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Linville Knife & Tool Hi-tech folder false advertising

WValtakis

WValtakis

Hand engraving & Titanium anodizing
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Feedback: 138 / 0 / 0
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
22,704
http://www.linvilleknifeandtool.com/products/assmbl-knf-newdesign.htm

Taken from website
Hi-Tech Folder from LINVILLE KNIFE AND TOOL
3 1/4" blade, AUS-8, RC59, finest knife ever offered by our company
TITANIUM frame and bolsters, sandalwood or cocobolo handle slabs
(only available as completed knife) limited quantity, only 600 pieces

Ok, so I saw the ad in Blade last month and decided to take a chance even though it seemed too good to be true. After seeing it on the cover of Blade this month I decided I HAD to say something about my experience. I'm going to try and keep this short and just state the facts so you can form your own opinion.

I ordered the knife and recieved it in a few days, upon opening it I immediately noticed a few defects. The thumbstuds had LARGE scratches in them, looked like they had been installed with vise grips. There were also a few dings in the bolsters, a crack in the wood scales and what looked like a crack in the pocket clip. I contacted the company and was told rather rudely that if I wasn't happy they'd refund my money, no mention that this was unusual. I wrote back that I was suprised that there was no offer to replace with a unblemished knife and asked if this was common. They replied that I COULD send it back for a replacement and I promptly shipped it back. A few days later the owner sent me an email "Wait 'til you see what I've got for you"

Fast forward a week...

I recieved the new knife and began to inspect it. The thumbstuds still had scratches (though not as bad) and I could see where someone had peened the tang of the blade where it contacts the lockstop to fix some slop. Also, almost all of the screws protruded through the liners. Oh well, I thought what do I expect for a $65 knife? Anyways, in the pocket it went, I didn't feel like dealing with another replacement. Unfortunately, the first time I pulled it out the tip caught on my pocket as I removed it from my pocket. Upon closer inspection I noticed that the blade could partially open and expose the point even though the detent ball was still in the depression on the blade. I figured that maybe a piece of lint or something was keeping the detent ball from seating completely so out came the torx bits and I disassembled it. The first thing I noticed was the main assembly screws (the ones that go through the backspacers) were standard flat head screws, not a real good sign. The next thing I noticed, and this is the big one, was that my magnetic screwdriver was sticking to the liners!!! As far as I can tell, there is NO titanium on this knife, the liners are stainless and the bolsters are anodized aluminum, which leads me to doubt that the blade is AUS8 as well. Needless to say I sent another email to the owner of the company questiong the materials used in the construction and informing him that the knife he had sent me was unsafe to carry due to the exposed point. I shipped the knife back the next day and waited for his reply. It seems that I must have struck a nerve because I have yet to recieve any sort of reply about this (I did get most of my money back though, they had dropped the price $5 since I bought it and I wasted $10 shipping it back twice).

So there you have it, let me know what you think. I'm thinking of sending a letter in to Blade magazine, I think they should know about this since they featured this knife on the cover and I'm also considering sending in a complaint to the Better Business Bureau but I'll wait for a few replies before I'll decide.

And before you say it, yes I understand that this is a low end knife and blemishes may be acceptable, but I think false advertising in regards to the construction materials is not.

Also, I do have pictures to support my claims but I don't have the ability to post them, so if someone wants to post them for me I'll be happy to email them.
 
Well, I finally recieved an answer to my questions (sort of), here it is in it's entirety.

not sure why I keep answering your emails....but here
goes....we sub everything but blade and have to trust
our vendors. Someone else contacted us re trying to
anodize bolster and it turned muddy. This is what you
get when you try to color T6 aircraft aluminum, which
is much easier to machine and can be molded.
Liners are titanium....not sure what grade this is....
it came from Sheffield Supply....good reputable
source. It colors to a nice blue....has to be Ti. to
color like this. One of the realities of being a
small cutlery house....we sub a lot. Only thing NEVER
subbed is blade....next knife will use S30V and we
plan to use this exclusively with future models. We
have about 60# of Ti liner stock....it is unavailable
anywhere due to war demands....mills quoting 1 yr.
delay. we even tried Brazil and China. At some point
we will have to go back to SS but customers will be
advised accordingly.
We have/had NO control over what BLADE writes about
us.....or fact that they put our knife on the cover.
Their writer got a knife and a kit and wrote the story
without much input from us....and that's the latest on
us and our dedication to do the best we can in a wierd
market. Do we make more $60 knives ? Go for $100 or
back to $36 knife kits ? We may do all of the above.
One thing you can depend on....whatever we do will be
"cutting edge designs". I find what is available from
everybody but CRKT to be quite lifeless and boring.
Take care....hope your weekend goes well, and maybe
our next product will be to your liking. We've got 3
more designs in the works right now. Tim

Let me know what you think, I'm to disgusted to even comment right now.
 
It sounds like the company is a joke, a bad joke. I'd send the knife back with a nice letter cc'd to blade that you don't apprecate being taken in by dishonest calims.
 
Dude, there're blemishes and there're pieces of SH*T.

Sounds to me like you got the latter............BIG TIME.

Good luck.......though needless to say I'm not holding my breath!!!
 
moving-van.jpg
 
excerpt from the latest email-

"Now I'll have to take
a few minutes of my time to reply to your wacko
postings and grumblings....please be assured that I
will be thorough.
Have fun....maybe your daddy never told you that you
shouldn't ever get in a pissing contest with a skunk.
Have fun wacko....I sure will."

:rolleyes: :jerkit:

Oh boy, I better watch out... I wonder how he'll respond to the letter I sent to the editor of Blade this morning...
 
dont know about blade but tac knives could care less about a disgruntled customer, hope they do something for ya though, i think the $$ made thru ads overides a disgruntled customer.
 
Ok, now he's just getting downright rude...

"hey wormy piece of shit....have I ever got a surprise
for you ! Enjoy your forums....you'd better hide your
rotten ass."


That's the WHOLE latest email...:jerkit:
 
Those emails could be construed as Threats especially the second, press charges. He will get a suprise.
 
There are two sides to every story.
However, on the main page of the Linville website it says: "Your satisfaction is very important to us."

Tim's responses don't seem be focused on customer satisfaction?
 
WValtakis, you should report Tim's conduct to the Knifemakers' Guild. If you do, be sure to include copies of his emails. The Guild doesn't take kindly to their members treating people like that.
 
email us the pictures at geoffkg(at)gmail(dot)com and we'll post them
 
Wacko dude gets away with ludicrous postings and you guys seem to lap it up. My policy has always been and will continue to be an immediate refund if for ANY reason you aren't satisfied with anything Linville Knife and Tool sends to you. Valtakis has been sending you bits and pieces of emails with liberal modifications to suit his purposes. I haven't posted on this forum since 2003.....I'd almost forgotten why I've avoided any forums on the web. People like Valtakis hide and jump out at any opportunity to get an audience for any imagined cause. This dude got a nice knife and returned it for a refund cause there were marks on the thumb stud.....and then got mad cause I hurt his feelings by offering a refund. Nice knife, prompt refund.....what does this creep want ? The ATTENTION that you have been giving him. Moderators....want copies of HIS emails to me ? Anybody interested in what our story might be ? Wanna see what this dude is all about ? Check his recent postings in www.swordforum.com where he has a temper tantrum online cause nobody wants to buy his $60 knife......shame on you guys for giving this vermin an audience !
 
Actually we give everyone a hearing here, and we give the other side a hearing too. You can even call him a vermin if you want; part of the purpose of this forum is to give you the opportunity to display your character, but what we'd really like to hear is some facts.
 
TimBritton said:
Wacko dude gets away with ludicrous postings and you guys seem to lap it up. My policy has always been and will continue to be an immediate refund if for ANY reason you aren't satisfied with anything Linville Knife and Tool sends to you. Valtakis has been sending you bits and pieces of emails with liberal modifications to suit his purposes. I haven't posted on this forum since 2003.....I'd almost forgotten why I've avoided any forums on the web. People like Valtakis hide and jump out at any opportunity to get an audience for any imagined cause. This dude got a nice knife and returned it for a refund cause there were marks on the thumb stud.....and then got mad cause I hurt his feelings by offering a refund. Nice knife, prompt refund.....what does this creep want ? The ATTENTION that you have been giving him. Moderators....want copies of HIS emails to me ? Anybody interested in what our story might be ? Wanna see what this dude is all about ? Check his recent postings in www.swordforum.com where he has a temper tantrum online cause nobody wants to buy his $60 knife......shame on you guys for giving this vermin an audience !
Click to expand...

Until some facts are submitted here I am leaning towards believing the "Whaco dude". That is the most unprofessional response to problem solving I have ever read(above).
 
If this isn`t a place where everyone can have their say, i don`t know what is.

Ofcourse, it is easy to side with the first one to the mill, but that doesn`t mean we don`t listen to the second or third (fourth, fifth and sixth) too.
I for one, appreciate that makers getting a complaint from customers, show up, and atleast tell their side of the story, as it gives a better picture of the whole thing.
I`m in a different thread in the GB&U part of this forum, and i`m still willing to cut that specific maker some slack.

Add to the fact, that everyone can have a bad day, maybe even being tired of a customer, i don`t blame people for writing crappy emails to eachother.
(I have enough bad days to go around, but i try my best to keep them internal to my own person.)

It`s not for nothing that customer-support people, usually undergo a pretty intensive education.
(I think most of the education is spent, learning how not to call the customer, bastard or something similar.)
 
I'm working on getting all the emails together in one or two to clear up any confusion, until then I went ahead and upgraded my membership so I could just post the pics myself. Here ya go...

proud.JPG Phillips.JPG Protrusion1.JPG Magnetic.JPG Peen marks.JPG
 
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