Knipex Warranty

[Downwindtracker 2]

My warranty claim was denied . These were a pair of wire cutter, 8" or 200mm long. They are like little bolt cutters. Pretty heavy duty. Anyway I chipped the first 1/8" of the end of both blades . I dropped them off at the store and after a couple of weeks the representative came by . He said I used them wrong, I was supposed to cut at the bottom instead of the end. That sure sounded like an excuse to deny warranty to me.

Knipex makes good tools, just no warranty.

I'll grind the blade ends down. They won't be the only cutters with shortened blades in the drawer . chuckle

 

[darkzero]

That's BS IMO. Sometimes I hear people say Knipex has good warranty but most of the time I hear Knipex warranty *****. I hope I never have to warranty any of my Knipex.

I've been lucky & have only had to warranty very few tools in my life. Snap-on & Milwaukee has had the best warranty service in my experiences.

 

[AA/FC]

My warranty claim was denied . These were a pair of wire cutter, 8" or 200mm long. They are like little bolt cutters. Pretty heavy duty. Anyway I chipped the first 1/8" of the end of both blades . I dropped them off at the store and after a couple of weeks the representative came by . He said I used them wrong, I was supposed to cut at the bottom instead of the end. That sure sounded like an excuse to deny warranty to me.

Knipex makes good tools, just no warranty.

I'll grind the blade ends down. They won't be the only cutters with shortened blades in the drawer . chuckle

Try a different store or dealer...

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

It was the Knipex representative who denied it. He's likely the only one in this area. Cutters are consumables, they all die, some take longer.

But Knipex claims of warranty are a stretch.

 

[AA/FC]

Take it to a retail store that sells Knipex tools and tell the person at the customer service counter that you are there to exchange out a tool with a lifetime warranty. I've done that at Home Depot with Klein tools in the past. The person at the counter doesn't know any better. It's just like returning a "Husky" branded tool with a lifetime warranty. They don't know the difference. You don't (nor does nayone else) have time to wait for a Knipex company rep to approve a tool warranty claim several weeks down the road. That's ridiculous. Ever since SEARS set the stage with instant hand tool warranty exchanges, that has now become the norm to walk in with a broken tool, and walk out five minutes later with a new tool. I'm not sure who sells Knipex in your area but around here the Menards stores sell Knipex. I am willing to bet I could warranty your broken Knipex cutters at my local Menads with very little trouble. I could be wrong, but I've done similar things in the past at Home Depot. Just talk and sound like you know exactly what you're doing when dealing with the counter person and they will typically do whatever it takes to make you happy.

I would not accept a declined hand tool warranty claim. Not that I can't afford new tools, but simply on principle. If the tool company offers a lifertime warranty, then dammit they're going to warranty it! I realize time is money, but it's worth one more shot, anyway....

 

[NFH2740]

I counter your sample size of one with my own sample size of one. Knipex replaced a lost tooth from a hose clamp plier without issue.

 

[Vpick001]

I’ve heard mixed things about their warranty process. For that reason I overpaid by a fair mount by getting their Pliers wrench off the Mac truck (just has their stamping on the handle and head) since I figure it’ll be an easier warranty with my guy, and it’s a tool I’m pretty hard with.

 

[scooby074]

Try Knipex directly. See what they say

 

[General Geoff]

I’ve heard mixed things about their warranty process. For that reason I overpaid by a fair mount by getting their Pliers wrench off the Mac truck (just has their stamping on the handle and head) since I figure it’ll be an easier warranty with my guy, and it’s a tool I’m pretty hard with.

Without a cheater pipe I don't think you could possibly hurt a Pliers-Wrench, those things are stout!

 

[dnschmidt]

The German view on warrantee, and this is true of most German brands, is if you fucked it up it's got to be your fault as they don't make tools that break if used in the manner for which they were designed to be used. It's a totally different mindset from the American point of view which is no matter how much I abuse your **** you should still give me another one. I think this attitude came from Craftsman having such a liberal return policy during their run at Sears. The continent in general, and the Germans in particular, do not believe that you should be rewarded for abusing tools.

 

[dukefx]

The German view on warrantee, and this is true of most German brands, is if you fucked it up it's got to be your fault as they don't make tools that break if used in the manner for which they were designed to be used. It's a totally different mindset from the American point of view which is no matter how much I abuse your **** you should still give me another one. I think this attitude came from Craftsman having such a liberal return policy during their run at Sears. The continent in general, and the Germans in particular, do not believe that you should be rewarded for abusing tools.

That is true, and not only in Germany. As a matter of fact I only know of the UK and USA who have these kind of life time warranties. Everywhere else (that I know of) you get a few years (or none for consumables) or a limited life time warranty at best. The fact remains that any kind of defect caused by natural wear, misuse or abuse is not subject to warranty. It'd be like buyng a bottle of coke and dropping it, the glass shatters, and you demand they replace it. You drink the coke and demand a refill till the day you die, and other absurd scenarios.

The 2 main things you can claim warranty for are:
Visible defects right out of the box like wrong dimensions, deformities, dents, lack of material, lack of coating/plating, rust etc.
Quality issues due to some error in the manufacturing process (forgot to heat treat, the steel alloy batch wasn't good enough etc.)

I had to send back pliers wrenches. It was the latter category, probably didn't undergo heat treatment and was too soft. This is what the first bolt I ever used it on did to it:

I asked people on reddit and even asked the local rep of the country I live in and everyone said this shouldn't have happened so I returned it and got a new one.

Having said all that...

I chipped the first 1/8" of the end of both blades . I dropped them off at the store and after a couple of weeks the representative came by . He said I used them wrong, I was supposed to cut at the bottom instead of the end. That sure sounded like an excuse to deny warranty to me.

He was totally right to deny warranty due to misuse. The boxed versions come with instructions (to do it in 2 steps - unless it's the version with the grooves that won't let the bolt slip to the front) and they have videos and pictures on how to use them correctly on their website. The tips are only used for the smaller stuff like in this video

Overall I'd say Knipex has excellent warranty for defective products.

 

[Matt XYZ]

The German view on warrantee, and this is true of most German brands, is if you fucked it up it's got to be your fault as they don't make tools that break if used in the manner for which they were designed to be used. It's a totally different mindset from the American point of view which is no matter how much I abuse your **** you should still give me another one. I think this attitude came from Craftsman having such a liberal return policy during their run at Sears. The continent in general, and the Germans in particular, do not believe that you should be rewarded for abusing tools.

And Germany is well known for its lack of customer service.

 

[seber]

I call that BS warranty. There are plenty of occasions where the tip is all you can get to the part. Snap-on dealer wouldn't even look at it. Just replace it. But that has been my experience with German and Japanese tools as well. Warranty is for obvious defects only.

 

[dukefx]

Of course Snap On would replace it. You are paying for quantities of 10 in advance while getting only 1.

 

[Ton ton]

You can buy Knipex off of the snap on truck.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

I looked up their warranty, basically it's at their determination . They were very clear, it's for Canada and United States only. Had they used a different alloy , the blades might have been as hard and tougher instead of brittle.

They are good tools, but do you have to baby the cutters ? get real ! That's why I said they were consumables . Any brand.

This thread I started was more of a warning, than a compliant. Because some will read the glowing reports about Knipex and then expect warranty when they fail. Trying to get warranty not worth the effort.

BTW I've had excellent warranty from both Proto and Gray. I can't say enough good about them.

 

[finn]

I looked up their warranty, basically it's at their determination . They were very clear, it's for Canada and United States only. Had they used a different alloy , the blades might have been as hard and tougher instead of brittle.

They are good tools, but do you have to baby the cutters ? get real ! That's why I said they were consumables . Any brand.

This thread I started was more of a warning, than a compliant. Because some will read the glowing reports about Knipex and then expect warranty when they fail. Trying to get warranty not worth the effort.

BTW I've had excellent warranty from both Proto and Gray. I can't say enough good about them.

Exactly what alloy should they be using, or are you talking out of your (hat)?

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

And I might add more expensive.