Which factory folder were you most disappointed with?

S

savagelh

Joined
Feb 18, 2010
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196
Just wondering which folder that you had heard great things about and after you recieved it were disappointed with. For me it was the kershaw whirlwind. It uses cheap material for blade and handle and wasn't all that sharp out of the box. I was glad I only paid 40 for it when they retail for over 80 up here. I also don't like the fact that it is almost impossible to open left handed with the thumb stud.

Tell me your experiences with disappointing blades.
 
Cold Steel Triple Action. Screws fell out and would not hold the threads after 2 months.
 
CRKT m16 -10kz EDC. It's in the for sale section for 10 bucks. The liner lock is super hard to disengage, and the pivot tension/liner lock bar tension is very weird.

It also happens to be the folder I am most impressed with, because it sharpens up super easy, and I have batoned wood with it and it refuses to die. I still hate it though.
 
SOG Flash 2.

Looked great on paper... that was about it for me. The handle was so very wrong for my hand. It has a wonderful blade shape and profile, it was certainly ground for slicing, but the blade is set so far back into the handled that it's awkward to use for slicing.

It was my first foray into the world of assisted openers, and I quickly realized that I don't like AO. The Flash 2 and a Camillus Heat are the only AOs I own, and I removed the spring from the Heat.

Some people complain about the cheap feeling handle, but it never bothered me, and it seems like a pretty good material. The piston lock or whatever they call it was sound, but the lock release was sharp and hurt my thumb.

The absolute worst feature of the knife for me was the pocket clip. That knife rides so deeply in the pocket that it's a challenge to get it out. My understanding was that the pocket clip is there to make the knife easier to get to, a convenience... not make it harder to get. (Needless to say, I absolutely despise these trendy low ride pocket clips. The Spyderco Military and Paramilitary are examples of what pocket clips should be).

If the knife had just one of these things that I consider flaws it would be acceptable. But nothing about that knife was right for me. It completely turned me off of SOG too. And I like some of their fixed blades, but I've never been able to talk myself into buying one.

I've kept it as an example of what not to do.
 
sog trident and benchmade mini pika and sog vulcan

sog trident just sucked overall, wouldn't hold an edge and always had bladeplay

benchmade mini pika wouldn't take an edge, and ergos were all funky. plus the jimping in the FRN is so deep that i got mayonaise in it during food prep, and couldn't get it all out and it rotted

sog vulcan seemed perfect online, but just doesn't feel right, waste of a hundred bucks. clip was also always in the way and the handle feels cheap overall
 
CS AK-47. Mine wasn't a very good product. Loose, wobbly blade and wouldn't hold an edge very well.
 
StypeCL said:
Benchmade 740 Dejavoo. Love the design, liner lock sucked!
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Same here. I love the Lum designs, but that liner lock was super weak. I'd also add the Onslaught, such a large blade yet it's too thin.
My other dissatisfaction was with the soft 154CM on one of my Emerson blades. After a day of use the blade was not even functionally sharp. Reminded me of 440A for a minute.:(
 
I'm suprised with some of the pics so far. I also bought the crkt m-16 edc and I was actually quite happy with it for the $40 I paid for it. The edge retention isn't great but I actually really like AUTOLAWKS. Once you're used to it its easy and quick. I also found the blade coating is very durable. It rides in my tool belt and gets used hard every day for stripping wire and liquid tight flex.
 
savagelh said:
I'm suprised with some of the pics so far. I also bought the crkt m-16 edc and I was actually quite happy with it for the $40 I paid for it. The edge retention isn't great but I actually really like AUTOLAWKS. Once you're used to it its easy and quick. I also found the blade coating is very durable. It rides in my tool belt and gets used hard every day for stripping wire and liquid tight flex.
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We electricians are hard on blades (and make sure someone didn't slip you a piece of Sealtight :D ) Between cutting into copper occasionally or just having nothing else to deburr a knockout or piece of conduit, I will only use an inexpensive knife on my tool belt.

Now I'm gonna try an M-16. :thumbup:
 
My Emerson folding bowie.
Lots of flex when I twist it, it feels rickity.
I'm halfway confident that I could break it if I was to give it a serious twist.
I've had $10 knives with better machining.
Pretty sure it isn't a fake, I got it from knife center.
 
Brennanscott said:
We electricians are hard on blades (and make sure someone didn't slip you a piece of Sealtight :D ) Between cutting into copper occasionally or just having nothing else to deburr a knockout or piece of conduit, I will only use an inexpensive knife on my tool belt.

Now I'm gonna try an M-16. :thumbup:
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I've got to ask...

I have stripped a lot of wires with whatever knife is in my pocket...but dont electricians generally use strippers?





Anyway, the Kershaw Zing was disappointing for me. The one I have either has to be so far off centered that the blade rubs on the liner hard, or if the blade is centered the lock fails with a light touch. Sent it back to warranty once, and other than new clip screws it came back the same way. Went into the junk box. I'll stick with my Blurs, Leeks, and Tyrades for the Kershaws. Its a shame, I really wanted to like that little knife. I got a OD-1 the same day though, and that was is really impressive...so maybe they cancel each other out.
 
Well just recently the Benchmade Rift. I've been buying mostly Spydercos for the past few years but I had heard good things about the Rift.
It came very dull. The edges of the G-10 are sharp. The biggest problem I had was one I never expected. The ergos are terrible for me.
 
Tripton said:
I've got to ask...

I have stripped a lot of wires with whatever knife is in my pocket...but dont electricians generally use strippers?
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I do for circuit sized wire. For anything about #6 and up I use a knife. I try to cut just deep enough to pull the insulation off without scoring the copper or aluminum.

AWG sizes are pretty specific. I've watched countless apprentices score a ring around the conductor only to unknowingly reduce the ampacity of the wire.

That or they just don't care and then I have no use for them anyway.
 
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res1cue said:
sog vulcan seemed perfect online, but just doesn't feel right, waste of a hundred bucks. clip was also always in the way and the handle feels cheap overall
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I'd have to say this holds true for me. That was my first expensive knife purchase under $100, well I had picked up the mini tanto version. I remember I had seen some youtube reviews and what I saw seemed very positive.

What I liked: the blade, it was beautiful and sharp.

What I didn't like: everything else.

Like you, I felt the handle felt really cheap. I've also owned a Trident and to me the handle on the Trident felt better in hand and more durable. Just my opinion of course. ;)

When holding the knife, the clip would move any time I squeezed down for a firm grip and proved to be an annoyance. This also proved to be my first encounter with the arc-lock. Some reviews compared it to in a way similar to Benchmade's Axis lock. To me there was no comparison. The arc-lock scared me in the sense that it seemed very easy to disengage.
 
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