Opinions on what I should do - LUM Tanto

[rhicks]

USPS just delivered this today from Knifeworks. I've tried buffing it out with my shirt but it doesn't help. Running my finger across it, it feels smooth. This is the first time I have ever received a knife with a blemish so I'm a little on the fence as to what to do. On one hand I don't know if I want to spend the money to send it back. On the other hand I am unhappy with the blade as is. I live ten minutes from Spyderco so I might take it up there and see what they say. Do you guys think this is a warranty issue or should I just live with it? Everything else about the knife is flawless including the sheath. Thoughts?

[LC Kid]

Hi rhicks!


Since it is a Sprint Run, and considering you got it from such a reputable dealer, you are in your right to send it back and claim for a new one.

My advice would be:

- If you plan to use and get the **** out of it just keep it. It'll get scratched anyway.

- Otherwise, or if you just plan to collect it because it's a Sprint Run, send it back and claim your warranty.

[Strong-Dog]

You already payed $240 for a hunk of VG-10 and Lum's name (not saying that's good or bad, it just is), so I'd definitely send it back or in for an exchange or work done. I would probably do the same thing.

If you bought something to use, I'm guessing you would have bought something like the Southfork instead. For a knife made of those materials at that price point (again, not saying that materials 100% determine pricing but in production knives they definitely play a big role), I would expect it to be pretty much perfect.

Now idk if the dealer caused those scratches, or if it came that way from spyderco. Either way, I'd send it back to the dealer first.

[SpyderNut]

+1 on what LC Kid said.

[jujigatame]

I'd talk to your dealer first. If there's no satisfaction there then a 10 minute trip doesn't seem like much trouble to talk straight to the horse's mouth.

[rhicks]

We are moving in a week and since we were going up to Spyderco anyway today to make a purchase I took it up there. They are going to send it to the warranty department to take a look. It might take a couple of weeks. I don't want to risk anything being mis-shipped due to our move. I'll let Knifeworks know what's going on and keep you guys in the loop with what the warranty department says.

[rhicks]

Okay guys. I should have taken your advice on this and just sent the thing back to Knifeworks. I thought for sure being this close to Spyderco would have resulted in faster and a more favorable outcome. I got a call today, October 7th, that a replacement was ready to pick up. I went and picked it up. Blade is perfect. The handle, not so perfect. It definitely doesn't match the original knife. It's like there is a white glaze over the knife handle in spots. It's hard to describe but one corner is a lot more noticeable and rough. I screwed up on this purchase.
So anyway, I got this letter with the knife when I picked it up. I didn't read it until just a few minutes ago. So apparently a brand new knife out of the box has been used "for something other than it was designed for and is not replaceable under our warranty." I'm not happy with this at all and it will be the last Spyderco I purchase. I'll call Charlynn in the morning and see if I can get the original knife back. At least that way I might be able to do what I should have done in the first place and get a refund from Knifeworks.

[tvenuto]

Interesting. I know you might be hesitant to take corrective action, but perhaps a wipe down with balistol or similar would remove the spots? They did replace it for you, despite the letter saying it did appear (to them) to be used.

I sympathize with your issues, and no matter how rare this stuff happens, to the unlucky victim it's a bad experience, plain and simple. I can say that I hope you don't give up on Spyderco knives due to this one bad experience, they make awesome designs, and I'm sure they will still take care of you.

[MacLaren]

I hope Spyderco takes care of you Robert.
That's an awful lot of money for a knife.
A man should be happy for that kind of money spent.

[SpyderNut]

Interesting. I know you might be hesitant to take corrective action, but perhaps a wipe down with balistol or similar would remove the spots? They did replace it for you, despite the letter saying it did appear (to them) to be used.

I sympathize with your issues, and no matter how rare this stuff happens, to the unlucky victim it's a bad experience, plain and simple. I can say that I hope you don't give up on Spyderco knives due to this one bad experience, they make awesome designs, and I'm sure they will still take care of you.

Agreed. Give them another chance, my friend. I hope it all works out for you.

[Strong-Dog]

I hope Spyderco takes care of you Robert.
That's an awful lot of money for a knife.
A man should be happy for that kind of money spent.

Agreed. Sorry you had to deal with this.

If you can get the knife back, just go straight back to the dealer. They should take care of you with an exchange or refund.

[mattman]

Sorry to hear of this problem.

My opinion (more like a guess) on the second specimen, is that G10 normally has a white haze after machining, and it will go away and look great as soon as it accumulates some oil from your hands. I have wiped with mineral oil with great success. (See Halpern Titanium website, as they recommend this with the scales they sell.)

[rhicks]

Here is the final update. I called customer service Wed morning and left voicemail. Called again a few times yesterday and kept getting voicemail. I called this morning and was told to bring it back up to the outlet and they would give me a choice from what they had in stock. Apparently this is what CS told the Outlet to let me do originally but when I got there for the first replacement I didn't get any "pick and choose" option. This morning when I had the option there were three I could choose from. Of the three there was only one that was a obvious choice. The other two, while not as bad as the one just returned, did not have as rich of a handle. I'm finally happy with this tanto. I've probably spent $2000 or so on Spyderco knives. $600 of that has been spent in the past 90 days. I'm still on the fence about new purchases and will probably cancel my pre-order of the Rubicon from BladeHQ. I've been waiting for the Rubicon ever since March when SpyderCollector posted some shots. That will be a tough decision. If I do purchase any new Spyderco models and have a problem out of the box it will go back to the dealer I purchased the knife from as you guys originally said to do. I won't be dealing directly with Spyderco anymore.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. I really do appreciate them.

Robert

[bearfacedkiller]

I would only buy direct from spyderco if I were you. You live very close to the SFO so just stop in and buy from them. That way you can be sure that it meets your standards before money even changes hands. If you buy online you get what you get and have no way of knowing if it meets your standards and then you have to go through a return process.

It sounds like once again spyderco did whatever it could to make the customer happy. High quality customer service is hard to come by these days.

I am glad you worked it out. :)

[rhicks]

I would only buy direct from spyderco if I were you. You live very close to the SFO so just stop in and buy from them. That way you can be sure that it meets your standards before money even changes hands. If you buy online you get what you get and have no way of knowing if it meets your standards and then you have to go through a return process.

It sounds like once again spyderco did whatever it could to make the customer happy. High quality customer service is hard to come by these days.

I am glad you worked it out. :)

Thanks BFK. I would buy directly from them but you do know there is too much of a premium. If I recall they are selling it for $299+tax in store (msrp $399.95). I'm guessing that's around $325 or so as a walk-in, walk-out purchase. KW was $235 or so delivered to my door. $90 is a huge difference for the same product.

[jabba359]

Geez. First world problems. :rolleyes:

[Laethageal]

That's a huge difference considering you're going directly to the factory.

I personaly can't think of a knife as anything but a user. This blemish would have been the least of a concern to me. On the other hand I imagine someone who can afford more then he can use and want to collect some piece for their beauty...

[NoFair]

The white spots on the handle is probably just the micarta being slightly dry. It goes away with use or a slight wax buffing. The small mark on the blade might be upsetting for a collector so that's fair to be disappointed about.

You can just buy from any normal dealer and pop by Spyderco if you are upset about something..