Just want to add...Gareth is a genuinely nice guy. He aims to please and is truly honored when you show appreciation for his work. I knew of his history before ordering a knife on Instagram...and was more than happy with his service. I'm on the books for another knife...and I'll just pretend a date was never given in the event that it is missed. I don't doubt that it hurts him when people lose trust. We all have our demons...i know nothing of his life or means to live...but I know myself as an insecure person could come up with excuses not to ship things to the extend that it'd hurt their own opinion of me. For example...I have sold
one thing online. A used phone. It gave me anxiety through the roof. What if he notices a scratch on it that I didn't mention? What if it takes a dump in a week? What if the shipping company loses the package?! It isn't rational. But...again...people have their demons. Now if I imagine myself building a knife...I'd never feel like it was good enough. "Is this what he's expecting? Did I charge too much?" *throw box against wall and get depressed about the possibilities.* Is this what he's going through? No idea. Probably not...but it seems to me to be the
one shortcoming that people bring up about him. His knives are excellent. They're made to use...and have the passion and creativity of a well-seasoned veteran poured into each one. I, again, have nothing but praise for my only "sale" so far with Gareth. Maybe I got lucky...but either way...I just hope that people can assume the worst and be pleasantly surprised when the knife does show up. Google the dude...there are a lot of slam pieces out there. Very seldom is anything negative said about his knives. And when it is the "overall" score is still "this is a winner." I know I'll get hate for sympathizing. I just feel like this particular case may be different than most. The Grimsmo Brothers? They've missed deadlines and get a bad reputation for it. But their product is awesome. They don't genuinely seem "sorry" for their customers. They're continually nerding out over their new machines...things that aren't working
exactly how they like...taking money down and missing deadlines by...a year...and a half...and climbing. But they're eccentric so they kind-of get away with it.
Gareth? I randomly decided to tell him my dad loved his knife (the one I bought was a Christmas present) and carries it daily. I "made his day" and he was happier than hell to hear that he was pleased with it. That's %100 true, by the way. He has 3 new walking sticks to. No idea why...but that's what he's made as an excuse to use the thing on.
Ramble over...
tl;dr
Gareth Bull is a man who may struggle with shipping delays (but in my sole experience he did not). But he is not inherently a liar...or evil...or out to scam anyone. And his knives are awesome and cost well below what they should if you ask me. Maybe think of it that way...I'm paying $130 less than I should and thus
may lose excellent customer service as a result
.