Rockstead Knowledge Thread

TRfromMT said:
Has anyone here, as a second hand owner tried to register a previously unregistered knife? If so, was the registration accepted?
Click to expand...
Yes, and it was emphatically denied...I have many posts on my experience both in this thread and in my Rockstead GB&U thread . Rockstead informed me that they had seen the knife for sale on the secondary market and the warranty was void.
 
TRfromMT said:
Has anyone here, as a second hand owner tried to register a previously unregistered knife? If so, was the registration accepted?
Click to expand...
There were some posts in here that they were not accepted. Rockstead tracks the sales here and sent the person a screenshot of their sale.
(Sorry saw that this was replied to already - I can't figure out how to delete this post).
 
Last edited:
This thread has certainly caused me to reconsider Rockstead. I had been planning on a folder and a fixed, but picked up a few ZDP 189 Spydercos in their stead. Rockstead makes its product less economically durable with its silly "warranty." I'd probably like them more if they had no warranty at all, and no warrantly at all would probably be less destructive to resale value.

And screenshots of sales here? Like they're catching some child in a lie lol. Rockstead, hall monitor of knifemakers.
 
rover said:
This thread has certainly caused me to reconsider Rockstead. I had been planning on a folder and a fixed, but picked up a few ZDP 189 Spydercos in their stead. Rockstead makes its product less economically durable with its silly "warranty." I'd probably like them more if they had no warranty at all, and no warrantly at all would probably be less destructive to resale value.

And screenshots of sales here? Like they're catching some child in a lie lol. Rockstead, hall monitor of knifemakers.
Click to expand...

Saying you got something as a gift, when you actually bought it used, in an attempt to avoid a warranty denial is called "fraud." The ease with which people have glossed over that is pretty sad.
 
WValtakis said:
Yes, and it was emphatically denied...I have many posts on my experience both in this thread and in my Rockstead GB&U thread . Rockstead informed me that they had seen the knife for sale on the secondary market and the warranty was void.
Click to expand...

To clarify this for anyone who might not have picked up on the obvious reality: their response to WValtakis WValtakis is an admission that instead of responding "Sure, we stand behind our work, send it in", they had an employee search this forum's sales section for this knife with the express purpose of denying his warranty claim for them to fix a poorly finished scale.

That's garbage.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
Saying you got something as a gift, when you actually bought it used, in an attempt to avoid a warranty denial is called "fraud." The ease with which people have glossed over that is pretty sad.
Click to expand...

It was probably glossed over because it shouldn't matter. What does it matter how he got a knife? A company should stand behind their product, especially in this case where the workmanship is clearly flawed. Instead, they spent more effort in playing internet detective than they did in correctly making that scale the first time. Go back and take a look at those pics again. That knife is flawless except for the big cracks in the scale, and those voids stuffed with buffing compound. A knife costing as much as those do shouldn't have been allowed to leave the factory looking like that.
 
Quiet said:
It was probably glossed over because it shouldn't matter. What does it matter how I got a knife? A company should stand behind their product, especially in this case where the workmanship is clearly flawed. Go back and take a look at those pics again. That knife is flawless except for the big cracks in the scale, and those voids stuffed with buffing compound. A knife costing as much as those do shouldn't have been allowed to leave the factory looking like that.
Click to expand...

It does matter, because they specifically don't warranty anything except for claims by the original owner after a purchase from an authorized dealer. He obviously knew that was the case, or he wouldn't have lied to them about where he got the knife. If you know the warranty situation going in, it's "buyer beware" if you buy on the secondary market.

I agree with you that a non-transferable warranty is lame (even Rolex has transferable warranties as long as the warranty card is filled out by an authorized dealer and it's still within the warranty period). And yes, clearly preexisting flaws (gouges/pits filled with polishing compound) should never have left the factory and should be considered manufacturer defects. But, ultimately, what you or I think isn't going to change the outcome of this. If Rockstead is rejecting legitimate claims from original owners, then I'd have a problem with it. But I can't fault them for following their well-publicized warranty policy, even if I think the policy is dumb.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
It does matter, because they specifically don't warranty anything except for claims by the original owner after a purchase from an authorized dealer. He obviously knew that was the case, or he wouldn't have lied to them about where he got the knife. If you know the warranty situation going in, it's "buyer beware" if you buy on the secondary market.

I agree with you that a non-transferable warranty is lame (even Rolex has transferable warranties as long as the warranty card is filled out by an authorized dealer and it's still within the warranty period). And yes, clearly preexisting flaws (gouges/pits filled with polishing compound) should never have left the factory and should be considered manufacturer defects. But, ultimately, what you or I think isn't going to change the outcome of this. If Rockstead is rejecting legitimate claims from original owners, then I'd have a problem with it. But I can't fault them for following their well-publicized warranty policy, even if I think the policy is dumb.
Click to expand...

You are missing the point. It shouldn't matter, is the point. You lowkey attempted to make this about how WValtakis WValtakis claimed to own the knife when he contacted them. That doesn't matter. If he wasn't the first owner (and he wasn't, which he DID admit to), he could have found it in a pawn shop, or just picked it up off the ground. How he came by it is irrelevant, when what's important is: the knife had flaws from the factory, and instead of fixing them, they went online and tracked this exact knife down and denied the claim. That is shady trash behavior from a company, regardless of what a customer said or did not say. Looking at the pictures he provided, it's clear to see where the blame lies. So, while you may not fault them (and then tried to throw shade over it), the rest of us can and will. Further, bringing this to light has already cost them sales, as these threads now come up when you Google them.
 
Quiet said:
You are missing the point. It shouldn't matter, is the point. You lowkey attempted to make this about how WValtakis WValtakis claimed to own the knife when he contacted them. That doesn't matter. If he wasn't the first owner (and he wasn't, which he DID admit to), he could have found it in a pawn shop, or just picked it up off the ground. How he came by it is irrelevant, when what's important is: the knife had flaws from the factory, and instead of fixing them, they went online and tracked this exact knife down and denied the claim. That is shady trash behavior from a company, regardless of what a customer said or did not say. Looking at the pictures he provided, it's clear to see where the blame lies. So, while you may not fault them (and then tried to throw shade over it), the rest of us can and will. Further, bringing this to light has already cost them sales, as these threads now come up when you Google them.
Click to expand...

They don't transfer warranties as a way of discouraging secondary market sales. It has nothing to do with "not standing behind their product." I really doubt it's costing them sales, considering they're not selling direct to consumers. I'd be shocked if any of this had a measurable effect on their wholesale sales. If anything, it'll push people considering spending money on a second-hand Rockstead to buy from an actual dealer so they can get the warranty (or, if there's actually an apparent defect when they receive it, they can return it to the dealer, which another poster actually did).
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
They don't transfer warranties as a way of discouraging secondary market sales. It has nothing to do with "not standing behind their product." I really doubt it's costing them sales, considering they're not selling direct to consumers. I'd be shocked if any of this had a measurable effect on their wholesale sales. If anything, it'll push people considering spending money on a second-hand Rockstead to buy from an actual dealer so they can get the warranty (or, if there's actually an apparent defect when they receive it, they can return it to the dealer, which another poster actually did).
Click to expand...

Ok, so if what you say is true, it's an even bigger strike. What makes Rockstead think they get to tell people what to do with products they have sold to that customer? They have two three jobs:

1. Make a good product.
2. Sell that product at predetermined amount of profit.
3. Stand behind that product if they have made it poorly.

Nowhere in there does "discouraging secondary market sales" fit. That's not the goal of ANY business. Their business is to make money by selling a good product and growing their company's good name. Doing things like attempting to influence what people do after the sale's been made, or refuse to fix a product they made poorly with an excuse are not good ways to do that.

I definitely think you're way off base with the "this will push people to buy them at retail". Heh, you sure don't know knife people very well.
 
Wow...I have oogled pics of their knives for quite some time now, and have been considering how I will have the conversation with my wife about the cost. My single non-purchase isn’t going to hurt them, but it’s a purchase I will not be making. The whole stalking the internet thing seems sleezy AF
 
Quiet said:
Ok, so if what you say is true, it's an even bigger strike. What makes Rockstead think they get to tell people what to do with products they have sold to that customer? They have two three jobs:

1. Make a good product.
2. Sell that product at predetermined amount of profit.
3. Stand behind that product if they have made it poorly.

Nowhere in there does "discouraging secondary market sales" fit. That's not the goal of ANY business. Their business is to make money by selling a good product and growing their company's good name. Doing things like attempting to influence what people do after the sale's been made, or refuse to fix a product they made poorly with an excuse are not good ways to do that.

I definitely think you're way off base with the "this will push people to buy them at retail". Heh, you sure don't know knife people very well.
Click to expand...

Your comments in this thread come off as adorably naive.

Rockstead isn't preventing people from selling their knives on the secondary market. What they're doing is telling people who BUY on the secondary market that they aren't going to get warranty service. And they didn't refuse to fix it, they'll be happy to charge for out-of-warranty work.

The primary goal of a business is to make enough money to stay in business. Rockstead doesn't make money on secondary sales, so supporting secondary sales has little, if any, benefit to them. They've got 8 guys working there, so they don't want to eat the cost of dealing with bogus warranty claims from someone who's not entitled to the warranty. All of their knives have individual serial numbers, so they likely know which retailer received every knife they ship.

Rockstead's target market (i.e. people who don't blink at spending $3000 on a knife) isn't going to abandon them because of warranty issues, because they aren't buying second-hand. People buying knives that start around $1000 and go way up from there are sophisticated enough to know the risk they run if they buy anywhere than from an authorized dealer. Go look at ads on a watch trading site, and the vast majority of sales are from authorized dealers so buyers have confidence that they're getting what was reflected in the ad and is covered by the manufacturer. Rockstead sells to the same guys who buy Rolex and Panerai.
 
I haven't seen this mentioned at least in the last few pages, sorry if it's been said already.

I think part of a higher dollar knife purchase is the fact if I drop $1,000 on a knife and don't care for it like I thought, then normally turning it back around on the Exchange for only a slight loss while giving another member a good deal is a win-win. Removing the warranty from the second owner makes that resale so much harder to make. I would personally look at that bigger picture, and skip the purchase in the first place to avoid the potential headache. I sure as hell wouldn't consider paying anywhere near retail for the no-warranty secondary market. It would have to be a disgusting price cut to be worth the risk. This is regardless of the here actually being any known issues on the sample in question. That's just me though. Basic ideas like opportunity cost are part of my own process ;) YMMV
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
Your comments in this thread come off as adorably naive.
Click to expand...

The irony here is rich.

P.S. You also have made several objectively incorrect, or outright speculation statements that have zero basis other than your own opinion. However, as I am not being paid to provide you with a basic business education, I'll pass on correcting you.
 
JupiterPaladin said:
I haven't seen this mentioned at least in the last few pages, sorry if it's been said already.

I think part of a higher dollar knife purchase is the fact if I drop $1,000 on a knife and don't care for it like I thought, then normally turning it back around on the Exchange for only a slight loss while giving another member a good deal is a win-win. Removing the warranty from the second owner makes that resale so much harder to make. I would personally look at that bigger picture, and skip the purchase in the first place to avoid the potential headache. I sure as hell wouldn't consider paying anywhere near retail for the no-warranty secondary market. It would have to be a disgusting price cut to be worth the risk. This is regardless of the here actually being any known issues on the sample in question. That's just me though. Basic ideas like opportunity cost are part of my own process ;) YMMV
Click to expand...


Shhhhhh, no. Only people who don't blink at spending three grand on a knife buy Rocksteads*

*Despite all of the ones that get posted here generally having sold for under a grand, but ssshhhhh, this is a safe space. Facts aren't welcome here. LOL
 
This thread is very disappointing. Part of coming to these forums is to meet other knife folks and have conversations with healthy debates and sharing the excitement and joy of all the knife makers out there and what niche offerings they have.

What disappoints me the most is the heresy and misinformation or any validation of the information before drawing conclusions about the company or the people involved.

Rockstead makes wonderful knives, they have authorized dealers as their sales and customer care arm, and they provide a warranty and services for their knives. There’s nothing unusual about that structure.

You may not like their products , warranty , service , and so on and that’s OK. They have found a market or niche they fit in that works for them. Asking them to have the same expectations as another knife producer may not be possible for them or what they want to do. Large volume dealers that sell $100 knives at a $10 cost are going to have more options and flexibility. Boutique products are just that , speciality items that are usually much higher in price because of the smaller scale or labor or whatever.

At the end of the day , if you don’t find value in the product based on what it offers and all that comes with it , that’s fine. Those that come here who’ve decided it is something they appreciate and enjoy, well let them get back to discussing and supporting them and any new members that come to join in.

And finally , as of to date I have not heard Rockstead or their authorized dealers not correcting any issue found with a blade purchased by a client. They seem to be willing to service any blade for an additional cost of service like most businesses. The expectation that a business would support a product and its wear and tear for the entirety of the products usable life is a bit ridiculous unless stated so by the company which usually brings an even higher cost to the product unless it’s a disposable product to begin with.

I’ll be getting my second Rockstead tomorrow and hope to enjoy it as my EDC.
 
kdkns said:
This thread is very disappointing. Part of coming to these forums is to meet other knife folks and have conversations with healthy debates and sharing the excitement and joy of all the knife makers out there and what niche offerings they have.

What disappoints me the most is the heresy and misinformation or any validation of the information before drawing conclusions about the company or the people involved.

Rockstead makes wonderful knives, they have authorized dealers as their sales and customer care arm, and they provide a warranty and services for their knives. There’s nothing unusual about that structure.

You may not like their products , warranty , service , and so on and that’s OK. They have found a market or niche they fit in that works for them. Asking them to have the same expectations as another knife producer may not be possible for them or what they want to do. Large volume dealers that sell $100 knives at a $10 cost are going to have more options and flexibility. Boutique products are just that , speciality items that are usually much higher in price because of the smaller scale or labor or whatever.

At the end of the day , if you don’t find value in the product based on what it offers and all that comes with it , that’s fine. Those that come here who’ve decided it is something they appreciate and enjoy, well let them get back to discussing and supporting them and any new members that come to join in.

And finally , as of to date I have not heard Rockstead or their authorized dealers not correcting any issue found with a blade purchased by a client. They seem to be willing to service any blade for an additional cost of service like most businesses. The expectation that a business would support a product and its wear and tear for the entirety of the products usable life is a bit ridiculous unless stated so by the company which usually brings an even higher cost to the product unless it’s a disposable product to begin with.

I’ll be getting my second Rockstead tomorrow and hope to enjoy it as my EDC.
Click to expand...
Shill get out. The warranty is honestly one of the worst ive ever seen. There really isnt an excuse for it.
 
kdkns said:
What disappoints me the most is the heresy and misinformation or any validation of the information before drawing conclusions about the company or the people involved.
Click to expand...
Well respected forum members sharing their first hand experience is not just hearsay. Be disappointed all you want, but something as basic as a warranty service on a defect that should not have made it past QC is a completely rational expectation to have. Scouring the internet for an excuse to deny a warranty claim is not what an honest business does. You can love any knife company you want, but I don't see any reason to support shady crap like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top