What was the worst most over hyped knife you ever bought?

FullMetalJackass said:
Actually... There is not detent, it's just some plastic inserted where there should be a metal ball. Awesome QA for a knife of that price.

And with the recent shift on knives laws in Canada, I'll have to pay shipping fees for a knife that will probably never make it back. So nope, enough damage.
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The detent ball of the KUR is ceramic, but I understand your frustration. However, there is no company that has perfect QC. All but one of my Spydercos e.g. were faulty in a way that I returned them. But I see that the new Canadian knife import laws might be a problem in that situation.

barrabas74 said:
There are some knives that pleasantly surprised me, like the Microtech OTF's I have owned have all been great, all but one strider SNG has been smooth with no issues. Its luck of the draw on some of these things. PM2 I own a S110V and as mentioned as a disappointment the Mantix S110V I have both have really great grinds, great action and the steel holds a fantastic edge. But its good to know there's a different side to the coin sometimes to let you know you arent the only one who got one from what may have been a bad run or multiple runs.

To note I havent seen many Emersons mentioned but I hear alot about lock stick and grittyness. I own several with no such issues, not a fan boy....just never experienced it.
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I read so much bad things about Emersons. The situation is even worse in Europe. Emersons reputation is pretty much shit there.
However, some time ago I got a 2014 or later Emerson CQC-7 in a deal. It was absolutely flawless. I don't like the design that much, I don't like chisel grinds and I am not a fan of Emerson but I had to acknowledge that it was a quality knife with no apparent issues. Lockup was solid, absolutely no lock stick, quick opening. A good knife, just not for me.
Ever since I had it I have been thinking about buying an A100 or A100 mini.
 
NicoColt1911 said:
The detent ball of the KUR is ceramic, but I understand your frustration. However, there is no company that has perfect QC. All but one of my Spydercos e.g. were faulty in a way that I returned them. But I see that the new Canadian knife import laws might be a problem in that situation.



I read so much bad things about Emersons. The situation is even worse in Europe. Emersons reputation is pretty much shit there.
However, some time ago I got a 2014 or later Emerson CQC-7 in a deal. It was absolutely flawless. I don't like the design that much, I don't like chisel grinds and I am not a fan of Emerson but I had to acknowledge that it was a quality knife with no apparent issues. Lockup was solid, absolutely no lock stick, quick opening. A good knife, just not for me.
Ever since I had it I have been thinking about buying an A100 or A100 mini.
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Its too bad because his Emerson Framelocks are great knives. The old ones had some flaws but Lot of potential. (They all came with very late lockup) They have a very strider feel to them. The new ones have fixed the lockup but now are on bearings....which imho is not ideal for their type of knife. Also I like how the older ones have backspacers instead of standoffs.

Unfortunately his framelocks (HD series) are only rarely released. They also have a new heavy duty linerlock series called XHD. (Ie: cqc7 is regular linerlock, Hd7 is framelock, xhd7 is heavy duty linerlock) These HD and HD7s are what all Emersons should be these days. If only he would update what you get. The standard cqc series are expensive knives considering what you get.

Still imho a standard Emerson linerlock that has no flaws is just a beautiful thing.
 
jstrange said:
Never heard of him, so I guess I’m ok.
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I would spell out name, but then you get into iffy territory legally on defamation, slander, etc...if you wish to view his hokey site, all you need do is google "captain randall dealer" and pretty sure you will find him. He took over a Randall promotion/collector site after death of founder, still a lot of good info in old pages, but turned it into a shameless self-promotion site for himself and a couple of "experts"...also selling knives.
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The original owner was a master promoter and pretty much helped raise prices and hype sky high...the bubble burst right about the time of his death, and shortly thereafter followed all the problems and quality drop at shop, new help unskilled, pushing stuff out the door trying not to fall further behind in PEACETIME, which shows how bad it has been.

They still can make/crapshoot, and have made, excellent knives, and a few I still cherish, as they have nothing to do with current mindset. From Bo's death onward came a massive streamlining of operations, less options available, better workmanship on more pronounced blade grinds, but more hollowground and weaker knives (in my opinion), but some of the best they ever produced as for quality of grind/build..
Then came the crash....
 
mtngunr said:
I would spell out name, but then you get into iffy territory legally on defamation, slander, etc...if you wish to view his hokey site, all you need do is google "captain randall dealer" and pretty sure you will find him. He took over a Randall promotion/collector site after death of founder, still a lot of good info in old pages, but turned it into a shameless self-promotion site for himself and a couple of "experts"...also selling knives.
.
The original owner was a master promoter and pretty much helped raise prices and hype sky high...the bubble burst right about the time of his death, and shortly thereafter followed all the problems and quality drop at shop, new help unskilled, pushing stuff out the door trying not to fall further behind in PEACETIME, which shows how bad it has been.

They still can make/crapshoot, and have made, excellent knives, and a few I still cherish, as they have nothing to do with current mindset. From Bo's death onward came a massive streamlining of operations, less options available, better workmanship on more pronounced blade grinds, but more hollowground and weaker knives (in my opinion), but some of the best they ever produced as for quality of grind/build..
Then came the crash....
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I found him I believe. Had never heard of him before you guys mentioned him. I am still a bit confused, are you saying the knives are no good, the captain, or both?
 
jstrange said:
I found him I believe. Had never heard of him before you guys mentioned him. I am still a bit confused, are you saying the knives are no good, the captain, or both?
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Again, you are asking what should not be said....I will put it this way....any Randall sight unseen purchase from the last 7yrs or so is a crapshoot....and being handmade knives, variations from knife to knife of same model, some folk are unhappy no matter what they get, from when, due to own ideas as to what the knife should be. But latest ones can be really bad from what I have personally received, and whose guarantee they did not honor except in a refund on a knife awaited over 5yrs which I very much wanted.

As for dealers, again, I recommend Buxton and Clinton, both of whom have own sites, and for SURE am not mentioning a couple of others because several are jerks and/or dishonest, while a couple others unmentioned have good reps. Other dealers such as Nordik, and AG Russell, simply sell what the shop sends them, for a circa $100 markup over MSRP...
The dealers I mentioned are honest, and sell for MSRP, and can get you anything you want within the year...formerly would say 6mths, but maybe now 8mths or a year, due to personnel problems from maker end...
 
mtngunr said:
Again, you are asking what should not be said....I will put it this way....any Randall sight unseen purchase from the last 7yrs or so is a crapshoot....and being handmade knives, variations from knife to knife of same model, some folk are unhappy no matter what they get, from when, due to own ideas as to what the knife should be. But latest ones can be really bad from what I have personally received, and whose guarantee they did not honor except in a refund on a knife awaited over 5yrs which I very much wanted.

As for dealers, again, I recommend Buxton and Clinton, both of whom have own sites, and for SURE am not mentioning a couple of others because several are jerks and/or dishonest, while a couple others unmentioned have good reps. Other dealers such as Nordik, and AG Russell, simply sell what the shop sends them, for a circa $100 markup over MSRP...
The dealers I mentioned are honest, and sell for MSRP, and can get you anything you want within the year...formerly would say 6mths, but maybe now 8mths or a year, due to personnel problems from maker end...
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I understand the hesitation about naming the dealer I just wasn’t sure if you were saying that Randall quality was slipping also. Apparently you are and I wasn’t aware of that.
 
My answer to the OP's (original) question is a Cinderella story, which I suppose makes me the evil stepmother. At first, I hated the Griptilian because the scales looked so cheap and because the jimping on them was so harsh. I paid about $140 to have custom carbon fiber scales with shredded copper made, and once I put those on, I fell in love with my Grip. I've handled two low-end Wayfarer 247s and one Koenig Arius, and I prefer my Ritter Grip to them. And at around $330 for the cost of the (slightly used) knife on the exchange and the cost of the scales, this type of customization gives me more bang for my buck, too.
 
Sorry but I would say Emerson Knives, at least the earlier versions. To be fair though he's got the ergonomics down to a science!
 
Schatt&Morgan... I believe it was taken over by Queen at this time. Whatever, I was totally hype to the traditional vibe and it didn't work out at all as I expected. I kind of expected "like in the good old days"... but Nope at all, in the end...
 
Sharperthansticks said:
My answer to the OP's (original) question is a Cinderella story, which I suppose makes me the evil stepmother. At first, I hated the Griptilian because the scales looked so cheap and because the jimping on them was so harsh. I paid about $140 to have custom carbon fiber scales with shredded copper made, and once I put those on, I fell in love with my Grip. I've handled two low-end Wayfarer 247s and one Koenig Arius, and I prefer my Ritter Grip to them. And at around $330 for the cost of the (slightly used) knife on the exchange and the cost of the scales, this type of customization gives me more bang for my buck, too.
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I was the total opposite, haha. At least with the mini. I have handled a full sized and hated it.

I was able to handle an -1 mini and loved the shite out of it. So maybe a few days later I searched one out and ran across the Ritter. The blade shape looked best to me so I went with it, fully expecting to buy aftermarket scales for it because everyone says they hate the stock scales. Literal minutes after messing around with my brand new mini Ritter I completed forgot the idea of getting aftermarket scales, the stock scales on the mini felt great. I still carry my mini Ritter bone stock, and I seriously do not think that will ever change(it's in my pocket right now, and I still love the shite out of it).

The weird thing is, though, I absolutely hate Spyderco's Bi-Directional FRN and flat out refuse to buy another knife with it. So many Manix LW's I wish were plain Manix 2's. Different textures for different folks, as they say. Or at least they should, haha.
 
Pilsner said:
This ^

I tend to get turned off by hype, so am more often pleasantly surprised when I get such an item; the PM2 fits into that category for me. I wanted to dislike it but I couldn’t in all honesty - it is, after all, an excellent knife in my view.

But yes, can’t bring myself to love the Recon-1 for example, to be absolutely honest. It’s just not what I hoped it would be. ‘Tis all so very subjective.
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Me either. Mine has so many issues that it got tossed to the back of the pile, and forgotten. It is too cheap of a knife to send back for repairs, and just not worth it.
 
I’ve had a few disappointments:
  • Emerson x12: I tried about a dozen of these, various years and models. All of them exhibited issues as mentioned before. They offer very little value at their price point. These are my biggest knife disappoints and I’ve sold most of them. I love many of the designs, they are just very poorly executed.
  • Spyderco PM2: I expected the end-all, be-all knife; they are not. The actions are not good, I don’t like the blade/handle ratio, and I’m not fond of the compression lock. I’ve still got two with Ti & Cu aftermarket scales that are OK but I really just hold onto them to keep from perpetuating disappointment :)
  • I’ve had the regular Benchmade QC issues (off-center blades, uneven secondary grinds).
  • I carry and use Hinderer & Chris Reeve knives almost exclusively any more. They work well for me and I like them but I am not blinded by fanboy fantasy; neither is perfect. Chris Reeve smoothness and “vault lockup” are exaggerated and vary greatly by specimen. Hinderer XM detents vary greatly. My 3” will NOT flip at all. My Hinderer Half Tracks, Eklipse, & MP-1 and all very well executed though. I’ve bought most of my examples from both brands through pretty good deals secondhand.
My most carried & used blades are:
  • CRK Small Sebenza 21 Insingo Micarta
  • Hinderer 3.5” XM-18 Non-Flipper M390 Steel
  • Hinderer Flashpoint as a neck knife
  • Hinderer XM Slippy Spanto
My only remaining Emersons. I like to have a trainer karambit and I don’t have to worry about the lock failing and losing fingers. The EDC-1 was actually made by Multitasker in China. It has better fit/finish than any of my real Emersons did. The CQC-14 is so heavily modified that it’s not an Emerson any more. The only original part is the blade and even it has a Krein regrind. It’s goofy but I got it cheap enough that I like having it.
i.ashx


The PM2s that I tolerate:
i.ashx


My most carried/used (Half Track isn’t used much but I play with it a lot):
i.ashx

i.ashx
i.ashx
 
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PM2 for me. Grip is fat at the bottom side in order to have a huge lanyard tube for a lanyard I'll never use, making it a pocket-opening hog. Fragile tip on a too short cutting edge for the size of the knife. Just not impressed at all. Second place the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 2, major disappointment after the stellar GB1.
 
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