Your most disappointing knife purchase

Spyderco Ikuchi (non-cqi) wouldn't open. If I loosened the pivot even a hair, it would off center to the point of rubbing the liner. Sent it back.
 
Off the top of my head, the Benchmade Vicar. I thought it was such a cool design but when I finally got one the detent was terribly soft and weak and the slab scales just felt cheap.
3/10
 
Peña X Front Flipper Trapper.
Overhyped by youtubers. Got it in hand, detent so strong it strips my finger skin. Very small handle. Micarta scale looks pretty but because of design pinches my finger meat when disengaging the lock, ripped a chunk of my skin off.
My opinion, a minority since I think the X series gets alot of love (I mean, that's why everyone's dumping them on the exchange right?).
Cheers, thanks for listening.
 
Disappointing... well that would have to be not one but two SOG folders. First was a Trident that suffered lock failure on me and then a Trident Elite that had extreme blade play that couldn't be fixed. Only 2 knives that caused me injury and pain. Swore never to buy another SOG folder again. Fixed blades I will buy and trust. Not folders.
 
No doubt in my mind, by far the worst (especially for the price) was the Medford Praetorian Slim Flipper. As soon as I touched it I realized it was garbage, felt like an unrefined and completely underwhelming heap of trash. $585 should buy you a really nice folder, not a paperweight:

DNUD3h9.jpg
 
Easy for me. A Mcusta Shiro-Take. The knife was as underwhelming as the pictures were impressive. The blade was stiff, the knife tiny, while the price was large. The clip was the best part of the knife, but it was not enough to warrant the purchase.
 
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Zero Tolerance 0100.

Worst blade grinds I have ever seen on a knife. EVER. 35 years of "ever". Both sides were completely uneven and wavy. So uneven that where the grinds met at the tip, the last 1/2" was a chisel edge. And the ricasso was a train wreck. A simple finger choil would have fixed it, but I lost interest in modding it, let alone keeping it 5 minutes after I had it out of the box. And that handle, OMG, that handle was hideously uncomfortable and slippery. And it was weirdly balanced - hard to describe, but weird in a bad way - not an interesting way.

What I also find interesting in this thread are the amount of mid and higher-end knives making their way onto this list.
 
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JoWa said:
No doubt in my mind, by far the worst (especially for the price) was the Medford Praetorian Slim Flipper. As soon as I touched it I realized it was garbage, felt like an unrefined and completely underwhelming heap of trash. $585 should buy you a really nice folder, not a paperweight:

DNUD3h9.jpg
Click to expand...
Was there anything wrong with how the knife functions or is it just the overall feeling you have?

I want to like medford, but the last thing I want is an overly expensive pocket brick. Though I do kind of like the proxima.
 
P.C.E. said:
Was there anything wrong with how the knife functions or is it just the overall feeling you have?

I want to like medford, but the last thing I want is an overly expensive pocket brick. Though I do kind of like the proxima.
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I wanted to like it, too. I loved the look prior to buying, hated the feel in the hand. Short list of the many things that I found lacking
1. Overall fit and finish. Each piece of the knife felt like an unfinished billet of raw material. No chamfering, no radii, no contouring
2. Lack of any ergonomic consideration. The industrial engineer on staff was simply asleep at the wheel
3. Substandard anodizing. Colors shown on their website are clean and bright...look at the photo...that's supposed to be Violet. Are ya kidding me?
4. Why supply a pelican case if the knife is going to be rolling around inside in bubble wrap. Like the rest of the knife, only looks good from a distance.

Overall, to each their own. Some folks might like to have a $500+ knife that feels like an Ontario Rat #1 in the hand. I just don't happen to be one of them
(Nothing against the Rat, its a great knife...I just wouldn't pay Medford money for it)
 
JoWa said:
I wanted to like it, too. I loved the look prior to buying, hated the feel in the hand. Short list of the many things that I found lacking
1. Overall fit and finish. Each piece of the knife felt like an unfinished billet of raw material. No chamfering, no radii, no contouring
2. Lack of any ergonomic consideration. The industrial engineer on staff was simply asleep at the wheel
3. Substandard anodizing. Colors shown on their website are clean and bright...look at the photo...that's supposed to be Violet. Are ya kidding me?
4. Why supply a pelican case if the knife is going to be rolling around inside in bubble wrap. Like the rest of the knife, only looks good from a distance.

Overall, to each their own. Some folks might like to have a $500+ knife that feels like an Ontario Rat #1 in the hand. I just don't happen to be one of them
(Nothing against the Rat, its a great knife...I just wouldn't pay Medford money for it)
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That pretty much sums up how I feel without making an actual purchase.
 
GermanyChris said:
My XM24 It's comfortable, flips great, I just wish it would cut
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Try a different grind ?

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Most disappointing purchase for me ? Probably the Spyderco K2 and Tighe Sticks, with non-fixable heavy lock stick - I really tried to like them. Oh yes, and the Bark River Cruwear Bravo, chipping and wearing much more than it should.

Roland.
 
1) Mora Companion. I tried to like it but I hate the blade grind. Scandi edges are overrated in my opinion. They are fragile and wedge things instead of cutting them. I eventually downgraded it to a bait knife and even then wasn't impressed with how easily the edge chipped. When an edge chips on a scandi grind you have to remove a lot of material to get it out. It's a good knife for bushcraft but I don't do much of that so it didn't suit my needs. I was expecting so much from the Mora after reading so many great things about it and when I eventually got one I was disappointed

2) Every Buck knife I have ever handled/bought. Quality control is poor and honestly the "famous" heat treatment on their 420HC is overhyped. It's better than leatherman's 420HC for sure and perfectly useable, but it's nothing special. These days you get knives that are cheaper with better steels and fit and finish. I had a Buck Vantage that had bad lock stick and a fixed blade Buck I have has an uneven grind so it veers to the left when cutting anything. I've felt Buck fixed blades that had loose handles. Their Bantams and folding Omni Hunters have side to side and up and down play when locked open thanks to their flimsy linerless plastic handles. As a young boy I always thought highly of Buck. These days, not at all

3) A Kershaw folding knife that I can't remember the model name of. I bought it when I was about 16 and to me at that time it was a lot of money. I had endless rust issues with the bead blasted finish. The thumb studs ripped up my thumb nail everytime I opened the knife. The recurve in the blade was designed in such a way that it cut my thumb deeply many times when doing something like peeling an apple. I was quite upset at having spent my hard earned pocket money on something that I detested. I eventually threw it as far as I could into the bush behind my parents' house and never bothered to look for it again

4) Leatherman Crater C33. I liked the design, but hated how bad the edge retention was. That 420HC blade held an edge as well as a wet noodle and felt very gummy on my sharpening stones

5) Stanley multitool. Wire cutters on the pliers were useless. Come on Stanley you guys actually make a decent pair of side cutters but you can't get it right on your multitool?? Pathetic

I know the knives I mentioned aren't high grade knives but I was still disappointed at what I got after expecting more
 
These are some reasons I have not gotten into the higher dollar production knives. I was lucky 6-7 years ago in that my Strider SnG and Brian Tighe custom mini Tighe Rod were flawless. I no longer own those knives, ex-wife blues.

Another knife that was devastatingly disappointing was the Sebenza. I had purchased a LNIB large Bocote 21. My large thumbs just couldn't grip the thumbstuds, and therefore it was a two hand open knife. No thanks. If the ever ditch the stupid conical studs, or add an option for more cylindrical ones, or even a hole, I'd consider another one. Maybe.

If I get angry over things in $100-$300 knives, well Mr. Hyde is going to come out over an imperfection in a $500+ knife.

There have been a few instances with knives that at first were disappointing, but with breaking in and or disassembly and lubing, made them great. These would be specifically the Heretic Manticore E, APurvis Progeny V2, and Viper Novis.

Some of my biggest gripes with knives have to do with pocket clips and/or lanyard holes. Also glass breakers.
 
Fällkniven F1. This was my first expensive knife and I still don't have any use for it. The blade has a convex grind, which is pretty much useless for the things I do with a knife. The blade is also too thick and haevy. The rubbery handle feels sticky and uncomfortable to my hands. The sheat is cheap plastics.
 
CRKT CEO - pocket clip snapped off day 2, ok, my bad, I shouldnt walk to close to doors.. but then the damn scale actually sliced my hand open. Hate that knife.

DPX Hest Decade - I knew I wouldnt love it but went for it anyway. Its basically a pocket hatchet its so damn thick. I might have someone re grind to something more useful but its pointless in its current state since I carry a fixed blade when camping.

Re: those that hate every CRKT ever ... the Pilar III has turned me.. really enjoying it.
 
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