Brands to stay away from

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There are several “brands” that I stay away from for my own reasons that I won’t go into. Then there’s other brands, not that there’s anything bad about them but because of the design or certain features that are characteristic of the brand. They are no doubt a good knife that are excellent for most people but for me it’s rather that it has a short deep blade or the shape of the blade with a big hump and a big thumb hole just doesn’t work well in a lot of tasks I work around. It inhibits getting into tight spots or gets hung up on the hole. I prefer a knife with a more slender shape that is free of any snags.

I also prefer made in USA knives, not that foreign countries manufacture inferior products but because I want to support my own country and the workers here in the USA.
 
I should have stayed away from CEK, RHK, Microtech, protech and Demko because the addiction I have developed will cost me a lost of money :):):)
 
brownshoe said:
Knife nuts like knives...Steel snobs like "better" steels. Having 3 knives, slipjoint, lockback and liner lock brings a lot more pleasure than one liner lock in 154CM. There are many budget knives with >0.8 % C and a hardness of >57RC that are good cutters and fun.

I stay away from SMKW and their associated brands because I have a personal dislike for the company and owners, plus what they did to the National Knife Museum was despicable.
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What did they do to the National Knife Museum?
 
brownshoe said:
They snookered the museum management into moving the museum from a purpose built facility into their store and when they got tired fo it, put them out in the street.
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It sounds like they are chickenshits. That's the first time that I remember hearing about that.
 
000Robert said:
It sounds like they are chickenshits. That's the first time that I remember hearing about that.
Click to expand...

SMKW didn’t do anything nefarious. If anything, their $1/year lease for kept the museum open far longer than it would have if it had to pay market rates. The museum’s leadership said it stopped exhibiting and loaned out its collection because they couldn’t make things work financially.

The museum struggled for years to meet the demands of payroll, taxes. insurance, ect. My personal and sincere Thank you to everyone that donated even one dollar to help make this dream a reality. I know there are a great many rumors going on about what will happen. I have tried to keep everyone up to date in the forum and wanted to share that there is more news.
Additional Museums and areas of the country will be able to see and enjoy the collection for many years to come. Though they will not all be housed under one roof any longer they will be on display.
With Museums located in Alabama, Virginia, and New York, more people will be able to make the trip to see more cutlery on display. Please understand, the Museum is NOT disbanding. We will continue to hold our charter. Some knives will be gifted to the museums we have chosen and some items are on loan.
The original intent of the museum was that the knives would be on display and available to the public. The root of each and every decision made by the board was based on that.
To every person that ever served, everyone that donated and all the people that helped to maintain the knives in good shape……...THANK YOU
It is in your honor that we made certain the collection will remain in the public eye.
This is not an official release, it is MY statement. My views have been well known, long before I was asked to join the board. My only concern was with the preservation of the collection and the dream that one day you will ALL be able to take your grandchildren to see it.
Come see the recipients, plan a trip for next year. See the country, see the knives.​

The NKCA actually ended up dissolving a few years later.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
SMKW didn’t do anything nefarious. If anything, their $1/year lease for kept the museum open far longer than it would have if it had to pay market rates. The museum’s leadership said it stopped exhibiting and loaned out its collection because they couldn’t make things work financially.

The museum struggled for years to meet the demands of payroll, taxes. insurance, ect. My personal and sincere Thank you to everyone that donated even one dollar to help make this dream a reality. I know there are a great many rumors going on about what will happen. I have tried to keep everyone up to date in the forum and wanted to share that there is more news.
Additional Museums and areas of the country will be able to see and enjoy the collection for many years to come. Though they will not all be housed under one roof any longer they will be on display.
With Museums located in Alabama, Virginia, and New York, more people will be able to make the trip to see more cutlery on display. Please understand, the Museum is NOT disbanding. We will continue to hold our charter. Some knives will be gifted to the museums we have chosen and some items are on loan.
The original intent of the museum was that the knives would be on display and available to the public. The root of each and every decision made by the board was based on that.
To every person that ever served, everyone that donated and all the people that helped to maintain the knives in good shape……...THANK YOU
It is in your honor that we made certain the collection will remain in the public eye.
This is not an official release, it is MY statement. My views have been well known, long before I was asked to join the board. My only concern was with the preservation of the collection and the dream that one day you will ALL be able to take your grandchildren to see it.
Come see the recipients, plan a trip for next year. See the country, see the knives.​

The NKCA actually ended up dissolving a few years later.
Click to expand...

Hopefully they will be able to make things work out. How many knives are in the collection?
 
000Robert said:
Hopefully they will be able to make things work out. How many knives are in the collection?
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the NKCA, which operated the museum and owned the collection, is dissolved, so I don’t see it coming back. The collection was around 4500 knives, with roughly a third each going to the NRA Museum and two smaller museums in TN.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
If I knew they increased in value that much on the secondary market I would have put myself down on the pre order waiting lists, seem like a good investment, I'm not going to miss the next batch of collectors edition models. Do you happen to know if the Opinel collectors edition models appreciate in value as well? Because I can probably still get a few of those ones.
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I'm not 100% sure on the Opinel's but I'm sure they will go up somewhat since they are limited.....maybe not as much as SAK.
 
Hey all, a few people have asked about the shop I mentioned earlier in the thread. It's called The Knife Place in Lakeland, FL. They have a website and a brick and mortar store. The store is closed for inventory at the moment, but will reopen 1/13/21.

I'm not connected to the shop at all, just like the place, and have bought several nice knives there.
 
lambertiana said:
Bark River, due to my own personal experiences with the company owner. Never again.
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...good to know...I might be in one of those situations...

...I had looked upon Bark River knives with interest but this post is a red flag...

...one would think that at this level a customer being dissatisfied with product would be enough in and of itself, never mind glaring flaws, such as delivering an unfinished knife with no edge ground onto the blade...

...every one makes mistakes...it is how they are dealt with that matters...Time is Truth...
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
SMKW didn’t do anything nefarious. If anything, their $1/year lease for kept the museum open far longer than it would have if it had to pay market rates. The museum’s leadership said it stopped exhibiting and loaned out its collection because they couldn’t make things work financially.

The museum struggled for years to meet the demands of payroll, taxes. insurance, ect. My personal and sincere Thank you to everyone that donated even one dollar to help make this dream a reality. I know there are a great many rumors going on about what will happen. I have tried to keep everyone up to date in the forum and wanted to share that there is more news.
Additional Museums and areas of the country will be able to see and enjoy the collection for many years to come. Though they will not all be housed under one roof any longer they will be on display.
With Museums located in Alabama, Virginia, and New York, more people will be able to make the trip to see more cutlery on display. Please understand, the Museum is NOT disbanding. We will continue to hold our charter. Some knives will be gifted to the museums we have chosen and some items are on loan.
The original intent of the museum was that the knives would be on display and available to the public. The root of each and every decision made by the board was based on that.
To every person that ever served, everyone that donated and all the people that helped to maintain the knives in good shape……...THANK YOU
It is in your honor that we made certain the collection will remain in the public eye.
This is not an official release, it is MY statement. My views have been well known, long before I was asked to join the board. My only concern was with the preservation of the collection and the dream that one day you will ALL be able to take your grandchildren to see it.
Come see the recipients, plan a trip for next year. See the country, see the knives.​

The NKCA actually ended up dissolving a few years later.
Click to expand...

Due to NKCA's problems, SMKW promised a forever home to the museum in return for making it a tourist cutlery destination in their store. They promised to save the collection and keep it intact. They reneged on the deal. The collection was broken up. Some went back to the makers.
 
Must own knife brands,

Spyderco
Benchmade
Lionsteel
Cold Steel
Buck
Swiss Army
Lt wright
Zero Tolerance
Emerson

You need to have one of each just to try... Need to make sure you get one of there standard popular designs. Find what makes each brand different. I don't personal like a couple of the brands but I feel more educated now in what I do like.
 
  • info@dawsonknives.com
    Wed, Dec 30, 2020 at 7:25 PM

    Greetings, Dawson

    At risk of causing insult I an very dissatisfied with this knife. The fitting of the sheath makes the package worthless to me. I fixed this with another knife by obtaining a custom made kydex sheath for it but I would be returning this knife if the sheath were perfect. I don't like the grind of the blade. No distal taper or flex at all until the very tip of the blade that is ground so thin I could deform or break it with my 66 year old arthritic fingers if I were to put any effort into it. The total lack of any kind of edge is baffling. I hope the one I sent my brother is not like this one. Frankly, I am feeling insulted. Please tell me how I can return this knife.

    Thank you, Walter



  • photo

    Dawson Knives
    Hi Walter, I'm so sorry to hear you are not happy with the Fisherman, we want you to love your knife. Can you send me some pictures of the areas of concern, particularly the tip, edge and spine of the blade? We would be glad to offer you a store credit for the full purchase price as long as the Fisherman is in brand-new condition, that way you can choose a design and blade shape that will better suit your needs. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Danielle
    Wed, Dec 30, 2020 at 8:56 PM
  • photo


    To:Dawson Knives
    Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 7:48 AM


    Hello Dannielle
    What do you have to see ? I told you in simple words what the issues were. You have to see a picture of no edge at all ? Of no taper until the very tip then ground very thin? What will a picture of a sheath that does not securely hold the knife show?
    I just want to send this knife back. I would prefer a refund. The only use it has seen was being removed from the box and placed back in the box. the Box is a bit worn as it was shipped with a label stuck to the box, unlike the way I plan to return it to you.
    -thanks, Walter
...no response to this and a phone call but I did get a solicitation for another Dawson Fisherman...!!!...LoL...

...I pretty much lost it and sent this:

To:Dawson Knives
Thu, Dec 31 at 11:47 PM


You really what to sell me this knife when I cannot just return an unsatisfactory product much like it ? I can see by the picture of this knife that the odd distal taper may be characteristic of your interpretation of the Wharncliff but methinks it is over done on the unit I am trying to return. It is hard to tell from the photo but it looks like the taper is less radical on that blade than the one I have ? I am thinking you could see this much better with the unwanted knife in hand rather that in a cell pone photo.
Is the short distal taper and extremely thin stock at the tip deliberate ? If so I guess you are using the best steel for such a concept...
Does the sheath on this unit you are announcing actually hold the knife ? I wanted to deploy it as a large neck knife but I would not trust this sheath in any field conditions, never mind fishing.
Did some one even try to put any edge on it ? I mean this literally, not sarcastically.
If these aspects of my original complaints are addressed in this production I would consider it in exchange and request the difference refunded to original method of payment.
I remain interested in your product line but also remain discouraged that I need to justify dissatisfaction. If I need to post pictures you will be able to view them at your leisure @ Bladeforums.
Maybe Not so Truly Yours, Walter Haller

...nothing so far but it is like 8 am after new years in Prescott...

...maybe I should just post pictures for the general edification of the membership and to see if I am being unreasonable in my expectations here...I would rather not unpack and handle the knife again, especially with the proffered attitude displayed so far...

...Time is Truth...
 
...well now it's time for Hapo to eat some tasty crow...I would have edited the material I posted but the site will not allow it...LoLoL...

..I had previously missed and today received a call from Dawson's production manager who said he made a mistake and to send the knife back on his label...he says the lady that wrote that letter just couldn't believe that an unfinished knife made it out of the shop...

...the production manager said that specific area was his responsibility and he was sorry and simply could not under stand how he made such a blunder...(his word)...he made no excuses so I did...I allowed that in the Xmass frenzy shit happens...

...apparently they have repurposed the person who made the sheath for my knife...

...apparently I could have called them and told them what I had in mind and they could have adjusted the product to accommodate my expectations...I remain unconvinced but open minded on the way the blade is ground...I will reserve judgement until Dawson's production manager examines the blade in question and I know more...

...so now I have a custom neck knife on order based on the Dawson Fisherman...

...hopefully I will be posting on the surprised I liked it thread next... (grin)
 
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