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Rusty Polk

Somebody close to Rusty really ought to talk to him as a friend and let him know that he's just got to stay in touch with his customers, keep them informed and establish realistic delivery goals.

Roger
 
Do not know Rusty but know his father.If I was Cliff I would put a boot up his ass.Kind of muddies Cliff's name.Been there ,done that.
Randy
 
Still no knife and no communication from Rusty.I sent several emails and a phone call, left a message on his machine. I was gonna let this slide a little longer but I heard he was at the Little rock show with knives.


He was, indeed, at Little Rock with knives. I talked to him about this issue, and he assured me that it was being taken care of. I stressed to him, the importance of keeping his reputation intact. Let's hope he listened to me.

FYI, Rusty and his Father are always set up at the Tulsa gun/knife show; I assume that they will be set up again on the 30th of March-1 April.
 
Thanks for the info Danbo, but I will not be able to attend that show.

I just dont get what the hold up is. I mean the knife was practically finished on 11/14/2006, I even seen a picture of it. I dont know whats taking so long. I figured maybe Rusty was not well, but if hes selling at shows hes well enough apparently. Its been over a year now for a knife that was quoted at 6 to 8 weeks. I just dont understand.
 
Just my opinion, but unless he's got some of your money as a down payment, I would move onward. Find another maker; there's certainly a lot of fine bladesmiths out there right now.
 
I would but he has 490.00 of my dollars and hes had it for almost the entire year Ive been waiting.
 
Over a year over due. No Knife No money. Folks dont order a knife from Rusty Polk if you do dont payfor it till its done.
 
You have obviously been more than patient in waiting for your knife, much more than you should have to be. I think its time for this thread to move to the hall of shame.

You may also want to consider taking legal action. From reading threads here I've seen that knives sometimes magically get finished up once this happens.
 
Back a few months ago I was able to contact his dad easily off their website phone number. This incident should have no bearing on his dad's credibility, but he is family--and that's a strong word in the US, especially in the south. Dad's been knifemaking for thirty years.

Clifton @(479)474-3828

Call Cliff and talk to him. Best thing to do is to call and ask him for his 'advice'. That is a non-pressuring way to involve him and to keep him non-committal with no blame or responsibilities implied.

You never know....

Coop
 
When a maker is member of a professional organization such as the ABS, do they have any influence on how thier members should conduct business so they don't reflect poorly on the organization or its other members?
Bob
 
I just sent an email to the ABS regarding this matter. I dont know if it will do any good but I figured it was worth a shot.
 
Hi everyone. My name is Joe Clements, owner of the new "site-in-the-works" KnifeMakersDatabase.com I wouldn't mention it except just a few weeks ago, i had done a really nice, Featured Knifemaker article on Mr. Rusty Polk... I did my research. I talked to some people about his work. I talked to him.

I ordered 4 different knives (something I'm going to be doing with a lot of makers in the future) of different styles, tyoes, designs, etc. So as to have a real good up close look at what this guy can do. As a practice, if I decide the stuff is good enough to sell, which it is, I host the knives and write an article about the maker so my clients can see EXACTKY what they're getting themselves into. I even host the makers own link because I couldn't care less if you buy from me or the other guy - my goal is to help my visitors get what they want.

Rusty was 100% dead on with his knives as well as with his communication. In fact, he called me more often than I could return his calls! Every knife was made BEFORE he said they'd be ready and they all reached me, problem free.

Now I'm writing all this because I really think Rusty is a great guy and an even better knifemaker - He's JS Smith of the year for cryin out loud - and I just couldn't believe when one of the people involved in this thread sent me an email informing me of this situation. I have a really good relationship with Rusty and I want to let you all know that I will do my best to get through to him as I told the person who emailed me previously. I can't make any promises - I'm not Rusty. But I will try.

Problems like his happen all too often. Makers take more orders than they can handle and are afraid to admit they made a boo-boo when the time comes for a band-aid. It's a shame. It's a shame. I don't know what else to say except I'll keep you all informed and if the situation is not resolved, I will have no choice but to remove the featured article from my site, because I know if someone did that to me - I sure as hell wouldn't be hosting any articles for them.

I'm a knife collector, than I'm a business man, and the two never stray far apart. Honesty, Integrity, Loyalty come before money, material and self and I won't deal with people who are any other way. Thanks for listening and I'll talk to you all soon. Joe
 
Look him up in the county records and if he has a house put a lien on it. When he sells or dies you will get repaid with compounded interest from the date of filing forward. Think of it as a long tern CD...
 
Fellas,
I'm a little reluctant to post my experience with Rusty as I do not want to be quick to pass judgment. However, after reading this thread I have certainly become suspicious of Rusty's business practices.

At the 2006 Little Rock Custom Knife Show I picked up 2 knives from Rusty. These were my first two custom knives and I was very pleased....at first. I started to research Rusty and his work I found little information.

I emailed Rusty in March (2007) and explained that I have learned much since our deal and that there may be a few bad welds in the damascus and that a few letters were double stamped (couldn't believe I missed that one...typical newbie) and asked that he honor his warranty. Rusty promptly emailed me and was more than happy to oblige. I sent the knife return receipt and insured, and have kept all receipts. I got the return receipt, and Rusty did email and verify receipt of the knife and claimed that he would make a new knife for me.

On March 18th he emailed stating he a had the new blade forged out.

The following week (March 24), I received an email stating that he was going to try to use the same handle (it is a nice piece of Sambar) and he would send pics as soon as he could. I was really starting to get impressed with Rusty's customer service.

April 26th I emailed Rusty to see if he was able to reuse the Sambar after all...as I heard nothing since his last email...no response from Rusty.

May 3rd, politely email again to see how things were going...no response from Rusty.

Last night, I called his number from his website, no answer, so I leave a message to give me a call or email to simply let me know how things were coming along.

I don't want to seem impatient, but I'm a bit suspicious of Rusty because of Leo's situation. I know 7-8 weeks is certainly very quick for a knifemaker, but going from "Johnny on the spot" to nothing has got me very, very suspicious now. Any advice?
Bob
 
Well folks I give up. Still no word from Rusty. Im resigned to the fact I will probably never get my money or knife. Im not happy about losing my money but Im just thankful I didnt lose more than I did. Hopefully this thread might save somebody else from losing their money.

All the Best!

-Leo
 
JoJo, it looks like Rusty has not resolved this matter. You should probably take his profile off of your site so you don't lead any others to waste their time and money with this POS.
 
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