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

MISSION MPF 3 TI PE

Its a catch 22 for me really because the knife material was was solid and the overall design was good but their were a few design problems. The knife I had held up well to 3 years of hard use, but the workmanship was totally unacceptable for the coin.

The main problem is with the tang and the lock bar as the angle of the cut on the blade tang is not sufficient enough to engage the lock properly, so while you have a knife made out of a material that will outlast you because of the poor workmanship and one bad design feature the thing won't last but a few years. There were a few other design problems with the pivot pin and clip which also caused problems.

Its a shame because their really onto something the with the material, size and shape of the mpf but its all for naught because it won't last under true EDC conditions.
 
I can't really say. The only knives to disappoint me were given to me, or found or something. Everything I've bought I've enjoyed. Though I don't have a huge collection.
 
Spyderco Navigator with the Green Almite handles. Beautiful knife, poor design. For the neighborhood of $40-$45, It shares time between being a paperweight and thrown into my First Aid kit (as a "Back-Up" Jeans/Belt cutter).

Gibby
 
Hmm this is a pretty cool thread pretty useful to see other ppls "reviews"

Well for me I would have to say the 5.11 Investigator knife, I got mine in spearpoint and returned it a few days after purchase. It wasn't a terrible knife, just the knife that dissapointed me the most. The knife looked alot better in the online pix than in real life. The knife was super tight even though I tried playin with the pivot screw, lubing the lock and blade, and working the blade and lock alot. It could not deploy quickly without significant effort, and the heavily knurled stud tore my thumb up. The 154CM blade was not very sharp, and the finish they used was easily scratched. the knife was fairly cheap for a 154cm blade, and the handle was the best part of the knife. It had great ergos and provided a great grip
 
Kershaw Vapor II: Junk, rusts specks appear quickly, thumb studs tear up your thumbs, hard if not impossible to open one handed (Fixed with a dremel), pocket clip is hard to get back onto the pocket without tearing it.
 
Clip Point Skinner made by Orion Knives. It started life as a Marble’s Fieldcraft blade, to which Orion mounted a brass guard and an elk crown grip. Alas, the stag had a strong curve at the crown. In the wrong direction, if you happened to be right handed. Made it near impossible to use the knife unless you are a southpaw. To make things better, it came in a right handed sheath.
 
Tostig said:
Hey folks , those who responded to my Apparition post.

I did come down a bit hard on Benchmade as a whole , my apologies.

SNIP

What bummed me so much on the Apparition is the price I paid versus the F&F.
The AO , I know how to flick it with my thumb , it just does not feel as safe as the flipper type AO's from my beloved Kershaw :) and I really do feel like I'm gonna eviscerate myself with it - not that i'm a klutz :D

Seriously though the F&F was horrid for a knife that expensive and from a company as renowned as Benchmade but me being the tinkerer that I am I took her apart and polished her up so that all the mill marks were gone , it looks much nicer now but still languishes in my knife drawer.


Tostig
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I only a little surprised to hear your story on the Apparition. I have one, and really love it. It is in 154CM, with horn, and it is just about perfect. It fires rapidly to open, secures without a bit of play in the lockup. NO machine marks anywhere and the finishing is as good as it gets.

I bought it from a well known dealer (that I trust!) and asked him to see if he had a "good one". He pulled three or four out, found one he liked, and sent that one to me. I bought about three hundred bucks worth of knives that order, so he didn't give me any static for taking a look at the knives to make sure they were acceptable.

They were on sale for $98.00, and since the one I got feels and looks like a custom, I am very pleased with it.

But I know what you mean about buying an expensive production knife and being disappointed. It is one thing to have a knife not feel right in your hand, not balance right, or to cut well for the way you use it. The knife maker can't do much about that.

It is an entirely different affair to have a knife you paid some good money for come to you with lousy fit and finish. That's just plain sloppy workmanship. Sadly, it seems that the workmanship of many of the knives sold today change from model to model within the same maker.

I share your sentiments of "once bitten, twice shy".

My last CASE knive was some years ago. I had noticed that the quality of the knives was slipping around the late 70s. Still good knives, but you could tell a difference in the quality.

Then they started making their folders in stainless. This was genuine CASE stainless, so how could I go wrong? I like stainless because I carried my knives in my pocket and they rusted before lunch in my sweaty pockets.

I bought a CASE trapper and small Stockman. They weren't cheap. I have had butter knives that held an edge better. They were horrible, and the knives would literally get dull from sharpening my carpenter's pencils for a couple of days. The back springs didn't line up and match when the knife was open, one of the scales worked loose, and the mahogany colored dye on the bone scales stained my pockets.

Both knives had the same problems.

I haven't bought a CASE since, and that was in the late 70s.

Robert
 
David1967 said:
Kershaw Shalott - nice in the picture but too thin to handle.
Click to expand...

Me too. I got one a while back; the lock bar moves almost 2/3 toward the other liner, way too far for a new knife; it feels like it will fire at the worst moment in my pocket. I'm trying to like it, but I just can't. :(

thx - cpr
 
Authorized factory version of the Franklin "Hawg" knife. Interesting looking but too flimsy to use seriously. That's why I got such a great price on it.:rolleyes:

DancesWithKnives
 
ZT 350

Too thick to cut anything good, blade hits the frame and dullens, blade doesn't settle to middle and after use, it even scratches the liner. Otherwise it's like a tank, but tank is too much.
 
As much as I hate to say it... SOG Flash II. Very slow assist and a lot of up and down blade play. I would love a trident and an Aegis but that Flash has me so turned off I cant do it.
 
Spyderco Native 4...loved the ergo's, blade length, and I could live with the smooth carbon fiber scales. What sent me over the edge was the gritty sandpaper action...This certainly wasn't expected in a $160 knife...IMO the $50 FRN Native is smoother by leaps and bounds.

Dave
 
The same for me, native 4 cf

This was a disappointing knife for me to:(.
I thought it was 1 of the nicest looking spyderco's.

The looks of the cf are great but they are very smooth,but i did not care about this because the native has a nice choil and because of this still a good grip on the smooth handles.

Mine was also very gritty:confused:.
It was brand new and a few opening and closings made scratches on the (tang of the) blade.
I first tried oil but didn't work so i screwed the knife apart.
The liners were very rough so i sanded them till they were smooth.
Did take me some hours of work and after this sanding and polishing the action was smooth again:thumbup:.
Very disappointing for a higher class knife.(if it was a tenacious or a byrd ok)
I have read more complaints about this problem with the native 4 cf.Also seen pics of new knives on the forums with the same scratches.
Recently been to a knife show and talked with one of the spyderco crew and he showed me his native.It was a gritty action to:thumbdn:.
 
Several years ago, my mom bought me a Gerber Urban Legend for Xmas.
Multitool_Gerber_T3_MP700_Chrome_4605350.jpg



Seemed OK to me at the time, but about a week after I got it, the pliers broke while using them VERY lightly.


Tossed em into a drawer, decided I was done with Gerber. 2 years ago I caught wind of Gerbers warranty and contacted them. They told me to send it in and they would replace or repair it.

Week or two later, this showed up.
legend800_large.jpg


It is bulky, heavy, ugly, and the fit and finish is ridiculous. The jaws of the pliers are misaligned by at least 1/8 of an inch, the knife blade uses the handle as a blade stop, and the tools are CRUDELY cut out of what appears to be tin.

This thing wouldnt pass gas station QC.



Immediately moved to a Swisstool and could not be happier.
 
Herbertz folder (model #209512). What a piece of *%&$#$*&. The blade had scratches, the pivot felt like they purposely embedded sand inside, the supposed laser engraving on the bolsters looked painted on by a 10-year-old as part of school project, it's heavy, and the pressure to disengage the lock is something only MMA participants can handle. Avoid at all costs.

- Mark
 
The only knives I have ever bought that really dissapointed me were a couple custom fixed blades. The scales had gaps, there was glue that was smeared all over the scales, and the grinds were pretty horrible. Because he is a pretty big name on these boards I will leave his name out of it, but lets just say both knives were sold rather quick. He was notified about the problems and nothing was ever done, so I did try.

Lessons learned, dont buy from him again.
 
The biggest disappointment so far is the TOPS Tom Brown Tracker, which I've now sold.
It promised to do so many things, which it did... but good at everything, expert at nothing.
It's just a big and very heavy hunk of metal which is really uncomfortable to use.
To be fair, the fit and finish on this knife is really top-notch; so, it's a nice collectors item, but not a very good performer.

The latest disappointment is the newest version of the Fiskars M95 (teflon). They're so inconsistent with production (hand made),
resulting in many variations on their knives and sheaths (my older and very well made M95 wouldn't fit properly in two new composite sheaths!).
Grind (they're sloppily hand sharpened), handle placement etc. It's a shame that they don't make an effort to maintain a consistent finish on their knives,
because if you're lucky and get a good one, it's one of the best knives out there for bushcraft and camping.
I had to send two knives back to the retailer before I finally gave up and decided that if I ever buy one again in the future, I'll go to a store and inspect it myself.
 
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