Sal - I invite you to comment on my issue

huugh · #1

Dear Sal,
before I spend another $60 on shipping*, will you be willing to express your opinion on the quality of Spyderco knives and the customer service approach?

Here are the details:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... p?t=723864

*=for the explanation, read the thread @ bladeforums

THE PUNISHER · #2

:rolleyes:

Blerv · #3

When did the path of least resistance start being the forum jump?

I would think the warranty/repair dept would be MY first call. They are in the business of making people right.

Billy · #4

Blerv wrote:When did the path of least resistance start being the forum jump?

I would think the warranty/repair dept would be MY first call. They are in the business of making people right.

I think the problem is, he sent pics of the knife and claims CS said it was all within tolerances. He's also in Europe so "simply" shipping it back would be costly.

kbuzbee · #5

Blerv wrote:They are in the business of making people right.

Definitely not! They are in the business of making their products "right". There's nothing they can do about people

. We are what we are. We are not Sal's fault!

Ken

224477 · #6

Blerv wrote:When did the path of least resistance start being the forum jump?

I would think the warranty/repair dept would be MY first call. They are in the business of making people right.

Blerv, honest question, would you ship a product from where you live to Czech Rep. by UPS before being not sure? Not everyone can mail the knives within US, there is the rest of the world as well. :)

224477 · #7

huugh, where did you buy the knife from? What was their feedback on your issue?

knifeworks, okey, I think you should email them what they say about it, are they willing to exchange? I fully understand you are not happy about what you got, I would not be either on your place, but thats the risk we need to take when buying from abroad.

Blerv · #8

Gah I meant "shortest distance between two places." Dang geometry. Did you buy from SFO? I'd talk to the retailer and xchange it. I'd always rather go that route first.

FIMS · #9

Hence the reason Im not a big fan of liner locks.

However, Im pretty sure a positive solution will come out by the end of the week.

JaM · #10

60 ? that's a lot... I could send it for about 25 I guess, insured and all. Also from Europe.

I'd send it in as well. I refrain from other comments, lest this thread grows a big as the one on BF.

JaM

Blerv · #11

224477 wrote:Blerv, honest question, would you ship a product from where you live to Czech Rep. by UPS before being not sure? Not everyone can mail the knives within US, there is the rest of the world as well. :)

No.

Last time I checked my job wasn't to set protocol for what is deemed "within spec". I do know that in every industry the customer and the tech/engineer have different opinions.

It's a hard question because I don't live in the UK. However, of the 30 knives I own I have yet to experience a grind flaw or blemish worth worrying about. None of which impact performance at all. This isn't to say it can't happen because even the best companies in the world can have problems (Eg: See Human).

I'm not skirting around the topic here or trying to make him into a villain. I just don't see the point of putting it in the forums. I certainly can't exchange his blade.

Sorry. Not trying to be difficult. I don't mind negativity at all. I Just can't do anything to help but read and give my worthless .2 cents.

JaM wrote:...
I'd send it in as well. I refrain from other comments, lest this thread grows a big as the one on BF.

JaM

Good point and edited. I'll let the guys who wear goggles and sign checks take care of things. My opinions are worth what they are printed: $0_Internet_Papers.

Donut · #12

I honestly believe that having your liner lock land at 20% is the sign of a weak lock. I will buy a knife that will resist closing on my hand every time.

I got a Military and the lock engaged over 50%, and I felt it was too strong of a lock for my needs. It is not very easy to unlock, but really, a knife shouldn't be super easy to unlock and it should force me to be safer. Sometimes I will make the wrong choice and choose a knife that is dangerously easy to use, and maybe I'm wrong but I consider myself to be a little safer by choosing a Spyderco that is easy to use.

For the blade centering, my question would be... what do you want the blade centered on? One side of the handle is thicker than the other side, and the blade looks to be centered to the outsides of the handle very well. This is also done well on the other brand's knife, too, but the thickness of the handle on both sides is more symmetric. I think that blade is centered ideally for if you are holding something in your hand and you want your aim work well for what you are intending to cut.

Ben_1323 · #13

One thing I've noticed lately is the noticeable difference in quality, namely fit and finish, in Golden knives versus Seki knives. The knives I've had from Golden (Paramilitary, P'kal and Manix 2) have been flawless in fit and finish. In fact, the only Seki knife I've owned that can compare to my Golden knives was the Rock Salt. All my other Seki knives have had minor imperfections or defects.

Don't get me wrong, they're not big problems and I'm not going to stop buying Seki knives altogether. I've just made sure to buy from retailers with return/replacement policies so if I get a knife I'm not satisfied with, they'll swap it out or refund my money.

My comment isn't meant to be negative, just to share my experience. No one can make them like Sal.

npueppke · #14

I think that your liner lock is fine. I would call that more like 40% to 60%, which probably is within the tolerances given that they put a random mass produced blade together with a mass produced liner instead of carefully matching each piece and finishing it by hand.

The grind is odd, but it's hard to tell exactly what is going on from the pictures. I feel like it's pretty drastic to call out the owner of the company based on what somebody from the warranty department said about a few blurry pictures.

I'm normally quite sympathetic towards people who post threads with a complaint because I feel like they often get an unfair response from forumites, but it seems to me like you're mostly just complaining about the shipping cost back to the US. Maybe you got a knife that slipped through the cracks, but it's not fair to complain about their customer service when you haven't experienced it yet.

224477 · #15

npueppke wrote:I think that your liner lock is fine. I would call that more like 40% to 60%, which probably is within the tolerances given that they put a random mass produced blade together with a mass produced liner instead of carefully matching each piece and finishing it by hand.

I dont think the lock is fine. It should engage maximum in the 1st quarter of the tang, when new.

The goal is not to convince him that he bought an okey knife, I dont think he did. I have quite a couple of spydercos myself, and this particular one og huugh is not the best made. Now the question is WHO should take care of that situation, spyderco, or the seller, the guy wants some help from us, not just a kick..

Blerv · #16

224477 wrote:I dont think the lock is fine. It should engage maximum in the 1st quarter of the tang, when new.

The goal is not to convince him that he bought an okey knife, I dont think he did. I have quite a couple of spydercos myself, and this particular one og huugh is not the best made. Now the question is WHO should take care of that situation, spyderco, or the seller, the guy wants some help from us, not just a kick..

No offense 224477 but few of us build knives. Almost none of us work at Spyderco. I can't tell what is safe or normal but rather just what is "different than mine" using general rules. I'd put an "unsafe" linerlock Spydie against a "combat ready" competitor any day on the lock breaker.

This was a public question to Sal. If he wanted more than opinions and less than a single response he wouldn't have asked so openly.

My "kicks" are less than subtle.

I feel bad that the process has been confusing as for the verdict: it's out of my hands.

224477 wrote:the guy wants some help from us, not just a kick..

Set up a Paypal account. I'll donate $1. Do that a few times and he's got free shipping. I can spare a buck for courtesy and karma.

RIOT · #17

sounds like he has issues with everything to me, maybe you should make your own knife to your specifications

aj1985 · #18

Just curious why did you use bladeforums as an outlet. Why not come here first.

It's very hard for me to feel for your situation when basically you chose to comment on another forum and cause a scene. Why would you then post here and ask Sal to comment on your thread.

aj

aj1985 · #19

Blerv wrote:
My "kicks" are less than subtle. I feel bad that the process has been confusing as for the verdict: it's out of my hands.

Set up a Paypal account. I'll donate $1. Do that a few times and he's got free shipping. I can spare a buck for courtesy and karma.

I'm in for a Buck. If he buys spydies he can't be all bad. :p :)

aj

Donut · #20

The bladeforum thread, with the attention to centering the blade to the overall knife and the strong liner lock... makes me want to buy a walker, even though I'm not a fan of carbon fiber.