What's the knife that has disappointed you the most?

J

James0723

Joined
Mar 25, 2009
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In your entire history of obtaining and collecting various knives, have there ever been some that let you down or didn't live up to your expectations? Which knife has caused the biggest disappointment for you and why?
 
I've hated on this knife a lot on these forums, but I was supremely disappointed with the cold steel ti-lite 4". My grievances include: Inaccessible thumb stud, sharp quillons, slow deployment, cheapo box, thick blade. It came pretty dull too and smelled like synthetic death. Maybe I just had a lemon but :rolleyes: that was a dreadful purchase.

I will say it was beautifully balanced and would have made a good $45 throwing knife.
 
Benchmade 635 mini-Skirmish. I always wanted a Ti framelock with a Spyder hole. I was dissapointed on three counts:

1. tip down only
2. they chamfered the opening hole, making it way too easy for your thumb to slip out
3. the natural drawing position put my fingers directly on the locking bar, adding additional resistance to the opening that was already too difficult because of #2 above

Three strikes, it was out.
 
I got two folding knives for $1.98 from an ad in the back of a comic book. I was in jr. high school. Yes they looked just like the picture and about the same size... about 2" oal.

Ric
 
Most recently the Kershaw Splinter. A great looking knife with fancy quince wood handles and a very nice fit and finish - would have made a great dress knife except for the fact that the thumb stud is extremely hard to access because it's too close to the handle. Can't complain too much though, since I made a $30 buck profit when I sold it. :D

SD-23889_1_.jpg
 
The first "high end" folder I ever purchased was a special order thru the Mac Tools guy. A Gerber Applegate/Fairbairn Covert folder. Waited for that knife for three tedious weeks. Paid way too much for it, MSRP, but who knew about this stuff before the internet?? Anyhoo, this knife turned out to be a POS gas station special. The detent ball fell out right before my very eyes. The impossibly small screws on the scales fell out. The thing was just a POS from the outset. I've toyed with the idea of sending it back and even had it boxed up and addressed at one time. Never did. Now that it's back on my radar screen I just may send it off. What I paid for that POS, I deserve some warranty action. I can't believe they're still in business. Maybe I just got hold of a bad apple. :confused:
 
Benchmade Vex. Yes, it is a Red Class, but I expected more from BM. Also the slight recurve can go unnoticed if just looking at a picture.

It seem bulky, clunky, and heavy compared to the cheaper Tenacious
 
as far as i can tell, there wasn't a single knife that didn't cut.
edge holding is something everyone gripes about.
havin' high expectations because of havin' read or fallen for rave product reviews; or even havin' felt really good vibes about a certain appealing design have only a partial baring on how well a product actually turns out in the hands of each individual end user.
let's face it, some are highly cautious users (who might never even use the product) whilst others the complete opposite.
the ability to pick out a perceived winner in order to enjoy a new purchase with total user satisfaction is something of an elusive dream.
because ever so often somebody or somethin' new comes along to rewrite the rules on design, manufacture or technique.
the idea of ownin' somethin' that's built to last is IMO nothin' more than a clever play of words for nothin' truly last or goes on workin' forever.
whenever somethin' new is picked up, it's because it felt right at that given moment in time.
decisions, decisions.
it's quite a task to generalize customer satisfaction given the wide spectrum of individual personalities; which makes the human mind quite unpredictable during long term exposure towards a given certain product.
instant gratification on moment, and g'wad only knows what next...
hence love to hate.
 
Tops Tom Brown Tracker. I ordered it the day before the movie "The Hunted" came out, thinking I was going to get a reasonable facsimile of the "Beck" version, which I had handled a year or so before. If there is any merit to the Tops version, it was muted by the "Bait and Switch" tactics I fell for.
 
Kershaw chive. It was sharp and I thought the AA was neat at first. It then cut me several times opening in my pocket. It also got lots of rust spots even though it claimed to be stainess. Ive never had any of my other folders rust on me with simple pocket use and this includes semistailess steels like d2. VERY dissapointed. Never owned another kershaw and most likely wont own another
 
Another vote for the BM Mini Skirmish. Terrible, I mean TERRIBLE ergonomics. Also difficult to open due to the chambered opening hole.
 
Gerber Freeman Stag S30V, made in USA.

The overall quality is very low. The grinding on each side of the blade is different - the hollow grind is a different height on each side and the reliefs on the top of the drop point are different lengths.

The spine is rounded uneven. It looks like the entire knife was shaped with a belt sander. The edge is also not centered in the blade (which is part of the trouble with the grinding on each side not matching).

The stag scales were not sealed. Using the knife to skin a bull elk got it bloody. Washing the blood off with warm soapy water caused the stag to warp and not sit flat on the handle. All the unsealled holes in the stag also filled with blood, making cleaning difficult.

The S30V heat treatment must not be great since it didn't hold an edge any better than a Buck 420HC when used to skin an elk. From all the S30V hype, I was expecting more.

This is a knife that looks very good at a distance. The closer you look, the worse it looks.

I have a Tawian version that is actually much higher quality. I liked the Tawain version enough that I bought the more expensive USA version. What a disappointment!
 
I love my BM mini Skirmish and use it as my EDC, it takes some time to get used to but it's a great knife.

I really hated the SOG Aegis, what a cheap cheap cheap knife, really light, a lot of bladeplay and the spring of the assisted opening was the most annoying one I have ever seen.
I sold it the same day it got in the mail.
 
It is not the S90V CF Military that disappointed me, just the steel - I detest the stuff. It is a bear to put a fine edge on S90V and it doesn't hold it for long. That's right, I said it, it doesn't hold it for long. Don't get me wrong though, it holds a 'meat edge' for a ridiculously long time, but I have found that it just won't hold a 'hair popping' edge for as long as my BG-42 blades. Yes, I made sure it didn't have a wire edge. Anyway, for me it was a disappointment. YMMV.
 
BRKT mountain man.Nice looking knife but it's so thin The edges would roll if I cut anything harder than cooked meat.
 
Spyderco Cali 3.I got it in a trade.I had no idea it was so tiny.I sold it the same day I got it.F&F was excellent like most spydies.It was just too small for me.

Oh yea,the P'Kal(sp?) too.I just didn't like it.....Strider SNG,big knife/small blade...etc.
 
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mine was the spyderco t-mag. i knew the magnet wasnt going to hold it well but i had no idea how much it wouldnt. i would absolutely LOVE that knife if it locked however.
 
Another vote here for the opening hole of the Mini-Skirmish. I very much wanted to love it, but sold it off. Why can't they get the simple things right?
 
I might be alone in this but the two knives I was most disappointed in where a sebenza (borrowed my friends when i considered buying one) and a strider which I sold. Neither were worth the money IMO, and my ZT folders do the job equally well for half the money.
 
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