Did you read the follow-up posts to this comment? It was explained in detail a couple pages back in this very thread....
Brands to stay away from
- Thread starter Weasipoint
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Yes, I finally did. I find it disgusting.
Viper84
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These days I tend to avoid Benchmade due to their QC issues. Below is a terrible asymmetric factory bevel I got on a recent Benchmade order. Other issues with this knife were lock stick and rough action right out of the box.
I also don't like Benchmade's blade geometries since they do not seem to cut well. Below is the only Benchmade I own, but the blade is a Doug Ritter design, so that's probably the only reason I still have it due to the thinner flat grind. However this knife still has an issue where I cannot eliminate horizontal blade play completely without tightening down the pivot screw so much that the action is too stiff.
I also don't like Benchmade's blade geometries since they do not seem to cut well. Below is the only Benchmade I own, but the blade is a Doug Ritter design, so that's probably the only reason I still have it due to the thinner flat grind. However this knife still has an issue where I cannot eliminate horizontal blade play completely without tightening down the pivot screw so much that the action is too stiff.
Bruce Voyles has touched on the subject in Knife and/or Knife World magazine as well as Mark Zalensky. If memory serves me, the museum moved into a new purpose-built facility partially funded by Parker and also by the sale of SFO knives to collectors. When for a variety of reasons NKCA hit the skids, SMKW was building new digs and snookered them in. The museum was torn down and the land developed. When the collection was booted by SMKW the space was given over to their retail operations. Some knives didn't make it into other museums and there was a post on this forum requesting information so knives could be returned.
They have a small but loud PR team who make fools of themselves routinely, also their sales director (Thomas Welk) likes to chime in. People would give legit criticism (like “why is it S35 at 58 HRC?”) and he would basically tell them to go have intercourse with themselves.
They eventually closed their forum here and went to the USN and run their own echo chamber.
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Only thing I'd say is that boker has some awesome knives but yes stay away from the bulk of them. Especially the sub $100 ones
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It really depends on a lot of factors: your budget, uses for a knife, personal preference, etc., etc., etc. For example, my brother loves his made in China Gerber Paraframe, whereas I personally would never buy one (I carry a BM Griptilian). Some people don't like Benchmade! They say that BMs don't cut well or something like that, but, I say this, put a BM against a Spyderco in almost any field use test, where the knife is "abused" and the BM is much more likely to survive it. I don't recall who said it, but one of y'all said that Spydies are better for regular folk who carry their knives for intended purposes only, whearas BMs are better for those who want to be able to rely on a knife to perform any task they need to including prying, hammering, etc. I'll probably never buy a Spydie because I know I would probably break it in the first couple weeks of ownership. My BMs are tough enough to survive me. ;D
I'm staying away from Demko simply because even going outside of the US they still can not get it together to produce a reasonable availabilty. Reminds me of back in the day trying to hunt down a Hinderer. Fortunately Rick has stepped it up and is producing great knives that are actually available.
tony281sc2
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Good list. I don’t have any experience with CRK or Pro-Tech, and I would add Hinderer to that list. There QC isn’t quite as good as the others but they are some heavy duty well built knives (just hope it flips, 3/4 of mine flip well).
Right now I’m thinking about adding Spartan on my list of brands to avoid. Although, it would probably be unfair since I only have one and it is on the bottom of their lineup. Anyway, I recently bought a Spartan Talos from Blade HQ and the secondary edge on the back of the blade is thicker than the front. I can get a razor edge on about 3/4 of the blade holding it about 20 degrees on each side. On the bottom edge I have to turn the spine of the blade up about 75 degrees before I can find the apex. Anyway, I may eventually get the bevel ground down enough on my diamonds to sharpen it up.
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Why didn't you return the knife when you discovered the edge issues? That seems like the sort of thing you'd have seen pretty much immediately after initial inspection. Of course, now that you've sharpened it, that ship has sailed.
In any case, the two (soon to be three) SHFs I've got have been perfect, for what it's worth. I have never had a knife with bushings as smooth as my Runes/Staves SHF. It's about 90% dropshut, which is insane to me for a knife without bearings.
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I've resolved to stay away from all knife brands that agree to take my money.
So far, it's been a struggle. I keep falling off the wagon.
So far, it's been a struggle. I keep falling off the wagon.
It wasn’t exactly visual at a glance, but it got my attention after sharpening it, or at least attempting to.
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Bit of a rant, but it has really started to bother me to see what used to be well respected, purpose built, knife companies morph into lifestyle and marketing companies. Even worse when they start to go down the road of lower QC, questionable sourcing, marketing that misrepresents the function, and prices based off selling to the Instagram EDC crowd and collectors.
Knifes marketed as being carried by surfers in salt water made of materials that will clearly rust within a week.
Coated blades that add no useful value other than aesthetics and to increase the profit margin.
Brands that have always - and continue to - self-promote as USA built, producing mostly imported knives and knives assembled in the USA from mostly foreign parts.
Brands that can‘t keep their core models in stock but seem to have no issue fulfilling 30 different exclusive sprint runs that target the collector (and profit) over the their core customer base.
Really cool photography. Inspiring marketing. Really cool looking designs. But it’s all image. The product isn’t actually built for the purpose advertised.
I expect this from some of the newer lifestyle brands. It bothers me when I see well respected brands morphing into this model. I get it, the world might be passing me by. But that’s my rant.
Knifes marketed as being carried by surfers in salt water made of materials that will clearly rust within a week.
Coated blades that add no useful value other than aesthetics and to increase the profit margin.
Brands that have always - and continue to - self-promote as USA built, producing mostly imported knives and knives assembled in the USA from mostly foreign parts.
Brands that can‘t keep their core models in stock but seem to have no issue fulfilling 30 different exclusive sprint runs that target the collector (and profit) over the their core customer base.
Really cool photography. Inspiring marketing. Really cool looking designs. But it’s all image. The product isn’t actually built for the purpose advertised.
I expect this from some of the newer lifestyle brands. It bothers me when I see well respected brands morphing into this model. I get it, the world might be passing me by. But that’s my rant.
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I agree 100%. ...and this is not just knife companies...but many companies including auto companies. Every car commercial brands a lifestyle and tells you nothing about the car itself. Used to be...when you buy a car...the first question you ask is "what's the engine?". Not now. It's all about image...especially those Lincoln commercials.
I miss the old school days. When I asked Mastersmith PJ Tomes why I should buy one of his knives at a show...his answer was "because my knives cut". That simple...at first.
he then spent 45 minutes with me explaining his blade geometry, steel treatment, grind, etc. "My knives aren't fancy or slick, but they will cut, and cut better than most".
God I miss that.
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Drawing a blank on well-respected knife companies that have turned into lifestyle brands...
The only one of your complaints I can think of specific examples of is the sprint runs, although everyone is having trouble keeping stuff in stock at this point, given supply chain issues over the last 18 months.
Chuck_Nunface
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I'd bet on the next run of Taiwan sharks they'll produce more - I wouldn't fault them for not ordering more and being stuck with extras if they didn't sell as fast as hoped. As far has in house models are concerned: they run a small batch shop, and I'm sure in the future, given their current trajectory, they'll expand.
Probably GEC. People are still super mad about the beer and sausage knife and then the one with a comb when they could just make more Barlows 24-7.
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