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Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2018 8:00 pm
by npad69
BrianMcCord wrote:
Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:22 pm
If the cutting tasks that I perform routinely were gunking up my knife to the degree that disassembly was necessary, I would (personally) take that as an indication that a fixed blade would be a better option. I may be off the mark...wouldn't be the first time! :p
^this
i was about to say the same thing

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:27 am
by gmhauy
BrianMcCord wrote:
Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:22 pm
If the cutting tasks that I perform routinely were gunking up my knife to the degree that disassembly was necessary, I would (personally) take that as an indication that a fixed blade would be a better option. I may be off the mark...wouldn't be the first time! :p
True again, but as said at the start a folder completes a fixed blade knife - and I have seen a lot of people, on this forum or others, claiming to routinely do dirty work with folders...

Gerard

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 6:54 am
by BrianMcCord
gmhauy wrote:
Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:27 am
BrianMcCord wrote:
Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:22 pm
If the cutting tasks that I perform routinely were gunking up my knife to the degree that disassembly was necessary, I would (personally) take that as an indication that a fixed blade would be a better option. I may be off the mark...wouldn't be the first time! :p
True again, but as said at the start a folder completes a fixed blade knife - and I have seen a lot of people, on this forum or others, claiming to routinely do dirty work with folders...

Gerard
This still makes zero sense to me. I'm trying to understand...maybe one of these people will chime in and provide something more than an anecdote.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:49 am
by MichaelScott
I did help skin and butcher a sheep once with a small Gerber lock back. Was no need to take it apart to clean it.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:58 am
by MichaelScott
Today I see on Facebook a post from a Spyderco user in Europe. He attached a photo of an obviously used Delica posed on top of a set of tools. The blade is out of the handle. The pivot hole area is very dirty and probably corroded as are the bushings and the broken pivot pin. He said that the pivot pin “broke on me” when he was “trying to tighten” it. He doesn’t want to return it to Spyderco. He’s asking about how to get another pin. He bought it from a local dealer so he’s also asking them. They want photos. That isn’t good. Many replies to his post are for him to ask Spyderco to send a replacement pin to him as a warranty item. Spyderco will “take care of him” they say.

Wow.

Then I found this:
“With the bushing pivot that the para2 has the break in period does next to nothing, the only reason why it seems to is because over time the pivot will loosen a tiny bit with use. Break it down and lube it up good. When you put it back together tighten the pivot all the way then back it off about a quarter turn and you’ll be good to go.”

Maybe that’s what the other guy was trying to do. Tighten that pivot pin all the way…
Seems like disassembling knives has become a hobby too.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:55 pm
by BrianMcCord
MichaelScott wrote:
Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:58 am
Today I see on Facebook a post from a Spyderco user in Europe. He attached a photo of an obviously used Delica posed on top of a set of tools. The blade is out of the handle. The pivot hole area is very dirty and probably corroded as are the bushings and the broken pivot pin. He said that the pivot pin “broke on me” when he was “trying to tighten” it. He doesn’t want to return it to Spyderco. He’s asking about how to get another pin. He bought it from a local dealer so he’s also asking them. They want photos. That isn’t good. Many replies to his post are for him to ask Spyderco to send a replacement pin to him as a warranty item. Spyderco will “take care of him” they say.

Wow.

Then I found this:
“With the bushing pivot that the para2 has the break in period does next to nothing, the only reason why it seems to is because over time the pivot will loosen a tiny bit with use. Break it down and lube it up good. When you put it back together tighten the pivot all the way then back it off about a quarter turn and you’ll be good to go.”

Maybe that’s what the other guy was trying to do. Tighten that pivot pin all the way…
Seems like disassembling knives has become a hobby too.
I don't follow what you are trying to say. Am I the only one?

What's "wow." about that? They will take care of him with the policy that you frequently slap people with. I'm having difficulty pegging you. Are you genuine in your feelings, or just trolling?

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 10:17 pm
by MichaelScott
sal wrote:
Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:22 pm
Taking apart knives – part 2

I’d like to thank all of you for the great information on the issue mentioned. My primary purpose for the thread was more to raise awareness that it is a problem and hope that just the greater awareness would help contribute to reducing the problem. Many people didn’t ever realize it was a problem.

I would hope that you will discourage others from returning tampered knives and if you were doing it, you now know it is a problem.

Fruitful discussion. Thanx much. (I will be discussing the shipping of internal parts on another thread).

sal
That’s what the “wow” was about. And, this is a discussion forum. Not understanding or liking a post is no reason to accuse someone of trolling. You don’t have to reply.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 10:43 pm
by Bloke
Edit: I doesn’t matter!

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:35 am
by BrianMcCord
MichaelScott wrote:
Sat Mar 17, 2018 10:17 pm
sal wrote:
Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:22 pm
Taking apart knives – part 2

I’d like to thank all of you for the great information on the issue mentioned. My primary purpose for the thread was more to raise awareness that it is a problem and hope that just the greater awareness would help contribute to reducing the problem. Many people didn’t ever realize it was a problem.

I would hope that you will discourage others from returning tampered knives and if you were doing it, you now know it is a problem.

Fruitful discussion. Thanx much. (I will be discussing the shipping of internal parts on another thread).

sal
That’s what the “wow” was about. And, this is a discussion forum. Not understanding or liking a post is no reason to accuse someone of trolling. You don’t have to reply.
Didn't accuse, I asked. Read.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:12 pm
by jpm2
BrianMcCord wrote:
Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:55 pm
MichaelScott wrote:
Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:58 am
Today I see on Facebook a post from a Spyderco user in Europe. He attached a photo of an obviously used Delica posed on top of a set of tools. The blade is out of the handle. The pivot hole area is very dirty and probably corroded as are the bushings and the broken pivot pin. He said that the pivot pin “broke on me” when he was “trying to tighten” it. He doesn’t want to return it to Spyderco. He’s asking about how to get another pin. He bought it from a local dealer so he’s also asking them. They want photos. That isn’t good. Many replies to his post are for him to ask Spyderco to send a replacement pin to him as a warranty item. Spyderco will “take care of him” they say.

Wow.

Then I found this:
“With the bushing pivot that the para2 has the break in period does next to nothing, the only reason why it seems to is because over time the pivot will loosen a tiny bit with use. Break it down and lube it up good. When you put it back together tighten the pivot all the way then back it off about a quarter turn and you’ll be good to go.”

Maybe that’s what the other guy was trying to do. Tighten that pivot pin all the way…
Seems like disassembling knives has become a hobby too.
I don't follow what you are trying to say. Am I the only one?

What's "wow." about that? They will take care of him with the policy that you frequently slap people with. I'm having difficulty pegging you. Are you genuine in your feelings, or just trolling?
His highlighted section of Sal's post indicates he might be confusing the difference in buying a new knife, tampering with it, and returning to the dealer for a refund.... vs tampering with a knife, then sending it to Spyderco to get fixed, if possible, and on the customer dime if the damage was caused by the customer.
The latter is ok, the former not.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:40 pm
by BrianMcCord
jpm2 wrote:
Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:12 pm
BrianMcCord wrote:
Sat Mar 17, 2018 9:55 pm
MichaelScott wrote:
Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:58 am
Today I see on Facebook a post from a Spyderco user in Europe. He attached a photo of an obviously used Delica posed on top of a set of tools. The blade is out of the handle. The pivot hole area is very dirty and probably corroded as are the bushings and the broken pivot pin. He said that the pivot pin “broke on me” when he was “trying to tighten” it. He doesn’t want to return it to Spyderco. He’s asking about how to get another pin. He bought it from a local dealer so he’s also asking them. They want photos. That isn’t good. Many replies to his post are for him to ask Spyderco to send a replacement pin to him as a warranty item. Spyderco will “take care of him” they say.

Wow.

Then I found this:
“With the bushing pivot that the para2 has the break in period does next to nothing, the only reason why it seems to is because over time the pivot will loosen a tiny bit with use. Break it down and lube it up good. When you put it back together tighten the pivot all the way then back it off about a quarter turn and you’ll be good to go.”

Maybe that’s what the other guy was trying to do. Tighten that pivot pin all the way…
Seems like disassembling knives has become a hobby too.
I don't follow what you are trying to say. Am I the only one?

What's "wow." about that? They will take care of him with the policy that you frequently slap people with. I'm having difficulty pegging you. Are you genuine in your feelings, or just trolling?
His highlighted section of Sal's post indicates he might be confusing the difference in buying a new knife, tampering with it, and returning to the dealer for a refund.... vs tampering with a knife, then sending it to Spyderco to get fixed, if possible, and on the customer dime if the damage was caused by the customer.
The latter is ok, the former not.
That makes sense now. Thanks, I can be a little slow... :)

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:22 pm
by The Meat man
jpm2 wrote:
Sun Mar 18, 2018 3:12 pm
His highlighted section of Sal's post indicates he might be confusing the difference in buying a new knife, tampering with it, and returning to the dealer for a refund.... vs tampering with a knife, then sending it to Spyderco to get fixed, if possible, and on the customer dime if the damage was caused by the customer.
The latter is ok, the former not.
Exactly. As I understand it, Spyderco's existing policy is that for any warranty work (that is, any work that might be at Spyderco's expense), the knife needs to be sent to Golden for evaluation. That only makes sense. If a customer does not want to send his knife in, then he will have to assume the cost of the part, even if it really is a QC issue.

As I see it, there is nothing wrong at all with taking apart your knife. You can do it all day long if you want, but if you mess something up be prepared to pay for that out of your own pocket. I was raised to take responsibility for my own actions.

Really, the only reason that I can think of for a thread like this is if Spyderco is having difficulty determining when a knife problem is a QC issue and when it's a customer issue.

Or am I being too simplistic?

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:52 pm
by RamZar
FTC Confirms What We Suspected All Along: Those 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers Are No Good
http://fortune.com/2018/04/11/ftc-warra ... -stickers/

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:48 am
by cELLiBAIt
RamZar wrote: FTC Confirms What We Suspected All Along: Those 'Warranty Void If Removed' Stickers Are No Good
http://fortune.com/2018/04/11/ftc-warra ... -stickers/
indeedily doodily, neighbor.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 7:37 am
by Fred Sanford
Is there a part 1 since this thread is part 2? I'm at a loss here. Searched and couldn't find anything. Been away from the forum for a bit.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 10:48 am
by RamZar
David Lowry wrote:
Fri May 04, 2018 7:37 am
Is there a part 1 since this thread is part 2? I'm at a loss here. Searched and couldn't find anything. Been away from the forum for a bit.
Here’s a link to part 1:
viewtopic.php?t=78032

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
by SCBaldr
Having read through this entire thread and the preceding one as well, I can offer a few constructive suggestions.

1. There are things about which even the best business can do nothing. People taking apart knives is one of those things. That said, the majority of people who take apart their knives, reassemble them successfully according to their own bar of acceptability. In other words, while it is a fact that a substantial number of knives get returned in tampered condition and then resold to the next hapless consumer and are then returned to Spyderco which will then have to pay to put the knife back into spec condition, the majority of people who disassemble their knives do not return them. Because of that, they are a silent and invisible majority because Spyderco isn't likely to hear much from these customers, except when they buy new knives.

2. In any business, the best thing to do in any situation is to look for actions which will do three things simultaneously. These are: (in no particular order) Create Profit/Revenue, Serve the Customer, and Outperform the Competition. In this case, because we know that no matter what we do, people are going to tinker, it makes sense to take full advantage of this. Its simple. Offer a package for sale to the end user which includes any torx drivers necessary, maybe tweezers, a tiny bottle of oil, and a tiny cleaning brush (all of which should be branded) that all comes in a branded case. Sell it on the website for $30. Maybe it all cost $6 to put together. Then set a free shipping threshold of $50 on the website and at the same time, offer a pair of washers for $4 or something, a pivot for $9, caged bearings for $40 a pair or more. Turn the tinkering into a cash cow.

3. At the same time, have some of your factory people make a series of Youtube videos detailing how to do very basic assembly and disassembly of different types of knives to show these tinkers the proper way of doing things. The reasons that John Q Public can screw things up so easily is simple ignorance, its a simple problem that, thanks to platforms like YouTube is now simple to fix. The people at Blade HQ have a nicely polished YouTube channel and i'm sure would be only too happy to help you out with this if necessary.

4. I hear you loud and clear Sal that warranty repair costs are a huge drain and encouraging people to take their knives apart will only feed that beast. There is a really good revenue generating way to beat this and offer much faster turn around on repair at the same time. Offer to dealers a training program which will they will or will not pay for(your preference, if you want to let regular people pay for it to float the cost so the dealer people can have it for free, that's fine too), which will give that dealer a factory certified tech. That tech, who now knows everything they need to properly diagnose and service almost any repair, will then handle the bulk of the returns at their dealership. Maybe its a two day course at the factory in Golden for $500 or more if necessary to make it profitable. You also can then sell your dealers all the parts they need to handle the repairs at less than end user website cost. You can also use the program to offer glimpses of upcoming models as a means of indirect free promotion.

5. Also consider offering the Factory Certified Tech course to the public for an upcharge. Even with the added cost, you might just be shocked at how many knife nerds are willing to pay it.

By taking these actions, you can take all but the most intensive repair cases off your warranty workbench and develop not one but two brand new revenue sources which can be very low cost both in time and investment and therefore both be very high R.O.I. This will also allow the process of warranty and non-warranty repair to happen through multiple dealers who can then take care of shipping (which cuts off a huge cost by itself) and cut weeks off the turnaround time for the end user.

In short, we can create profit and revenue by opening up new lines of business, we can better serve the customer with quicker turnaround times and foster a much healthier customer perception of factory support, and in so doing can outperform the competition.

P.S. Can I have a job?

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 8:03 am
by MichaelScott
SCBaldr wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
Having read through this entire thread and the preceding one as well, I can offer a few constructive suggestions.

1. There are things about which even the best business can do nothing. People taking apart knives is one of those things. That said, the majority of people who take apart their knives, reassemble them successfully according to their own bar of acceptability. In other words, while it is a fact that a substantial number of knives get returned in tampered condition and then resold to the next hapless consumer and are then returned to Spyderco which will then have to pay to put the knife back into spec condition, the majority of people who disassemble their knives do not return them. Because of that, they are a silent and invisible majority because Spyderco isn't likely to hear much from these customers, except when they buy new knives.
While this in general may be accurate it is irrelevant except that we do not know the cost to Spyderco for this.
SCBaldr wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
2. In any business, the best thing to do in any situation is to look for actions which will do three things simultaneously. These are: (in no particular order) Create Profit/Revenue, Serve the Customer, and Outperform the Competition. In this case, because we know that no matter what we do, people are going to tinker, it makes sense to take full advantage of this. Its simple. Offer a package for sale to the end user which includes any torx drivers necessary, maybe tweezers, a tiny bottle of oil, and a tiny cleaning brush (all of which should be branded) that all comes in a branded case. Sell it on the website for $30. Maybe it all cost $6 to put together. Then set a free shipping threshold of $50 on the website and at the same time, offer a pair of washers for $4 or something, a pivot for $9, caged bearings for $40 a pair or more. Turn the tinkering into a cash cow.
I suspect it is not as simple as you claim. Anyone can get torx drivers, oil and tweezers. Amazon has them all cheaper than what you suggest. Also, stocking, inventory, maintainenace of an inventory database (has to be purchased or developed in house) and hiring personnel to manage that for a myriad number of diffferent parts for a huge assortment of knives made over, say twenty years, by a number of makers, US and foreign, is not a trivial financial or organizational process. This would likely be a cost center, not a profit making effort.
SCBaldr wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
3. At the same time, have some of your factory people make a series of Youtube videos detailing how to do very basic assembly and disassembly of different types of knives to show these tinkers the proper way of doing things. The reasons that John Q Public can screw things up so easily is simple ignorance, its a simple problem that, thanks to platforms like YouTube is now simple to fix. The people at Blade HQ have a nicely polished YouTube channel and i'm sure would be only too happy to help you out with this if necessary.
Again, you underestimate the magnitude of the issue and over estimate the effectiveness of correcting people’s behavior with YouTube. I’m sure some people would benefit from YouTube tutorials, but others won’t. Or won’t bother to watch. Or watch Joe Klutz screw with his Delica. (I’ve seen that one.)
SCBaldr wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
4. I hear you loud and clear Sal that warranty repair costs are a huge drain and encouraging people to take their knives apart will only feed that beast. There is a really good revenue generating way to beat this and offer much faster turn around on repair at the same time. Offer to dealers a training program which will they will or will not pay for(your preference, if you want to let regular people pay for it to float the cost so the dealer people can have it for free, that's fine too), which will give that dealer a factory certified tech. That tech, who now knows everything they need to properly diagnose and service almost any repair, will then handle the bulk of the returns at their dealership. Maybe its a two day course at the factory in Golden for $500 or more if necessary to make it profitable. You also can then sell your dealers all the parts they need to handle the repairs at less than end user website cost. You can also use the program to offer glimpses of upcoming models as a means of indirect free promotion.
Who trains the dealers? Another chunk of manpower funded by Spyderco. What happens when some dealers don’t want to take on warranty and repair work? What about “certified techs” that aren’t any good? Or, how to fill the holes when they quit? You have a “program” that is partially effective so that tinkered with and warranty product still comes back to Spyderco.

The biggest issue with this scheme is that warranty and repair work is pushed away from Spyderco and into organizations and individuals over which Spyderco does not have direct control. Real quality control then becomes much harder to support and in fact will suffer from the inefficiencies of a fractured bureaucracy, poor oversight and shoddy work that will happen. Once Spyderco’s reputation for customer service and quality takes a hit, it will be extremely difficult to recover from it.
SCBaldr wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
5. Also consider offering the Factory Certified Tech course to the public for an upcharge. Even with the added cost, you might just be shocked at how many knife nerds are willing to pay it.

By taking these actions, you can take all but the most intensive repair cases off your warranty workbench and develop not one but two brand new revenue sources which can be very low cost both in time and investment and therefore both be very high R.O.I. This will also allow the process of warranty and non-warranty repair to happen through multiple dealers who can then take care of shipping (which cuts off a huge cost by itself) and cut weeks off the turnaround time for the end user.
As to this assertion, moving warranty and intensive repair cases off to Joe Somebody who may or may not have learned from a “certification course”, or to someone who happens to be filling in for Joe who is off on vacation, is a bad idea. When and if I send in a knife to Spyderco for warranty or repair work, I know that it will be done correctly and I will be treated as an individual end line user, not some customer who bought a Spyderco from Big Blades, Inc. that sells umpteen other brands.

As to your claim that this will generate two brand new low-cost revenue sources, I don’t think this is the case at all. You could support your assertion by putting forward some evidence - numbers, dollars, man-hours, organizational efficiencies, etc.
SCBaldr wrote:
Sat May 05, 2018 2:58 am
In short, we can create profit and revenue by opening up new lines of business, we can better serve the customer with quicker turnaround times and foster a much healthier customer perception of factory support, and in so doing can outperform the competition.

P.S. Can I have a job?
From your conclusion it appears that you are operating from a standard business model that drives toward “profit and revenue”. I suspect also that your belief that all this will open new lines of business (selling tools and parts), better serve the customer by pushing Spyderco’s quality repair and warranty activities down to third or fourth parties over which Spyderco will have minimal control. This will not foster a healthier customer perception of factory support. The support won’t be done at the factory but by some faceless wage earners at various retailers.

I also believe that Spyderco wasn’t founded on or is being run to be bigger, badder and mainly to increase revenue.

As to out performing the competition, that’s already the case and nothing in your suggestions appears to enhance that. Just the contrary.

A final note. My response is not meant in any way to be personal or disrespectful. I too have a serious background in business, large corporations and how they operate, and how they fail. These are merely my opinions based on a long association with business and customer relationships. I hope you take them in the best spirit of criticism.

Thank you.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 10:02 pm
by SCBaldr
This model is pretty much exactly the one which the firearms industry operates under. All of the arms manufacturers moved to this model in the 70s and 80s because doing their repairs and warranty service in house became too costly and time consuming. The ones which haven't gone bankrupt or were taken over by others figured out how to turn this setup into revenue. Having several armorers certifications myself, the manufacturers make you pay for their time in certification, so the idea that their costs in doing so arent offset by the revenue created thereby is false. As for the idea that you won't have any control over who is doing the repairs, also false. Take a good look at how the firearm industry operates and services repairs. While one can still send a gun back to a manufacturer, factory certified armorers are well trained enough to solve 90% of issues end user may have. The CSRs working the phones are quick to point you towards their armorer networks first before they issue RMAs. The manufacturers all set expiration dates for their armorers to keep their skills fresh and inform them of special procedures on any new models. They also reserve the right to revoke said certifications at any time if they find one of them is doing something wrong. No, they have quite a bit of control over their armorers. If you're still not convinced, talk to an armorer for Heckler & Koch, one conversation with an armorer on how their certifications work and are renewed and how repair tracking is done is all it will take to convince you that H&K still has almost complete control of its armorers and their repairs.

Any business needs healthy profits and revenue. You can strive for finely made whatever and quality before all else all you want, but if the factors effecting the repair department are significant enough to spur the creation of not one but two different threads on the same topic, in this case offering parts for sale, thats enough to tell me that this is a significant problem for them which would be best solved by turning an expense into profit as I have suggested.

Re: Taking apart knives - part 2

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 10:12 pm
by MichaelScott
Firearms and knives are not the same by a long shot. I don’t think the analogy holds.

Even though the topic generated a larger number of posts, many of those were by a small group, not in itself indicative of a serious problem. Only Spyderco knows this and may or may not decide to address it.

The nature and magnitude of said problem determines whether it may be a profit making opportunity. I think you don’t understand the time, resources and organizational changes needed to address significant business issues. If they aren’t significant, and we don’t have data to indicate this one way or the other, then investing the time and resources into addressing them would be an expense, not a profit activity.