The warranty thing for the Randalls doesn't bother me a bit. I won't go on a Tommy Boy rant here...but I'd rather have something that probably never needs a warranty than something that is guaranteed forever but might need the warranty regularly.
Craftsman is a good example of this. All Craftsman is now made in China now with cheaper chrome, cheaper steel, less tolerances, poor fit and finish, etc. But, you know what? 100% guaranteed, no questions asked. I just don't want to go back and exchange crap for more crap. I buy second hand tools a couple of decades old and never have to use the warranty.
I know that's not the perfect comparison since many of the knives with a great warranty are not crap. ESEE is a perfect example of this--do whatever you want, tell them and they'll still replace it. But the fact of the matter is that 99.9% of the things I do with my Randall is cutting tasks.
Of course, that's my opinion, I'm not trying to recruit any followers. In fact quite the opposite, I wish the thousands of Randall fans will quit buying so many so the wait isn't 5 years!!
Craftsman is a good example of this. All Craftsman is now made in China now with cheaper chrome, cheaper steel, less tolerances, poor fit and finish, etc. But, you know what? 100% guaranteed, no questions asked. I just don't want to go back and exchange crap for more crap. I buy second hand tools a couple of decades old and never have to use the warranty.
I know that's not the perfect comparison since many of the knives with a great warranty are not crap. ESEE is a perfect example of this--do whatever you want, tell them and they'll still replace it. But the fact of the matter is that 99.9% of the things I do with my Randall is cutting tasks.
Of course, that's my opinion, I'm not trying to recruit any followers. In fact quite the opposite, I wish the thousands of Randall fans will quit buying so many so the wait isn't 5 years!!