Requesting Gareth Bull Shamwari Advice

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mdswithers

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Ive become so interested in the Gareth Bull Shamwari that I’m considering getting rid of the rest of my knives simply because if I get a shamwari it’s the only knife I’ll ever use. Can someone with experience buying from Gareth Bull’s instagram please give me some insight on how to best get a knife? Im looking for as much intel as possible and please feel free to email me at mdswithers@gmail.com if you don’t want to openly share the juicy info. Thank you everyone in advance. Also feel free to post pics of your shamwari cause I love them!
 
knarfeng said:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/gareth-bull-slow-delivery-waitlist-thread.1062108/

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bull-gareth-knives.1262627/

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/gareth-bull-questions.1274796/
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I appreciate the help however these pages are all but useless. Gareth Bull only sells on instagram now so all the talk of waitlists and books are irrelevant. I did check to see if it was discussed before though. Thanks, hopefully I can find someone who’s snagged one off Instagram.
 
mdswithers said:
I appreciate the help however these pages are all but useless. Gareth Bull only sells on instagram now so all the talk of waitlists and books are irrelevant. I did check to see if it was discussed before though. Thanks, hopefully I can find someone who’s snagged one off Instagram.
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The proofs in the pudding.

He has recent bad reviews via ig too. Primarily lack of communication. Or just outright ignoring customers. And more.
 
To answer your question: You follow him, you wait for a drop, you message him, you pay.
To reply to your comment about "I appreciate the help however these pages are all but useless" I'd take past behavior into consideration at least, somebody who has treated paying customers the way he did means he can always fall back into bad habits, yes, the drops mean he has the knives in hand and basically ready to ship, so it's less risk. On the other hand, I'd think twice about supporting unreliable/impolite people, especially if they clearly didn't think it was a big deal. Unless he's publicly apologized (or at least in private).

Just something to consider.
 
b00n said:
To answer your question: You follow him, you wait for a drop, you message him, you pay.
To reply to your comment about "I appreciate the help however these pages are all but useless" I'd take past behavior into consideration at least, somebody who has treated paying customers the way he did means he can always fall back into bad habits, yes, the drops mean he has the knives in hand and basically ready to ship, so it's less risk. On the other hand, I'd think twice about supporting unreliable/impolite people, especially if they clearly didn't think it was a big deal. Unless he's publicly apologized (or at least in private).

Just something to consider.
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Very good point you make. I wish the man was better at business but I guess then his knives wouldn’t be as good maybe lol. If there was another maker that made something like the shamwari that was available more easily I’d do it but I just love the shamwari
 
mdswithers said:
Very good point you make. I wish the man was better at business but I guess then his knives wouldn’t be as good maybe lol. If there was another maker that made something like the shamwari that was available more easily I’d do it but I just love the shamwari
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You could ask @Frunkey of course, he's dealt with him on a few occasions both for custom work and his knife drops I think. Of course Doc has the YT Channel (And a decent IG following himself), so his viewership gives him some pull/leverage with makers, the community isn't that big that a maker can afford getting roasted over the coals by somebody like him.
 
I purchased a second-hand Shamwari a while ago and one of the screws holding the backspacer in place stripped. I contacted Gareth Bull either by email or Facebook and heard back from him in less than 24 hours that any owner–first, second etc–is covered by the warranty and asked for some details about the knife and my address. And that was the last I ever heard from him in spite of several emails that I sent him. The knife still functioned properly so I put it up for sale and of course disclosed the defect in the for-sale thread and now, as far as I know, the new owner has not heard from him either and is satisfied with the knife's function as is. It was approximately 2 years ago that I initiated contact with him.
 
mdswithers said:
Very good point you make. I wish the man was better at business but I guess then his knives wouldn’t be as good maybe lol. If there was another maker that made something like the shamwari that was available more easily I’d do it but I just love the shamwari
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Sounds like your in it. Why even post then? Believe us when we say it's a bad idea. It's on you now, with any issues you get from following through.

Let me recommend Trevor Burger over this.
 
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Mo2 said:
Sounds like your in it. Why even post then? Believe us when we say it's a bad idea. It's on you now, with any issues you get from following through.

Let me recommend Trevor Burger over this.
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Agreed. The Trevor Burger EXK model is somewhat like the Shamwari and are usually available through a certain dealer. DM me if you want the dealer's name, as I'm not sure I can "advertise" for them here.

Also, to get in on Gareth's IG drops, you just have to be very fast to comment on his drop posts. Good luck!
 
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mdswithers said:
Ive become so interested in the Gareth Bull Shamwari that I’m considering getting rid of the rest of my knives simply because if I get a shamwari it’s the only knife I’ll ever use. Can someone with experience buying from Gareth Bull’s instagram please give me some insight on how to best get a knife? Im looking for as much intel as possible and please feel free to email me at mdswithers@gmail.com if you don’t want to openly share the juicy info. Thank you everyone in advance. Also feel free to post pics of your shamwari cause I love them!
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Your best bet is to check this thread’s and others used section and find a used Shamwari someone else is selling. They actually turn up quite often. That is how I got mine. Just check it every day or so and eventually one will show up.

Gareth Bull himself is abit of a jackass as it is impossible to communicate with him.
 
Mark Boyles said:
Agreed. The Trevor Burger EXK model is somewhat like the Shamwari and are usually available through a certain dealer. DM me if you want the dealer's name, as I'm not sure I can "advertise" for them here.

Also, to get in on Gareth's IG drops, you just have to be very fast to comment on his drop posts. Good luck!
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Trevor said his books are going to open soon too. But yea the dealer you speak of is also great to deal with assuming im thinking of the same one you are. Wish they would come over here too.
 
I have 4 Shamwari's I've purchased from Gareth. Both in dealing directly with him and participating in the "drops" where the knives are basically gone in one second. I would have no hesitation to say if you can grab one during one of his drops, do it. The knives are amazing. Dealing directly with Gareth is not always possible, and he can be a bit flakey. I chalk it up to creative types.

There's an ugly side to his past history as evidenced here, as well as some stories I've heard just recently - through a well respected SA maker. For now, these are just stories. There's a lot of knife makers who make great knives, but lousy businessmen. It seems with his new system, he's eliminated a lot of issues by making "X" amount of knives, and selling them. He still does customs for people, but you need to be one of the chosen few. Bottom line, you'll have zero issue if somehow you're lucky enough to grab a GB via one of his IG drops, but the odds have gotten far worse in the past 6 months. Just expect it will take between 2 and 3 weeks to receive it.

shamwari-5252.jpg
 
Victorian Squid said:
I have 4 Shamwari's I've purchased from Gareth. Both in dealing directly with him and participating in the "drops" where the knives are basically gone in one second. I would have no hesitation to say if you can grab one during one of his drops, do it. The knives are amazing. Dealing directly with Gareth is not always possible, and he can be a bit flakey. I chalk it up to creative types.

There's an ugly side to his past history as evidenced here, as well as some stories I've heard just recently - through a well respected SA maker. For now, these are just stories. There's a lot of knife makers who make great knives, but lousy businessmen. It seems with his new system, he's eliminated a lot of issues by making "X" amount of knives, and selling them. He still does customs for people, but you need to be one of the chosen few. Bottom line, you'll have zero issue if somehow you're lucky enough to grab a GB via one of his IG drops, but the odds have gotten far worse in the past 6 months. Just expect it will take between 2 and 3 weeks to receive it.

shamwari-5252.jpg
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They are just stories?!? No. They are actually what happened to customers.

If the OP chooses to take the risk, great. He knows what he is getting into. I just find it difficult to understand why people would throw their $s at di*ks like Gareth.

I have handled his knives. They are nice. Not spectacular, but nice. There are many better makers out there. Hell, some ZT midtechs are nicer. To me, GB knives are in no way worth the risk or worth having to deal with GBs bs. YMMV.
 
Mo2 said:
Sounds like your in it. Why even post then? Believe us when we say it's a bad idea. It's on you now, with any issues you get from following through.
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Agree. From what I can tell the man is a crook. I don't support crooks.
 
mdswithers said:
Very good point you make. I wish the man was better at business but I guess then his knives wouldn’t be as good maybe lol. If there was another maker that made something like the shamwari that was available more easily I’d do it but I just love the shamwari
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I don't know how many custom knives you own or how many knifemakers you have ordered from but I assure you that there is NO correlation between the quality of the knife versus the unreliability of the maker.
If anything the opposite is true........The more reliable the maker, the better the knife.

Victorian Squid said:
I have 4 Shamwari's I've purchased from Gareth. Both in dealing directly with him and participating in the "drops" where the knives are basically gone in one second. I would have no hesitation to say if you can grab one during one of his drops, do it. The knives are amazing. Dealing directly with Gareth is not always possible, and he can be a bit flakey. I chalk it up to creative types.
There's an ugly side to his past history as evidenced here, as well as some stories I've heard just recently - through a well respected SA maker. For now, these are just stories. There's a lot of knife makers who make great knives, but lousy businessmen. It seems with his new system, he's eliminated a lot of issues by making "X" amount of knives, and selling them. He still does customs for people, but you need to be one of the chosen few. Bottom line, you'll have zero issue if somehow you're lucky enough to grab a GB via one of his IG drops, but the odds have gotten far worse in the past 6 months. Just expect it will take between 2 and 3 weeks to receive it.
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These are not "stories". You have had a good experience with Gareth, many have not. That is a fact not a story.

Gareth was expelled from the Knifemakers Guild of South Africa for taking money and not delivering the knives to the customers. That is a fact not a story.

The only reason he sells on IG now is that he is banned from BF and other forums for his bad business practice. That is a fact not a story.

It's a tragedy because under different circumstances he could be a superb knifemaker. I know Gareth well, he lives 20 miles from me but as much as I personally like him I cannot support him or defend his bad behaviour.

If you had been one of the customers who paid upfront and never saw a knife you would not be so quick to encourage others to do so.
 
You ask for help
You Receive the requested help

mdswithers said:
I appreciate the help however these pages are all but useless. Gareth Bull only sells on instagram now so all the talk of waitlists and books are irrelevant. I did check to see if it was discussed before though. Thanks, hopefully I can find someone who’s snagged one off Instagram.
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Then you feel the need to give a backhanded snotty reply

If you ever do get the Gareth, please feel free to shove it...................
 
As much as I like the Shamwari the horrible customer service, poor communication, and basically lack of warranty since he is impossible to contact has kept me from buying one. There are many makers who make similar knives who are exceptional makers and great people as well. Trevor Burger and Clyde Challenor are 2 that come to mind who I would support way before Gareth.
 
mdswithers said:
I appreciate the help however these pages are all but useless. Gareth Bull only sells on instagram now so all the talk of waitlists and books are irrelevant. I did check to see if it was discussed before though. Thanks, hopefully I can find someone who’s snagged one off Instagram.
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Good luck trying to give your money to someone who can't accept it. Those threads show he is shady. I'll never understand wanting to own a knife from a maker you know is not honorable.
 
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