Whats up with Ka-Bar Customer service

D

diced

Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
313
I recently added a few more Ka-bars to my collection, the kukri and cutless (imports) which both seem pretty good users for the money, and a the JAB potbelly. Unfortunatly the Potbelly had some major QC issues including a very poor grind and the bottom several inches of the blade were missed completly. I contacted Ka-bar via the website with the serialm number from the box and got a response that kind of irked me. Basically it said sorry about the knife you can pay to ship it back and maybe we will replace it, but we are not responsible for it. Then the long list of warrenty disclaimers. I was hoping they would show some intrest in the fact that a US made knife left production looking like it was made by a teenager in shopclass but that was not the case. Is Ka-bar CS always this bad? I have about 35 Ka-bars and have never had an issue so I was not too broken up that I got a bad one, but the poor customer service kind of makes me not want to buy anymore of their products. Anyone else have any issues or was this a fluke?
 
yea was lurking for a long time just joined, was that really your response to a legitiment question.
 
I really don't think they handled it wrong considering the amount of people who send knives back with no real problem. They need rules and stated them so you wouldn't think that your getting a free knife out of it. I understand your frustration though. I sent a Leek back to Kershaw with a very well written explanation that the blade was ground so poorly that it looked bent, only to have them sharpen it and send it back out to me with the same issues still present. Hope all is made right by them.
 
Me too, I am not looking to get a free knife or anything and was really planning on fixing it myself anyway on the belt sander but wanted to let them know that it obviously slipped past QC. It had a post-it note in the box telling the batch number so that was uncommen as well. I just don't want to start disliking ka-bar due to poor CS. I have about all of the Becker series multiple BK2s just because they are awsome. I realize the need for sorting through the people that want to take advatage of a warrenty claim but the lady that responded should have at least read my e-mail before she sending me an e-mail hinting that I abused the knife, considering the packing grease was still on the blade. I looked at another post on here where k-bar replaced a broken tang after someone stated that they threw the knife (voids the warrnety)so I take that into consideration. I guess every compnay is going to have a few people that are not good at their job. I just imagined that the quality would be better on a US made knife than the $45 imports which kind of impressed me. The kukri and cutless will be getting put through the paces this weekend dressing my duck blinds and clearing trails.
 
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diced,

Please post a picture of the knife and the problem.
Let me take a look at it visually. If it's an issue there are several ways to correct the situation:
1) Send it back to the dealer you bought it from for an exchange or refund.
2) Send it back to KA-BAR. We will exchange but no refund unless you bought it directly from KA-BAR. If the issue is acceptable according to tour QC standards, you can exchange but you pay the shipping back to us and we pay shipping to you. If it falls outside of our standards, we'll pay shipping both ways. If the knife has minor use, no problem. If it has major use/abuse, you'll hear an earful.
How's that?

First, please post good pictures.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
That sounds good but I am not able to post the pics. I had the wife take a few and e-mail them to me from home. They do not have a URL address, can I forward them to you?
 
Was unable to post pics but got them e-mailed, thanks Paul for handling the issue. I was really just angered by my initial contact with the customer service department when I took the time to identify an issue for Ka-bars benifit and got the immpression that the CS person could care less about defects in a new knife. I appreciate your response and look forward to getting the issue resolved.
 
Glad to see tooj popped in. I have had nothing but good experiences with kabar, and have heard and seen kabar step up on numerous occasions. I'm sure if a blade snuck through with poor qc issues it will be handled with no issues. Keep the faith in kabar brother!!! And after be sure and pop by with some pics of those bad boys in the field. Welcome to the forums.
 
Toooj said:
diced,

Please post a picture of the knife and the problem.
Let me take a look at it visually. If it's an issue there are several ways to correct the situation:
1) Send it back to the dealer you bought it from for an exchange or refund.
2) Send it back to KA-BAR. We will exchange but no refund unless you bought it directly from KA-BAR. If the issue is acceptable according to tour QC standards, you can exchange but you pay the shipping back to us and we pay shipping to you. If it falls outside of our standards, we'll pay shipping both ways. If the knife has minor use, no problem. If it has major use/abuse, you'll hear an earful.
How's that?

First, please post good pictures.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Dev and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
Click to expand...



HOW'S THAT FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE !!!! Not too many you will get that level of CS from. Toooj ROCKS !!! I'm just sayin'. LOL :D
 
Yea I am glad Toooj popped in too, I did not want a QC and Customer Service issue to keep me from buying more Ka-bars (even though I will be looking at divorce if another Becker box arrives, just kidding the wife likes the BK2 too). Its the first issue I have had in 35 or so of them bought new, so percentage wise they have already proven their quality to me. I could have easily returned it for a refund or replacement but I just wanted to get the problem identified so it can be corrected in production. It looks like that would be a more difficult area to grind just due to the deepish belly of the blade and the shape of the handle ( which the ergonmics feel great to me). I will try to get some pics up at some point. If you want to see a pretty potbelly I found one on here yesterday with wood grips, polished steel, sweeeet. Be great to get the wood scales and a nice brown leather sheath and maybe a forced petina.
 
I've had to deal with Ka Bars customer service recently, and all that I can say is Amazing. Couldn't have been more helpful. thanks
 
I am hoping mine goes well too. Knife was shipped out Sat 9/29/12 on the label provided by toooj from K-Bar. I also checked another JAB Potbelly at a retail store and it also had a real bad grind at the bottom. It was the in the glass show/demo model. The grind was better than the one I sent back but was not something that should be on display. I handled the knife and showed the issue to the the knife counter guy and he seemed amazed it got out of the factory. The bottom of the blade just north of the choil was partially ground but still had a large flat un-ground edge in the middle. I hope to get my replacement soon, I also hope they get the glaring QC issue fixed, it would be a near perfect design in terms of ergonomics and weight to ability ratio. I have seen other people get these blades and think that it is a safety feature to have a dull edge near the handle but I cannot agree that a knife designer would try to market a knife with an un-finished edge at a spot that many would use for normal woodcraft tasks such as debarking limbs and making feather sticks.
 
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Im pretty sure thats how all of the JAB potbellys are. Ive owned 2 and they both had that as well. Maybe toooj or someone else can weigh in, but I dont have problem with it. That knife is so great to use and realistically not having a sharpened edge that low is fine with me. i can still choke up very far on it without worrying about slicing my finger when it slides a little. That Knife is a chopping beast.
 
Diced,

I got your Potbelly yesterday, re-edged it and removed the flat. Should be working its way back to you.

Gentlemanly Steve,

I looked at all of our inventory. You are correct. They all have it. It is the running shoulder grind from the choil that allows the flats to happen.
I'm talking with production today to see if they can make edge the shoulder to eliminate the issue.

Best Regards,

Paul Tsujimoto
Sr Eng
Prod Deve and Qual
KA-BAR Knives
 
GentlemanlySteve said:
I've had to deal with Ka Bars customer service recently, and all that I can say is Amazing. Couldn't have been more helpful. thanks
Click to expand...

I had the exact same experience. I could not have asked for better service. Mr. Tsujimoto quickly took care of my problem.
 
What a great place. I have never had to deal with ka-bar CS. but im impressed that a senior engineer from ka-bar actually pops in and helps people with there issues. if thats not great support i dont know what is. i love my ka-bar. ka-bar/becker is the best match since cayenne pepper and vinegar.
 
Thanks Toooj,
Cant wait to get it back, now I will have to buy another one since mine is going to be the collectible first addition fully sharpened by Toooj version :D(JK). It seems like it will be a great chopper mid blade and will be able to use the bottom for detailed work. Not a huge fan of the small skeleton knife that accompanied it but i think a good bird and trout should fit in there for a carving/skinning blade.
 
I had some small issues after I got my BK Eskabar. The man at the CS was very helpful. It was refreshing to get someone that made my concern go away and not have to be told that there was nothing that could be done.
 
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