Bad Survive! Deserves A Permanent Post In The Hall Of Shame

[AbjectTestament]

And that's all these are too, IMO. But what do I know? I'm just a fella who has followed them from the beginning when they were in Gettysburg. Had an original 7/7 back then.

I'm certain you know much more about Survive than me and knives in general.

Looks like Boru13 has assisted. BTW, he's the guy you should be paying attention to here. My words are just that. Doesn't post a ton like some of us but him quoting you so much here in the context of this thread is, well, meaningful....

I saw that, I'm sufficiently flattered. Me trying to be funny with my first post was a swing and a miss. At the end of the day I had a good experience with them while recognizing a lot of others haven't. I posted the timelines I had and I see a few other people here posted theirs previously. If you want this thread just to be an echo chamber then just ban anyone who says anything the contrary.

Holy sheet batman. You really don't know near enough to be giving your opinion on anything knife related, except maybe "me likey".

Well, you're not wrong. I'm no subject matter expert on knives like most of you are. Never tried to suggest I was.

Don't take offense but you need to read a lot more and post a lot less (IE not at all).

I'll take your suggestion to heart. Wanna start me in the right direction with links to info on heat treatment?

 

[craytab]

I'm certain you know much more about Survive than me and knives in general.


I saw that, I'm sufficiently flattered. Me trying to be funny with my first post was a swing and a miss. At the end of the day I had a good experience with them while recognizing a lot of others haven't. I posted the timelines I had and I see a few other people here posted theirs previously. If you want this thread just to be an echo chamber then just ban anyone who says anything the contrary.


Well, you're not wrong. I'm no subject matter expert on knives like most of you are. Never tried to suggest I was.


I'll take your suggestion to heart. Wanna start me in the right direction with links to info on heat treatment?

In the least, you came in hot on a subject many here are passionate about, with no regard. At worst, you are still just a d-bag shill. I'm leaning the later.

The info we have out in the various subforums is vast and the most extensive in the world. The search function is your friend. Hit the forums button at the top of the page to get a list of all the subs.

Some good info on HT and other knife makey stuff in the makers section:

Important Info! - Metallurgical Discussion and Heat Treatment Sticky - find Good HT info here

To comment on any thread linked in this sticky, just open the link and you will be on that thread. Larrin, Devin Thomas' son, is a metallurgist who freely gives his knowledge here. We greatly appreciate his deep theoretical info. It make my head hurt sometimes. His threads are linked below...

www.bladeforums.com

Sticky Threads - All The Good Info You Want In One Place

The stickies have all been condensed into this new super-sticky. This will free up the top of the forum, but make all the good info just a click or two away. Each will have its own segment, and all the info is still there. Any additional info that you folks think should be added to the...

www.bladeforums.com

 

[Boru13]

I'll have to take your word on it being mid-tech.

Not necessary to take my word, search "mid-tech knife" and you'll see for yourself.

I also never knew what heat treating was before reading this thread. Hoping I can find some more information about it on this site

You're on the correct forum to learn about heat treating, you're in the wrong thread however to learn about it unless you would care to discuss why Guy would go from what some would consider an optimized heat treat for 3V steel to one that well, isn't... personally I think it's nothing more than a cost cutting measure on SURVIVE!'s part.

You mentioned in an earlier post about watching some of SURVIVE!'s video's, here's one of Guy trying to explain the change in the heat treat.

 

[craytab]

I'm certain you know much more about Survive than me and knives in general.


I saw that, I'm sufficiently flattered. Me trying to be funny with my first post was a swing and a miss. At the end of the day I had a good experience with them while recognizing a lot of others haven't. I posted the timelines I had and I see a few other people here posted theirs previously. If you want this thread just to be an echo chamber then just ban anyone who says anything the contrary.


Well, you're not wrong. I'm no subject matter expert on knives like most of you are. Never tried to suggest I was.


I'll take your suggestion to heart. Wanna start me in the right direction with links to info on heat treatment?

BTW, a bit on survive and their heat treat controversy, they used a method on their 3v known as Delta 3v, of which the got in collaboration with other makers. Customers who bought knives years ago paid for this heat treat. Well, they have now dropped that heat treat and are just using regular 3v again, even though customers paid for the Delta. A simplified description but an example of one of the several current scams survive is running. You'd know this had you read this thread.

 

[craytab]

Not necessary to take my word, search "mid-tech knife" and you'll see for yourself.

And these terms can get fuzzy. I personally stay away from them except when talking about big manufacturers being production, and hand made to order knives being custom. For me, everything else is somewhere in the middle. Lots of discussion on the subject out there for sure.

What isn't fuzzy is that survive is nowhere near the custom knives customers think. In the past they literally made not one bit of anything and called them custom when in reality they were just assembling parts other fabricators had made. Now they claim to be doing the work themselves and apparently have videos as proof. If one believes such a thing, I've got a bridge that crosses the East River I'd sell you for good price.

 

[Boru13]

Me trying to be funny with my first post was a swing and a miss.

You have no idea how much of a swing and miss it was.

If you want this thread just to be an echo chamber then just ban anyone who says anything the contrary.

This thread is far from an echo chamber... even though the SURVIVE! sub forum was shut down, Guy and Ellie both are still members here and have the ability to refute any and all accusations against them... not going to hold my breath waiting on that.

SURVIVE!
SURVIVE! Ellie

 

[Boru13]

And these terms can get fuzzy. I personally stay away from them except when talking about big manufacturers being production, and hand made to order knives being custom. For me, everything else is somewhere in the middle. Lots of discussion on the subject out there for sure.

No argument here.

In the past they literally made not one bit of anything and called them custom when in reality they were just assembling parts other fabricators had made.

And consistently blamed those fabricators for all the delays... while steadily taking orders and money from unsuspecting individuals.

 

[r8shell]

And these terms can get fuzzy. I personally stay away from them except when talking about big manufacturers being production, and hand made to order knives being custom. For me, everything else is somewhere in the middle. Lots of discussion on the subject out there for sure.

What isn't fuzzy is that survive is nowhere near the custom knives customers think. In the past they literally made not one bit of anything and called them custom when in reality they were just assembling parts other fabricators had made. Now they claim to be doing the work themselves and apparently have videos as proof. If one believes such a thing, I've got a bridge that crosses the East River I'd sell you for good price.

I don't do insta-face, and haven't the patience to skim through youtube videos, but I just had a curious thought. Do any of these videos show knives being made? I mean, I can find videos from various manufacturers showing knives being heated, ground, assembled, sharpened, etc. but all the ones I've seen posted here have Guy in a very clean looking shop, talking and showing off some big machines, and handling a knife or two. I'm not saying they don't exist but does anyone have a link?

 

[MolokaiRider]

I don't do insta-face, and haven't the patience to skim through youtube videos, but I just had a curious thought. Do any of these videos show knives being made? I mean, I can find videos from various manufacturers showing knives being heated, ground, assembled, sharpened, etc. but all the ones I've seen posted here have Guy in a very clean looking shop, talking and showing off some big machines, and handling a knife or two. I'm not saying they don't exist but does anyone have a link?

None that I have seen.

 

[MolokaiRider]

All I see are videos blaming others, people in casual clothing, and clean hands.

 

[craytab]

I don't do insta-face, and haven't the patience to skim through youtube videos, but I just had a curious thought. Do any of these videos show knives being made? I mean, I can find videos from various manufacturers showing knives being heated, ground, assembled, sharpened, etc. but all the ones I've seen posted here have Guy in a very clean looking shop, talking and showing off some big machines, and handling a knife or two. I'm not saying they don't exist but does anyone have a link?

I'm not sure. Got better things to do than watch more drivel from those scammers. I have yet to watch the video posted here many times where guy "explains" why he dropped the Delta HT, something I consider extremely valuable when talking hard use knife steel. And here's the thing, with all the past lies, would a reasonable person believe video evidence as real? Even if they delivered all past orders, should a reasonable person trust them to deliver future orders, given their history? I wouldn't, but maybe some would. These people have serious crimes in their past. And there was that mysterious warehouse fire. Thousands of orders not delivered, some going back half a decade. With all the evidence available, why would anyone in their right mind believe a single thing that comes from these people? At a certain point, you stop looking at evidence they present and say, it isn't worth looking at anymore.

I'd rather watch the Eagles try to choke away the game they are currently winning.

 

[Andy the Aussie]

Guy talked about only a couple slots left but I'm not 100% sure.

......ever walked into a used car lot and shown interest in a car......salesman is always your "friend" and trying to "look out for you" so he will let you know that there are a couple of other VERY interested parties looking at the same car, but you seem like a nice guy so he wanted to let you know not to think too hard. Marketing basics, create a sense of urgency that targets FOMO. Same deal with real estate agents.

 

[XtianAus]

My wife and I were looking to buy out first apartment last year and we went to check out one we liked the look of. Real estate agent said there was 'another buyer very close to scooping it up' and if we were the 'lucky ones' who landed it first, we could "insert suggestions to spicing up the aparment".
More than a year later and well this apartment is still on the market

On another note, it took over 5 years for my GSO 6 to arrive.
Yes it arrived. But 5 stinking years.
Took me 5 seconds to decide to sell it and 5 minutes to create an ebay add.

I was a sucker who listened to their initial delays and excuses until it became pretty clear what was really going on. Only had one on order so i left it to see what would happen. Like I said, 5 years. ⅙ of my life. Lol...never again.

 

[AbjectTestament]

......ever walked into a used car lot and shown interest in a car......salesman is always your "friend" and trying to "look out for you" so he will let you know that there are a couple of other VERY interested parties looking at the same car, but you seem like a nice guy so he wanted to let you know not to think too hard. Marketing basics, create a sense of urgency that targets FOMO. Same deal with real estate agents.

I get it. I don't think he was trying to sell me on it, he said they were closing down the orders on them very soon. A couple of days later they did.
He also warned me off that it would probably be a little longer than the 4 months and he was right about that too.

On another note, it took over 5 years for my GSO 6 to arrive.
Yes it arrived. But 5 stinking years.
Took me 5 seconds to decide to sell it and 5 minutes to create an ebay add.

Mind if I asked what possessed you to not ask for a refund in 5 years?

I'm in the military but I've managed to run a successful business on the side. Early on I got advice (from a buddy who released and became a multi-millionaire through his wife's business) about how people will go bonkers over a few dollars and not to ignore them. I've been lucky in that department but have seen other businesses get into a conflict with someone over $20. For $20 people will make a dozen fake email accounts and bombard a company with bad reviews for days or weeks on end, that's a lot of effort. But I see a lot of people were willing to wait 3,4 and 5 years for their purchase with Survive.

When you first paid for your GSO 6 what timelines were you given? What made you decide to sell it after 5 seconds?

 

[EngrSorenson]

A AbjectTestament
I do think it’s odd that you joined up last week and you’ve only posted here in this thread. The perfectly executed shill would be a customer who takes a reasonable stance in an effort to calm extreme dissatisfaction, acknowledging past mistakes and trying to change the narrative to a triumphant recovery. The disguise isn’t perfect, however, until you make an effort to blend in to the surrounding crowd. Current stats indicate you’re here for one purpose, which makes you seem like a shill or at the very least a plant, and not a particularly good one.

Out of curiousity… could we see some pictures of your Survive knife? (Knives?)
There are so few in the wild and so few shown in videos.

 

[AbjectTestament]

Hi EngrSorenson, I can't be any more straight here than I already am.

I did join for one purpose*. I came across this thread a while ago and decided to come back and pass on my experience with Survive after having a good experience. In my first post, I pointed out I was primarily posting for people waiting on their blades or considering new orders. My experience with their shipping time might be good news to someone waiting, or might cause them to go get a refund. Good to go either way.

There are almost 1500 posts here, the vast majority of them condemning Survive. I think BladeForums can handle a few posts from me talking about my experience.

*I'm now checking out some of the other areas, including the links on Heat treatment and metallurgy that were provided (genuine thanks for those). Some pretty cool stuff here. KenOnion's post from 2004 on Mid-Tech knives was really informative. I like the information about edge retention, corrosion resistance, sharpening as well. I might be here for a while if I can avoid the banhammer.

As for a show and tell, sure. This actually just landed today. I don't love the G10 handle as much as I thought I would but it's growing on me. I like the tumbled finished even though it's still a bit shiny for my liking. Their older tumbled stuff seems to have a darker more aggressive look.
What am I looking at for heat treatment on this?

 

[AbjectTestament]

Working on posting the picture for you, other post awaiting approval.

 

[craytab]

Hi EngrSorenson, I can't be any more straight here than I already am.

I did join for one purpose*. I came across this thread a while ago and decided to come back and pass on my experience with Survive after having a good experience. In my first post, I pointed out I was primarily posting for people waiting on their blades or considering new orders. My experience with their shipping time might be good news to someone waiting, or might cause them to go get a refund. Good to go either way.

There are almost 1500 posts here, the vast majority of them condemning Survive. I think BladeForums can handle a few posts from me talking about my experience.

*I'm now checking out some of the other areas, including the links on Heat treatment and metallurgy that were provided (genuine thanks for those). Some pretty cool stuff here. KenOnion's post from 2004 on Mid-Tech knives was really informative. I like the information about edge retention, corrosion resistance, sharpening as well. I might be here for a while if I can avoid the banhammer.

As for a show and tell, sure. This actually just landed today. I don't love the G10 handle as much as I thought I would but it's growing on me. I like the tumbled finished even though it's still a bit shiny for my liking. Their older tumbled stuff seems to have a darker more aggressive look.
What am I looking at for heat treatment on this?
Pic 1
Pic 2

That is the delta heat treated CPM 3v. Some of the best hard use steel, that will still hold a fine edge really well, IMO. Obviously not recent production because they don't use it any more.

You are getting grief for your "they are turning it around" attitude. We've seen them say that many times before and they should not be trusted to do so.

 

[Quiet]

Been quiet around here. Probably time for Survive Fan-Boy post to get the blood boiling.

So I'm posting this primarily for people who are waiting on knives from survive or considering ordering them in the future.

I'm biased, I've had excellent communication with Survive, great customer service and I just really like Guy and Ellie (chatted a few times).

I've read this entire thread and I'm very cognizant of the issues people have had with Survive. They're legitimate issues, full stop.

I have a previous order from survive and some eBay purchases. I'm not sure why their blades are so expensive on eBay but some of them are almost selling twice the MSRP.

My latest order was placed around February or March of this year and I just got a shipping confirmation last week.

I'm definitely not one of those dudes who's cool with waiting years for a knife. I picked one that had a 4-month shipping warning (I spoke with Guy on the phone and he warned me it would be a few months longer) and watched it like a hawk. I had a cut-off date in mind when I would pull the trigger on a refund. Luckily for me, it was just a few months late. It's annoying and not something I normally accept but in the case of Guy's knives I personally think they're perfect (for me) so I accepted that trade-off.

Guy and Survive have been working on their transparency and posting a lot of updates and videos of their shop. They seem to be getting their shit together and their shop in order. A 7-8 month wait for a knife, to me, is nuts but better than the stories I've heard of people waiting years.

I was given one of their famous "it's shipping in a week" lines when I checked in with them. It didn't ship. I checked in and was told there was an issue with shealth clips that would be there in a few days. After reading this thread in its entirety I thought bull fucking shit and thought I was being given a line. 3 days later I noticed they posted a picture of the sheath clips they were waiting on. A week or so later and I got the shipping alert.

I'm abjectly hopeful for the future of the company. Really hoping they're in a place to catch up on their previous orders (for all of you dudes waiting on blades) and move forward with new stuff. I'm going to risk pre-ordering a few more blades from them for myself and I'm looking at putting together a group order for work for about 70 blades. I'm not suggesting any sort of absolution for their past history or issues, just giving an account of a recent order.

Wow, the logic on display here is so poor, I'm not sure where to start. A few key points.

First of all, did you know that I ordered a knife two weeks ago and it just arrived today? Awesome, right? Heh, no, that's not right, it's made-up, just like your claim that you somehow got an order paid for and it's on its way within a several month timeframe.

Secondly, wait. So wait, hold up. You acknowledge (I've bolded it) that others haven't gotten their knives...and yet believe that an order for 70(!!) knives for your workplace will somehow happen in anything approaching a usable timeline? What company is this? Because it sure sounds to me like they've made a mistake in choosing you to be the guy responsible for equipping them. And if their internal business decisions are this poor, I can only imagine how poor their product is.

But hey, who am I kidding, we all know you actually work for.

 

[Quiet]

I read about those. Boy who cried wolf stuff for sure. I think for me, now, it has to do with seeing the videos they've been pushing out. You can see the machinery pieces and tables full of knives. I don't understand why these knives can't be made in a few weeks, maybe that will be the end state for them finally.

It wouldn't ruin my job but I'll look pretty stupid if it goes south or has ridiculous wait times. Seeing whether it's looking like they'll make good on the promise to get everything out by Christmas will be a huge factor if I/we pull the trigger.

I wouldn't expect any less. Same with accusations I'm getting paid and so on. I absolutely joined a few days ago just to post this message of my experience from Survive. I like them and have had good experiences with them. I was transparent about my bias and acknowledged the complaints against them without offering any justification because there is none.
Fools are easily separated from their money, if someone doesn't do their research before buying a product I don't feel incredibly bad for them. If someone buys a product from someone with a terrible terrible track record of sales (survive) I'm not feeling sorry for them either. I took a chance and it wasn't too bad.

I can tell you that the day after my 4 month-to-ship period was up I called my credit card to warn them off I might be putting in a complaint. The lady I spoke with told me she ( at Visa) couldn't see any flags or complaints on the company (which I found surprising). Long story short my order was supposed to take 4 months to ship. Just looked and it's actually 6 and a half months to ship. Hopefully that's a good sign for those still waiting.

Stop, stop it, I'm gonna pee, I'm gonna pee, stop LMAOOOO

Let me see if I got this right. You somehow expect S?K to produce and ship an order of 70 (seventy) knives in the next...two and a half months?

As I said, the quality of logic on display here is....it's wow. It's special, man.