Sal, what should be considered an issue and sent into warranty?

[sbaker345]

I'm hoping Sal will see this, and give me the word from the man himself as to what he would like to see back vs what is simply creating problems for them, but others chime in as well.

What kind of issues do you think constitutes a valid reason to send it in? What i'm talking about is stuff like bladeplay causing scale rubbing/stickiness on opening, a sticky stiff lock and or opening/closing on one that should be smooth. Eg compression lock not disengaging easy and or the blade not swinging open and closed. Or what about tip centering even, I would consider that to be a non issue, but it does suck on an expensive knife.



Personally I think even if it doesn't prevent the knife from operating, if a knife has an attribute that runs counter to the design it should be sent in, eg a stiff compression lock invalidates the whole point of it. But I'm curious on Sal's opinion.

I see people mention these issues, or say how they have one para that swings freely, and another that takes 2 hands to open. And that seems like it should be sent in, but I also don't want to tell people to harass golden over production knife tolerances :p

[tvenuto]

I feel like this question is a little broad, and you're likely to get an answer like: "use common sense." I mean, there's quite a range of things that could potentially be "wrong" with a knife, and it would be quite the task to think of and enumerate them all for us. Also, being the owner, this could be viewed as some sort of implied warranty for the item in question. If you think your knife is not operating as it should, send it in.

[sbaker345]

Yeah, I should have thought about the implied warranty issue, spyderco's explicit warranty is conservative compared to what they often do.

My para 2 is perfect, most my knives have been minus my forum knife. Send it in if your worried is probably the best advice for people. I've worked retail and food as a part time job, and there is always THAT guy. That guy who returns a lawnmower for a refund COVERED in dried grass who complains that the pull rope broke, apparently very cleanly. Or the guy who wants his completed sandwich thrown away and remade because he prefers 2 stripes of sauce instead of the subway standard of 3, not making this up.

So my point in that is while I feel confident Golden will attempt to fix any issue most likely for free, regardless if they would consider it a defect, I don't want to either encourage people to do so or send in knives for things considered acceptable by Spyderco, asking them to fix a slightly uneven edge or complaining that if you look close enough the tip might favor a certain side only serves to raise prices for us and slow down real repairs. On the other hand though, I think being too careful hurts Spyderco, if knives with clear fit and finish issues are considered normal, people won't realize one of the nicest things about spyderco is how good the fit and finish usually is. I mean half the appeal of the paramilitary 2 is that it operates smoother and easier than any lock on the market, If you don't mind the placing anyway.

[mtngunr]

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[sal]

Hi Sbaker,

As Tvenuto mentioned, if you think it should go in, then send it in. Did you purchase the knife new from a reputable dealer? Often we get knives back that have been taken apart, assembled by an amateur, and then re-sold as "new in the Box", which it isn't.

Only way to know for sure is to send it in.

sal

[sbaker345]

I buy $500 on up handmades and not one of them is perfect......machines can do better but never perfect, too many variables ranging from outsourced supplier to ambient temp effecting a jigged alignment...

The question anyone should ask self is simple......does the knife do what it was designed, advertised, and sold to do?.....if not, then send it back.

I would say your criteria probably covers it quite nicely, again to use the paramilitary 2 example, its designed to be smooth, so should be sent back etc. however minor finishing issues shouldn't be.

@Sal, the only questionable Spyderco was one of the forum knives ordered directly from Spyderco, since it wasn't an issue that directly made the knife unusable unless you were left handed maybe I opted to try to fix it myself and made it a good knife to keep in the car.

I will be glad to follow and repeat your suggestions from now on however. It wasn't my own knife that made me want to ask this so much as I often see others post on the forums with what look to me like real issues that need to be looked into, Eg takes 2 hands to open, terribly rough or hard to use lock that was designed to be smooth. And people typically don't mention it being unusual or a problem and simply suggest how to improve it a little. I've always felt like that was somewhat of a disservice to Spyderco as people who don't already own that knife might assume that is typical of that knife or all Spydercos. I for example will not buy a benchmade as the majority of them I owned or handled had significant blade play and or an extremely off centered tips, while benchmade might fix or tune up the knife It was clearly standard fit and finish.

But like I said, I didn't want to be or encourage nit picking either :D

[mtngunr]

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[dubya3]

That's what the warranty and repair service is there for. If there's an issue that shouldn't be there, as insignificant as it may be, send it in if you can't remedy it yourself.

[mtngunr]

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[palonej]

Send it in!
Bought a Pac Salt and it was TIGHT opening.....real tight. Wasn't sure if that was normal, first nice knife I purchased, must've opened and closed it thousands of times.....never loosened up and wore off the black coating on the blade in 4 spots.
Sent it in and it was replaced. Second one was the same.....didn't want to be without the knife so I figured I'd open her up and try to loosen the action up.....its back in Golden in pieces.
Serves me right.....
Send it in.

[sbaker345]

Good point, The thing that really made up my mind on buying a few Spydercos, then several more was how Sal addressed issues and seemed to care about making sure people's knives were the quality he wanted them to be. When companies deny and attempt to avoid honoring their own warranties, going above and beyond when it is not expected or asked is pretty rare, they don't warranty against normal wear and tear, however I read one case where not only did they attempt to fix a WELL used military, but when it couldn't be totally tuned to meet their standards sent out a brand new military for free as well as returning the old one, restored as much as was possible to keep as a memento.

That is is customer service that can not possibly be exceeded and very few companies would match.

[mtngunr]

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