the first id like to talk about is the damascus.gorgeous knife. looks to be very high quality. came with nice etched walnut case
very nice clear high contrast damascus blade pattern
exept for the etched spot that wasnt washed properly:
and the fact that the blade doesnt quite line up when opened. it looks slightly cockeyed
now to the 13" stag/dagger blade
absolute worst quality ive ever recieved from AB.
as you can see, at first glance it looks ok
BUT at closer inspection, its totally a piece of junk. theres a HUGH gap in the spine of the knife:
you can also see numerous large pits ( of sorts) in the spine of the knife, up by the top clearly visible in the picture, along with obvious grind marks.
i didnt get a picture of it, but around the pin that goes thru to hold the blade is all dented up and looks like someone smacked it with a hammer or something ( if anyone would like to see pix of that, i can take them)
the lock on the back was ground totally uneven, as you can see, one sides alot bigger and undercut more than the other one
the spring inside is in so off center and cockeyed that it rubs and catches on the inside bolster when you release it, and the knife will now 'spring" out like its supposed to
even though the blade is ABSURDLEY loose ( which i didnt know how to photograph) and sort of 'flops" around while its in the open and locked position
PLUS i was under the impression that it ( the 13") was also supposed to come with a box, but it was just wrapped in bubblewrap
also, i didnt mention ( and forgot to photo) the handle. on the button side, where the handle meets the metal up by the swivel bolster,theres a HUGH gap where it was routered out for the lockwork inside ( over 1/8th inch easy) which would allow for all sorts of junk to get inside. very shodly done if you ask me.
and even though i do know as a stilleto freak these knives arent made for everyday "sharpened" use ,(traditionally they were made for self defense) the picture below shows the upper end of the "sharpened" side of the blade, clearly showing that its NOT shapened to a point really, but extremely dull. the edges dont match and it only comes to "somewhat" of a point
anyway, even though the damascus has the problems ive pointed out, im half way satisfied with it as i can just do a bit of polishing and cleaning up,ad a few small personal touches ( like filework to the lock,etc) myself and whip it into shape, but the 13" is really a piece of junk BIGTIME. it looks like it was used,abused and beat to holy hell. ill be emailing Renza here in a few minutes and asking that it be replaced right away. i really like Renza, and i REALLY hate to do that, but as you can see from the photos, this knife is not even close to being acceptable. im afraid to show this knife to anyone here locally as ive turned about 50 people ( yes, about 50+, i am a firearms/knife dealer) on to AB, and alot of them order regularly from AB, and im sure if this knife got around they would hesitate to order anything from them again.
i sure hope they replace it quick. it was purchased directly as a sample for possible future customers.
im sorry, but im the kind of guy that if i spend over 300.00 for knives that they be $300..00 worth of knives, not something that looks like it should have been thrown into the garbage bin
anyway, if anyone has any sugestions or wants to see more pix of this knife, email me and ill send you some
i just cant understand why some of there knives are of such high quality, and some are canidates for the garbage pail
One of the main reasons it is so much easier to go the short route and deal with the guys in country. You are usually assured a nice knife, and if your not happy, the return process is so much easier, faster, and cheaper.
I agree who ever shipped that should be embarrased.
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