Your most disappointing knife purchase

Just a bit of advice on purchasing to avoid disappointment. Don’t buy anything in a clam shell or bubble pack that you can’t inspect the knife. In the big box stores with merchandise racks they are convenient but you are limited to just face value. Both knives I bought were in clam pack. I should have returned them but my stubborn attitude that I can fix it over rode the apprehension of going through the ordeal of returning them and explaining to someone who knows little about knives.
 
Mine was very disappointing but has since been redeemed.
Its the carbon fiber/S90V Benchmade 940-1. It was my first Benchmade. I ordered it after handling a standard 940 at a gun/outdoor show. I REALLY loved that 940. But, I had a budget of about $250 at the time so I ordered the “upgraded“ version for a little bit more money.
When I received it the action was terrible. I fiddled with it and carried it for a few months and it just wasn’t breaking in. Action seemed gritty, you could sort of hear it kind of grinding. I also didn’t think it was very sharp from the factory, and with the S90V steel I just couldn’t get it much sharper if at all (on a sharpmaker).
I was rotating between a Hogue/Ritter MK1 G2, a Para 3 LW, and the 940-1. Eventually the 940-1 just fell out of rotation and it ended up just sitting on my dresser for about a year. I finally sent it in to Benchmade for warranty work a couple of months ago.
I am glad to report that I am very happy with it now. It came back with excellent action, and they sharpened it up (at least a little better than before). I have been carrying it for about a month and with the changing the clip to a deep carry about a week ago it is quickly becoming my favorite.
 
Way back in the day, B.F. dot C. had a rather zealous Emerson Forum. The way that group fawned over the maker and gushed about every EKC product out there was amazing.

So I figured the product had to be just as amazing. The CQC-7 was all the rage at the time so I saved up my pennies, cashed in all my aluminum cans and took the leap.

The disappointment was epic.

Some time later I picked up the Benchmade version from the Exchange here. Probably one of the finest knives I ever bought. Wish I had it back today, actually.

Kinda funny, the CQC-7 ranks as my most disappointing purchase ever, as well as one of my most satisfying purchases ever. Quite the hobby we have here.
 
Velitrius said:
Way back in the day, B.F. dot C. had a rather zealous Emerson Forum. The way that group fawned over the maker and gushed about every EKC product out there was amazing.

So I figured the product had to be just as amazing. The CQC-7 was all the rage at the time so I saved up my pennies, cashed in all my aluminum cans and took the leap.

The disappointment was epic.

Some time later I picked up the Benchmade version from the Exchange here. Probably one of the finest knives I ever bought. Wish I had it back today, actually.

Kinda funny, the CQC-7 ranks as my most disappointing purchase ever, as well as one of my most satisfying purchases ever. Quite the hobby we have here.
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I bought, then sold and an Emerson too. Soft steel. Ok action. Held together by a flathead Screw. I bought a Ritter Griptillian with the proceeds and have had it for around a decade.
 
AndrewH60 said:
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.
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When in doubt, I always take lots of detailed pics and sell as-is. As long as people get what they saw in the pics, things tend to go smoothly.

Cheers!
 
The Quiet Carry Waypoint was a letdown. I got the G10 version. The scale edges were rough and sharp in places. It also had a very weak detent.

Like others here, I can be more forgiving with less expensive knives. However, I wouldn't have been happy with these issues on a $50 knife, let alone $250. If it was a $50 knife, I'd have taken the few minutes required to touch up the scale edges during disassembly. Really though, this was worse than what I see on G10 in the $20 range. At the end of the day, I was out almost that much in shipping both ways after returning it.

Luckily, Quiet Carry determined that the 10% restocking fee could be waved in my case. That's more than I can say about a Tactile Turn pen that I had to return...
 
Tapio said:
Fällkniven F1. This was my first expensive knife and I still don't have any use for it. The blade has a convex grind, which is pretty much useless for the things I do with a knife. The blade is also too thick and haevy. The rubbery handle feels sticky and uncomfortable to my hands. The sheat is cheap plastics.
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Haha... First expensive knife for me too, I have no use for it neither and it just rest on a shelf. It's a mighty fine knife for sure but it is not for me.

Recently I scored the #85 Dead Skunk from GEC. It looks cool on pics but honestly... The scales are quite noisy on their own but with the the added bottle-shield it is just too much. What really irks me though is that the they screwed up the edge; up by the tip they very clearly grounded a lesser angle than on the rest of the blade.
 
Benchmade 9101. Blade bounces off stop pin when fired and doesn’t always lock. I don’t trust it. I get so damn frustrated whenever I try and tweak the pivot or adjust the stop pin. It would be my user if I trusted it.
 
4th gen Koenig Arius for me because I was so excited to get one but I hated the ergos and the thick blade and I sold it within a month.
 
CJRB Feldspar large coral micarta. It reminds me of some women I've known; pretty, smooth in hand, but kind of cheap and dull!
 
Mine was my first Kukri. I was 13 or 14 and we we far from home and against my Parent’s better judgment I bought a Kukri at one of the Lake George tourist traps. I was actually hoping to buy throwing stars but those had been declared off limits by the local authorities so I was disappointed at that. Gotta buy something so I got an Indian made Kukri. Mom and Dad weren’t overly impressed. Kind of a cruddy next couple of hours riding home. When I did get home I went to put an edge on my new knife. That’s when the disappointment really set in. I’ve seen harder aluminum than that blade!!!!! Money was gone, parents were upset, and I had a total POS knife shaped object. Pre internet kids like me had to learn the hard way about these things. I should’ve gotten the survival knife instead :D
 
OMG! I am hearing brands I would have never expected to be in this thread. Crazy!

I am glad only one guy said a Civivi because I I about to order a Praxis.

My biggest (unexpected) disappointment- Cold Steel AD10. Crazy thing is it has quite possibly the best ergos I have ever felt on a folder but it is chock full of issues.

I honestly do not consider it a $190 knife. 80bux maybe. Uneven grind, uneven edge (I took care of that), characteristics that clash and should have been rectified prior to production. Just a "buggy" knife. Oddly, I can't help but like it tho.
 
Londinium Armoury said:
No the Hogue EX-01 is one of my favourite knives, the Walther MPK was the junk knife that I put in the basket with the hogue when I was ordering them together. The Walther MPK is the worst knife I've ever bought.
EX-01 is great.
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I totally believe that about the EX-01 because, while I've never held the EX-01, I did get a Hogue Ritter and it is honestly the absolute best workmanship I have ever seen on a production knife. They freakin nailed it! It is obvious those guys take pride in their work. Sorry, I know this is supposed to be about disappointing knives but when you mention how good the EX is, I had to second the Hogue praise.
 
Trailer_Ape said:
I totally believe that about the EX-01 because, while I've never held the EX-01, I did get a Hogue Ritter and it is honestly the absolute best workmanship I have ever seen on a production knife. They freakin nailed it! It is obvious those guys take pride in their work. Sorry, I know this is supposed to be about disappointing knives but when you mention how good the EX is, I had to second the Hogue praise.
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Now if we can just get them to redesign that crappy pocket clip...

My greatest disappointment is probably my micarta Giantmouse Ace Clyde. Loved the looks of the blade and I have had great luck with the ace line in the past but this just missed the mark. It arrived off center and the factory edge left a LOT to be desired. When I went to flick it open I found that the action was too tight. I loosened the pivot only to find that this made the blade even more off center than before nearly grinding on the liner. I went to sharpen the mediocre factory edge and realized that it was uneven something like 22 degrees on one side and something like 17 on the other. Now I have a pretty ugly knife with a big fat bevel on one side set by my KME and a thin one on the other to try and get them to match. The action has never really broken in unfortunately. I love my ACE Grand though its hard to believe they left the same factory.
 
I hate to say it but I am a little bit disappointed in my large Inkosi. The action is stiff (it is still pretty new, hopefully it will break in) and it is a huge bulky thing in the pocket. Plus I thought all the cool kids had CRKs and so far I am not any cooler.
 
DMG said:
I hate to say it but I am a little bit disappointed in my large Inkosi. The action is stiff (it is still pretty new, hopefully it will break in) and it is a huge bulky thing in the pocket. Plus I thought all the cool kids had CRKs and so far I am not any cooler.
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My advice would be to give it some time and work the action. If it's still not grabbing you, you won't have a problem selling it.
 
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I bought a Benchmade limited edition griptilian 1302 a fews ago. It had the worst cutting bevel on it. The left and right bevels were not balance at all. It was the factory edge but looks horrendous. This was my first bad experience with Benchmade. In the end, I reprofiled the edge with a WE system and then gifted it to a colleague.
 
Benchmade bugout x3, all had rough action, finish on Axis cross bar was peeling, all 3 went back for warranty with note pointing out the issue, all 3 came back and started peeling again less than a month. Never again.

Emerson commander, horrible fit, finish and action, Ernie has riden his reputation into the ground. When other makers produce his design they are usually good though.
 
FL23833 said:
4th gen Koenig Arius for me because I was so excited to get one but I hated the ergos and the thick blade and I sold it within a month.
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On the other hand, I mean... if you don't like an Arius, you ain't gonna lose money selling it to someone else who wants to try it!

I got an Arius a few weeks ago. I like the ergos of the knife when open and the thick blade with a deep hollow grind. It's super light given its size due to the lightening pockets milled into the inside of the scales. But it's bulky in the pocket because of how tall it is closed. Even my otherwise bulkier Hinderers aren't like that, and a CRK is positively slim. Still a great piece, love the action and the feel. It is a very fondle-able knife.
 
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