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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on July 30, 2014 at 12:22

In my opinion quality has reached a mostly equal plateau. Its so competitive now and most knife companies try to compete to surviv they all have some level of quality control in place. Can you get a stinker? Sure but much rarer today!

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 30, 2014 at 12:43

I like this Tobias.  Brands I can trust means more to me than can I always get a good knife.  Bad knives happen, bad cars happen, bad clothes, tv's, phones...happen.  Even SAK on a rare occasion will have a not right knife.  I will say I wish all companies had the same quality control they do.

Can I trust the company to make it right, thats what builds trust for me.  Whether it is a manufacture or a custom, right has different meanings to everyone.  Is the maker willing to step up to the plate and what does that mean to you?  Give your money back?  fix the knife, give you a new one?

 

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Permalink Reply by Adam Archer on July 30, 2014 at 19:17

Lets see. If we are talking about full trust that a knife won't fail. I would go with Rick Hinderer knives. I have yet to see one with a problem that is not just a preference. (some people complained about weak detent). If we are talking about warranties that we have full trust in. Leatherman is #1, no questions asked and they replace with a refurbished piece of the same model and ship it out within a day or two of it arriving to them. (i sent in 12 at once one time and got the package back before the week ended) Buck knives has some pretty great service also, they found an old blade for a knife I had bought at a yardsale and only changed me like $10. Benchmade has also helped me a huge amount when working on a rare knife.

Only personal negative warranty experience i can think of was spyderco. I sent in a spyderco frn spyderco cricket (discontinued) because it had a failing lock. They do not stock parts so they gave me the option of getting it back unfixed or getting the msrp in credit for another knife from their guide. However their msrps have skyrocketed and the $30ish wouldn't get anything in their catalog. I wish they offered people the current model of said knife or a "like" knife if they choose to not stock parts and still have a "lifetime warranty". This was probably two years ago though so it may have changed or been isolated. 

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 30, 2014 at 20:17

when it comes to Warranties I'd say ESEE.  Any company that will replace a knife that you  broke by purposely trying to break it is okay be me!  That is truly no questions asked!

SMKW has been okay by my with their house brands as well.

I was a little ticked that I had to pay postage for a Case knife that I bought that proved defective due to faulty manufacturing.  I shouldn't have to pay for return shipping when the fault was theirs!

Then their was the Bear and Son episode.  I refuse to buy Bear & Son these days unless I can inspect the knife beofre purchase.  No more online purchases of Bear & Son.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Noot on July 31, 2014 at 2:54

A couple of companies that I trust and think do quality work:

1. A.G. Russell
2. Victorinox
3. Leatherman
4. ESEE
5. Busse
6. ZT/Kershaw
7. Spyderco

And a number of custom makers.

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Permalink Reply by Brad T. on July 31, 2014 at 9:53

Companies with quality product I would recommend:

Benchmade - Quality

ZT/Kershaw - Quality

Spyderco - Quality

GEC - Quality

Queen - Quality/warranty service

SOG - Quality/warranty service

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Permalink Reply by Steve McIntosh on July 31, 2014 at 10:02

Alexander Noot said:

A couple of companies that I trust and think do quality work:

1. A.G. Russell
2. Victorinox
3. Leatherman
4. ESEE
5. Busse
6. ZT/Kershaw
7. Spyderco

And a number of custom makers.

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Permalink Reply by Ms Data on July 31, 2014 at 21:41

Not counting custom knife makers . . .

ZT/Kershaw

Benchmade

Leatherman

Queen

Buck.

Since everyone knows I am a huge Buck fan let me also say that Buck has had some quality issues as of late and I would not trust a Chinese made Buck, but even Buck has realized the error of their ways and has plans to return all production back to the USA.  For their warranty and proven track record, they still belong on the list.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on August 1, 2014 at 6:02

Data I'm not a big buck fan but I do have three of the Bill Lowen Fishing series knives that Lowen/Buck made as an SFO for SMKW.   They are all top notch.   I also have two ofther Chinese Bucks.  Both were good for the price but the one fixed blade came with an ill fitting sheath.  I gave that one away.  I also got one of those Buck Whitacker keychain bottle openers that was made in China.  Also good quality. I know I'm supposed to have problems with the Chinese Bucks as red blooded patriotic American but I can't bash quality simply because I'm a proud American.  I'm still looking for a poor quality Chinese made Buck knife. to me they were on par with the American made Bucks  and I agree bucks a re brand one can trust!

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Permalink Reply by Michael D. on September 2, 2014 at 22:04

Got my first Bear & Son today. It came in a blister pack. Just looked at it on and off all day. Don't know if I'll open it (LOL). Curious to know what was wrong with your knife.

Tobias Gibson said:

Then their was the Bear and Son episode.  I refuse to buy Bear & Son these days unless I can inspect the knife beofre purchase.  No more online purchases of Bear & Son.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 3, 2014 at 10:32

I try not to bad mouth Cutlery Companies. but you asked and so I feel obligated to reply.

My Trials and tribulations with Bear & Son first started when I bought a B&S 5 inch LB  licensed for the Boy Scouts.  I was buying in person at the local Scout Store. B&S were made in the USA.  The other options were Chinese made or Swiss Army Knives.  Even the Kershaws were made in China.  I went through five of the B&S knives before I found one worth buying. One had significant blade wobble, another had a loose lock, another one had a lock so tight that it was damn near impossible to close.  Another had a poor fitting wood scale.  The last one had a fairly tight lock back but it was acceptable.   The knife cost $45.  I could’ve bought a buck with no issues for that price but I wanted a BSA 5 inch LB!   I bought a Rough Rider at a 1/3 the price that functions better than the Bear.  I later bought the $15 Chinese made BSA lockback.  It is far superior to the Bear & Son in form, function and cutting ability.

My next knife was the BSA Whittler by B&S.  Again I went  through several knives before picking one that seems solid.   A week later,  I accidentally dropped it.  It bounced off my bed and dropped to the wood floor below.  One of the “delrin” scales popped off!   I snapped it back on.  That one cost $30.

Next up was the BSA Barlow.  Again I went through several knives before settling on the one I bought.  This one cost $40 if I’m not mistaken.  The knife is supposed to have a half stop on both blades.  Mine works really quite well and I’m very pleased with it.  I recall one of the ones I passed up had a lot of play in the blade at the half stop.  The other one had significant grinding when you closed the blades.  The quality of my China Made Barlows is much better!

And then there was the Bear and Son Camp knife.  I bought it off of Amazon. The main blade had significant grinding.  When I emailed B&S about it.  They blamed it on the old Camillus tooling and said I would have to break the blade in.  After six months of use and lots of oiling, the grinding finally began to go away.  But it still irked me they way they blamed Camillus for their short comings.  I’ve owned new Scout knives by Camillus and I’ve never experienced this type of grinding in a blade. It also has some of the ugliest plastic scales I’ve ever seen.

I have since got two 5 inch toothpicks by B&S and they seem to be okay but I haven’t really used them. One was made for SMKW.  I also have a Bear & Son copy of the Sharpfinger.  It has some minor fit and finish issues but makes a decent user. But again, you can buy a better quality Sharpfinger  style knife made in China for half the price.

I really want to like Bear and Son, but they seem destined to disappoint me.

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