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xxGOGOxx said:
I have a Microtech SoCom Elite, manual action (born 04/2019). I purchased it new from Knife Center in May. OD green with the Apocalyptic blade finish. Oh yeah!

When I first got it, I was impressed. I played with it a little bit and then put it in the knife case. I later sent it out to Rob (the ApostleP) for one of his sharpening jobs. Once I got it back, I oohed and ahhed over the amazing edge Rob put on there. Then back in the case. In both instances, I was so enamored with the thing, I didn't do my normal OCD check of the knife.

In September, I decided to put it in the rotation. For some reason, I did a blade play check. I was a little upset to discover it had lock rock. I could not only feel the movement, but could see it too. Ok, no problem, it's got a warranty. So off it went to get fixed. Fast forward 5 weeks...

Got it back from Microtech. The invoice said the lockbar was replaced. When I first pulled it out of the box, I noticed the detent was SUPER light, almost nonexistent. Hmm. The lock rock seemed lessened, but still there. I did a "gravity check." I held the knife perpendicular to the ground, blade side down, and moved my hand in a downward motion, and stopped that motion. The blade deployed! WTF?!?! I tried it a few more times with the same result. I've never had a knife do this...ever! Not even my cheap pocket knives. Ok, try to be positive...no problem, it's got a warranty, right? So off it went to get fixed, again. Fast forward to today...

Got it back from Microtech again. This time the invoice said, "lock surfaces polished and pivot adjusted. Strengthened detent." Um...right. It was pretty much the exact same way it was when I sent it in. And now, the blade is off center by about 1mm and there is a little side to side play. Are you kidding me?!?!

Called Microtech and went through the process again. This time, I was told that when it came in, it would be sent to their custom shop for repair. According to them, the custom shop takes care of the problem knife repairs.

So now that I've had the time to cool off and digest the situation, I've decided that no matter what happens (repair or replacement), the positive feelings I had towards the SoCom are now completely gone. And more than likely, the SoCom will be off to a new home.
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I would say it is both you and microtech. For your "gravity test" depending on how hard the downward motion was, I wouldn't say it is that uncommon for non-flipper manual knives to fail that test. I've seen reviews where people like that, so they can "flick" the knife open without using the thumbstud/hole. Secondly, I gotta say if this will be a user the blade being off-centred by 1mm shouldn't be a big deal. From the customer service aspect to me, it appears something is out of spec that is indirectly causing the issues. So, fixing the lockbar etc won't solve the issue as that is just the by product of something else being out of spec. Normally, I know this isn't great but for this reason If I get a knife that has issue(s) I often just return it and notify the retailer of the issues. Since it will be a lot of effort, sometimes without a resolution.
 
I've had maybe a dozen Socoms of different kinds and model years, and they've all had weak detents (and all different levels of weak, too) that fail a strong wrist test. I still love them, but I advise people to be cautious when expecting a certain experience from the factory. Thankfully, they're easy to take apart and tweak the lockbar tension yourself if need be. Adding lockbar tension will usually solve all issues with the detent.

Unfortunately, it's not at all unheard of for them to ship socoms with lock rock. My warranty experiences with them have been generally good, but I am not surprised to hear they didn't fix the issue for you. I have never had a lock issue fixed satisfactorily from an OEM under warranty repair, be it from Microtech, Benchmade, or ZT. If it's bad from the factory, I always bet on it being a permanent problem. Proper lock function is just something that I don't expect a factory worker to be able to get right, hence why I send knives back for a refund when then have lock issues rather than try to get them fixed.

Let us know if they ever get it fixed. Good luck.
 
How many times are we going to see this post? I have sent a couple of DOC's in and they were both fixed within a month (that model was a cluster, maybe one of the collaborators did not help i.e. Strider). I have 4 SOCOM's 2 manual and 2 auto and have had no issues...seems like the same guys have issues with each maker.
 
Your first issue was sending it to ApostleP.


But for real, sounds like a microtech issue. I've never understood why it's so common for these companies to get knives in and do absolutely nothing, while claiming they fixed it. See those types of stories all of the time about bigger companies. Its gotta be more of a waste of payroll to pretend to fix the knife multiple times than it is to actually fix it the first time.

Hope it works out for you though.
 
Probably got a lemon. It's the risk you take when you purchase production knives online. Sucks you're getting the run around from Microtech.

Next time try to buy in person so you can inspect the knife OR find a reputable online dealer that might do a once over for you.
 
DrRollinstein said:
Your first issue was sending it to ApostleP.


But for real, sounds like a microtech issue. I've never understood why it's so common for these companies to get knives in and do absolutely nothing, while claiming they fixed it. See those types of stories all of the time about bigger companies. Its gotta be more of a waste of payroll to pretend to fix the knife multiple times than it is to actually fix it the first time.

Hope it works out for you though.
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Most are fixed, but not much drama to talk about with that. But not fixed draws alot of emotions out. So were more likely to hear about it.
 
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xxGOGOxx said:
How many times are we going to see what post? And I know you are not referring to me as "the same guys have issues with each maker" since I've only posted that I have 1 issue with 1 knife. Besides, it's a forum. Aren't we supposed to tell of our experiences and ask advice here?
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Not referring to you in particular but search the site and you will see this thread every few months. They have gotten much better with the customer service but no company is perfect, I used to think Kershaw/ZT was close but they seem to be slipping lately.
 
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