Warranty from the UK and a tale of love and upset

[Phil-you-up]

Hi guys - first post on here!

Will start by prefacing that none of the content here is intended to reflect on spyderco's quality, QC, or anything of the sort

I hope to add to this whenever i get updates on the warranty side of things to atleast help out others, and when something goes wrong, carefully help pick your jaw up off the floor and raise your stomach after it has sunk.

So - to the post!

---Background on me

I own 3 spyderco's. a PITS, a keychain (i forget the name, maybe a grasshopper?) and a UKPK in s110v

my pits has been customised, used, wailed on, and would trust it to be as close to a beater as a slip-joint can be - in short, i love it.

my keychain - not seen much use, was a gift, but still it holds an edge admirably for a keychain knife. spyderco in BD1 i believe, so that explains it.

the UKPK i have had a problem.


--- The Problem

Oh its a doozy. it is in 2 pieces. light duty as i fully appreciate S110v is fragile. was on envelope brigade as i was afraid to scratch the blade, and was being awful careful with it, as its a lovely knife and the most sheeple friendly yet still capable blade i own.
last night (12/03/18 to the Americans, 03/12/18 in my native tongue) i was getting ready for my log burner to warm me up and soft wood kindling (about 2/3 as thick as a finger) was what i had to start, needed some tinder and had the UKPK in pocket, so without a second thought pulled it out and gently went to slice town. i have been into bushcraft since a young age, so i can only assume i know how to cut properly and straight, without torque to the sides, but alas on the 8th or 9th pass the front of the blade up the the spydie hole detached with a pop. sitting there jaw dropping all i could think was "balls. i cant afford to replace my nice knife"


--- My Next Step

After the initial panic had started to lift and still not entirely thinking straight i went on facebook (as only those of sound mind do, right?) to ask for advice on the next step. i took as many detailed photos as i could in the vein hope that someone would spot something i know nothing about and calm me that its not my fault. spoiler, people jump to conclusions on the internet. after explaining most of this i was told everything from "the steel looks grainy, definitely warranty" all the way too "should have used a hatchet. entirely your fault" and everything in between.


--- What really helped

The main thing which actually helped the whole process was both speaking to spyderco to make sure that sending it in is the right thing to do, even from the UK, and speaking to Heinnie Haynes (the main UK distributor for spyderco knives and the people i purchased it from) who have said that i am right in thinking that what i was doing was light duty, and to send it to them to sort with spyderco - which helps with the worry of international shipping.


--- Things to take away from my blunders!

So far i can tell you that (for obvious reasons when thinking straight) spyderco cant do all that much for this kind of thing over the phone, not with pictures, so you will be saying goodbye to both parts of your knife.

people on the internet which are the quickest to type are sometimes the slowest.

take a deep breath, what happened has happened. calm your preverbials and have a quick google if you need too.

contact your seller if new, see if they can help, as well as spyderco, and just spyderco if it isn't. they may be able to help, and its your best bet.

you can only do so much. it will be out of your hands, accept it.



That is all i have for now! hopefully if your reading about a warranty you found this useful. i will be updating this whenever there is an update to try and cover (at least my) process from problem too answer - whatever it may be. if this is interesting to you, stay tuned!

[sal]

Hi Phil-you-up,

Welcome to our forum.

I believe I just received an email from you regarding your UK dilemma. Haven't had time to respond yet. Thanx for posting the pics here. That was to be my next question. I'll be looking into that tomorrow.

sal

[The Mastiff]

Good pictures Phil. Other than ignoring the whole " It's a bad heat treat" stuff that people always post I can't give any advice on things you already know so I'll say good luck. It sounds as if the problem is pretty well on it's way to being sorted out. Please do let us know how it went when it is over.

Joe

[knivesandbooks]

Glad the dealer is helping!
It is the worst thing going without your knife, I know.
Luckily, Spyderco always makes things right.
Especially if Sal is on the case.

[Liquid Cobra]

I saw your post on the uk Spyderco Facebook page. Glad to see you’ve shared it here and are well on your way to getting it sorted. I like your sense of humour about the whole thing. Good luck!

[kernelpanic]

...

[Phil-you-up]

Its the next day here, and thanks for both the warm welcomes and the sympathy for the situation, much appreciated guys!
i have only just seen the reply from Sal (amazing to know the boss-man will make time for you! makes the whole situation a bit less gutting) so thank-you!

i have also had a reply (and a follow up comment, as i was in bed when the reply was posted, **** pesky time-zones) on my facebook post from Kristi who has asked me to send the extra photos i took the following morning (which was after the warranty team email) too the W&R team (warranty and repair).

All being said and done everything seems positive - Spyderco have been very prompt to talk to me, both on here, in reply to my emails, and on the official facebook page. Time will tell how my situation unfolds, but i am so far a very happy chappy to be dealing with Spyderco!

P.S - if it helps settle those in my situation, my faith in the brand hasn't been shaken yet! i'm carrying my PITS in my pocket (customised and likely without warranty) without any fears of something happening.

[ThePeacent]

add me to the camp that has Heinnie in good standing and always goes to them for EU purchases, :o
welcome and good luck!!!

[Phil-you-up]

FINAL update of the tale
after sending the knife to Heinnie they decided (with no request, or obligation of any kind) to send me a brand new still sealed UKPK in s110v and sort the warranty out for themselves. bare in mind this is without any mention of any kind of warranty on their website. customer service went above and beyond (and they will be getting a 6-pack in the post as a thankyou). although i cant help anyone in regards to their warranty experiences/ expectations of the process, or that kind of thing with Spyderco directly, i can assure you that what they HAVE said has made me feel pretty **** happy with the company as a whole. after all you wouldn't have a windows problem and end up speaking to Bill Gates! Im sure from everything which was said that Spyderco would have taken care of me, just got beaten to the punch by a stand-up uk retailer.

i hope my ramblings have either been helpful, reassuring, or at least semi-enjoyable read while on the throne (uk slang for toilet, far less funny when you have to explain it).

as a end note, even though in all likelihood they will never read this, a HUGE thankyou to Heinnie Haynes - replaced with no obligation, and replacement was in my hand about 27 hours after they received the original.

[Phil-you-up]

as a side side note - Sal, if Heinnie do send you the broken knife for warranty, i did notice it would make an outstanding wave-open slip-joint box-cutter.... if you ever need that strange combination... im just saying i can send my makers mark over and we could sort something thanks for taking the time to reply - shows alot about a company when the head honcho has the time of day for you :D