What expensive knives that you own/owned disappointed you most?

Teague

Teague

Joined
Jul 11, 2007
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633
So, since Longbeachguy posted the thread on inexpensive knives that perform well, I thought it would be good to mention also your expensive knives that had terriciv snob appeal completely disappointed you most and why?
 
Ah this is an easy one, The Mercworx Lachesis, worst piece of junk I ever owned. The fit and finish were awful, the bolsters and handle had a gap, the blade wobbled the grinds were terrible and uneven. The blade was like a butter knife when I got it and no amount of sharpening would make it cut. I finally took the whole thing apart and threw it away. That is one company I will never buy from again.
 
C.S. Trailmaster, purchased back around 1997. My biggest problem with it was the handle, way too thin and soft, so it kept rolling around when chopping and caused blisters. The long riccaso and guard made it difficult to apply pressure to a regular cut, and it sucked to chop with. Was it "bad"? Not really, but not the greatest thing on earth like I was expecting it to be either.
 
Not to expensive to me now but mine would be the gerber lmf2.
They put $50 into the sheath and $30 into the knife.
 
To be honest, the Al Mar SERE 2000. when I first got it, I LOVED it. Now, I will not even carry it. There is just something about it. Mabee that I am used to USA knives and it is made in Japan. I just do not like it as much...:(
 
Strider AR. Huge expensive knife, but short cutting edge. Extra large, extra beefy, and extra expensive but doesn't offer much.
 
BM 710 D2
It's like trying to tame some wild animal. I spent 3 days on the sharpmaker following the old 'make your axis' perform thread but I still can't get it as sharp as any of my s30v blades. I know I'm just not doing it right, but it was dull from the box. Opening is still slightly gritty, but much better since I took it all down and militec'd. In my opinion it just needs to be tamed, but I thought it would be a docile user out of the box.
 
Busse. At first I was like "I spent $300 on THIS?" but I have really grown to like and appreciate it. I would prefer to have an FFBM but the ASH-1 handles everything I've thrown at it, and on top of that I got it sharp enough to cut my finger just by grazing the edge. So I guess I'm not really disappointed in it, but I was at first.
 
OK - mine was an ANZA - can't remember the exact model. It rusted with one month just sitting in my drawer. I gave it away.
 
Though not too expensive, I don't get much usage out of my Spyderco Para-military. On paper its a great knife, its even a great knife when its open and in the hand. I just never carry it around because the blade tang is exposed when folded closed and is quite angular so it scrapes the crap out of my hand when I reach into my pocket. Its also only made for tip down carry and rides quite high in the pocket due to the oddly styled clip. My issues would be solved if it was made for tip up with a standard clip.
 
Busse Skeleton Warden. It was the most expensive knife I bought to date. Nothing really wrong with it, but concealed fixed blades are illegal in CA and I didn't have much practical use for it. I'm sure it works perfectly for some people.
 
tarani master model k'bit.

very stiff opening, didnt like the blade angle vs say a EKI k'bit, didnt like the huge ring on the end of the thing sticking way up outta my pocket, just didnt like it at all.

only pro to it was it was easy to get rid of lol.

another big disappointment to me was the rekat sifu, which had imho the very worst locking system ever made, i had 3 and all developed lock probs, and i treated 2 of them very delicate with no inertia opening or anything like that, i still have a scar on my knuckle from one of my sifus. i just love big folders like this, thankfully cammilus came out with the cuda maxx soon afterwards, a much better knife with a LOT better locking system and i sold/swapped all my sifus asap.

if ya dont think i liked my sifus at first look at my username lol, but that was before the lock problems.
 
Perhaps not that expensive, but not cheap either:

The fixed-blade SOG TL-01 (Team Leader) in Duratech 20CV...dull out of the box, the metal sheath rivets cause edge damage even when carefully inserting the blade (IMO this is way too common with many rivet-reinforced leather sheaths; I say drop the rivets and add a little sheath width and proper leather edge and stitch reinforcement), and it came with tip and edge damage NIB...

The knife was new and otherwise unmarked and from a seller I trust.

I haven't seriously tried to sharpen it yet, but a short session with my standard and ultra-fine diamond steels didn't make as much improvement as I would have expected...you'd think that implies hardness/toughness, but then why the tip/edge damage NIB?

Ray :)
 
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Buck Mayo TNT. Thought it looked cool but it felt small in my hand and somewhat delicate. Like it couldn't handle tough use. Also the frame lock wouldn't engage properly, I had to wiggle the blade up and down to get it to seat. Never could get a solid lock-up on it.
 
A custom knife that I got from a guy out West.
Thankfully, he only charged me $160.00 which is really not very expensive.
The handle was one piece and the blade was so off center that it looks like he was drunk when he built it. LOL
What a POS !
I threw the POS in a lake as I was driving over it.
Guess I could have been charged for littering but wasn't thinking clearly when I did it. :o
Another custom I received had the bone handles busted out where the maker put in the pins.
It could have been a nice looking knife. :(
I left it in my archery case in the garage where it rusted to hell during the winter.
When I saw it, I couldn't care less as it's just another POS to me. :thumbdn:


Sag.
 
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diversionmary said:
BM 710 D2
It's like trying to tame some wild animal. I spent 3 days on the sharpmaker following the old 'make your axis' perform thread but I still can't get it as sharp as any of my s30v blades. I know I'm just not doing it right, but it was dull from the box. Opening is still slightly gritty, but much better since I took it all down and militec'd. In my opinion it just needs to be tamed, but I thought it would be a docile user out of the box.
Click to expand...

I can kinda understand your position, but I love mine. the knobs on my axis lock were rough to the point they hurt my fingers and thumb. I don't have girly hands either, I'm a firefighter and 10+ year weight lifter. Point is my whole hand is a callous. I buffed it down easy enough though. As far as sharpening goes, my advise is to get off the sharpmaker. I'm bias I suppose, but I put one helluva an edge on mine with a lansky and now I only strope to keep a literally hair popping edge on my d2. And it's a user, it's not babied.
as far as opening being gritty, I dunno. Maybe you got a dud.
 
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