Trevor Ablett Clippoint

[nuphoria]

I want to venture in to the area of UK made slipjoint folders as legal EDC, and my first new purchase was this Clippoint in buffalo made by Trevor Ablett at Sheffield Knives:



It does look great, which is why I was happy to part with £25 for one. A bargain? Well no, not really. When it arrived some days later I was instantly a bit disappointed with it. The joints between the brass bolsters and the buffalo were quite uneven, and there were marks in the buffalo too. The v-grind to the blade was a little uneven from side to side too. Most noticeable were the rather sharp edges on some of the brass liner pieces, which seems to have been only roughly finished in places. There were also spots of oxidisation of some sort present.

Overall, I was not happy with it so I emailed and asked if I could have a replacement. I wanted another one because the design itself is lovely and apart from some of the erratic finishing, it felt really nice in the hand due to being made from good materials and being fairly weighty. They were happy to send another but didn't have the exact same one in stock so I agreed to accept the same knife with the addition of a castrator blade for the same price - I thought having such a blade might be useful for taming mouthy young men

So, knife no.2 arrived and I was very sad to find that is was of the same quality as the first. Both blades had uneven grinds on them and it was sharp where the brass was poorly finished. Regrettably I emailed again and said I would like to return it for a refund including my postage costs. The reply I got was this:

"OK, I thought it may be the case. That is the standard of the knives, you are the first to complain in 2 years.
 
Regards
 
Nigel"

It's not an expensive knife by a long shot but I was hoping that the standards they set for themselves were higher - apparently not. If they were acceptable to the manufacturers then so be it, but I won't be ordering another one sadly. I'm happy that they are prepared to send a refund but saddened that I have not yet found an affordable slippie made in the UK to carry around proudly. 

So, if you consider the price to be fair for such a knife, by all means go ahead and get yourself one. They have quite an extensive range of blade types and combos with a choice of handle material. Perhaps some of the others are better than the examples I received 

[Gareth]

Sadly I don't think that this is the first time I've heard this Chrissy.  IIRC there was a thread over on BB that had some mixed opinions about the knives (mostly good but enough bad as well).  For the money I'd a least expect the brasswork to be smooth.  I might let one or two issues go but not all of the problems you've listed.  Shame really.  

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That's a real shame, as it looks bloody gorgeous in the shots

[Craig]

That's a real shame, as it looks bloody gorgeous in the shots

What Mike said. I had been considering getting one of these because they look so damn good, if that's 'the standard of the knives' I won't bother. Glad you posted this review

[nuphoria]

Yeah, I was quite miffed at the reply really, as it to say, we think it's acceptable to send out knives finished badly. Not good enough in my book anyway 

[nuphoria]

I forgot to mention that the above pic is their stock one, not a shot of the one I received.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Well you've saved me a few quid, so thank you

[Benner]

That's a shame.

FWIW, my Taylor Eye Witness slippy done by Russel White is perfect.  I paid a lot for mine as it was a custom one, but one of the standard ones may be around the price you paid for that one and should be far better made.

I have some pics around here somewhere.

[Poncho65]

  That is quite a shame nuphy wonder why they would settle with a low standard as that I guess it all comes down to money looks like they would have tried to find you a better fit and finish on your 2nd knife thanks for the time to put pen to paper (so to speak ) for us

[nuphoria]

You're welcome... and yes, it is a shame. 

[Neil]

I'm sad to say I had basically the same issues with an Ablett I acquired some time ago.  I thought maybe it was a one off   First time out the box it gave me quite a large brass spliter, I then proceeded to pull a thin length of brass off the back of the knife!  It also was not sharp and the finish to the handle looked as if it hadn't been completed.  A great shame.

[J-sews]

Bummer Its sad when you really want to like something, but it doesn't let you.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Bummer Its sad when you really want to like something, but it doesn't let you.

Like Grant really...

[nuphoria]

Bummer Its sad when you really want to like something, but it doesn't let you.

Like Grant really...

Hey, I like him plenty when he's dressed like a girl 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Bummer Its sad when you really want to like something, but it doesn't let you.

Like Grant really...

Hey, I like him plenty when he's dressed like a girl 

Yeah he was pretty 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Quit your teasing... no one wants to like me...

Def

[Neil]

Quit your teasing... no one wants to like me...

Def

More musketeer outfits could change that

[jacknife]

"It does look great, which is why I was happy to part with £25 for one. A bargain? Well no, not really. When it arrived some days later I was instantly a bit disappointed with it."

I had the same issues with mine. I gave it away. 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Sorry to hear your's was naff to mate

Welcome to the forum though

[Neil]

Welcome to the forum 

I guess the question is now, has anyone ever received one of these knives that was good?    It really is such a shame

[Freudian Frog]

The quality of these sound of a Rough Rider or Marble's knife... which could be had for muuuch cheaper.

It's a shame when you get something and it's not all it's cracked up to be (I don't really get this colloquialism).

[Neil]

The quality of these sound of a Rough Rider or Marble's knife... which could be had for muuuch cheaper.

It's a shame when you get something and it's not all it's cracked up to be (I don't really get this colloquialism).

I've had a few Rough Riders pass through my hands and they've all been of superior quality.  And no, I don't get that expression either

[Gareth]

The quality of these sound of a Rough Rider or Marble's knife... which could be had for muuuch cheaper.

It's a shame when you get something and it's not all it's cracked up to be (I don't really get this colloquialism).

I've had a few Rough Riders pass through my hands and they've all been of superior quality.  And no, I don't get that expression either

It could be from the Irish/Scots/English idea of "the crack" or "the craic" meaning fun or news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic

Only a guess though.

[Neil]

Makes sense to me 

[Freudian Frog]

I think I have a couple books on the origins of colloquialisms, I'll see if I can confirm it.

[Gareth]

Just looked up a phrase Dictionary and found a couple of things.

A gude Crack: Scottish, a good conversation, also a good talker.

To crack up: to praise highly, to eulogize.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

The quality of these sound of a Rough Rider or Marble's knife... which could be had for muuuch cheaper.

It's a shame when you get something and it's not all it's cracked up to be (I don't really get this colloquialism).

I've had a few Rough Riders pass through my hands and they've all been of superior quality.  And no, I don't get that expression either

All the Rough Ryders I've bought are better in fit and finish to the Ablett I have

[jacknife]

Sorry to hear your's was naff to mate

Welcome to the forum though

Thank you all for the welcome.       The sad thing about the TA knives is that with just a little more time spent on fit and finish they'd be pretty good.

[ringzero]

The quality of these sound of a Rough Rider or Marble's knife... which could be had for muuuch cheaper.

It's a shame when you get something and it's not all it's cracked up to be (I don't really get this colloquialism).

Same origin as cracker.

Cracker was used by middle and upper class Southern Colonials to refer to unlettered, lower class Southerners supposedly full of exaggerated self regard, braggadocio, and a general lack of respect for their "betters" in Colonial society.

.

[Farmman]

Sorry for the thread resurrection but it seemed appropriate.  Yesterday I was pleased to be am usher at some friends wedding.  Those of you who attended the Sheffield meet at my house may remember Dan and Michelle ( especially Michelle as she was only stopping for ten mins and ended up being with us all day).  It was a great day and I was genuinely please to receive the below pocket knife as a  thank you and keepsake of their special day.

Today has been the first chance I have had to really look at the knife and I guessed (correctly) that others on the forum must have had one of these and given there thoughts.  I was surprised to find so many bad experiences with Ablett knives.  As you can (hopefully) see from the attached photos my knife does not have the problems described above with finish, with everything on the scales fitting well and finished to a great standard.

My only real criticism would be that the blade does need sharpening to give it a razor edge.

Perhaps Trevor has taken note of past criticisms and is now upping his game, or perhaps I have go lucky.  Either way I thought it only right to give my thoughts.

As for will I use the knife ........ Probably not I don't really carry just knives preferring something with more functions for my edc.