Survive Knives Is Over.  

Choosing to use "survive" in the company name didn't age well.

His main problem was that he was trying to make knives to an unobtainable level of perfection with the kind of operation he had. The other was dreaming up new designs and trying to put those into production when the original designs were never getting made, finished, & shipped out. It sounds like his OCD and/or autism, and over ambition got the best of him, and he was too proud listen to anyone else trying to talk some sense into him trying to help him.

I knew Guy was making excuses, and that his manufacturing process was badly in need of process development for scale, and that he didn’t price to cover costs but I didn’t realize that it was THAT bad, with him bottlenecking 80% of the manufacturing processes and going AWOL half the time. Looks like he did pretty much everything wrong from both a business strategy and manufacturing process development perspective.

I put an order in back in September of '22. Never fulfilled. No refund, nothing. Requested a refund several times, no response. There you go. Sad. Thank you so much for all you do. Love your reviews and your insight into knives.

I really appreciate your video. I sadly lost $520 from my SK pre-orders that were placed mid 2022. I had a 4 orders placed and received 1 EDC-4 (K890) in November 2023. The other orders I had placed was for the EDC-3, Necker II, and EDC-2.7 on order. I was holding hope in Guy to provide my other 3 orders, but I guess I’ll have to accept the loss. Thanks again.

Feel really bad for the people that lost their money. Sounds like the company was very poorly ran. Thanks for sharing, God bless you and your family.

Yeah, been waiting over 2 years for a GSO 4.5 and GSO 4.7. Tried reach them dozens of times but got no reply. I was dumb enough to believe in this conman. I hope he ends up in jail. Thanks for this video, the information and all your efforts!

Crazy that so many people never got their preorders, I would be so upset too!! I’m glad you’re shining light on the knife makers that deserve the customers and helping design knives that are similar to what they lost!!!!

Kudos for taking on this burden...a burden that shouldn't be yours. You have a big heart. Love ya E

Oof. I’m not educated enough on this topic. Thanks for sharing with us

it is a sad thing to hear of a knifemaker not doing well. prepaid knives, and deposits on unmade knives can be a very dangerous thing.

3 years waiting on a GSO 10 and 12 that will never be delivered :(

Plenty of other makers that have knives in stock or will make a knife without money upfront (like me). Glad you are here and not going anywhere and always helping inform our community 💚

They got me as well, never got the product. At least they could have answered there e-mails.

The problem with Survive! Is that guy was clearly an addict. But more importantly, he thought he could copy Carothers Performance Knives. But no one can make Knives like CPK.

Good indifferent coverage, people can make up their own mind about what happened. There are so many factors that we will never know, the people who paid for knives should get a a part of the liquidation if possible.

Thank you for doing this. At least you are trying to figure something out. I was a big Survive enthusiast. I never bought a knife, because I couldnt afford it at the time, but I really respect what you are doing here. Thank you.

Thanks for the update. Truly sad. I actually had a Survive knife. It took 2 weeks to get it in, and the only reason being it was on their ready to ship listing. I was surprised I get it in, considering the horror stories of 5 years waiting. The fit and finish was good, it was in 3v steel. Blade geometry was really good.

This shouldn't surprise anyone who's been even on the edge of this drama for the past decade. Survive has a permanent place in the Hall of Shame on Blade Forums feedback section. That said, if he could pump out production levels of knives with good quality, he'd be a rich man at the head of a large company. He had great designs, and everyone raves about the knives when they did get one.

Hey Erica! If you need any help designing I would love to help! I can do CAD so you could watejet the profiles

People are waiting 10 years for a knife? Crazy. I hope they did not have to pay too much upfront.

Bought a knife from John after seeing a review on your channel. Even after you gave him hell about his magna-cut heat treat. It’s one of my favorite knives. Your credibility is unquestioned as far as I’m concerned for what it’s worth.

got from them a 4.5 cpm3v that didn't hold the edge. Send it back to them, did not get a new one.... so, seems to be gone

A survival knife has a 9.5 inch blade or larger. Something big enough to fight bears and split wood. Typically a Bowie knife.

Also, as someone who has struggled with mental illness since my early teenage years and has seen it in most of their family in one shape or another... watching Guy's video, you can definitely see it all over him. I'm not making excuses for the guy, his actions are his own, but he definitely needs to get help.

Can’t say enough how much i appreciate folks like you. The community deserves to have that unsung hero and that’s you in this position. You looked at what was going on and took a level headed and productive stance. Even still in the aftermath it’s great to see you kept true to your opinion and tried to help. All the best Erica

You have a good heart

Definitely a sad ending. Cool of you to show some alternatives though. You have some truly dope designs out there and of course, Allen's work is just insane. I still need to get a piece from Steve

Interesting video, Slater! What a bizarre situation! Full stop! I'm not super familiar with the knife industry, but stuff like this happens in the guitar/instrument/music industry ALL the time. There'll be a talented luthier (guitar builder) who impresses everyone with his instruments, gets stars in his eyes about starting a guitar company, starts taking order for guitars, and a year or two later inevitably gets in over his head, takes too many pre-orders, can't keep up, and files for bankruptcy the next year, leaving customers without their guitars, etc. Alway a sad situation! I suppose it just sort of reinforces your point, Erica, about working with custom knife makers who have their hands on every single knife, who do their own custom heat treats, as opposed to Survive, who did NOT have his hands on every single knife, but was using Peter's heat treat to try to keep up with all the back orders... It says a lot about you, Erica, that you're trying to find a solution to this situation, and not just talking reddit conspiracy nonsense and empty political bantering etc. You're such a wonderful, empathetic person, and I appreciate you!! That pink shirt looks amazing on you and gets the easy win today!! Your adorable freckles are at peak summertime omnipresence holy crap!!! Almost 13k!!! Another great video, Erica!!! ❤🧡

Another good video Erica. Stay Positive, ohhh I guess you are. I've never purchased a knife directly from a small manufacturer. With a small exception, I put my hands on the knives I buy before I put the cash down on the counter. Thanks for sharing this sorted tale and putting possible solutions out there.

It’s such a sad and messed up situation. I can say I only feel bad for those that lost their money. Hopefully everyone in the community will learn from this.

I ordered a GSO 4.1 back in 2013 and got it without any issues. It remains the best knife in my collection to this day. Sad to see the business fail so badly.

Unfortunately there is only two alternatives: Get their money back or sue to get part of the liquidation of the company if any!

I’m really glad you particularly made a video about this. It’s only you and 4 other people I actually listen to when it comes to the knife community. Random question, would you ever be interested in doing a collab video with Jon (heavyset tactical), Steve Callari, and Jacob B Peterson? I’m asking because in my opinion and from the people that I’m familiar with, y’all are the most upstanding youtubers that represent the knife/edc community. Plus I think it would be an interesting video with the potential to make a big positive impact. I love what you do Erica, keep going❤!

Was waiting on a GSO 10 & 12 myself. 4.5 years. Promised a year ago for a refund....pretty much ghosted since after 4 more promises. I'm very upstet to watch all these videos what a disgrace. Should be ashamed of himself.

I appreciate the way you're trying to help, it's really great to see a supportive stance instead of taking the easy road of dumping on Survive and Guy. I had two preorders for the "Vendetta" line of knives that he had planned, excited that things might've been turning around in 2022. Best I can hope for now is that someone buys that IP from him and they become a reality (but not my preorders themselves). I'm fortunate to have found other designs that fill what I was looking for, but still would've been nice to get those.

Architect is a great option.

Sucks that all this is ending this way. The product is top tier. Anyone want to discuss or debate? Certainly there are issues from a business model perspective. Absolute disaster. Glad I was able to get the units I have.

I've got a 5.1 and 4.5 ordered that have been on order for over 18 months. I did however get a GSO 4 that did get delivered. Makes me so sad because it's a fantastic knife.

All I want is my GSO-12 I ordered 3 years ago. Is that too much to ask for?

Off topic question, but have you used the spyderco lil temperance 3 in k390 yet?

Miss Erica your a blessing to the Knife Community! Awesome video and hopefully those that got burned by Survive Knives can get a knife that they will treasure and use!

I don’t know. I remember wiring 5 neck knives together. Heat treating them in a forge. They sold just fine. As far as I know. They’re still on n service by their end users.

Wow Erica, this is very selfless and huge hearted of u, God is smiling on u young lady

The sad part is no one is going to get their knives they paid for.. w/ 3,000 pre orders made and paid =1,000,000 where that money went who knows a little here little there. Jst a bad deal for everyone, especially when they are such good knives

I ordered 4 knives from survive… I did get 2 of them, but only the knives that were far more sus on the grand scope of what they offer. Recieved a factory second GSO 4 and 5.1 in magnacut Never received GSO 3 or EDC 4. I wasted 2 years on Survive, Guy owes me about $400. I can only imagine what others are going through. I’ll definitely check out the makers you are suggesting and thank you for the video!

On the 2 yr anniversary of knife order I called "survive" and cancelled, I concluded the dude was/is BS.

I was one of those thousands of people, it’s messed up that my money is lost or should I say stolen. Guy should have just sent back the money instead of telling people they are coming. I was told if I switch steels it would have been sent out in that month. That was 4 months ago. I ordered my knife December 2022. I understand being in a bad situation but Guy didn’t handle this correctly in anyway whatsoever.

So good of you to try to find alternative solutions. Good job and thanks for the work you put in.

Yeah I got screwed out of my money what a Dick. Ordered back in Nov. 2023 and got 249.00$ of nothing but an excuse, I would have been somewhat happy if he sent a blade blank. Thanks for your video.

Great video, and thank you so much for doing this. I'm a maker, but an enthusiast as well, and had two knives pre-ordered with Survive. Was really looking forward to them, out about $400 🫤 It's really a shame how this is playing out 😮‍💨

You have a good heart.

Their website is still selling preorders…. Crazy

I had preordered “2” knives with Survive knives and now looks like I’m gonna be out $350.00 . So so disappointing . I’ve tried multiple times to contact Guy with no success. I feel bad that this didn’t work out for him , but on the same token I’m really pissed off.

I can vouch for BGM. Just got my mini bowie this past monday. Nice knife, worth the wait. Very sharp cant wait to carry it for the coming years.

Makes me sick to hear how things turned out for so many folks. Can’t say I’m surprised though honestly with all the controversy. I turned more than one person to architect knives that has many similar models that you can actually get. Nice to see you doing what you can for the community!

5 unfulfilled orders here. Can I have my unfinished blanks at least? I paid hard-earned money for them, I think it's fair to ask for them.

Cypress Creek Knives are amazing. I have a Bush crafter and a guide.

Love that vulture 👊🏻 I see cold steel in their future 😂 we all work but everyone can’t inspire folks to get behind a maker, money isn’t bad trust me I have to make alot of it every week to pay my employees bills and material houses 😅 you do great work , be rewarded

Anyone paying royalties to Survive for their influence? They failed for sure, the knives freaking ROCK!

Adam Lanza never existed !!! More info on my channel !!!

Another great video Erica, mental health is a very real and very important issue!!!!!!!

That shirt looks kinda pink

Well said, E!👍👍

Idiot was saying there’s a problem with Magnacut, the only problem was him lying.

I think you sell yourself short Erica, as far as your influence goes. I’ve noticed several bigger channels using your tag line “ use your s**t” and more channels quoting hrc values. You are impacting the community!

Thanks for your positivity dispite the sad news about the industry

Erica can you also link the Creely video addressing the Magnacut claims that Guy has made and, based on the video I watched a few hours ago, continues to blame for the business going under? I find it very suspicious his response video has zero comments for one and also that he's continuing to blame an issue which he has never proven and that the majority of knife maker's have not run into. Guy seems shady AF

Very Good Knife Company is a great home shop in Ga. Great knives

It’s about time that they stop stealing money from people- taking payment and order for product they they knew their business model couldn’t support. It’s dishonest and disgusting. People loved the designs and the novelty of high grade steels. But for me, all those folks that bought them under the idea there would be a lifetime warranty should also get something some reassurance if he sells the design and company

Ditto - Out $460 for a GSO-12 ordered since 2021. Stupidly bought into his 'please be patient, I'm working on it videos'. Any chance your audience could recommend a similar alternative for a high quality heavy blade chopper / all rounder (and don't say BK9 lol) ?

Small but mighty! 💪 its a shame but someone has to buy these excess pallets of blanks and machines, maybe a knife collective . 20 people at 10k ??????

Hello awesome thank you for your humanity , missed some of your videos , thank you for being great joyful help in safe knife fun world , MY knife is still in the process with Levi , take good care Erica be well .

If mom would’ve just SERVED her spaghetti, they probably would’ve SERVived.

Really like the look of the mink how can I put an order in?

Got me for a 5.1 😢

Man, those are some sweet scales on that PBK knife!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Survive owes me 4 blades or over 1k..im going to my bank to file sales fraud report and have the bank lawyers deal with this...

Good morning Ms E. Good on you trying to help. Take care.🇺🇲🔪🌲🔥

In Jon's video he said Guy had "boxes and boxes of blanks" I wonder if he would sell any of those.

Say what you want about other knife makers. At least you got the knife. Geez😬

I looked into them and got bad juju from the business model.

I can't believe this. Now it's going to cost me $1000.00 for a GSO 5.1

Hello, Erica. You're a good hearted person.

Erica, a serious, but a sensitive question perhaps, but an important one, i think. How do you cope with nasty sexist comments? Can imagine there are a few less nice comments on a woman being an expert on this topic. Strange mindsets are all around.

Was the drama with magnacut just a ruse? Or is there truth?

I hope another company takes over and i can still get my product..

Erica, the Knife Saint

Survive!- wellll......

What about GSO 5.1

I knew guy had problems with manufacturing that resulted from having an under-developed process and bad pricing model. But I never imagined that a huge part of it was that 80% of the work had to go through one guy who only worked half the time.

You should check out cypress creek knives

Talented maker just dishonest and lazy.

They did not… survive…

👊

Unfortunately heavysettactical contradicts himself to many times in his videos to be believable. He was butt hurt Guy didn’t want to work with him and wanted to go on RU-vid and slander him. Seems pretty simple. I’m not saying Survive was a good company but heavysettactical doesn’t seem on the level.

So they stole our money?

I hope all the stories you researched were accurate because you might be basing your opinions on some fake news. Don't want to see you get grief for your comments if they aren't based on accurate facts.

sell me that EDC 2.7 he sent you a few months ago 😉

They didnt survive