a drillpress,a torch and enough O1 barstock to make at least 10-15 of these 2-year-wait knives.
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i dont know about that lol.

as long as ya didnt pay anything up front waits are just part of the game, i know of more than a few 'smiths with waits measured in years, if ya cant handle the wait get something else.
 
Gee, I guess I could try that if I bought those tools. It's not a hell of a lot money;but I don't think I can pull it off without screwing up some. Sure, I got Moras also (3-510's); I just want to get my first custom. Some people have a couple of Skookums,and a bunch of Bark Rivers, Kosters, Gossman's etc,. All knives I'd sure like to own. I wouldn't live long enough to use them all if I had them. I decided on Rod's knife after careful consideration, so patience must prevail.
 
SIFU1A said:
i dont know about that lol.

as long as ya didnt pay anything up front waits are just part of the game, i know of more than a few 'smiths with waits measured in years, if ya cant handle the wait get something else.
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If the guy's already waited almost two years I'd say he handles waiting pretty well. These transactions don't happen in a vacuum. Makers/Sellers, like buyers w/ respect to payment, have a responsibility to communicate honestly and accurately about the waiting time frame at the outset. If that time frame doesn't work out, MORE communication, not LESS, seems the more appropriate tact.

What's more, if he has paid anything in advance or upfront, expecting him to wait indefinitely is completely unreasonable and inexcusable.
 
Sounds to me like this guy has gotten in way over his head with orders, a not uncommon scenario in the custom knife world.

I would pull the plug and move on. There are plenty of options out there, both custom and production that would do the job just as well.
 
Custom knives can take a long time, especially knives like the SBT that are so popular. Go on with your life as you've been doing, put aside the money for it, and continue to buy and do other things. Then when yours is ready, it will be exciting again.

You may find when it does arrive that you've outgrown whatever it was that made this one so enticing, and you will have no trouble getting more than your money out of it.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Custom knives can take a long time, especially knives like the SBT that are so popular. Go on with your life as you've been doing, put aside the money for it, and continue to buy and do other things. Then when yours is ready, it will be exciting again.

You may find when it does arrive that you've outgrown whatever it was that made this one so enticing, and you will have no trouble getting more than your money out of it.
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Thanks Esav. Very good advice. Knife moods always fluctuate, but when it's ready, I'll be eager to get it.
 
I couldn't handle the lying - starting on it soon and still a month out does not equal to a phone call every 3-5 months over the last two years. I already got screwed on a deal like that, where I paid up front and waited a couple years to end up with something nowhere near what I ordered just to get anything (maker refused to refund my money).

I no longer put money down, and I will not wait an unreasonable time past a maker stated deadline. You tell me a month, you'd be lucky to get 6 weeks out of me before I find a production knife in stock somewhere or start searching handmade consignment sellers for an equivalent.
 
If you need someone to take your spot....sign me up.
The Skookum is the best bushcraft blade I've ever used . Well worth the wait.

Two years for a popular design is not very long. Give it some time.
 
PorcupineMtns66 said:
If you need someone to take your spot....sign me up.
The Skookum is the best bushcraft blade I've ever used . Well worth the wait.

Two years for a popular design is not very long. Give it some time.
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NOOO.........It's Ok, I'll wait. I've waited this long , so what's a while more ; and I do think it's one of the best bushcraft blades ever. :D
 
GregS said:
If you get frustrated and give up (which I am not necessarily suggesting that you do), check out Koster knives here in the Makers forum. Kosters designs are very similar and his reputation is very good. Just a thought...:)
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As much as I like Dan's knives, his reputation for timely delivery is NOT very good. Many of us are still waiting for the Survivor model run to be completed, we paid deposits back Feb. 2008. :grumpy:
 
To me, two years is nothing. That's about the average that I wait for a custom knife. I've had a few on order for over three years.
 
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