Your most disappointing knife purchase

AndrewH60 said:
These. I haven’t been able to bring myself to pass them on.
View attachment 1539184 View attachment 1539185
Click to expand...
Well now - I like the look of those Andrew. Very nice. Other than that Imperial piece I have, someone here (wished I could remember who) gifted me a Boker Tree Brand 492. It was beat up pretty bad but it was the thought that counted and it was my first slip joint, after cleaning it up with help from the Dremel and some elbow grease I must say it is the most favorite "small piece" I own. To the point that when ones asks what I carry I always just forget to mention it. But it's with me everyday.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
I'm one of those rare people who seems to have never gotten a lemon from any higher end production knife company. Short of some soft screws stripping out all of my knives in the 100+ price range have all came to me without issue, usually always centered as well with no fit and finish issues.
But when it comes to cheapo knives, ones without a stellar reputation, I have had some junk, but I can't really count them as dissapointments because I never expected anything great from them to begin with. Mostly I will just throw a cheap knife in with my actual purchase to round up the price to a nice round number. For example when I bought my Hogue EX-01 I threw a couple of Hultafors and Mora knives into my basket to try and round the price off to £250. Then I noticed it was say £12 short so I threw in a cheap Walther knife as well, because why not it comes in a nice box and looks like a good letter opener. It was a Walther MPK, and is hands down the worst knife I have ever had the displeasure of not using. I say not using because when I attempted to use it, the blade swung back on itself, and now has a 360 degree range of motion. The pivot pin broke, so I shoved a stainless pin through it and peened it over. Wasted 10 mins doing that, and now I have a knife that can almost be closed in 2 directions.
The biggest piece of junk i've ever seen in my life, oh and ontop of that, it has the worst heat treated 440C i've ever seen, the box it came in is nicer than the knife, it came with a little nylon case as well, which again is worth more than the knife itself.
Click to expand...
What - the Hogue EX-01 is junk? Or did I read that wrong?
 
My most disappointing knife was a Case 6347 stockman that had terrible blade alignment on all three blades. The clip blade in open position was like a boomerang and in closed the kick held the tip above the blade well, the spey wasn’t much better. I filed the back spring and blade to fit and it was good. But the blades won’t hold an edge. I got a mini trapper that was similar and that was the last case I will buy.
 
The “SAK” I bought from an add in the back of Boys Life magazine. It was a real turd. I felt so ripped off and taken advantage of.

Turns out it was a valuable lesson. About knock off’s, magazine adds, a fool and his money etc.

Now I’m very suspicious of everything. Some people have spent thousands on the lesson that cost me $8.95 so I guess it was a bargain.
 
As someone who researches to a fault, coupled with the fact that I’m done buying, I’m happy to report I had not one disappointing purchase. However, I feel for you that have.
 
TRfromMT said:
I find there is a direct relationship to the level of irritation about an issue with a knife and the price. A little off center on a low end EDC is one thing... that same issue on a knife that set me back several bills will drive me bonkers. My most disappointing knives usually cost the most because I just can't get over it.
Click to expand...
Hah! :0) I hear you I do. 100% of the time (I think) I buy a brand new piece - I check and tighten (if needed) with the medium strength Loc tite. I ALWAYS check the pivot unless it is spot on. Case in point, the last new knife I bought was the (before Lynn sold the company - but I think within 2 weeks of the announcement) 6" CS Ti-lite with the S35VN and completely "Blacked Out" - for certain reasons - certain knives I own have to be blacked out or I'll just move on. But all the screws were perfect, everything was perfect 'BUT' the tip was just a hair off to the right. I was gonna let it go. But why when I can make the blade tip perfect? Already had the torx out and gladly found that particular piece takes the same same torx bit for everything on the knife. T9 for pivot. T6 for all the screws/pocketclip. I left the blade 1/4 of the way open and turned ever so slightly the closest screw (holding my breath - so no screw stripping) - then flipped it around to the T9 and as I tightened the pivot I could ( I think) see the blade move to the left. I was as happy as a kid getting his first football or first baseball glove. :0) When I saw it move I stopped and hand closed it reallll slowwww and badda-bing!!!! Absolutely perfection!! Of course everyone (mainly) knows the lock Cold Steel is known for, and this not being a Tri-Ad somewhat gave me a moment of pause, but my first knife was the Cold Steel Bushmaster and that Ram Lock is impressive, so I held my breath till I first saw that "liner lock".....( Mr Ernie Emerson) THAT is a liner locker and with me being ambidextrous it is no doubt a formidable piece to wield. That's when I realized I have all three of their locks. Made me smile no doubt. FWIW - I forget how much that Ti-lite cost but (at least for me) it IS NOT cheap, all black, black G10 scales black blade and quite the whittler, :0)
 
Fox Ti-CF Suru. I loved the look of this knife especially as a Spyderco little-big knife fan. After searching for months, I finally got one in hand. Completely disappointing. Ground too thick for a little knife. Terrible action. Bad ergos. It just never felt right and I wanted to like it so much.
 
Even though I’m a ZT fanboy, the 0460CF was probably my most disappointing purchase. It’s still a nice knife, but it was way smaller than I thought it would be and the ergos are meh. It being my first ZT, I was expecting way too much out of it.

The 0462 fixed that problem, but still.
 
I soooooo wanted to like the Benchmade Bugout, even bought titanium Flytanium scales to class it up a bit. I could not get over the blade play, couldn't get anywhere near the action/play balance that I wanted. And various "like new" knives that were very clearly not that...
 
Thanks for sharing the stories, guys. A strong reminder for all of us to do our best in all we do.
I can't bring myself to mention the manufacturer on this one but it's one we all know here in the USA.
I received a fixed blade with a tip bent so bad you could describe it as curved, grossly uneven edge grind, handle totally butchered by whomever finished it on the grinder. It was obvious scrap that somehow made it's way into the package and to the retailer. There was even issues with returning it to the factory that I won't go into, so I returned it to the place of purchase and have not been able to bring myself to buy another one.
 
Cold Steel San Mai Trailmaster. Problem was....its an absolutely beautiful knife that I have no chance of ever putting the beautiful convex edge back on properly when it needs it. First knife I ever owned that was so sharp and so heavy I actually found it a little nerve wracking to handle. To this day I've yet to handle another Bowie that you truly can shave with.
 
The most disappointing knife I ever had was the TRM Atlas. I bought it because I expected it to be a fancier Spyderco Urban kind of knife but I found it to be bulky, raw and all in all underwhelming. It is one of the few knives that I returned to the dealer.

I also was a bit disappointed when I finally got a Benchmade 970SBT. I came to like the Emerson CQC-7 (not as an EDC or something, just as a badass 1990's/ 2000's tactical knife) but I always red that Emerson knives are sub par and that the Benchmade version was superior. So I was absolutely thrilled when I got a "like new" 970SBT for a fair price - something rare here in Germany. But in direct comparison with a 2014(?) Emerson CQC-7B-SF it was just worse in every regard: Lockstick, processing / workmanship etc.

Other knives that disappointed me were usually cheaper knives - mostly those made in china. Especially Böker Plus used to be one of these brands that had knives that looked promising but ended up feeling unrewarding for me. I think about the Urban Trapper 42, the Griplock (although that was more a problem with Germany's legislation), the Pocketbowie, the XS OD. But I actually like some of their newer models. The Atlas looks nice for it's price and the Cal. 45/ Cal. 50 are beautifully machined pens. I also didn't like the Zipslip Titan that much. I actually liked the design, the clip, the machining but I somehow felt like it lacked something that I couldn't put my finger on. I just knew that I'd always prefer the Spyderco Urban.

That brings me to Spyderco: I don't like the short feather of the lightweight UK PK. Even though the knife itself is great I had to sell it to my brother. The Heinnie Haynes version is much better. I also didn't like the Spy-DK (too stiff) and the PITS is a love/ hate relationship: It somehow is the uncrowned king of Spyderco slipjoint lineup but the anodization of my initially blue PITS came off so fast that I really got doubts about it being a "real anodization". Other blue anodized knives / hardware I have hold up much better.
 
One disappointment that comes to mind was the Benchmade Volli I bought 5 or so years ago. It had a really attractive profile, excellent sculpted G-10 grip and a nice, thin blade built for slicing. I didn't mind the slightly uncentered blade since it did not affect performance, but what irked me was the S30V blade; I could never keep it sharp. At the time I was accustomed to excellent edge retention from my S30V Manix II which I regularly sharpened freehand. I could bring the Volli to hair-popping sharp but it immediately lost its bite after minor use on food or packaging. I tried switching up my sharpening methods, reducing the edge thickness, stropping burrs away, ceramic hones, etc. but could never keep the "bite." Maybe I'm not as good at sharpening as I think I am, but I can say that I have not had this issue with other S30V knives or Benchmades in 154CM. I quit using the Volli and eventually sold it off. I even lost interest in Benchmades in general and sold the rest of mine except for a couple with sentimental value.
 
I can’t say that I have experienced a disappointing purchase, but I kick myself for buying knives that made/make zero sense for me based on use/ergos early in my purchase history. These range from an 8” Swedish survival knife to a 3.75” Puuko knife to a 4” “military” folder to a karambit that I am terrified of! Need to find a solid knife store in DFW to sell these bc they are nothing but space hoggers to me. As my knife buying has become more educated and more selective (+$$$$) to my needs/uses, I have been incredibly satisfied everytime that I open a box from my favored online dealers.
 
Chris Reeves 25. Horribily hard to open and thumb studs that exacerbated the problem. Spyderco Gayle Bradley where they made the lock bar nearly inaccessible. I intend to mod the Bradley one day to have a nice knife. Spydero Southard flipper. Merely medicore flipper especially compared to the ones today.
 
I just unwrapped a Mago OTF Italian made stiletto and WOW, what a piece of garbage.

I'm not too disappointed because I wasn't expecting much. Doesn't work at all. Doesn't shoot out, doesn't do anything, really, just a broken knife that will be going back to BHQ.

I usually don't post just to badmouth something, but please, folks, avoid these like the plague. Maybe I just got a lemon, but my spidey sense says probably not.
 
bladecollectorr said:
Those weren't made before 1947 but they are genuine Schrade USA "nostalgia stamp" knives and iirc use the thickest blade stock of any of the 804 whittler variations that Schrade made over the years. Pass 'em on! They sell like hot-cakes on ebay.
Click to expand...
They do have very thick main blades. They look fine closed, but when open or trying to open the flaws are obvious. Will sell them cheap eventually.
 
It’d have to be the first iteration of the DPX Hest 1.0 folding knife from Lionsteel. For $175, it sure felt cheap. It was returned.
 
Emerson's gentleman Jim. Thing was just... Looked and felt over priced. The blade wasn't aligned well and rubbed from factory, the clip was loose... Eventually I lost it. Fell out of my pocket. Was the last Emerson I ever bought. This was probably around... 2014-2015.

The only thing worse was SOG. Bought a SOG knife at a knife show when I first started getting into knives. $175 for a flimsy, tactical folder. That was the first and last SOG I have/will ever own. This was around probably 2010-2011. I gave it away to a friend who proceeded to lose it. Lol.

Think that's it. Rest of my knives were good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top