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Survive GSO knives

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There is a mantra that is played out over and over on this forum generally and in GBU most often...."the hardest knife for a maker to complete is the one already paid for" or a variation of that theme. Certainly the only knife I have ever paid for and NOT received was in just such circumstances (not via BF). That some knives were sold by Survive as "Starter Knives" and payment required up front is a little different, people had some idea of what they were getting into and could, as such, be eyes open. Selling more and more knives that were not marketed as "Starter Knives" and requiring payment up front with the now clear issues around delivery...well, that is something else again.

I most certainly DO NOT fall into the camp of wishing them to fail, quite the opposite in fact. I would like them to succeed, I would like to see everyone who has paid for a knife be either supplied with what they ordered (at the price agreed upon at the start) or anyone no longer wanting the knife to be refunded asap (they seem to be getting better at this - time shall tell). What I would also like is to be able to go to a properly functioning website, place an order, pay and receive my new knife within the generally accepted time frames (ie under a week or so) for such commerce. I like what I have seen of heir knives, I want one, but I am neither going to place my money in their bank account at this time or pay the premium for one on the secondary market.

I posted it elsewhere but the test for me is simply to ponder this; if I have a friend or say one of my Godkids who has saved to buy a knife, could I or would I in good conscious suggest to them placing their order (if possible of course) with Survive! just now ??? I know my answer, and most people's will vary due to their standpoint. My own acceptable level of risk (and faith) for myself is/maybe different to the position I will take I am asked for advice by someone placing their trust in me.
 
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Very well said mate! I just spoke
Aussie, right??? :p
I have an HVAC business and I just did a furnace replacement for a good friend of mine last week.
He went to hand me the total price of the job before I took one screw out.
There was NO way I would accept that money! I know I would’ve completed the job anyway, but for some reason, it wouldn’t have felt the same.
To be paid in full up front changes everything.
Hard to explain, but I’d much rather get paid AFTER I am done and the customer is happy.
Joe

Andy the Aussie said:
There is a mantra that is played out over and over on this forum generally and in GBU most often...."the hardest knife for a maker to complete is the one already paid for" or a variation of that theme. Certainly the only knife I have ever paid for and NOT received was in just such circumstances (not via BF). That some knives were sold by Survive as "Starter Knives" and payment required up front is a little different, people had some idea of what they were getting into and could, as such be eyes open. Selling more and more knives that were not marketed as "Starter Knives" and requiring payment up front with the now clear issues around delivery...well, that is something else again.

I most certainly DO NOT fall into the camp of wishing them to fail, quite the opposite in fact. I would like them to succeed, I would like to see everyone who has paid for a knife be either supplied with what they ordered (at the price agreed upon at the start) or anyone no longer wanting the knife to be refunded asap (they seem to be getting better at this - time shall tell). What I would also like is to be able to go to a properly functioning website, place an order, pay and receive my new knife within the generally accepted time frames (ie under a week or so) for such commerce. I like what I have seen of heir knives, I want one, but I am neither going to place my money in their bank account at this time or pay the premium for one on the secondary market.

I posted it elsewhere but the test for me is simply to ponder this; if I have a friend or say one of my Godkids who has saved to buy I knife, could I or would I in good conscious suggest to them placing their order (if possible of course) with Survive! just now ??? I know my answer, and most people's will vary due to their standpoint. My own acceptable level of risk (and faith) for myself is/maybe different to the position I will take I am asked for advice by someone placing their trust in me.
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pwrdbycotn said:
This would be awesome! You go to their website to place an order and see an estimated delivery time sometime in the next 730 days. I'm sure that will just bring the customers right in!
The only other option is for them to actually get their backside out of bed and get to work, but I'm guessing the laziness will continue. Besides, with everyone's money already in the bank or spent, what motivation can they possibly have? Clearly bankruptcy and/or jail doesn't bother these oxygen-wasters, and they obviously have no pride.
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^ You're preaching to the choir. Two years ago, when WillyTheKid (I believe), started the very first GBU thread regarding S!K long wait times, along with the S!K fanboys/trolls running their sub-forum, that was all I needed to know. :thumbsdown:

FWIW: I've never ordered, much less owned one of their knives; unless one is gifted to me I'm quite certain this will remain the case. There are just way too many other fixed blades I'd rather buy from so many other talented, reputable BF makers. Regardless, I can always find a fixed blade right here on the secondary market, & only have to wait 2 or 3 days to receive it.

I'm a realist. It's evident to me, that it's mid way through the 4th quarter and S!K is trailing 28-0...

just because I'd like to see S!K succeed, doesn't mean I think they will, or that I'd be foolish enough to bet on it...that is, unless the odd's were somewhere around 500-1, which in that case, I'd be willing to put down a $20 spot.
 
Updated: June 22, 2017 5:15pm PST
" After many brainstorming sessions, we believe we finally have the answer: divide and conquer!
Our upcoming production runs will be getting split up after production grinding. One batch will head to the SURVIVE! Workshop to fulfill existing GSO preorders. The remaining blades will head to Precision Plus, a leader in high quality manufacturing, where they will become our new SK Series! These will be high quality blades that are much more readily available. The SK Series will be the go to option when looking for a reliable cutting tool and a reliable delivery date. Scroll down for more details about the SK Series. For the folks wondering about the future of the GSO Series, check out the information further down. By setting up two separate lines, we will be able to quickly scale up to meet growing demand while sticking to our founding principles of continued innovation, high quality, and reasonable pricing."
Call me crazy but selling seconds when the firsts haven't been made, out sourcing a second line while customers wait forever for the original GSO series after paying up front seems like a business model that's doomed for failure. Digging a deeper and deeper hole. :confused:
 
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Ummm, the divide and conquer sounds like a great plan for a company looking to increase production for future sales but what about the already sold knives? How does this help. Looks like a way to just generate more $$ since they stopped pre orders on the regular line but not helping to expedite the already late orders.
 
Heirphoto said:
Ummm, the divide and conquer sounds like a great plan for a company looking to increase production for future sales but what about the already sold knives? How does this help. Looks like a way to just generate more $$ since they stopped pre orders on the regular line but not helping to expedite the already late orders.
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While constantly coming up with ways to keep constant up front cash payments coming in, little has happened with product going out. Recipe for disaster imho.
http://surviveknives.com/news/big-plans-for-the-future/
 
skyhorse said:
While constantly coming up with ways to keep constant up front cash payments coming in, little has happened with product going out. Recipe for disaster imho.
http://surviveknives.com/news/big-plans-for-the-future/
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Exactly little has happened. Though they still take more money in. Then have the audacity to speak on people not wanting to wait. While currently having non refundable portions of payments. It all is garbage.
Want to make a lie seem true? Say it again. And again. And again.
 
Andy the Aussie said:
I like what I have seen of heir knives, I want one, but I am neither going to place my money in their bank account at this time or pay the premium for one on the secondary market.
.
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I got a GSO-10 for US $350 on ACK a few months ago. That is quite reasonable (to my mind) for a 10" chopper. I was surprised it just stayed there for over two weeks, even going down in price a little, given the apparent difficulty in getting one...

I found it thick edged at 0.050", but good quality. It struggles a bit on thin branches, owing the thick edge, but nothing a bit of angle closing can't improve. Surprisingly blade heavy for 3/16" stock (which is very good). I'm guessing smaller models are more sought after... Roughly how many have been made, I wonder? It hardly seems like people are jumping on them...

Gaston
 
It hardly seems like people are jumping on them...
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When you get past the cult there's nothing special about survive! knives. On a venue like ACK with real custom knives they assume their proper place.

If you follow the internet you've seen cult like addictions for products or people fueled by crazed fans in a focused venue. The survive! knives forum here. It's not unusual for manufacturers to feed on that- it's business you're giving the people what they want. survive! knives was either overwhelmed by the demand or never had any intention of meeting it- can't judge motivation but can judge actions and results. The bottleneck has always been guys magical ability to inspect and sharpen a knife.

Opportunity declines so the enthusiasm, shills move on to instagram, twitter........
 
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Magtrucks said:
Has anyone had any experience with this company. I called them before placing my order and they told me my knife would ship within 3 months. I ordered it on April 18 2017. It is now July 21 2017. They told me that there are many orders ahead of me. What I can't understand is that the demand payment in full up front, yet they conduct " Wednesday sales" and sell knives that should go to ordered knife customers. I don't get it. The thing is that you can't get a straight answer out of them, just a run around. I have been told it is worth the wait.
Thanks
Mark
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There is no chance you will get your knife in 90 days. When you check the 90 days box there is small print in the link that says they can take longer. It is taking everyone about a year or more to get the 2nds. I ordered the 7/7 and 3 years later they haven't even started my knife even when they said it would take 3 weeks the first time and 3 months the next time I asked. The key words they use like "should" "may" "could" is their legal jargon to scam people into placing orders and when they get emails they give encouragement but that too is a lie. It has been 3 years ish on the GSO 5.1 order and they haven't even ordered steel yet much less started. They are going to keep doing what they do like put a few blades out here and there and give them to their attack dogs to bash and report anyone that dissents with them and block you. I urge you to contact your State AG, the FTC, and follow up with the BBB. They might up and run one day with the money they have conned people out of. Trust me it is taking over 3 years and more like 4 years to get a 1st but if you order a 2nd many times there is no faults with the blade which have led many to think they simply sold the 1st as 2nds and used the no time frame clause to sell your 1st. After all they said the 7/7 would be shipped by years end 2016 and 2018 they still are in limbo. I wouldn't recommend their knife to anyone and that is not because the blade is bad but I wouldn't want others to suffer the shams they do. I would not trust my life to a knife from a company that may willfully scams the good nature of people. Carothers is the real deal and their knife is much better and if you have trouble then go to the ATL Blade Show or others where they are and you can buy all you want. I bought a HDFK and it would chop the GSO in half with the difference in all areas. Survive knives don't open up new orders because they know they are under the radar and simply nobody is dumb enough to send more money in in hope of getting a blade unless they want to wait 5 years or more. That is right everything they have done to speed up delivery time is designed to speed up people that don't know to send in money to them. They can't get enough people to fall for their BS scams anymore. I use to defend them and say oh 8 months is a short wait for a good knife but something happened in 2015 that made them what they are. I waited 3 years after they told me it would ship and now I am the bad guy for saying where is the knife. Did you know they will cancel your order just to shut you up even if that is not your desire? Read their business model and you will see they don't have to send you nothing. What does a no delivery date really mean. It means they don't have to send it from their stand point. Anything they say you must put into a neg stance because they don't care about you the consumer. They are buying burned down hotels and other things with your money. Why do you think they turned into a LLC and move so much. They can close shop and run with your money and you won't ever get your refund. This is just my opinion but others share it too.
 
Sagemode said:
They are buying burned down hotels and other things with your money. Why do you think they turned into a LLC and move so much. They can close shop and run with your money and you won't ever get your refund. This is just my opinion but others share it too.
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The McConnell Hotel didn’t burn down until after they bought it, through Seiferd Holdings. They took out an insurance policy, and used the premises for storage.
The insurance company opted to pay them off, rather than continue to conduct a costly investigation. It’s possible that other authorities are still keeping the fire investigation open.
It looks like they still own the lot. Which is worth the the same price that they paid for the whole building, $150,000.00.
Maybe just good luck for them, having the fire insurance and all, or perhaps there could be another twist to this story.
 
When it comes to Carothers there is an easy way to get them. Go to the blade shows they attend. I go to the one in ATL and they have all you want. I can buy 10 of any knife design that I want. Survive is now 3.5 years to get your knife and getting longer because they keep taking in orders but rarely produce what they promise. Every since the latter part of 2015 they have not completed a model yet to my knowledge Maybe they are selling the new ones as 2nds as in the case of the 7/7 because they emailed me it was done and would ship within 2 months. 3 years later the knife is not even done. I asked for a refund for all my orders. The GSO 5.1 in 20CV has now been 3 years and they have not even ordered the steel. Now they come up with a new design but cancel your current order and upgrade to the new model but you will have to wait a very long time to get it. So people have waited 3 years for their knife and now wait another 3 years for them to get started. They can't stay in business if they keep doing this. Yes they make a good product but there is no way in hell I would ever promote their product. I will use my HDFK and leave the 7/7 at home before I tell anyone to order from those liars. 90 day wait that fanboys state is a ruse as when you click the okay box the fine print then tells you they can take as long as they want. I hope each and everyone contacts the AG in Idaho and the BBB or the FTC. News Nugget they have learned not to answer the complaints. Maybe they are too busy moving and coming up with new con games. What kind of a person would promote a company lying to the public? I have moved to LT Wright and have no reason to pick up a GSO in anything. The the GSO don't slice and clean game well at all. I don't want to batton my 3.5 through wood and pretend I have to have a thick blade in order to survive. I don't care if it is 1095 or A2 because I would take one of these less tough steels and enjoy my time outdoors rather than be lied to by the staff at SK! Even their fan page on FB is a joke.
 
stonesell said:
The McConnell Hotel didn’t burn down until after they bought it, through Seiferd Holdings. They took out an insurance policy, and used the premises for storage.
The insurance company opted to pay them off, rather than continue to conduct a costly investigation. It’s possible that other authorities are still keeping the fire investigation open.
It looks like they still own the lot. Which is worth the the same price that they paid for the whole building, $150,000.00.
Maybe just good luck for them, having the fire insurance and all, or perhaps there could be another twist to this story.
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You are correct they bought it after the fire but they have 150K to spend on that rather than their business. They seem to have had another fire at their shop that they said slowed operations down then they moved again. The new photos of the Millet Shop looks to be the same people and same equipment and still the wait time hasn't gotten any better. They simply took orders and did things when they felt like it. No excuse for the 7/7 taking as long as it has when they said they were done in 2016. Every update by email is just bogus. Look at the outstanding order models they have and they are adding new ones. 3 year wait on the GSO 5.1 and the steel has not been ordered yet and it is the last in the line up for them to work on. Are you saying that a 5 year wait for them just to start cutting is acceptable?
 
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