Need help with bad sharpening job

[DSpeck]

Hey everyone,

First post and am I glad to see that Spyderco has a forum!

I recently took my Delica II combo edge to get professionally sharpened and when I picked it up I thought they botched the serrated part. So, I left it with them and asked them to fix it.

Well, a week later I get the call its ready.
1) They deny screwing up the teeth. They say they never handle knives in such a manner that would screw up the teeth.
2) They claim their sharpener is a military guy who does hundreds of serrated blades and they've never had any complaints.

Please look at the picture and give me your breakdown. I need to build my argument when I speak with the owner of the store. I am not a knife maintenance savvy guy, so I need know how to approach saying they royally botched my knife and they should replace it.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but I would a properly sharpened serrated edge would still be rounded....this guy notched out the scallops, never mind the screwed up teeth they are already denying.

Thanks in advance

[cckw]

I wanted to look at the photo and tell you that you are a whiner. But whoever sharpened these serrations is terrible. The front sharpening look pretty steep. meaning steep angle and not what most would want, probably not actually very sharp. I don't think you can get anywhere with them now though, but warn your friends.

It looks like maybe he used a sanding disc and tried to the serrations on the edge. And the military doe not teach knife sharpening, so the fact that he is an old military guy is of no value in the sharpening.

Oh, and I'll add this, I have seen serrations basically ground off by paid sharpeners

[Jet B]

Were the serrations chipped like that before? I know I have chipped my own serrations with hard use and you can still sharpen them up but the chips still show.

It's really not that hard to learn to sharpen effectively yourself. It's actually the other enjoyable half of this knife hobby for many people.

[DSpeck]

Were the serrations chipped like that before? I know I have chipped my own serrations with hard use and you can still sharpen them up but the chips still show.

It's really not that hard to learn to sharpen effectively yourself. It's actually the other enjoyable half of this knife hobby for many people.

There were not. But the store is denying that they did them as well.

Guess I should have been smart enough to take "before" photos before handing it over.

[KBR]

IMO, you may just be wasting your time trying to get any kind of compensation from this store if you've already talked to them about your concerns of the poor job they did and they are denying any wrongdoing. Personally, I'd just give them a piece of my mind, cut my losses and move on.

Fyi, you could have sent that Delica in to Spyderco for sharpening, at no cost to you except for about $5(return shipping charge). This may be your best bet in getting your Delica back to like new condition.

I'd also recommend that you get a Sharpmaker so you won't run into problems like this in the future.

[DSpeck]

IMO, you may just be wasting your time trying to get any kind of compensation from this store if you've already talked to them about your concerns of the poor job they did and they are denying any wrongdoing. Personally, I'd just give them a piece of my mind, cut my losses and move on.

Fyi, you could have sent that Delica in to Spyderco for sharpening, at no cost to you except for about $5(return shipping charge). This may be your best bet in getting your Delica back to like new condition.

I'd also recommend that you get a Sharpmaker so you won't run into problems like this in the future.

Thanks for the heads up...had this and the full serrated delica for nearly 10 years...and I never bothered to look in to that...live and learn. I would have definitely sent it in.

[DCDesigns]

yea I dont think I would bother trying to get a replacement. Odds are unless the owner is really interested in keeping your business he will not buy you a new one. However, this is nowhere near as bad as it could be, and you still have plenty of steel to work with. Someone at spyderco would be able to repair those serrations back to like new. It might cost you the $20 repair fee on top of sharpening if they deem it more extensive than a regular sharpening. You might want to try to get your money back for the sharpening, and get them to pay to have it fixed if they are unable to do it themselves. And you should tell them that. Even if they didnt screw it up, if they were a competent knife shop, they would be able to repair it themselves. If they cant to that from the beginning, I would question their skills. Just send it to spyderco and have the pros handle it. ... then take your business elsewhere. And flame them on google internet reviews if you must lol.

[dbcad]

Welcome Dspeck, enjoy the forum :)

Does the SE portion of the Delica's blade cut well? Here's a pic of a slightly used Delica edge for comparison. I won't offer an opinion myself, but Spyderco can regrind it for $15.

Wish you the best with it :)

[The Deacon]

I'd call that a pretty shabby looking sharpening. As noted, if it doesn't cut well, or you simply can't stand looking at it, Spyderco can sharpen it for you. It's not that badly damaged, so I suspect they'd consider it a normal complimentary sharpening rather than a regrind, and it would only cost you $5 for the return postage. I didn't vote because, while I don't consider it normal, the damage is relatively minor and repairable, so I don't think they owe you a new knife.

[Creepo]

Yup, they bothed it up good. However given that they previously treated you like that, they won't treat you any differently no matter what arguments you return with.
Move along and send it to Spyderco for a fixing. :)

[phillipsted]

That sharpening guy has no idea how to work with serrations. The plain edged side doesn't look very smooth either. I bet he didn't sharpen the edge beyond 200 or 400 grit, if that.

TedP

[Evil D]

There's only one company i'd pay to sharpen serrations for me, and they're in Golden Colorado. I'll give you two guesses who it is and the first one doesn't count.

[The Mastiff]

I agree they messed up. I can't say they owe you a whole new blade because it's not damaged that bad. If you approached them with that demand perhaps that's why they aren't really trying to satisfy you. Some people can't be satisfied. Perhaps a return of your money and if you are fortunate have them pay for it's trip to the spa in Golden. That sounds a bit more reasonable then "it's ruined, I want a new blade".

Joe

[DSpeck]

I agree they messed up. I can't say they owe you a whole new blade because it's not damaged that bad. If you approached them with that demand perhaps that's why they aren't really trying to satisfy you. Some people can't be satisfied. Perhaps a return of your money and if you are fortunate have them pay for it's trip to the spa in Golden. That sounds a bit more reasonable then "it's ruined, I want a new blade".

Joe

As I mentioned I dont know a ton about knives on the sharpening end...so, I didn't demand a new blade. I never demand and I'm not one of the those guys that are "never happy with anyone."

I paid them to sharpen it and they botched it, I asked them to fix it and they made excuses. Since I didn't know if the blade was ruined or not I said I could accept it and would need to speak with the owner. I did suggest that if the blade was totally ruined it would need replacing, but I never demand.

Regardless of that, I found this forum and now I know that the blade is fixable and sypderco will do it. And at this point, that is going to be my main course of action. Get my knife and hopefully get my 10 bucks back and use that to send it spyderco.

I will leave them bad reviews at not only their shoddy work but their horrible customer service.

Thanks everyone.

[Jet B]

I am just wondering what that guy did to your knife to chip out the serrations like that?

That shouldn't happen ever during any normal kind of sharpening that I have ever done. When I chipped my serrations in the past it was stripping heavy electrical wire in the cold.

I wonder if he tried using a belt sander on them or a dremel tool? Yikes... He might have altered your heat treat if he heated up the blade with a dremel.

My advice is to learn to sharpen yourself and use that baby as your practice blade. It's way more enjoyable to use your knife hard when you know that you can bring it right back to 'sharper than factory' yourself. The thing will still cut like a demon with chips in the serrations as long as its sharp.

Nobody does a nicer edge than an obsessive knife knut with a little know how and some fancy tools for the job. Not even the factory will give it that kind of TLC.

[The Mastiff]

I wonder if he tried using a belt sander on them or a dremel tool? Yikes... He might have altered your heat treat if he heated up the blade with a dremel.

I wouldn't worry about an altered heat treat. It isn't showing signs of anything like that.

I've seen that kind of chipping from a DMT "ice pick" type sharpener used incorrectly and ham handed. It'll be fine after it's trip to Golden. Joe

[sal]

Hi DSpeck,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum and sorry for your disappointing experience.

First, of 100 self proclaimed "experts" on knives, I find 2. No offense intended, but many think they know more than they do. They also think their opinion counts as experience. This is a typical problem for Charlynn in customer service; "well they said they were sharpeing experts...."

If "interest" in the "edge" in general and Spyderco "edges" in particular have caught your fancy, and you want to learn, this is the best place I know of. We have many real experts that visit this forum, they have both knowledge and experience, they're humble and willing to share their experience.

Send it in to us and we can fix it. Also as mentioned, you can invest in a Tri-Angle Sharpmaker. You will learn a great deal and feel proud and confident in your new power to create / maintain an edge. Gail (my wife and partner) says that you should think of sharpening your edge as putting fuel in your auto.

Invest in a 10X-12X loupe and become familiar with the "edge" as you would study a deep philosophy. Especially in the middle of sharpening strokes.

Enjoy your knives.

sal

[jnichols2]

Sal,

I'm definitely not one of the "100 experts", but I am learnng a lot from this forum.

Also, since switching to Spyderco and getting a Sharpmaker my knives are now sharper than they have been in my 65 years.

My father could shave with his Tree Brand pocket knife, but he never taught me the skill.

[sal]

Sal,

I'm definitely not one of the "100 experts", but I am learnng a lot from this forum.

Also, since switching to Spyderco and getting a Sharpmaker my knives are now sharper than they have been in my 65 years.

My father could shave with his Tree Brand pocket knife, but he never taught me the skill.

Thanx for the kind comments. Figured you were one of the "youngster's" :p It's a shame that the skill to create and maintain an edge seems to have been lost in the past several generations. I rank the "edge" (matter separator) with fire, another lost skill without our Zippo's).

This is a good forum for that type of depth. I learn much here.

sal

[ChapmanPreferred]

Dspeck,

If you choose to buy a Sharpmaker and a loup, here is a link to my favorite loupe for sharpening:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.a ... 3351,51092

The real bonus with this one is the built in light. It makes use much easier!

Buying a Sharpmaker is less tricky in my opinion when compared to buying a loupe. :)

Cheers.
Doug