I haven't had one, so I'm sure everything I say will get shot down, but here's the thing for me;
I just don't get how they are so good. They're a production knife, made in parts by companies that produce parts and knives for lots of other companies, that's put together and finished in the smallest way (supposedly) by hand. But not even by someone whose name is famous as a Knifemaker or for their knifemaking skills! They have pretty normal materials, maybe a step above the typical mid range production knife but certainly not more than what you can get on a custom knife at the same price range. And all of that is totally separate from the prepay and wait time issues.
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They also have no business acting like a one man custom outfit either, although even a one man custom outfit might be able to do better with some business sense and vigor.
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It's still marketing, even when it's not BS (and I think it's partly BS even with some reputable companies). Claiming to have a lifetime unconditional warranty is worth more in increased consumer trust than the risk of loss of inventory. It's quite often a big marketing point.
You raise some very good points which I would like to comment on based on what I know or know of:
Grogimus and me have different hand types and sizes. His are like a friggin bear's paw and mine M+ / L- in glove size just shy of 9" in diameter. I have never owned the new GSO 4.1 in D3V as I never had one on preorder and also never was enthusiastic enough to seek one out on the secondary market but Grog did generously offer to send me his new gen 4.1 to try out which I may at some point still take him upon.
We have discussed the FK vs the newer GSO 4.1 in D3V. That FK fits my hand's profile better than it fits Grog's. The new FK 2.0 is going to have more swell on the handle as CPK continually doing handle scales experimentation and improvements. From what I've understood CPK will also be adding more swell and girth to newer handle scales of that pattern. I am sure that this will please some and then displease those who liked the original version better, ah well...
Guy started doing micro texturing on his newer handles that provide more grip which was specially good when it came to G10 but I honestly do not know how micro texturing G10 may affect the integrity and the general purpose of G10, because I had thought that G10 was not supposed to be porous. Cut a long story short, handle scales, blade shape, geometry and profiles fit different people and their purposes differently. We can disagree without being disagreeable so when Grog heaps praise on the new gen GSO 4.1, I take his word as it's just that great for HIM. As for me, after owning about a dozen or so GSOs and after comparisons to CPK, I found GSOs too repetitive and too bulbous for my tastes and purposes; basically elongated or shortened version of the same design. Nothing wrong with having a difference of opinion but at the same time, the GSOs were being offered at a much more advantageous price point for those who were more budget conscious, so again I do get the fit / finish / value argument even if I may not necessarily agree with it all.
What I have said above has anything to do with bad practices, malfeasance, lying, being very opaque and dodgy about orders and outlandish promises! We're just discussing two pattens and not the business models which might as well be from two different planets! Lastly, I totally agree with that last paragraph. You get what I was trying to say that it's more about marketing and building confidence rather than literal meaning of the words / phrase. After all, lifetime of whom and what?