Smith & Wesson Border Guard SWBG2TS Review

SoCalCuda

Member
Oct 2, 2018
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Summary review = I have been using this knife for about 4 months and just had the screws fall out holding the pocket clasp on. On multiple occasions I have tried to screw the screws back in and 3 of them are stripped. The idea of this happening so quickly blows my mind, and I am not happy. I also cannot keep a favorable blade on the knife….. I would buy another knife and skip this one if I could do it over.

Smith & Wesson Border Guard SWBG2TS. Belt cutter and window punch
 
Mass produced in CHINA. For $18.00, you got what you paid for.

I have an $18 folding knife that's very similar (browning.. came free with my blaze orange hat so you know it's high quality.) I've had it for 3 years, and it is still as sharp today as the day I bought it, and not one piece is loose, so it can be expected. I know because this knife has been sitting in my center console where I put it three years ago. I used it to open a letter yesterday and it performed perfectly!


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I have an $18 folding knife that's very similar (browning.. came free with my blaze orange hat so you know it's high quality.) I've had it for 3 years, and it is still as sharp today as the day I bought it, and not one piece is loose, so it can be expected. I know because this knife has been sitting in my center console where I put it three years ago. I used it to open a letter yesterday and it performed perfectly!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you open 1 envelope every 3 years that knife will be good for 9 years.
 
I no longer buy Chinese knives because of what China represents. Having said this, 2 years ago I lost a Smith & Wesson folder knife that I bought at Big 5 and it was made in china but it held a great edge and I had it for 15 yrs. I also have some mini Buck folders that are chinese made that hold good edges. Its a lot less painful to lose a chinese knife than a german or italian blade.
 
It’s a shame that a great company like S&W puts their name on products that are crap. I have 3 S&W revolvers I bought 20 plus years ago and they are quality guns. It makes my wonder what the quality is like on modern S&W . Hopefully their revolvers are still great products.

Also if you buy a cheap knife no mater the brand you can expect the cheap knife to perform like a cheap knife. And when you most need the knife you can bet it’ll fail.

For the most part I don’t buy anything cheap anymore but the two things this really apples to for me is outdoor equipment and tools. Failure of these things just isn’t an option. When outdoor equipment or tools fail it usually F’s up your day or your life. So for tools and outdoor equipment I buy the best there is or the best I can afford.
 
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You are not happy with the performance and durability of an $18 knife? Is this a real issue for you or you are just bored out of your mind?

I tell you how you fix it...throw it in the garbage and move on with your life. I didn't grow up throwing stuff away seriously but you got to pick your battles man.

Cheers.
 
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It’s a shame that a great company like S&W puts their name on products that are crap. I have 3 S&W revolvers I bought 20 plus years ago and they are quality guns. It makes my wonder what the quality is like on modern S&W . Hopefully their revolvers are still great products.

Also if you buy a cheap knife no mater the brand you can expect the cheap knife to perform like a cheap knife. And when you most need the knife you can bet it’ll fail.

For the most part I don’t buy anything cheap anymore but the two things this really apples to for me is outdoor equipment and tools. Failure of these things just isn’t an option. When outdoor equipment or tools fail it usually F’s up your day or your life. So for tools and outdoor equipment I buy the best there is or the best I can afford.
I wouldn't use the Chinese knife as a reflection on current S&W knives. I think they licensed the name to Big 5 at one time which is their business model, saw the volume and took over sales to everyone. A $20 knife cost a dealer $10, the distributor paid $7.50 or less and the company is still making a big profit after production and transport. I agree, it does devalue a brand to put your name on junk, even if it's not your main product category.
 
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For everybody who was positive on this forum I appreciate your banter. More to come soon. For everybody I have side conversations with, I appreciate our conversations. For those who got nothing to say but want to say something . . . . . lol thanks for supporting the channel and this forum. As much as I would like to hate, you still read it, looked at it and commented. Thank you all for everything.

I am hard on my knives, what kind of knives have you had luck with. Maybe it will be my next knife and i will do a review on it.

Isn't this forum for gear reviews? Are not the things I do applicable to this forum? If you want to follow the link its your decision, if not i've given a brief review above.

Thank you to all.
 
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