Beware: Smoky Mountain Knife Works

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SOUTHERN WOODS

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I thought I would give an update of my recent transaction with Smoky Mountain Knife Works. I have done business with this company for years but they just lost all of my business. Hopefully this will help someone out in the future should they consider doing business with this company.

I placed an order on an online website ad for a Case XX Tiny Trapper from SMKW. The pictures they had made the knife look just smaller than a regular size Case XX Trapper model (which I own).

My order arrived today and when I opened the box the knife was hardly bigger than the tip end of my pinky finger. I figure no problem I will just return the order and they will refund me the cost of the knife and shipping. I'll ship it back at my expense and everything will be cool.

I call SMKW and speak with customer service to see if my amount + the original shipping cost can be refunded back to me. They say NO.

SMKW says they made no error in not taking a picture of the true scale of the knife. They made it look ten times bigger than it was, and I believe that was a error on their part. So if I return the item, I'm out about $10 bucks.

To make the situation worse I spoke with a service manager in charge that would hardly let me speak before trying to talk over me. I stopped him midstream and said, "Lets both be civil, there is no reason to get into an argument" to which he continued to be rude and tried to get into a shouting contest.

If this is how SMKW is running their business, then they have lost mine.

Just food for thought to anyone else considering doing business with them over the phone or online.
 
this should be in the feedback section, just a heads up it might get moved by one of the forum gods.
 
I expect this post will be moved elsewhere, but I have a question (and I don't mean it to sound critical of you): when you ordered the knife, did the website not provide the dimensions of the actual knife? And, if it did, were those stated dimensions misleading or incorrect?

I only ask because pictures of knives without context for measurement can be very misleading.
 
I only order from them when i can stack discounts and save myself considerable amounts of money. I once ordered a sword that they double charged me for and it took about 2 months for them to reverse it, not a great company to deal with.
 
Don't they post the measurements for the knife? Pictures are typically not supposed to be actual size, so it sounds like you just didn't do your research. And that's normal for most companies; if you made the mistake ordering why would they refund the shipping that they stand to lose because of your slipup?
 
I apologize for not placing this in the right forum, Mods feel free to move it.

I believe the blade size was listed at 2.5" in the link, I will have to double check but to be honest I was judging by the picture. I just feel like it was a mistake on their part for not representing the item correctly.

I called them to discuss the matter and was basically yelled at. I asked to speak with the owner - He was out of the country, next guy in charge was at a knife show. Maybe the employees just act crazy when there is no supervision.
 
Would you think this knife was no bigger than the end of your little finger?

This isn't the picture that was listed (I have no way to copy that pic) but the size is the same.



8984d323.jpg
 
You must have a massive little finger... Do you have a pic of the knife with your finger?
 
according to website the Case Tiny Trapper specs are:
·Tru-Sharp™ surgical steel blades
·2" clip pt and spey blade lengths
·2-3/8" - 2 5/8" closed depending on model
 
No offense but when you order off the net you really have to check the size. I wouldn't guess at the size of the knife from that pic. Or any pic really. For all I know it could be 10 times the size of a normal one or 10 times smaller. I also wonder at the whole conversation you had with their customer service. Seems they're not that great in that department but it's not normal for a person to just pick up the phone and start yelling. You do something to piss them off?
 
Nothing at all. I surely didn't call them to cuss em' out, yell at them, or anything of that nature.

I found out a long time ago that you can accomplish a lot more with a person if you talk with them and treat them like you care to be treated.

To be honest the $10 doesn't mean that much to me it's just the fact that I feel they misrepresented an item in order to make a sale. That isn't the way that I do business. I'll speak with Mr. Pipes about it when he returns.
 
SOUTHERN WOODS said:
I believe the blade size was listed at 2.5" in the link, I will have to double check but to be honest I was judging by the picture. I just feel like it was a mistake on their part for not representing the item correctly.
Click to expand...

I just checked the pic for the Condor Thai Enep Machete on their site. Same size, if not smaller than the pic for that Tiny Trapper.

Thats why the measurements are posted right next to the picture.
 
I see no reason why SMKW owes you anything. It is a Case "Tiny" Trapper after all and the specs are clearly displayed.

I just checked online and every add for a Tiny Trapper just shows the blade by itself with no reference, so this would have happened with any company you'd bought it from. I suspect they just use marketing pics provided by Case -as does everyone else.

I think you should keep it and use it. I often carry a "Tiny" Whittler due to size and weight and use it for numerous chores during the day.
 
I bought a William Henry that was much smaller and thinner than the picture would indicate. But I read the dimensions, took a ruler, and compared it with my other knives. So I wasn't quite as disappointed as you apparently were. And I would certainly not demand the dealer give me a full refund including shipping. Hell, I would expect the refund would minus the restocking fee on top of it.

Pictures are misleading, that is not intentional, it's just because the picture would otherwise lack certain details if scaled to actual size.

My only other issue of misleading sizes was a Buck 110, which turned out to be ridiculously bigger than I expected. Doesn't stop me from admiring and using the thing though. Would not even consider trying to cancel my custom Buck 110 order(a second one in S30V) when I found out after the fact.
 
SOUTHERN WOODS said:
To be honest the $10 doesn't mean that much to me it's just the fact that I feel they misrepresented an item in order to make a sale. That isn't the way that I do business. I'll speak with Mr. Pipes about it when he returns.
Click to expand...

Hopefully we can change your mind about that. You see, a lot of people collect and carry small-tiny knives. Those knives sell just fine on their own and don't need to be represented as large knives. Heck, if they were listed as being a larger size, they may even sell less of them.

As to the picture, how often do you find photos online that represent real life dimensions? Is that even possible? My computer screen may be larger or set to expand images. Bottom line is never think you know the size of something because you saw it in a digital picture (with no visual size reference).

The add apparently listed the size of the knife, plain and simple for everyone to see. How is that misrepresentation?

and another note, when I am in the market for tiny knives, I want a really large picture.
 
Though, their return policy does say they will refund you the price of the item (minus the old restocking fee) if unsatisfied. Doesn't say they will refund your original shipping cost and they say you pay to ship it back.
 
Shotgun said:
No offense but when you order off the net you really have to check the size. I wouldn't guess at the size of the knife from that pic. Or any pic really. For all I know it could be 10 times the size of a normal one or 10 times smaller.
Click to expand...

this...........
 
Sorry mate, but it does seem this was your mistake in not checking on the stats of the knife. I did this once with the Kershaw Mini Mojo. It did not look that small and when i got it, I understood why it was the Mini Mojo. I did not go back to the company though. I just realized my mistake and enjoyed another new knife:)
 
SOUTHERN WOODS said:
I apologize for not placing this in the right forum, Mods feel free to move it.

I believe the blade size was listed at 2.5" in the link, I will have to double check but to be honest I was judging by the picture. I just feel like it was a mistake on their part for not representing the item correctly.

I called them to discuss the matter and was basically yelled at. I asked to speak with the owner - He was out of the country, next guy in charge was at a knife show. Maybe the employees just act crazy when there is no supervision.
Click to expand...

It is called the "tiny trapper" (which would lead one to believe it is somewhat tinier than the "trapper") and from their website, I copy this text:

·2" clip pt and spey blade lengths
·2-1/2" closed

Granted that's from the first of the tiny trappers they list so others may be different but the dimensions are pretty clearly listed there. The link I'm looking at has the tiny trapper all by itself - not next to the trapper proper so it's not clear to me how you made your pictorial comparison.

From the first link I could find for the (non tiny) trapper:

·3-1/8" clip pt and spey blade lengths
·4-1/8" closed

The Tiny Trapper seems to me to be pretty clearly roughly half the size (closed) of the Trapper.

In the spirit of research, I also pulled up a picture of the Kabar Becker BK9 which I know to have a 9" blade. The picture of that knife is about 3" tip to pommel on my screen at my resolution - roughly the same as the picture of the tiny trapper. Surely you don't suggest this as evidence that the tiny trapper should be roughly the same size as the BK9. Why would the pictures lead you to believe it would be roughly the same size as the trapper?

Lol - I don't mean to be snide, but if I owned the company, I'd offer you your money back (or give you in-store credit, whatever you wanted) but I wouldn't likely give you your shipping and handling back. It costs them to mail that stuff out and the dimensions are clearly listed there. This was your mistake, IMO - not theirs.

Taking a shot at them on this forum for a mistake you made - come on.

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Beckerhead #42
 
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