EverydayCommentary take on Survive

[Silver Needle]

Very good point.

I'd still like to see a full on FAQ thread at some point. Maybe those are separate things.

 

[chiral.grolim]

Thanks Ellie!
What do you think about creating a new thread, putting post #132 into it, and then locking it and making it a sticky?
I think that you've done a remarkably good job of addressing the issues.

I'm not trying to take anything away from supportive comments that others have made, but Ellie's comments are official Survive policy.

I support this :thumbup: And my own posts have nothing to do with S!K policy, I go looking for exactly this type of thing from S!K to relay to others i encounter who have questions, it would really help to have a thread exclusive to Guy/Ellie/etc. detailing Survive! policy so that I and others can more easily quote and link them for those seeking answers.

 

[timichango]

Just to add another data point to this whole topic (since the notion of frictionless refunds on preorders has come up a few times), I decided to cancel my 4.1 on account of realizing how similar it was in size to the 4.7 CFV I ordered later on a Monday sale. I'm a few days into asking them repeatedly to process the refund, and it hasn't happened yet, though was told a couple of days ago that it'd happen.

Hoping it's just admin backlog? Curious to see if refunds are as forthcoming as has been rumored.

Turns out, they are forthcoming. Called up Survive, and it was a 100% zero-friction process. Really pleasant, even. Sincere thanks, Ellie!

 

[timichango]

^ Guess that means some of you that have 4.1 orders on just got one unit closer to getting yours

 

[dogboye]

Really?
30 were given away... 1 in the review here..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2npIMEsjTo8

I think one of us is confused. I believe Ellie stated, in the quote, a few knives back in 2013 were given to reviewers. In the context it was said, that was for marketing purposes. I do not think they were the CruV knife that appears as the cover for that video (I didn't watch the video, so I could be wrong). Additionally, that video was published in April of this year. If that reviewer held onto the knife for 3 years before reviewing it, that's some pretty piss poor marketing somewhere.

So, like I said, I could be confused. But it seems there are two giveaways, one for marketing (2013), one for testing CruV (2016). I wasn't paying attention in 2013. I have been for all of 2016, and part of 2015. I remember the CruV giveaways.

 

[dogboye]

^ Guess that means some of you that have 4.1 orders on just got one unit closer to getting yours

Ooooooo… what kinda steel did you cancel????

I am becoming a bigger fan of S!K, in spite of some frustrations. What is impressing me is, based on the assumption they deliver them all, they aren't trying to make fancy designs, maximum thickness, killer combat fighters, etc. They are trying to produce a fairly basic design, but refined to the nth degree of ergonomics, edge geometry, and best steels. Not that there is anything wrong with the "killer combat" knives. Just a different approach. But when it comes to grabbing a fixed blade for a given task that has the edge geometry, profile design, QC, etc., for a price that isn't ludicrously expensive, there really aren't a whole lot to compete with. Yeah, there are DEFINITELY some out there. Some small makers, some larger makers, a couple of large factory brands that actually have some great knives at good prices. But not many. I hope S!K can get through these times, get up on the step, and make these great knives on a larger scale of production. I'd really like to see that. But I'll admit, I'll still have my frustrations as I wait for the knives I have ordered. It's human nature. But I'll go back to doing my best not to complain. While I beat on the two I have so far.

 

[Clip.]

All of my S! Knives have come from the secondary market (here) and I've been pleased with the quality. They don't cut as well as thin customs or look tacticool, etc. but are a very good value at their initial price from Survive!. My new-to-me 4.7 is one of the most comfortable production fixed-blades I've held. All that remains to be desired is good communication on delayed shipments.

 

[timichango]

Ooooooo… what kinda steel did you cancel????

3V

I'd actually ordered that 3v 4.1 during the short presale in July because it didn't seem like any 4.7s were available or likely to be at that time. Then the Cruforge 4.7 2nds came up, and I ordered one of those, and eventually decided to just go with that.

Figure if I like the 4.7 in cruforge, I'll probably pick up a 3v 4.7 (or 4.1 if something smaller winds up making sense) down the road. At this point, I couldn't justify having money tied up in two long-wait knives, and opted to get the blade size that's probably going to work better for my needs, and to get a better sense of the ergos before buying more. I'd contemplated just waiting on the 4.1 and flipping it on arrival, but that seemed like unnecessary rigmarole, and I reckoned it'd be better to just return it to the pool, so to speak.

Anyways, neither here nor there, but if you do need to enquire about a cancellation for any reason, phone seems like the best route.

 

[McVeyMac]

I have been watching from the sidelines on this discussion because I am really torn here. As much of a fan I am of S! knives and the people who make them, there have been some very valid points made by all sides of the situation. It is my hope that S!K takes some of the legal points that were brought up here and elsewhere to heart, and that they make sure that they are in conformance of the law with every knife offered and with every order placed.

The pre-sale argument is an old one, and there have been critics of this from the beginning from a business model standpoint. I placed each of my pre-sale orders knowing what the situation was regarding delivery time. My next pre sale coming my way is the 4.1, which should be out before the end of the year. Then I have a 6 and an 8 on order. All three of these preorder knives have been on order for over a year now (over 13 months to be precise), and it will likely be over two years before the GSO 8 arrives. But I understood this situation when ordering these knives, and I did this to help get S!K off the ground and running.

Ellie has done what she had to do from a marketing standpoint with her post here, and I am glad that she posted. I just hope that S!K can take care of all of their business practices and website so that they are always in compliance with the law. I have no evidence that they have not been in compliance, and I am not a lawyer. But all of us who have knives on pre-order have a vested interest in the success of S!K. Whenever lawyers get involved, everybody looses.

 

[LarsL]

When I sold my first Colorado Landscape Calendar I had to make a pre-order too. That was rough with customers asking for the product all the time despite my warning that it will take 2 months to ship; first complaints after maybe 2 weks. It helped a lot though and nowadays I do not have to rely on pre-orders.

When I ordered several Survive! knives last year in April, I knew I had to wait for a while and it is taking even longer than I thought it would. Not a real problem though. I know I will eventually get my first class knives for a good price. I like that Survive! is keeping us updated via their web site, Instagram, Facebook, and on here. It is good to see what is going on and that knives are going out to other people because then you do not have to be afraid that the company is going under without you getting your orders.

 

[dragfree]

Firstly, I apologize for the delay in making a statement over here. This has gone through a few revisions ....

Time well spent, Ellie. You have a gift for clear and thoughtful communication. Guy is lucky to have you. So are your customers.

I second Fancier's suggestion to make this a sticky.

 

[Clip.]

So from his Instagram, looks like EverydayCommentary received a CFV 4.7 very quickly after writing two posts on his blog criticizing Survive! Knives. I don't know the details, but from the IG comment and his lack of participation in this thread "Sometimes being a squeaky wheel works!" I'm guessing Survive appeased him and shipped one out pretty quickly.

https://instagram.com/p/BKvXTv3BKsq/

Two thoughts: 1) congrats to Tony for getting a knife to test out and 2) is this what I have to do to get my my knives shipped?

Edit: adding a disclaimer that this is speculation on my part.

 

[Silver Needle]

I'm guessing it is coincidental. From what I've seen of them, Guy and the team have way too much integrity to give in to pressure like that.

Squeaky wheels wait their turn like everyone else. If Guy and the team played favorites I'd guess that the really good guys here who are patiently waiting on 4.7's would have gotten theirs months ago. At least I'd like to think so

 

[Fancier]

If they received a 4.1 I'd be suspicious.
The 4.7 model is actively shipping anyway so getting one isn't a surprise.

 

[Silver Needle]

https://www.instagram.com/everydaycommentary/

Here's the link for the everydaycommentary instagram page. There are several posts about Tony's 4.7 and it's progress shipping.

It's interesting. Those that seem to follow Tony are cheering him on for writing articles on SURVIVE!. They seem to think the articles caused the knife to get shipped faster. Guy even chimes in to dispute this.

It sounds like Tony has a shootout planned with the 4.7 and Fiddleback Forge bushcrafter and maybe a Bark River.

 

[amdmaxx]

I am not buying it. Why are people getting their Cru-Force, which were only announced a few months ago, while I am STILL waiting for 3V delivery from 2015?

 

[Clip.]

I saw Tony reference his 5.1 order which was "in stock" and then get frustrated that it wasn't. From there he went on to describe his frustration with Survive!'s ordering process and shipping times. I didn't see anything from him indicating he would try to order again to see how the process went, so I'm not sure if he ordered a CFV or not. I do think people that ordered CFV firsts had done so before Tony tried to get a 5.1. If this is a second, then I guess this thread made him have a change of heart and try to order on one of the Monday sales (surprised he didn't state that in his follow up post). In that case, my 4.7 CFV second in the exact configuration should ship soon as well.

 

[Silver Needle]

I am not buying it. Why are people getting their Cru-Force, which were only announced a few months ago, while I am STILL waiting for 3V delivery from 2015?

^^^^^Does someone have a good explanation for this?


Clip, thanks for adding some details in Tony's ordering. I'm really curious about the timeline of the situation.

Does anyone know how much traffic everydaycommentary gets? From the little I've seen, it looks like Tony is more into custom folders. From my time spent discussing production and craft D) fixed blades, I've heard certain names of websites and reviewers come up again and again. I've never heard of Tony until this thread occured. Some instagram commenters seem to think that he's so influential that his writings impact how and when manufactures ship out knives. I don't believe that is the case here.

EDIT: I did a tiny bit of comparing and contrasting on instagram. If you go off of instagram followers, SURVIVE! has twice as many as everydaycommentary. Everydaycommentary has just a tenth or less of the followers that my favorite youtube reviewers have. Not sure how much that says.

Again, going off youtube, there are just a small fraction of subscribers of everydaycommentary compared to other channels. I'm really not sure how to gage the popularity of a blog or website, but maybe I don't need to know anymore with what I've already found.

 

[Steve in SoCal]

^^^^^Does someone have a good explanation for this?

Agreed. This will add to the frustration of the pre-order folks from 2015. Survive! really should have fulfilled all the 4.7 pre-orders before shipping out Cru 4.7 firsts and 3V 4.7 seconds. They still don't really understand good business practices at this point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[mlmcasual]

Correct me if wrong,
I think the Cru. 4.7 was a small batch stuck in between the preexisting pre-orders. It shouldn't add any significant delay.