Would you send this back? (Northfield #56 Dogleg Jack Burnt Stag)

I

iandh

Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
340
Hi all,

I just got this new knife in, and I'm really torn on whether to keep it. It's my first knife in stag, and my first dogleg jack... and my first Northfield (I already have a few Tidioute).

I bought the knife based on the pictures, because it had a really neat character color-wise. I liked how it had a mix of reds, whites, blue-grey, and deep brown.

What I thought was a white spot in the stag, actually ended up being a goof by whoever finished the knife. They accidentally hit the middle of the scale with the sanding belt, then ignored it and sent the knife right on through QC. :mad:

It's a little irritating, because I've seen GEC knives classified as EDC for much, much less than this, and whoever finished this knife must have seen this.

On top of that, they've nearly buffed through the lettering on the right side of the shield.


2011-05-09_19-46-49_709.jpg

2011-05-09_19-46-39_664.jpg

2011-05-09_19-46-08_744.jpg


I still really like the character of the stag, but I can't help but think this isn't acceptable. The thing that stinks is that this is the last of this particular knife I could find in stock anywhere, and so if I send it in to GEC, I'm liable to get a different knife in return.

I plan on EDC'ing this knife, so I guess it's a little different than if I was keeping it as a safe queen.

Normally I would just make a decision, but I'm really torn on this one. This is pretty dissapointing for my first stag knife.
 
I'm not a big fan of sending knives back for tiny mishaps/blemishes, but that's a pretty big slip and even if I was EDCing it, it would bug the hell out of me. I'd send it back (and I usually don't say that)
 
I'd probably send her back as well. That said, be prepared to accept whatever they send back to you (as long as there are no obvious blemishes) even if it does not exhibit the same coloring that caused you to buy this one in the first place.
 
I'd drop it in my pocket and carry it, but that's just me. I spend half my time on these forums laughing at the things people worry about.
 
Obviously the blemish bothers you. However, I would have called both the retailer I purchased it from and GEC rather than post the question here. The retailer and GEC can give you some relief or satisfaction, we can't.

- David
 
yablanowitz said:
I'd drop it in my pocket and carry it, but that's just me. I spend half my time on these forums laughing at the things people worry about.
Click to expand...

I also find some people's worries amusing at times, but I consider myself to be extremely tolerant. The problem I have with this knife is that the blemish is worse than most of the knives I've seen marked as GEC store or EDC knives. Many EDC knives have a tiny crack, a slightly misstruck pin, or a small chip. This is a fairly large gouge sanded out from the middle of the scale.

That said, this is going to be a user. I am considering just smoothing the edge with my dremel, and dropping it in my pocket. I just wanted to get some perspective. It is more a matter of principle than anything. I feel that this knife shouldn't have been sold as full retail. It would have fit very well into the EDC category. Being that I plan to EDC it, the existence of the gouge itself is not a deal breaker. I just have a problem paying full price for a knife that should not have been sold as a full price knife, at least according to what I've seen regarding GEC's policy for categorizing knives as EDC.

Dornblaser said:
Obviously the blemish bothers you. However, I would have called both the retailer I purchased it from and GEC rather than post the question here. The retailer and GEC can give you some relief or satisfaction, we can't.

- David
Click to expand...

I'm not seeking satisfaction or relief, only opinions. I'm very solidly on the fence about this, and I was hoping that the opinions of forum members may help me make a solid decision. I can't imagine there is a better place than here to get the opinions of traditional knife lovers.

I have no doubt that I could get some resolution from GEC. The store I purchased from is reputable and well-liked on this forum, but charges an unconditional 20% restocking fee, or 100% store credit. Unfortunately, there isn't anything else in their store that I'm interested in. I don't find the blemish to be significant enough to raise a stink with them, or argue over their restocking fee.


LKJW said:
If it will bother you, send it back. That's my feeling.
Click to expand...

Knife Crazied said:
If it bothers you send it in.
Click to expand...

It does bother me to some degree, but the reason I made this thread was to see if receiving this knife would bother others as well, or if most people would consider it acceptable.


That said, thank you for your replies. I do appreciate your opinions.
 
Last edited:
In addition to smoothing the edge with a dremel, you may want to consider trying to dye/stain/color that area to better match the surrounding color. You'll never get it perfect, but a darker color would make it less noticeable.
 
Well, I just tried an expirement, and it worked beautifully.

I knocked the edge down and blended using a couple of jeweler's files, then smoothed with some 25 and then 9 micron lapping film, and here's the funny part... I cranked up my trusty Hakko 936 soldering station with a large chisel tip on the iron, the picture speaks for itself. :D

2011-05-09_22-29-57_577.jpg

So, if anyone needs to do some fine-tuning on their burnt stag... fear not, the soldering iron will be there to save the day.

Looks like this guy is going to work with me tomorrow. The bonus is that the knife has already been molested, so I don't have to be all paranoid about nicking it or something at work.

Thanks again for the replies everyone. They did help enough to make me consider just touching it up, and the result was better than I could have hoped. :)
 
That was an amazing bit of magic you worked on the knife, excellent.:thumbup:

Stag will mellow and colour with age but you got that imperfection off really well, doubt you could risk that with bone though....

The knife should not have been delivered in that condition at full price, neither the manufacturer or the dealer should be attempting to sell that knife. I suggest you e-mail GEC and attach your excellent pictures, they have a duty to respond to you on this one. And thanks for raising the issue.
 
Well done Ian,
I think that the knife you have is quite a stunning looking knife, and to return the knife would have been a shame, I think the Stag chosen was a nice choice, and to get better as a factory replacement would have been very, very difficult.
I think you have done well, and thanks for taking us through your fears, and corrective steps...excellent result my friend!
What neat Bolsters, and what neat Stag.... awesome score.

Ian, if you would excuse me for saying this on your thread, this is no to take anything away from your lovely knife, as this would make an ideal brother for my GEC's, ........................
The only thing that slightly annoys me with the modern day Stag used these days, is the white tapering down to the Bolsters...there must be quality Stag that doesn't require this treatment of Tapering on the top, by achieving slicing the bottom of the scale? to achieve 100% better results
Duncan
 
Last edited:
ian you did an excellent job on fixing up the blemish. it looks to myself as if knife was dropped on a surface that chipped the top of stag. probably this occurred after leaving the factory since the manufacturer would have fixed it easily on location. i'm sure most distributors would have replaced the unit but in the future it might be wise to deal only with outlets that only require you paying return postage. p.m. me if you desire more info.---dennis
 
Are you sure you didn't get your before and after pics mixed up? :p You did a great job fixing it up.
 
That is a great job. I doubt that any of us would have know it had a defect if we hadn't seen it before. - Ed J
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top