There have been very few threads on BFC with regards to actual experience of CRK refusing to honor their warranty.
I could be wrong, but two that I do recall were started by guys who bought their CRK second or even third hand and knowing that a problem existed but still expected CRK to service them for free, which they would have done except that the knife was obviously abused.
I bought 2 Sebenzas new this year and have no issues with either, but 99.9% of the threads regarding CRK's warranty / repair are positive, and I don't abuse my knives so I have no doubt I will be taken care of should a problem ever arise.
The bottom line is this: CRK seems to be honest and up front about what constitutes abuse, and very few CRK owners are disappointed with their knives.
The good news is that there are several other companies (KAI and Strider seem to pop up frequently) who cater to wrist flickers and prayer bead users and people who have never sharpened a knife but need warranty / repair work because they have worn out the lock mechanism, so flick away!
:barf:
I love Kershaw's customer service. They replaced the torsion bar on one of their SpeedAssist models after I just blatantly wore it out. I sure must be an idiot... Or I spent $40 on a knife and can do whatever I please with it, and if the company offers a warranty service it's stupid to NOT take them up on it. And I've sharpened my knife so sharp I could shave your face with it!
I don't think it says anything about the quality of CRK or Sebenzas if they won't warranty a knife that's been damaged by flicking for a couple of reasons... Basically, if you actually manage to damage a knife significantly, flicking probably wasn't the case unless you were trying to fling the thing open with significant force, and even then you'd have to be practically trying to test it. That bit is important, because if the knife is without defect, it shouldn't take any force to "flick" it open with your fingers, so there is frankly no good reason to do it. You'd flick marbles harder to get a blade deployed on a folder in good shape; so if you have to apply much force to it, then there's probably something else wrong with it entirely and they'll probably take care of you. So really, I can only imagine the reason why they did this is because they do high precision work, and to repair that high precision work under warranty costs a lot more money. Meanwhile, people who buy a $500 knife are more likely to send a knife in for warranty if they see an issue, but having money to spend doesn't necessarily mean they know any better so they might go around wrist-flicking it like it was a gas-station special and tear up the lock, put a bunch of play in it. Then they'll get the notion, "I spent $500 on this, and it can't even handle that?" and then because they don't offer the repair services for this people think they're somehow stingy.
The comparison between KAI is interesting, because think about it... If you send in a knife to CRK and you have seriously screwed it up, how much more does it cost them to repair it versus what something at a much lower level of manufacturing and labor costs? It makes me think of Benchmade not offering to warranty knives people take apart and don't assemble right, because they put it back together incorrectly and a lot of people don't like that, think it's because they feel people are too incompetent, and just don't want to take the hit for costs on it. Then on the other hand, some comanpy's manufacturing costs are cheap enough where the extra cost is worth the rep for good customer service.
Ultimatley though I think with something like a $500 knife from CRK, the warranty is built into the price in the fact that they're not trying to SAVE any more money. They have taken a lot of money from you, and their product is basically the proof in the pudding and they should be able to have whatever discretion in their warranty they want. I don't really see myself ever getting one, don't like all the "hype" around them, but I do understand the difference between a precision made knife like the ones Chris Reeves makes, and pretty much 90% of other "mass produced" knives.
tl;dr: People really shouldn't worry about wrist-flickin not being covered, if for some earnest reason you actually have to flick it open that hard there's probably something wrong with it, and they probably will fix it. Otherwise, you probably did something completley obviously and likely intentionallty abusive to it, and expect them to warranty your ignorance/stupidity instead of their craftsmanship. Moral of the story: Pay for craftsmanship, respect craftsmanship, be happy.
