SWC knives

[coln18]

i have his number if you pm me i will send it to you...Just out of interest, i have a swc knife from about 2 years ago, he was very busy then as well, but with the RM stuff he must be snowed under. Still not good enough, to not answer his emails, i ordered a couple of replacement fire steels to match my knife in October and nothing as yet, tried emailing him 2 or 3 times - nothing, no response, not good enough. I will be phoning him tomorrow for a refund and i will not be using him again or recommending him again...

Colin

 

[woof]

I replied by pm over on BB Jasper, but i had a bad experience with him. His work is second to none, but his admin is crap. I had money for a custom knife, but after what happend, i took my buisness else where(thank you chevin). Take the advice, and source another maker.

Rob

 

[coln18]

I just sent him a 3rd email and let him know that there is a thread up and running about his lack of admin in answering his emails and that he really needs to start responding to emails because if his work with Ray goes south, we are the people that will keep his business afloat. Once you lose your reputation it really is a hard thing to get back.......

Colin

 

[wanderingblade]

I really don't get this.

If I had customers queueing up to buy my wares I'd be making damn sure I took care of them as people will always vote with their feet and go elsewhere.

It's a 3 minute job to set up an auto-responder email ust to let people know the message has been recieved and will be responded to in (enter reasonable time)

Failing that, hire a virtual office assistant to take care of this for you. Very cost effective and the increased sales / repeat custom from providing good service will more than repay the small investment needed to get this in place.

One thing you cannot ever afford to do in any business is assume customers will always be beating down your door regardless - times / fashions / celebrity endorsements change, sometimes very quickly so a business has to be built on solid foundations.

 

[robin wood]

I really don't get this.

If I had customers queueing up to buy my wares I'd be making damn sure I took care of them as people will always vote with their feet and go elsewhere.

It's a 3 minute job to set up an auto-responder email ust to let people know the message has been recieved and will be responded to in (enter reasonable time)

Failing that, hire a virtual office assistant to take care of this for you. Very cost effective and the increased sales / repeat custom from providing good service will more than repay the small investment needed to get this in place.

One thing you cannot ever afford to do in any business is assume customers will always be beating down your door regardless - times / fashions / celebrity endorsements change, sometimes very quickly so a business has to be built on solid foundations.

I think there is a difference between "a business" and "a craftsman", we craftsfolk have generally opted for our line of work for other reasons than optimising output and income. I know many that enjoy the fact that it is very difficult to buy anything from them. The guy who makes my shoes and clogs Jeremy Atkinson is a bugger to get work out of. It's not that he is rude or too busy with other stuff it's just that chasing money isn't top of his priority list. Most folk go elsewhere, I like his work so I am prepared to run around after him. His shoes generally last me well over 5 years.

I don't know Steve at SWC but it sounds like if you want to buy a knife from someone who communicates by email he is not your man. I wouldn't run him down for that though.

 

[woof]

Robin, its the guys admin in general, not just his failure to email, i recieved mine back(sent a knife for refurb+new sheath), the work as i've said is excelent, but when i order a left hand sheath, thats what i expect, not a right hand one, in a different style to that orderd.

Rob

 

[walker]

i agree with every one here i also would like a woodlore knife but there way too much cash and too long a wait aswell i went for a eka w11 for 69 pounds from hennie fantastic the knifes great just dont like the sheath

 

[wanderingblade]

I think there is a difference between "a business" and "a craftsman", we craftsfolk have generally opted for our line of work for other reasons than optimising output and income.

It's not just a quirk unique to craftspeople - many very good tradesmen are just as hard to pin down - I sometimes think my plumber is half aborigine as he has a tendancy to go walkabout for several weeks at a time!

Similarly, many tradespeople are just as bad at admin, advertising and many other aspects of business to the extent you sometimes wonder how they make a living.

Guess it's just my workaholic attitide.

 

[TeeDee]

Robin , I disagree ,, If it was a Hobby Maker , poor or slow admin is understandable, but if your full time occupation is one that you are selling on services to suppply and meet consumer demand then i dont find that acceptable.

If supply cant meet demand , or even give the demand an idea of how long things will take,if they have received an order, phoned back then demand will move on as stated above.

Maybe if SWC is doing that well that he is finding it hard to service demand from woodlore and others AND to handle admin, its time to contemplate taking someone on to handle the admin side as it would seem to be the flaw in the business.

 

[laro13]

Yes!!!
Finally, I've got a reply from Steve.

It wont be ready until may, but that is understandable with the huge popularity of the RM knife.

Thanks every body.

Cheers,

Jasper

 

[JonathanD]

I've just noticed that Woodlore have received a load of his knives in stock, so he has probably been really busy with that order. Anyway, alls well that ends well.

 

[laro13]

And....................... there out of stock again.

Just ten minutes, that is fast!!

Cheers,

Jasper

 

[eraaij]

As far as I can see, it's already sold out

The frenzy..

 

[JonathanD]

Blimey, he best get working on more then

 

[Alex78]

I'm one of the lucky buyers. You don't want to know how fast I moved after receiving the email ) I think in one minute I was done

 

[HillBill]

at the end of the day a woodlore style knife from another maker will be exactly the same, just cut out 4mm o1 stock, HT'd with some 28deg bevels and some Scales slapped on, QUOTE]

I don't agree, every makers knives differ in almost every conceivable way. You can ID most makers work without seeing the mark quite easily. AWs stand out a mile from any of the clones, as do SWCs etc. Besides, the OP was just wanting to contact him, he never mentioned what he wanted.

And every knife every maker makes is different from the last if they are handmade. But Josh's point stands. Its 01 cut to a certain shape and bevels ground on at a certain angle. If you shape the handle the same too then whats the difference? Its same materials same shape, same grind angle, same knife no matter who makes it. Like i said each knife is different from the same maker in one way or another.

 

[JonathanD]

Got to admit, I snagged one too, I was luckily on line when the email came through. More out of curiosity than anything. I think the handle may be too slim for my liking, but I wanted to fondle one anyway, so no doubt I'll sell it on here for the same amount I paid if it is. Then again

 

[HillBill]

Yes, I am looking for a woodlore style knife.

The reason that I choose SWC, is the style and quality of his knives.
I also liked the idea of the knife kits, so you can make your own scales.

I will try and reach him for a few weeks, if there is no response, I will look for someone else.

Thank god, I have my trusty Mora knife to get me out of trouble.

Cheers,

Jasper

The handle on SWC's woodlore are quite thin. I have seen a few comparison pics and they are all like that, may be worth considering if you are going to use it a lot. Thin handle means more grip required = greater fatigue and more discomfort. This is expecially true of a knife designed for all tasks. Folk often over look the handle shape when it comes to it. They look at grind, blade profile, thickness etc, yet it is the handle which makes a knife useable or uncomfortable. Thats in all the grips not just one.

Edit.... seems you agree jonathon

 

[JonathanD]

The handle on SWC's woodlore are quite thin. I have seen a few comparison pics and they are all like that, may be worth considering if you are going to use it a lot. Thin handle means more grip required = greater fatigue and more discomfort. This is expecially true of a knife designed for all tasks. Folk often over look the handle shape when it comes to it. They look at grind, blade profile, thickness etc, yet it is the handle which makes a knife useable or uncomfortable. Thats in all the grips not just one.

Edit.... seems you agree jonathon

dammit, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking, I like mine fat

 

[eraaij]

Still, I am amazed by the differences in handling that I have observed over the years on various woodlore clones. Not even on the clones but also on the WS and AW models.

A slightly slimmer/fatter blade or handle profile can do a lot towards weight distribution, comfort and maneuverability. Different handle materials likewise and not even speaking about the various grind heights. Not really important in incidental and rough tasks, but pretty much so if you use the thing intensely over a weeks course.

To state that all woodlores and derivatives are just the same is therefore -well- in a way nonsense