Why does Hinderer not do reblades?

A

appliepie123

Joined
Jul 12, 2020
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I emailed RHK asking about re-blade and the customer rep said that they do not do re-blades unless for warranty issues.

Many companies like Benchmade, Zero Tolerance, and even CRK do blade replacements for some fee. For such an expensive knife, it's such a shame that Hinderers do not do blade replacements even at the customer's expense. CRK does blade replacements for 135 which, although not cheap, is way better than needing to spend another 400$ on an entirely new knife. Not only is it such a high cost, it's also such a waste of hardware, needing to buy an entirely new knife.

The chances of needing to reblade isn't very high having the ability to get a new blade in case anything happens provides a sense of comfort when using it and encourages usage, knowing that after many years of using it, if something ever does happen requiring a new blade, the possibility is there.

Why do you all think they would not offer blade replacements?
 
If you broke a blade on a Hinderer it’s probably your fault but if it was a defect they would cover it
 
rycen said:
If you broke a blade on a Hinderer it’s probably your fault but if it was a defect they would cover it
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What about just from many years of hard use resulting in frequent sharpening and ultimately resulting in a blade that has been sharpened too far up to be sharpened again. In that scenario, CRK would offer blade replacement but Hinderer still would not.
 
appliepie123 said:
What about just from many years of hard use resulting in frequent sharpening and ultimately resulting in a blade that has been sharpened too far up to be sharpened again. In that scenario, CRK would offer blade replacement but Hinderer still would not.
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Can you post some pictures of your knife that's all sharpened out so we can judge them?
 
You acknowledged that they will replace the blade for warranty issues - wouldn't that cover (most of) your in case something ever happens situations?
I don't think I've ever needed a new blade on a knife...*actually that's not true - there have been two. The first was a fixed blade that I decided to sharpen on my grandfather's bench grinder when I was 10; then tried to fix a year ot two later. The other was an old Buck-type folder that got worn down over the years. I think it might have been subjected to an electric sharpener by my stepfather :eek:. I don't know if there was an option for replacing that blade (not sure if it was a real Buck); but I figure I got my money's worth out of it.
I know a lot of people are harder on their knives than I am; so this is a serious question - do a lot of people get blade replacements? And, if so, why?
 
Danke42 said:
Can you post some pictures of your knife that's all sharpened out so we can judge them?
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I'm not claiming that I have a knife like that. I stated that:

appliepie123 said:
The chances of needing to reblade isn't very high having the ability to get a new blade in case anything happens provides a sense of comfort when using it and encourages usage, knowing that after many years of using it, if something ever does happen requiring a new blade, the possibility is there.
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Simply put, it would be comforting knowing that one could heavily use their knife knowing that should anything happen, Hinderer would take care of them and make sure they have a usable knife.
 
hhmoore said:
I know a lot of people are harder on their knives than I am; so this is a serious question - do a lot of people get blade replacements? And, if so, why?
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At least for me, the chances of needing to use a blade replacement program is near 0 and knowing that most people don't end up using the program, why wouldn't Hinderer simply implement the program as a good faith measure to invoke more confidence in their products? Or is having a blade replacement program much less valued by the general knife community than it is for me?
 
If you used and resharpened a Hinderer enough times to wear the blade into a stub, your arm will have fallen off.
You need to find a place with arm replacement, not blade replacement. ;)

Someone would have to be an idiot with a belt sander to wear the blade down from resharpening. The blades are not narrow or thin.
 
Because they can sell a new knife with the blade you want, for considerably more than a reblade would cost?

That's my guess, anyway.

EDIT:
There may also be parts compatibility issues, as well.
 
I think most of us have enough knives that we probably won't wear out one blade in our lifetime so the issue really becomes moot. If the option to have a Blade replacement is a deal breaker then don't buy from them.

It's Rick's choice to offer blades or not. I'm not going to argue with him about how he runs his business. Spyderco doesn't do blade replacements either and I've got 14 so...lol
 
I can understand why they don't offer it, same as with Spyderco: too many blade shapes, steels, and finishes to keep track of for a small firm. The overhead would add cost and result in more expensive knives.

I'll add, cynically as someone who doesn't love Hinderer knives, that so few people seem to use them anyway that there's likely little demand for replacement blades. But like with any other company who doesn't offer replacement blades, if that pushes you away from the company then I think that's totally fair. That peace is mind may allow some to be less apprehensive to use their knives.
 
I mean, for the $135 that you say is acceptable for a CRK reblade, you could probably get it reground. I don’t know the exact costs of a good regrind but $135 should be pretty close.
Just a thought.:)
 
I'd imagine it has something to do with the size of the business and the fact that they manufacture their knives in batches based on the blade type.

RHK is a relatively small operation, and in order to have a sufficient amount of warranty replacement blades of each type, they would have to set aside some blades from each batch, meaning they don't make money off of those ones. In order to accommodate everyone who wanted a new blade every few times they sharpen it, they would need to set aside even more blades. That means less knives going out and less money coming in. It's easier for a larger company (like Benchmade) to set aside more blades because they have a higher production volume. (Also I'm willing to bet, RHK would get more requests for non-warranty blade replacements, due to the fact that it's more of a collector's market on them than on some of the larger manufacturers. Just a guess though.)

The alternative would be to just offer a replacement with whatever blade shape is currently being manufactured, but that would once again eat into the current production run, and doesn't account for dealer exclusives, blade shapes that are rarer and more sought after, and people's preferences. (Because obviously someone would get upset about paying for a replacement blade and getting something they didn't want, just because that was the only option because it's what was in production at the time.)

Also, doesn't RHK offer a "spa" service much like CRK? So they can make your knife look pristine again, after all that hard use it'll obviously see on Instagram.
 
Richard Coyle said:
I mean, for the $135 that you say is acceptable for a CRK reblade, you could probably get it reground. I don’t know the exact costs of a good regrind but $135 should be pretty close.
Just a thought.:)
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From what I recall seeing on REK's website, a pretty regrind will probably be more than that, not to mention necessitating shipping and a very long wait time. Plus that's not always a suitable way to fix a busted blade.
 
rycen said:
Personally I think if I used a knife enough to wear out the blade I’d happily buy another.
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I actually completely wore out a 1972 Buck 110 after 20 years of daily hard use and happily tossed it. Found out years later for $10 they would've installed a brand new blade and even done the fabulous spa job. Oh well, now I own a bunch of 110s . :)
 
rycen said:
Personally I think if I used a knife enough to wear out the blade I’d happily buy another.
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That's a fair point.
Silent H said:
I'd imagine it has something to do with the size of the business and the fact that they manufacture their knives in batches based on the blade type.

RHK is a relatively small operation, and in order to have a sufficient amount of warranty replacement blades of each type, they would have to set aside some blades from each batch, meaning they don't make money off of those ones. In order to accommodate everyone who wanted a new blade every few times they sharpen it, they would need to set aside even more blades. That means less knives going out and less money coming in. It's easier for a larger company (like Benchmade) to set aside more blades because they have a higher production volume. (Also I'm willing to bet, RHK would get more requests for non-warranty blade replacements, due to the fact that it's more of a collector's market on them than on some of the larger manufacturers. Just a guess though.)

The alternative would be to just offer a replacement with whatever blade shape is currently being manufactured, but that would once again eat into the current production run, and doesn't account for dealer exclusives, blade shapes that are rarer and more sought after, and people's preferences. (Because obviously someone would get upset about paying for a replacement blade and getting something they didn't want, just because that was the only option because it's what was in production at the time.)

Also, doesn't RHK offer a "spa" service much like CRK? So they can make your knife look pristine again, after all that hard use it'll obviously see on Instagram.
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I understand what you said and I agree with what you're saying. I can see how CRK having fewer models would make it significantly more easy to replace customers' blades with the same one they purchased. I do wish though, that they did at least offer service to replace with whatever blade shape is currently being manufactured. Then at that point it would be up to the customer if he wants to keep his old blade or replace it with one that is currently available at RHK.

Yes RHK does offer a "spa" service but it costs 65$ whereas it is free for CRK, which is another point of discrepancy. But that is a conversation for another day.
 
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