Warning: Bestech Warranty Change & Clones

[marrenmiller]

Yes the proof of purchase will be relevant in the future, but the company also is aware of the fact that already a lot of knife buyers have made their purchase before the change of policy was announced. The warning was announced pretty much immediately after becoming aware of clones circulating and a company emailing/calling companies with their own brands produced by oem manufacturers, pretening they are representing Bestech. Bestech decided that all stakeholders needed to be informed/warned about this happening. (Retorical question: What is wrong with a warning clones are distributed?)

So all warranty requests will be handled with care and leniency. Bestech does not want their current customers be out of warranty. Yes proof of purchase is requested in the future, but when not available because of being purchased before of during the broad transition period (and this is also handled with leniency!) the warranty request will be dealt.

The intention of the company is sincerely well meant: to protect/warn customers, resellers and the brand it self. And abolutely not at the expense of current customers. They value their customers. Besides, this is a learning company. As oem manufacturer they never had to deal with this kind of issues. Now, starting to build their own brand, they have to. And they will listen to constructive criticism. And this is a better way then only being negativ and drawing conclusions.

But i guess no company can do it right for 100% of the customers/consumers. So many opinions. And there will be always people around who tend to initially approach everything negatively. It says a lot of those people and not so much about that particular company.

We'll just have to wait and see how being one of the only companies around with such a policy works out for them. I can understand it for protecting their resellers, but I don't buy that this is consumer facing, and the way it's been explained so far doesn't seem to have convinced a number of us.

Best of luck.

 

[Hackenslash]

For some reason this thread makes me want to go buy a Spyderco...

 

[Fire Beard]

For some reason this thread makes me want to go buy a Spyderco...

This thread makes me want to buy more Bestech knives. Not due to this warranty issue, however. If anyone commenting hasn’t handled one, I’d highly suggest they try. They’re very well made, centered, and lock up perfectly in all of the examples I’ve handled. Compare a standard Bestech to a Spyderco in the same price range. Or higher. The Endura/Delica, for example.

Spyderco: plastic FRN handles
Bestech: contoured G10
Spyderco: VG10
Bestech: D2
And I’d easily call the F&F comparable regarding the FRN/VG10 Spydies and the G10/D2 Bestechs.

Delica/Endura ~$75
Bestech G10/D2 ~$50.

Maybe not the most popular opinion on this forum, but I’ll take the Bestechs any day as far as value goes.

I’m not comparing the brands in their entirety to one another, but that’s just an example. All of this to say that they are an excellent value, Chinese manufactured knife with good materials and above average fit and finish. I’ll take Bestech over ANY Chinese made Kershaws or Spydercos. If you’re going to buy a new Bestech, just buy it from an AD. You’ll not be getting a clone (who the F clones $50 knives anyways?!) and you’ll have their warranty should you need it. Easy. No reason to discard them from your considerations if you’re looking for a knife at that price point.

 

[Mo2]

This thread makes me want to buy more Bestech knives. Not due to this warranty issue, however. If anyone commenting hasn’t handled one, I’d highly suggest they try. They’re very well made, centered, and lock up perfectly in all of the examples I’ve handled. Compare a standard Bestech to a Spyderco in the same price range. Or higher. The Endura/Delica, for example.

Spyderco: plastic FRN handles
Bestech: contoured G10
Spyderco: VG10
Bestech: D2
And I’d easily call the F&F comparable regarding the FRN/VG10 Spydies and the G10/D2 Bestechs.

Delica/Endura ~$75
Bestech G10/D2 ~$50.

Maybe not the most popular opinion on this forum, but I’ll take the Bestechs any day as far as value goes.

I’m not comparing the brands in their entirety to one another, but that’s just an example. All of this to say that they are an excellent value, Chinese manufactured knife with good materials and above average fit and finish. I’ll take Bestech over ANY Chinese made Kershaws or Spydercos. If you’re going to buy a new Bestech, just buy it from an AD. You’ll not be getting a clone (who the F clones $50 knives anyways?!) and you’ll have their warranty should you need it. Easy. No reason to discard them from your considerations if you’re looking for a knife at that price point.

The Delica alone is one of the best edc knives in the world. You can't compare this based on what you just assumed. I'd rather go with the Delica.

Also do you remember factor equipment copying the giant mouse knives. That disaster was pretty bad. What's funny is best tech said factor equipment was to blame and factor equipment said bestech was to blame. Who's word do you believe?? Dunno I don't care. All I know is that they do make good quality knives and that was a clone. They don't make a whole lot of styles I like and they don't make something as good as the Delica to this day.

It would be cool if they made some spydercos in the future. As they do good work and spyderco likes to work with good factories.

 

[danbot]

The Delica alone is one of the best edc knives in the world. You can't compare this based on what you just assumed. I'd rather go with the Delica.

Also do you remember factor equipment copying the giant mouse knives. That disaster was pretty bad. What's funny is best tech said factor equipment was to blame and factor equipment said bestech was to blame. Who's word do you believe?? Dunno I don't care. All I know is that they do make good quality knives and that was a clone. They don't make a whole lot of styles I like and they don't make something as good as the Delica to this day.

It would be cool if they made some spydercos in the future. As they do good work and spyderco likes to work with good factories.

Sucks to have to use known thieves to manufacture your knives though.

 

[Mo2]

Sucks to have to use known thieves to manufacture your knives though.

They blame factor equipment as they apparently provided the design. This is what bestech told me. But if you look at the knives factor equipment offer... Some are from aliexpress before bestech were known. so... Hmm. I wonder.

 

[danbot]

They blame factor equipment as they apparently provided the design. This is what bestech told me.

Well that was silly of them!

 

[Hackenslash]

This thread makes me want to buy more Bestech knives. Not due to this warranty issue, however. If anyone commenting hasn’t handled one, I’d highly suggest they try. They’re very well made, centered, and lock up perfectly in all of the examples I’ve handled. Compare a standard Bestech to a Spyderco in the same price range. Or higher. The Endura/Delica, for example.

Spyderco: plastic FRN handles
Bestech: contoured G10
Spyderco: VG10
Bestech: D2
And I’d easily call the F&F comparable regarding the FRN/VG10 Spydies and the G10/D2 Bestechs.

Delica/Endura ~$75
Bestech G10/D2 ~$50.

Maybe not the most popular opinion on this forum, but I’ll take the Bestechs any day as far as value goes.

I’m not comparing the brands in their entirety to one another, but that’s just an example. All of this to say that they are an excellent value, Chinese manufactured knife with good materials and above average fit and finish. I’ll take Bestech over ANY Chinese made Kershaws or Spydercos. If you’re going to buy a new Bestech, just buy it from an AD. You’ll not be getting a clone (who the F clones $50 knives anyways?!) and you’ll have their warranty should you need it. Easy. No reason to discard them from your considerations if you’re looking for a knife at that price point.

I have a couple of Bestech knives and they’re just OK. I don’t think they compare that favorably with the new Civivi line from WE. There are lots of choices in well made, value knives and Bestech is kind of in the middle of that pack. They remind me of Stedemon or Maxace, and that’s not awesome.

I mentioned Spyderco not from a standpoint of value comparison but from customer service comparison and the active (and expensive) fight they’ve waged against clones. It would be nice to see Bestech emulate them.

 

[Fire Beard]

The Delica alone is one of the best edc knives in the world. You can't compare this based on what you just assumed. I'd rather go with the Delica.

...they don't make something as good as the Delica to this day.

That’s an opinion just like mine. I have two Delicas and I love them both. Great knives and I agree that they could possibly be “one” of “the” best EDC blades. That’s a bold statement considering everything that’s out there, though. Not an assumption I’d be willing to make with any certainty. When you compare the g10/d2 Bestechs with the FRN/VG10 Spydercos...I dunno. The materials/F&F in those Bestechs, coupled with the ~$50 price makes a pretty compelling argument. Try one if you haven’t.

I have a couple of Bestech knives and they’re just OK. I don’t think they compare that favorably with the new Civivi line from WE. There are lots of choices in well made, value knives and Bestech is kind of in the middle of that pack. They remind me of Stedemon or Maxace, and that’s not awesome.

I mentioned Spyderco not from a standpoint of value comparison but from customer service comparison and the active (and expensive) fight they’ve waged against clones. It would be nice to see Bestech emulate them.

I agree with you about the clones. And I also agree that WE’s Civivi line is an incredible value. Won’t argue that. But I’d put Bestech FAR above Stedemon and Maxace as far as F&F/value goes. Which Bestechs do you have and what makes them “just ok” in your opinion? I understand quality differences in knives in different price points. I have a Sebbie, some Taiwanese Spydercos, etc. But IMO, Bestech are offering some of the best values in knives/materials right now.

 

[Mo2]

That’s an opinion just like mine

The sales numbers and positive reviews to back it up. Vg10 vs d2? Have you ever heard there is no bad steel. Your just comparing one aspect of the steel.

There are so many knives with "better" materials that aren't actually better knives.

 

[Hackenslash]

I agree with you about the clones. And I also agree that WE’s Civivi line is an incredible value. Won’t argue that. But I’d put Bestech FAR above Stedemon and Maxace as far as F&F/value goes. Which Bestechs do you have and what makes them “just ok” in your opinion? I understand quality differences in knives in different price points. I have a Sebbie, some Taiwanese Spydercos, etc. But IMO, Bestech are offering some of the best values in knives/materials right now.

I have three Bestechs.

The Zen is a cute little knife but the design is too small for the flipper to function properly. It has a lot of sharp edges and almost feels like trying to hold a bramble. For nearly $100 I was disappointed with the finish and function. It's not as much a usable knife as a novelty item; the smallest titanium framelock flipper! It's part of the collection.

The Kendo feels fairly good in hand, other than some sharp edges on the inside corners of the G10 scales. The big problem with this knife was a VERY weak detent to the point where the blade can come out with a slight jarring of the handle. I took the knife apart to try to adjust the lockbar tension, stripping a soft screw head in the process, and found the detent "ball" was really just a flattened nub. Looking at the reviews for the Kendo, it seems like around 25% of them have a detent issue so I'm chalking this up to a manufacturing quality control. I probably should have sent it back for exchange. It lives in a tool box so I don't risk having it in my pocket. It's a nice looking knife of the kwaiken style though and if you get one with a functioning detent, it'd be a decent knife for around $50.

The Spike was an OK knife. When I bought mine the handle was advertised as G10 but I swear it's some kind of FRN. Maybe it's the grade of G10 that Bestech uses? I notice now that BladeHQ is describing the handle as "GRN" so I'm not sure if it was changed during production or never really was G10. Otherwise, it's a nice knife and probably has the best ergos of the three. They downgraded the steel on this one though. For a little over $50, 12C steel seems a bit over-priced. They offer D2 on most of their other budget knives.

So, that's my experience with Bestech. I'm not in the market for any more because none of the ones I have really appeal to me. Also, Bestech seems to make most of their blades in the 3.5" to 4" range and I really like something right around 3". Most of the Bestech styles are fairly aggresive looking; not always the best thing to pull out in an upscale office environment. For folks that want something larger and more murdery, they're a decent choice if you get a good specimen. They're batting around 1.5 out of 3 which isn't too compelling for me to want to buy more at this point.