I try and follow most of the posts that are about Winkler Knives on Blade Forums. Answer questions, offer advise and generally keep up with what is going on. There was a post last week that expressed some concerns about our F-1 folders. The information below is an un-edited copy of an email I received and my response.
The email:
I recently bought one of you F1 Flippers. I am the one who posted a not so nice review on blade forum. I said I would post more once I took it hunting. But I did not want to post any more bad things on line as I love your knives. But I felt you should know my experience with the knife.
I used it for just about everything from cooking to cleaning 2 deer. It was hot where I was hunting 70-80 and I was sweating . I oiled the blade (rem oil ) after each washing at night. But the blade rusted on the left side from the sweat in my BDU pocket. It rusted like the man said on blade forum in the little holes from bead blasting. By the end of the trip it was pretty bad. When I got home I removed it by using some polish cream and tooth brush. It did go through two deer with no problem and was a joy in that regard. It did all the kitchen prep cutting onions meat etc no problem and stayed sharp a long time. Cleaning was a problem so after each deer I field stripped it. One of the clip screws was close to stripped out. I am a contractor so I had both torx bits needed and pliers to help the stripped screw. I should note my bits are Apex bits which are the best you can buy not cheap bits that strip screws. Then one of the stand off screws was so stripped I had to take two off one side and one off the other. Cleaning was easy enough and putting it back together was easy too. Besides the rust and stripped screw it was a good knife and handled well. The blades should be coated to prevent rust.
My response:
First I want to thank you for your purchase and for testing the folder in an environment I have not. Your experiences and opinions are important in improving what we are offering.
It sounds like the cpm3v blade and the overall design worked well as a hunting knife. This is good information. I was pretty confident in the steel as I have used it for years for a lot of knives we have provided to US Naval Special Warfare. They too seem to like the steel.
It sounds like there are 2 primary problems with your knife. First the blade finish being no more than a blasted finish. Normally I would not have chosen this finish but I have been carrying one of the first prototypes for about 4 months as my every day carry knife. It has the sand blasted finish on cpm3v as your knife has. I have experienced no rusting at all. I also have not oiled the blade but twice when I touched up the edge. I based my decision on the finish for the F1 on my personal experience over the past few months. The problem with the screws I believe is one I have already corrected in production. I first started using Torx bits from cheap Asian imported driver sets. After a short while these bits started stripping both the bits and the screw heads. We acquired some high quality drivers and I had my assistant go back and change any screws that seemed damaged. Obviously missed some.
Here is what I would like to do. First I would like to get your knife back and either re-finish or replace it. Ill let you choose which. What I will return will have new screws and a Caswell Black finish on the blade. This is the same finish I use on the NSW knives made from cpm3v. I am also going to change the finish on all the future Model F-1 to Caswell the same as I do on the F-1B. Hopefully this will help others in the future from having the rusting problems that you had. Cpm3v is not a stainless steel and with use rusting may occur but the Caswell finish should help.
If you dont mind I would like to post both your un-edited letter and my response on USN and Blade Forums.
Please send your knife to the address below and whether you want a replacement or a re-finish and Ill get on it right away.
Daniel Winkler
Daniel Winkler
199 Jefferson Road
Boone, NC 28607
If there is anyone else out there that has a similar issue I will be happy to make any repairs necessary to make your knife all that it should be.
Daniel
The email:
I recently bought one of you F1 Flippers. I am the one who posted a not so nice review on blade forum. I said I would post more once I took it hunting. But I did not want to post any more bad things on line as I love your knives. But I felt you should know my experience with the knife.
I used it for just about everything from cooking to cleaning 2 deer. It was hot where I was hunting 70-80 and I was sweating . I oiled the blade (rem oil ) after each washing at night. But the blade rusted on the left side from the sweat in my BDU pocket. It rusted like the man said on blade forum in the little holes from bead blasting. By the end of the trip it was pretty bad. When I got home I removed it by using some polish cream and tooth brush. It did go through two deer with no problem and was a joy in that regard. It did all the kitchen prep cutting onions meat etc no problem and stayed sharp a long time. Cleaning was a problem so after each deer I field stripped it. One of the clip screws was close to stripped out. I am a contractor so I had both torx bits needed and pliers to help the stripped screw. I should note my bits are Apex bits which are the best you can buy not cheap bits that strip screws. Then one of the stand off screws was so stripped I had to take two off one side and one off the other. Cleaning was easy enough and putting it back together was easy too. Besides the rust and stripped screw it was a good knife and handled well. The blades should be coated to prevent rust.
My response:
First I want to thank you for your purchase and for testing the folder in an environment I have not. Your experiences and opinions are important in improving what we are offering.
It sounds like the cpm3v blade and the overall design worked well as a hunting knife. This is good information. I was pretty confident in the steel as I have used it for years for a lot of knives we have provided to US Naval Special Warfare. They too seem to like the steel.
It sounds like there are 2 primary problems with your knife. First the blade finish being no more than a blasted finish. Normally I would not have chosen this finish but I have been carrying one of the first prototypes for about 4 months as my every day carry knife. It has the sand blasted finish on cpm3v as your knife has. I have experienced no rusting at all. I also have not oiled the blade but twice when I touched up the edge. I based my decision on the finish for the F1 on my personal experience over the past few months. The problem with the screws I believe is one I have already corrected in production. I first started using Torx bits from cheap Asian imported driver sets. After a short while these bits started stripping both the bits and the screw heads. We acquired some high quality drivers and I had my assistant go back and change any screws that seemed damaged. Obviously missed some.
Here is what I would like to do. First I would like to get your knife back and either re-finish or replace it. Ill let you choose which. What I will return will have new screws and a Caswell Black finish on the blade. This is the same finish I use on the NSW knives made from cpm3v. I am also going to change the finish on all the future Model F-1 to Caswell the same as I do on the F-1B. Hopefully this will help others in the future from having the rusting problems that you had. Cpm3v is not a stainless steel and with use rusting may occur but the Caswell finish should help.
If you dont mind I would like to post both your un-edited letter and my response on USN and Blade Forums.
Please send your knife to the address below and whether you want a replacement or a re-finish and Ill get on it right away.
Daniel Winkler
Daniel Winkler
199 Jefferson Road
Boone, NC 28607
If there is anyone else out there that has a similar issue I will be happy to make any repairs necessary to make your knife all that it should be.
Daniel
