Gerber Knives - Warranty

[Shadowtek]

I recently tried to use my warranty for a knife I bought about two years age. This knife company advertises a "Lifetime Warranty". but their are stipulations... lots of them, and their really picky too. Heres an E-mail that I received when I tried to contact them about the warranty.



"""Thank you for contacting Gerber Legendary Blades regarding your Gerber
product. Gerber warrants to the original consumer purchaser that this
product will be free of defects, in material and workmanship. This
warranty does not cover damage due to acts of God, accident, improper
use, abuse, negligence, or modification of or to any part of the
product. Normal wear and tear is not covered under the warranty. If
the product failed while being used as it was intended to be used, we
will service under the warranty. At Gerber's option, defective product
will be repaired, replaced, or substituted with a product of equal
value. If you feel this is a warranty issue, please send the product
for warranty service. To obtain warranty service, send the product,
along with an explanation of the defect, your name, address, and phone
number, to the address below:

Gerber Legendary Blades
Attn: Service Dept.
14200 SW 72nd Ave
Portland, OR 97224

It is recommended that you send your package via UPS, FedEx, or insured
mail. Turnaround time is approximately two to four weeks. Return
freight is incurred by Gerber Blades.

Information regarding the warranty can be found on the Gerber website at
http://www.gerbergear.com/index.php/faq/cat_id/4. The FAQ (Frequently
Asked Questions) page can answer many of your questions.

Please do feel free to send your product in. We would be very happy to
accommodate you. Should you not have a receipt; that is fine."""





Dosent this sound a little too picky?

Let me know what you think. Please.

 

[plastic_window]

This warranty does not cover damage due to acts of God

What???

That is the funniest thing I think I've ever heard a company say

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

Um it essentially says you can only return it if you got it broken like a factory defect. And WTF? A knife form Gerber, doesn't Gerber make baby food?

 

[sirsolo]

Haha..
Basically, there is no warranty. Accidents and normal use are not covered.

 

[black lincon]

This warranty does not cover damage due to acts of God

damn! there goes my, "it was caught in a rain of sulfur" excuse.

 

[Novajam]

This warranty does not cover damage due to acts of God

What???

It's Legal speak for fires/storms/cyclones/godzillas. Things beyond your control.

Anyway, sounds like you're only covered for normal use. If it falls apart when chopping up carrots, you'll be fine. All other times, nope.

But things hardly ever fall apart in normal use, do they?

 

[jasoncyrus]

It doesn't sound picky at all really. A lifetime guarentee means "If used correctly and nothing out of the ordinary happens to it (like lightning), then it should wear out as normal."

Its not your lifetime, its the lifetime of the knife.

 

[Novajam]

This warranty does not cover damage due to acts of God

What???

It's Legal speak for fires/storms/cyclones/godzillas. Things beyond your control.

Anyway, sounds like you're only covered for normal use. If it falls apart when chopping up carrots, you'll be fine. All other times, nope.

But things hardly ever fall apart in normal use, do they?

I see...

What about the not servicing for wear and tear bit. Wouldn't the knife falling apart be wear and tear?

Yeah... come to think of it, it probably would.

The more I read over this, the more it seems the company doesn't want to know you.

EDIT: For clarity, what has actually happened to your knife that you need to claim on the warranty?

 

[Shadowtek]

I have a Gerber Paraframe II - Serrated Edge knife. and abouttwo or three months ago the THUMBSCREW came loose and fell out.I have no idea where this might have happened or exactly when it happened. I have tried looking at several different hardware stores and no one carries the type of thumbscrew needed. Im going to give them a call in a couple of days to see if this is covered under their warranty, just to check for sure.

http://www.gerberstore.com/index.php?xpage=itempage&xid=530

 

[Joos]

Haha..
Basically, there is no warranty. Accidents and normal use are not covered.

This is not true. From reading the text above, which seems to be quite standard for warranty claims, you can certainly get warranty support for several scenarios, for example:

Your blade seems to wear dull too quickly during use since you suspect their heat treatment of the edge may have been faulty during manufacture.
While stabbing someone your tip broke. While looking closer you notice impurities in the metal which would have made the blade weaker than it should be.

Also, it seems more lenient than I've seen since they accept warranty claims without proof of purchase. *looks for gerber's website to order some steel*

 

[jasoncyrus]

While stabbing someone your tip broke. While looking closer you notice impurities in the metal which would have made the blade weaker than it should be.

Unfortunately I think they may decline to cover that particular activity through the guarantee.

 

[Whobajube]

Sounds like a pretty sweet warranty to me... I mean, come on, it's fine if you don't have the receipt... haha

 

[redbirdfire77]

I recently tried to use the warranty on my Gerber Multi Tool that fell into a fire while at work (Wildland Firefighter), due to the sheath coming apart, and they told me they will warranty it since it happened from their product coming apart. Now they didn't have to do that, they explained they focus on the Knives and not as much making great sheaths, but I think they are an outstanding company. I just wanted people to know they will back up their product and I don't like seeing people bash them.