Warranty versus customer service

[thombrogan]

What makes a larger impact on your purchase of a given type of knife:

Warranty/guarantee or customer service?

When I bought and used Benchmade knives, their limited lifetime warranty had too many exclusions to make it worthwhile for a tinkery knifeknut, but their customer service (or "Angieland" as the Benchmade loyalists call it) was just excellent. Bet it still is, too.

Chris Reeve Knives' warranty won't cover flicking, spinewhacking, or thrusting the point of their knives into the wing of a jet plane and letting it drag you into the air (the plane, not the knife. Knives shouldn't do that and I'm sure the warranty would cover such a defect in workmanship), but many owners of CRK knives are giddy about the customer service they've received.

If you were to buy a knife that wouldn't be babied, which would be more important? Thanks in advance.

 

[guy g]

To me, c/s and a good warranty are hand in hand. Chris Reeve builds strong knives made for cutting and Strider makes tank killers. Apples and Oranges.

 

[Evolute]

"What makes a larger impact on your purchase of a given type of knife:

Warranty/guarantee or customer service?"

Both. No compromises.

I want "the complete package", so to speak; there are knifemakers willing to provide it; I'm willing to pay what it costs.

So why should I settle for less?

--Mike

 

[yoda4561]

This seemed like a really easy question when I first started to answer, I was going to say Customer Service, with the written warranty basically just being a way to tell new customers what they should be able to expect if there's a problem. After careful consideration though I've decided that the knife comes first.

Face it, if it's the manmade equivalent of Excalibur and testing shows that it can cut anvils into nice paper thin slices and can pry a battleship turrent off the ship it doesn't really matter if it isn't covered for anything other than cutting cheese. That's a gross exaggeration of course, but the point is if the knife is known to be capable, then you don't need to worry about the guarantee.

My Spyderco Endura only came with a written 10 year warranty, but holding the knife in my hands and thinking about how likely I was to need to use the guarantee made up my mind. I had never heard of Spyderco before that day, but it was plain as day that this was a knife that was designed to work, with the most secure feeling lockback I had ever felt. When I was trying to choose between it and a Cold Steel Voyager with lifetime warranty the Endura got the nod for the opening hole, handle texture, more utiliarian blade, and a more secure feeling lock.

Bottom Line:
The warranty is what you work with after the knife fails, the knife that won't fail doesn't need any sort of warranty.

CS is a very close second, because that's where the customer and the company meet, the warranty is nice but doesn't do you any good if the people behind it aren't worth the paper it was written on. Written warranties shouldn't be disregarded however, especially if you're the one selling the knife. You'll be hard pressed to convince anyone that your knives are as good as "that other guy who has a lifetime warranty" unless you have some real history behind you.

Back when I first started collecting knives that warranty was everything to me. "Lifetime warranty" is big words for a kid who had previously considered United Cutlery to be the cream of the crop. Then I learned that lifetime didn't mean that it was indestructable, that was a real world shaker for me, but that was about 10 years ago with a 12 dollar Carbon V twistmaster. Well worth the lesson in retrospect :footinmou (if anyone is curious, I stabbed the tip into a piece of wood and tried to duplicate the "snapping wood out of a board" test, it was about 3/8 of an inch and after bending to nearly 90 degrees became a good 1/4 inch shorter)


Edit: you know, after typing out this long response I noticed that you only mentioned the "knife is what's important" thing in the poll and not in your post, I don't feel like tossing all that typing away though soo

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Though I want a good warranty, customer service is more important to me. The reason that Spyderco and Buck are my favorite production knives is the service I have received from both companies when I needed it.

 

[PWork]

A reasonable warranty and great customer service. A warranty is no good unless it is backed up.

Paul

 

[Blue Jays]

Hi All-

Customer service is more important than warranty any day of the week!

~ Blue Jays ~

 

[Blop]

As i get my first Swamp Rat (don´t know, if it will be the last) with the unlimited warrantie due to breakage and the edge was easily damaged by sticking it into the mud, i thought a more precise warranty, even limited, is better than a general unprecised.

I think a general unspecific warranty is as good as no warranty, considering you have a problem and the knife knut crowd will more like to support the manufacturer than the customer and the maker has no will to repair /replace.

If the knife knut crowd is willing to support the customer not the maker, every warranty is good as long as the knife is well made.

The best warranty is, where i can imagine, what the maker thought the knife to be used or not to be used, no matter if limited or not. If it says: "Just cut warm butter", it is ok, but i wouldn´t buy that knife.

A customer service, glad to receive any knife, the customer is not satisfied with, just to know why, just to know how to make better, no stupid questions asked, is a very good thing.