Crooked guard or gap in guard acceptable for near $400 knife?

cirles said:
Hi ursamajor, I am based in Australia, thus the price. Plus any imported daggers here require a permit & Australia is becoming quite the nanny state these days from what I hear.
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Even at US Dealer Prices, those defects would not cut it. No pun intended...
 
ursamajor said:
Even at US Dealer Prices, those defects would not cut it. No pun intended...
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I am with you 100% on that ursamajor. Cold Steel informed me that my expectations were to high & unrealistic for the Tai Pan. Basically, they consider these "imperfections" as perfectly acceptable & so should the customer for the cost of the knife.

There is a great deal going on here with Cold Steel that I have only hinted at. Suffice to say I have come to the conclusion (& can back this up) that the President & Vice President must have felt a certain level of arrogance & contempt towards me by the way they have acted (or more accurately, not acted) regarding this whole situation. But that is a story for another thread.
 
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Warning for selling outside the exchange
cirles said:
I basically agree with you there ATJ999, it just that I was after a dagger & this was I felt the best choice for acquiring one without having to apply for a permit here in Australia (compulsory for all imported daggers). I really like the design of the Tai Pan (though having second thoughts regarding the guard/hilt employed), size, perceived toughness, rubber non slip handle, pommel that could do some real damage, just a great set of features that really appealed to me.

Any suggestions for an alternative (regardless of import permit requirements)?
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If you want a 'NOICE!' dagger that is legal in Australia (single edged) and ALREADY in Australia, I am selling a one off Ben Tendick here:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-tendick-vorpal-dagger.1522234/#post-17479137

I may split the knives up instead of selling in a bundle considering you are in Aus and specifically interested in the dagger, than the other knife in my sale thread.

All good if you aren't interested either. I literally just stumbled accross this thread and thought i'd bring my sale to your attention considering you're a fellow aussie after a dagger, and I happen to have a nice one for sale :)
 
ExtraBaconPlease said:
If you want a 'NOICE!' dagger that is legal in Australia (single edged) and ALREADY in Australia, I am selling a one off Ben Tendick here:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...-tendick-vorpal-dagger.1522234/#post-17479137

I may split the knives up instead of selling in a bundle considering you are in Aus and specifically interested in the dagger, than the other knife in my sale thread.

All good if you aren't interested either. I literally just stumbled accross this thread and thought i'd bring my sale to your attention considering you're a fellow aussie after a dagger, and I happen to have a nice one for sale :)
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Thanks for informing me of this ExtraBaconPlease but I will give this a pass. Symmetrical handle is something I want, plus I do not want to have to deal with having another edge placed on this (I couldn't sharpen a knife to save my life :). I am actually considering purchasing his Kraken Kwaiken, Maroon sharkskin, black wrap.

You don't happen to be a hifi manufacturer who frequents an OZ hifi site do you?
 
cirles said:
Thanks for informing me of this ExtraBaconPlease but I will give this a pass. Symmetrical handle is something I want, plus I do not want to have to deal with having another edge placed on this (I couldn't sharpen a knife to save my life :). I am actually considering purchasing his Kraken Kwaiken, Maroon sharkskin, black wrap.

You don't happen to be a hifi manufacturer who frequents an OZ hifi site do you?
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No worries!

Ben's Kwaikens are awesome, go for it! However, I don't know if you can get shark skin handles anymore but I may be wrong on that.

And nope, don't know what hifi is
 
cirles said:
I am with you 100% on that ursamajor. Cold Steel informed me that my expectations were to high & unrealistic for the Tai Pan. Basically, they consider these "imperfections" as perfectly acceptable & so should the customer for the cost of the knife.

There is a great deal going on here with Cold Steel that I have only hinted at. Suffice to say I have come to the conclusion (& can back this up) that the President & Vice President must have felt a certain level of arrogance & contempt towards me by the way they have acted (or more accurately, not acted) regarding this whole situation. But that is a story for another thread.
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That’s a shame. I have a Nightfall Master Tanto (All DLC’d 3V), and it’s flawless.
 
ursamajor said:
That’s a shame. I have a Nightfall Master Tanto (All DLC’d 3V), and it’s flawless.
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That's the thing, I am not indicating a customer will receive a defective knife from Cold Steel, but it is a very real possibility (my receiving 3 in a row is testament to that) & Cold Steel is quite happy to sell you that type of knife, & (disregarding them finally reimbursing you) then treat you with a certain level of contempt if you question that.
 
Cold steel used to sell seconds in their special projects catalog, are you sure these are not seconds? The seconds had little imperfections in them and sold at a lower cost.
 
d762nato said:
Cold steel used to sell seconds in their special projects catalog, are you sure these are not seconds? The seconds had little imperfections in them and sold at a lower cost.
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Hi d762nato, Cold Steel at no stage indicated to me that any of the knives were seconds, & the dealer(s) associated with supplying the knives also had given no indication of this. I had paid full price for the knife. Cold Steel is quite happy to sell you knives with defects at full price, this is the simple truth.
 
Hi Everyone, I am going to sign of for now as I have been on this computer for many hours now & it is time for other things (am based in Australia).

I will get back to anyone who contributes here tomorrow, & really appreciated everyone who has done so till now.

As I have indicated there has been a lot more going on regarding this whole situation (knife first purchased October 2016 & communications continued until yesterday with Cold Steel to try to get to the bottom of these issues), especially regarding the behaviour of Cold Steel's management at the very highest level & their representative here in Australia who directly handled the replacement knives. It is very complex, though not too convoluted, would be long in the telling & deserves a thread of its own.
 
cirles said:
Hi d762nato, Cold Steel at no stage indicated to me that any of the knives were seconds, & the dealer(s) associated with supplying the knives also had given no indication of this. I had paid full price for the knife. Cold Steel is quite happy to sell you knives with defects at full price, this is the simple truth.
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Sorry to hear about this all cirles , you know I spilt a little coffee on the keyboard in reference to what makes Cold Steel happy. :eek: Lol, glad you got your money back.:)
 
To avoid this predicament I would never have bought a current Taiwan made knife: I would have gone on Ebay for an older japanese made Aus-8 (or San Mai) version of the same knife.

A black coating is often to cover up lesser workmanship (and the lack of rust resistance here). You were probably attracted to the CPM-3V steel, but that is yet another trap for the unwary: I would pay a vast premium to get Japanese made Aus anything over that... I even prefer older Japanese stuff in plain Aus-8 over San Mai... Don't fall for steel hype, as mostly you are getting the exact opposite of the superior performance claimed.

Gaston
 
cirles said:
Cold Steel informed me that my expectations were to high & unrealistic for the Tai Pan. Basically, they consider these "imperfections" as perfectly acceptable & so should the customer for the cost of the knife.
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That is crazy. In no way is that quality acceptable at that price. Glad you got a refund and can move on from them.
 
cirles said:
(...)I was after a dagger & this was I felt the best choice for acquiring one without having to apply for a permit here in Australia (compulsory for all imported daggers).(...)
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This "permit" business is a farce! You live in AUSTRALIA.
Does the saltwater crocodile need a permit to eat you?
Does the inland Taipan need a permit to kill you?
Does the huntsman spider need a permit to... be really creepy? (and possibly lay eggs in your brain?)

I would've thought they'd be handing out daggers to Australian schoolchildren--at least until they're old enough to handle government-issued flamethrowers. ;)
 
if it bothers you, it should not matter if it bothers anyone else. personally, it would bother me. i think its a factory second.
 
That is totally unacceptable quality. At that full asking price, it better be flawless. That is not even close. That one should not have ever made it out the factory without being labeled a "Blem", like other manufacturers do. (With lower cost knives).
I would do an online search of a well known knife maker in your area. There is more than one that is known on these forums. Ask one of them to make you a custom for less money and enjoy.

Daggers are designed for a specific use. Just about any well heat treated steel will do. The classic KaBar has proven to be a great pig sticker even though the tang has failed while battoning dense woods. If used as the design intended, a failure is unlikely. It costs alot less too.
 
Knives are expensive in Australia, they pay around 140 bucks for a Mora Garberg there I believe.

But to put things in perspective; 400 AUS dollar is about 315 US dollar at today's exchange rate, so even though it is a lot of money it's not as bad as it sounds. Not that anyone will read this before posting..
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Are gaps and/or a loose guard on a $400 knife "accecptable"?

Considering that a Rough Rider, (under $30) Marbles or Schrade (under $50) or Ontario (under $50 to $100 depending on model) don't have haps at the guard or a loose guard, I would have to say "No. That would not be acceptable on a $400 knife, regardless of who made it."
I would also wonder how much of that $400 is for the name stamped or engraved on the blade.
 
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