"I've never had a _male_ friend act like Guy before" Lmao.

I have a GSO 12 and 5.1 pending. It’s not so much about the lost funds. The part that’s hard is the over 5 years of waiting to get the knives and being patient and understanding of the process. Too bad. At this point I would be willing to accept any of the knives that might be available. This is a sad day.

As one of those 3500 people who is out $460 for a GSO-12 order since 2021, it makes me f&%kn furious to think while I have been patiently supporting survive! my blank has been sitting there on a pallet all this time awaiting finishing and shipping. Thank you for finally sharing some transparency, now I have to figure how to tell my son, who keeps thinking we're going to get to try it out on our next camping adventure...😭

This is totally Guys fault.

I work as a process engineer, I knew their manufacturing processes not developed well for scalability, as guy seemed to treat routine process development challenges as show stoppers. But Damn, having one person do 80% of the work and not training anyone else is worse than I could have imagined. I work making prototypes and developing manufacturing processes, the first thing you want to do when scaling production is making it as easy as possible for someone who isn’t you to do it.

Sorry to hear all your efforts ultimately are a loss. Stay tough you seem like a good dude

Although extremely sad, none of this should be particularly surprising to anyone who has been following along for years. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into what has actually been going wrong. Also than you for getting an edc4 in my hand- I'm sure it wouldn't have happened before the implosion of you hadn't been there. Fortunately the only pre-order I have open is a necker 2. Sad I'll never get it, looks like an outstanding design. Thanks man!

Whoever had the idea of selling and continuing to sell so many pre-orders is a criminal.

I have a feeling Guy’s whole life has been built on empty promises… good on you for finally proving what we all knew

Who the hell gives a shit about about 0.001 (one thousandth) on a knife that you pay 250 bucks for. Come on its bullshit. I am a machinist, its a knife. My benchmade knives are very good and they are mass produced, fully functional and have stellar warranty. Survive knives particullarly Guy is /was/always a flake and a scam for taking preorders knowing it was bullshit

When you say that other people from Guy's past tried to warn you what would happen, it makes him look like a con artist.

Just watched Guy’s LAME video on Survive’s KZfaq Channel, what a lame video blaming their failure all on the Magnacut issues! LIE and DENY! Still in denial, it was 100% the steel makers fault! When nothing changes, nothing changes!

It sounds like it was 100% Guy’s fault….

A famous knife maker I know told me "the hardest knife to make is one that's already been paid for". I know of several excellent knife makers that screwed their businesses and customers. Sorry you learned the hard way, you appear to be a virtuous man. This shall pass and you'll laugh over it soon enough. Good video!

A fellow Alex Dron enjoyer! Excellent. Survive always seemed very unsustainable. They really needed to stop taking orders cos that was what was causing the constant negative noise about them. Survive fans had a harder time than Sonic the Hedgehog fans in the last 10 years with all their constantly dashed hopes.

Thanks for letting us know and for doing all you could to help!

THANK YOU, Jon. This was not easy and it showed, but RESPECT for your sincerity and transparency. I wish you well. I believe you tried to do right by an American product that was worthy of pride and saving. Too bad it was not meant to be. Knife lovers have a brother in you.

Sorry if i ever doubted you brother! You're a good man! Just re-subbed!! Your words of honesty are well worth my lost knife!! 😎👍

Im all for mental health but at a certain point Guy kept taking in preorders on knives he had knew he couldn't produce. It also seems like he wanted to blame everyone but himself. Why be chronically online and in forums if you are going to change anything or make it better? Im sorry to see you lose in this but this is no one faults but his. He is a monster of his own making. Ending it the way he did without trying to make to make it right or even talking to anyone is just highway robbery. People would absolutely take blanks to finish by other makers but instead he served only himself.

Man that’s some sad news. I hope you can get over that devastating experience

hey man, I think it’s stand-up for you to be so transparent about your experience there. I’m sorry this created so much pain. Although I suspect my Magna cut video was not super popular over there, I really did want to see survive succeed and turn it around. I’m sorry you had to be the one to deliver that news. Best of luck, and hoping for better days ahead for you.

Thanks for your honesty. I’m so sorry you and so many others in the community had to go through this.!

Takes ballz to say what many of us suspected…..saying that.. fight for your piece of that company in materials. There is plenty of us home makers that would buy blanks to help…it would save us some time of stock removal and make some knives with a story for friends and family. Don’t give up on that 30K bro…you got good steel …we can grind, heat treat and make handles …we do it anyway why not sell us the material.

Soooooo that new CNC machine you own, can I barrow it?!

Thank you for letting us know why we will not receive our knives. Hope you bounce back! Keep being a good person.

Bro, thank you for this and thank you for what you tried doing there and helping so many people actually get a knife. I know if you could have made it possible, everyone with an order would have received their orders.

Jon, thanks for giving this a shot. The best is yet to come.

Thanks for the update as some things are just a time bomb with a long wick and eventually you have to pay the piper....Good stuff....

Thanks for putting out this video I ordered a 5.1 in magnacut on 9/22 and now ill do more research BEFORE I pre-order anything again thanks for the info

I'm surprised Survive did not get a shop manager involved. Maybe Guy wanted to have everything under control? I just want my knife, I even said just put a blade hardware and scales in a box and ship it and I will put it together myself.

Thanks Jon Also thanks for the order it got recently, without you i wouldn't have got nothing! I assume my 5.1 will never come

Thanks for sharing this & be well

I was excited for the Vendetta line and placed 2 preorders because I thought things were turning around (a couple years ago). Probably about 6-9 months ago, I stopped expecting anything because his videos always ended with "stay tuned, we have a lot more exciting things coming" but it felt like no progress on preorders was made. Thank you for shedding light and, unfortunately, confirming what a lot of us expected to hear about how things were ran. Sorry to hear about how you were treated and I for one don't place any of the blame on you.

Appreciate the insight. It doesn’t sound easy for you to talk about it. Thank you 🙏

Is there anyone interested in a class action law suit against Survive knives for all the time and money lost to its customer base ?

Guy is a criminal. I tried to warn people on FB and was chastised..

Thanks for this video man. It sucks knowing that I'll never get the tool I ordered, or the cash I put down on it but I respect that you had the grit to lay it all out honestly like you did. I had been holding on to hope that the company would turn it around and that those knives would be as good as they were said to be, but by the time I knew things were busted, it was too far gone to pull out my cash. I love knives so much, and I know you do too. All the best to you moving forward. Hopefully people recognize that you're not the bad guy in all this. At best this is a shitty situation for all involved, but I can only imagine how much more fucked up it was to be there in that shit storm. Good luck to you and thanks again for the honesty in this video.

guy should lay off the powder

Excellent video John.

Famous movie quote (slight alteration), "I don't think Survive means what you think it does..." I am so glad BladeForums warned me 2 years ago not to order from Guy. This is my first time watching one of your videos, because I really wanted to know what was really happening over there - it's as bad as we all expected. Guy's behavior leads to another famous quote, "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into."" - Guy at Survive

Well I guess I'm never getting my knife. I had hope they might finally get things turned around. Thanks for posting this.

Thank you for getting me my EDC4. Sounds like I would have never got it without you.

I guess I can finally give up on getting my 5.1 in Magnacut, at least Reiff has their F6 in Magnacut now so i can save up for that. Appreciate the news

After a bunch of emails over years I gave up hope so I’m very lucky to get a knife I ordered in 2021 just over a month or so ago. It is a very well built knife. Back in the day anyone who had preordered a knife not knowing about the company learned very quickly they had no idea how to run a business and actually thought it was a big scam. I hope the best for those who are still out money. I know how it feels. Shitty.

Wow thats a bad story bro I watch you but im not really into fixed blade and you are you seem like a good dude all the best im still subbed 👍

I'm sorry this all happened to you man. You seem like a stand up and transparent dude. It sounds like you did everything you could. One man can't change 10 years worth of mistakes that you aren't responsible for. You are also one of survives victims. Best of luck to you moving forward. Sending good thoughts your way 🤝

I don't know a lot about the situation, and I've only followed tangentially, but I lived through the exact same thing with a different manufacturer in another field and I feel your pain so much. I'm lucky that I didn't have a financial stake. It sounds like a severe case of founder's syndrome mixed with other issues I'm not qualified to diagnose. It's all too familiar: the not existing to them once you aren't useful, the warnings from other people about getting involved, shady business/personal financials they won't disclose, an endless marketing push to hide the underlying issues. I had to switch career fields after that for my own mental health. I'm sorry that you're going through all this. Hopefully getting it out there publicly gives you some peace of your own

I was able to get 2 Survive Knives and they are great. I wish they could keep going. Good video, I did not hear any bashing from you in it. Just a bad deal all around. Thanks

"Pivoting" new company name... did not survive knives

I guess I have to write off $300 and swallow a huge disappointment, and I was rooting for a turnaround when I placed my pre-order :(

Thank you for posting this! I’m so annoyed by this situation because it’s exactly what I expected! I’ve been waiting for close three years for the two remaining blades of my 4 preorders! I also seen that other folks received their Magnacut GSO 4.7 and GSO 5.1 recently after only waiting 7 or 8 months! Sooo pissed! I’m also annoyed at What’s the point edc for promoting this company and funneling more unsuspecting customers to Survive while mocking us customers who voiced our problems in the comments! Survive was always operated like a pyramid scheme and Guy was whining about predatory lending while wasting our hard earned preorder dollars!!! I’m one of the 3,500 who is out but thank you for being “clear and transparent”, unfortunately Guy never was! Sorry if you’re out on your funds too, sir! I still wish Guy and all those working with him health and the best but this suuuuks!!!!

I understand how you feel man. I have 2 knives that have been on order for 2 years. I doubt I'll ever see them. Thanks for your efforts to save a great knife. Sad it wasn't better managed.

Hope people can appreciate everything you put into getting orders finished. Wish mine would have made it out but glad I only had one.

Im so glad i went with an Architect knife and saved my money. Peter's heat Treat 3V and you actually get a knife 😂

I've had a GSO-12 on order since July 2021, so I'm out a few hundred dollars. I feel sorry for the people who lost money, I feel even more sorry for you, Mike and especially Ellie, but I can't help but feel the worst for Guy. I'm sure he started out with the best intentions, but now he's lost absolutely everything.

Appreciate this video. Answers a lot of questions. I've got about $1100 worth of preorders in that I guess I will never see. Every time Guy would post a video I would just think dude...we don't want videos, we want knives.

Thank you for the update and sorry to hear the toll this has taken on you personally. I received 5 out of the 9 I ordered and they are some of my absolute knives. Thank you for your efforts. I was really looking forward to getting the edc 5, my absolute favorite of the designs. I hope he can sell the design or someone is able to take over production. Hopefully time will get you out of any of the fallout. I went on a tour of the shop with Guy and Ellie and found them to be very personable and likable. I wish them and you the best for the future. Now if only I could get Edgeworks to sell me that 5.5 sample they have😏.

thanks for the info and good luck to you. Personally annoyed by the way things have been handled but having a 2 year old preorder never really expected anything to ever be delivered after the magnacut excuses started.

Thanks for making this.

It was about 15 years ago I started buying blades from Jerry and Dan Busse. They would put a blade up for sale and take it down a couple days or sometimes a few hours later. I would be pissed! But they always delivered and never over extended. They knew how many they wanted to sell and then... that's all folks.

Damn - you have my sympathies, man. This is saddening to hear, but I’m grateful for the honesty. I’ve been a fan of Survive since 2015 and have been supportive of them on social media ever since. I have that same final GSO 6 in G10 handles, one older 4.1 and one small Magnacut 2.5. They’re the absolute finest pieces of knife craftsmanship I’ve ever seen, and I too believe that Guy is an autistic-level artist when it comes to design and finishing. The level of burn-out you describe is frightening, though. I wish all the best to you and Ellie, and hope Guy finds sone peace as well.

I appreciate this video on so many levels. And now know after nearly three years I won’t be getting my GSO 5.1. After all of the nonsense I really wanted this simple knife anyway. Thank you for trying.

Were people aware that Guy was arrested and charged with burglary and the sale of stolen firearms? In 1999, when he was 19, Guy broke into a hardware store in Gettysburg and stole 17 firearms and tried to sell them to friends and his Marine recruiter. He was caught in a police sting operation. You can find the news articles online. I don't know how the case was resolved or if he served time. It seems this mentality of thievery continues today with his business practices where he has taken customers' money and not provided merchandise in return. This company is just a a big fraud and ponzi scheme. I had no idea about the arrest!!

You’re the man heavy set and a good person. Sorry what happened

you know what thank you for your hard work and filling those pre-orders and bringing closure to people who have been hanging on to this company

Unbelievable. All I wanted was a GSO 12 and a GSO 8, I had no idea the company was at this level of peril and mismanagement. Thanks for doing what you could. I would even buy my blanks and try finishing/assembling myself.

That's possibly the Delta - V GSO 6 that I cancelled years ago. It's a shame its come to this. I've owned a heap of SurviveKnives over the years, all arrived on time (within weeks sent to New Zealand) as they were in stock. The Necker II is the only one I've kept. Another shame is Ellie's situation. She studied in my home town in NZ and as it turned out was friends with friends of mine, never meet her yet they have mentioned how cool she was/is. being in business like Guy and Ellie were is damn difficult and so hard on relationships. Good video and impartial thoughts on the whole situation. Good on you!

9 preorders lost, shame on me for believing till the end..

Hey just wanna say that after many many emails to Guy, I appreciate you were able to actually get me an EDC 4 (in elmax instead) for an old preorder. Their communication was less then zero before that.

I absolutely love there Knives but refuse to do business with the company. I got in EARLY with buying the knives that I had, I had number 38 of the first run of the 5.1 I bought a few more models back when the waiting list was truly only 60 days and I had no problem getting the knives in on time. I started seeing the complaints the more the knives grew in popularity. It is absolutely unacceptable for a customer to wait 5 years on a knife. I gave one of my early 5.1 models as a wedding gift to a good friend of mine that got married last year. We grabbed some lunch 2 months ago and we got to talking about knives and showing him my newest EDC and the conversation went to Survive knives. I told him about how survive has orders 5 years plus not being filled and that people have such a hard time getting refunds and just the general complaints. My friend is a lawyer but he mostly practices family law but he said that he would love to litigate a lawsuit against a company with those business practices. He did ask me if I had any outstanding orders with them and I told him that I stopped buying from them years ago, he asked because he offered to get involved regarding any outstanding orders. He didn’t express any real interest at all in taking any action against Survive but just inferring that lawsuits like that are a pretty easy case. He was not a customer of Survive, and has no reason to want to pursue anything. It honestly wasn’t a long conversation at all about Survive just a minute or so talking about it. He had always admired my 5.1 and I gifted it to him and he asked me if I planned to buy anything else from them and that’s when I told him how shady the company has been with not filling orders and etc..He then told me about being a part of a few cases that had companies that were similar in failing the customer. Keep this in mind that when he and I glanced this topic, Survive wasn’t being the topic of shutting down, Survive was still taking orders and business as usual with nothing being discussed about the company’s financial problems. I only brought the small talk that we had because of hearing about Survive troubles earlier today and it was then that I remembered the quick conversation that we had. I made a quick edit to this post so if anyone reads this they don’t think that a lawyer is champing at the bit to file class action.

I’m someone who will never see their order. Mad respect for posting this. This is the kind of transparency Guy always touted but never delivered on. Thanks for having some integrity. I do have to ask though, how much of the Magnacut conspiracy was Guy’s obsession and how much of it was a legitimate crippling production/materials issue?

I sent Scab all my Survive knives to review and was waiting on 2 more pre-orders that I kinda wrote off but I'll be fine. Hope Guy gets some help.

John, thank you sincerely for the transparent update, and more importantly for attempting to revitalize Survive by investing your time, mk ey, and effort. I am glad you are separating now from Survive before the next painful steps occur. I look forward to watching your great channel.

Damn I wanted my Vendetta! As I was writing that you said "it was like Colorado Springs", that's where I'm at. Is that where you're from?

Thank you for your HONESTY and straight forwardness! The TRUTH can be very painfull! I worked for a individual who had is own company and like Guy, you could NOT tell him anything! He was screwing up BIG TIME, not answering the phone when customers called, he hid behind his phone and email. He would underbid contracts just to get the job, losing big money in doing so, BUT, HE GOT THE CONTRACT and that's all that mattered to him! Then started drinking all day long, not waking up until 10:30 AM and start drinking again at 12:01! His reasoning was if you started drinking before 12 noon, you were an alcoholic! Haaaa! Like Guy, he ran it in the ground! So many similarities! Sorry you got ripped off, or your Dad did! What a shame! Survive is now religated to the dust bin of knife history! Sad! "Oh, and HIS problems were every one elses fault! Just like Guy!"

Eyyy, i love Colorado Springs also i was stationed there from 2001 to 2004 then started a small construction company after leaving the ARMY till eventually I had to come back home to NY but I've always known one day i will make it back out there for sure...

I told people 5 plus years ago that I felt like Guy was the best thing and worst thing for getting knives out.

I'm so sorry you had to deal with this personally or professionally. HOPEFULLY, you will NOT be seen as a "Survive guy who screwed everyone over". That would be utterly unfair. And thank you for your transparency in putting out this video! That being said... I cannot begin to tell you how badly I wanted a GSO 5.1. I never felt comfortable ordering one due to all the history, etc. since discovering Survive a few years back. I'm glad I'm not out any money, but I still want one of those knives! Lol. I can't imagine being one of those with thousands in pre-orders knowing finally "it ain't gonna happen"... Honest question to you and anyone else who may read this: what's a legitimate alternative to something like a GSO 5.1 in form and function? I'm looking at the Architect Field Buddy from The Knife Connection. Any thoughts? I wish you all the best now that you're done with Survive!

The fact that people are sympathizing here instead of asking why this guy isn’t trying to putting money back in your hands is troubling.

So what about the covfefe with magnacut? Distraction?

I remember watching a Survive video a year or more ago where delays were blamed on heat treating errors by a 3rd party. The video promised Survive knives would be delivered. I knew then that it was bullsh*t. I was so glad that I never pre-ordered a Survive knife.

I have been waiting a year for my 5.1. I was so excited to get this blade. Knowing that the blanks were in house unfinished blows my mind! Hopefully Visa will give me my money back.

I’m out preorders for two EDC3, EDC2 and Necker II… bummer.

Getting people or machines you trust to take over certain processes of the manufacturing is critical to putting out products consistently. If every step needs to be micromanaged by the same guy, it will never work out. If that one guy is gone nothing will get done.

Whats going on? I have $2500 of knives I have been waiting over four years for. Have I lost my money? Not to be selfish but thats all I care about. I have been promised the knives for years, more recently about a year ago I was offered refund, but after about four promises since I have been ghosted. I guess I say goodbye to that idea now? Thanks for the headsup. So sad really. Edit Note: this situation essentially results in the OUTRIGHT THEFT of my hard earned money and it FKN pisses me off. I am i Australia to so there is JACK I can do about it!!!!

Finally a fully transparent video on this topic. Way to stand strong and lay it out there. I have to say, though, Survive’s knives are VERY basic, not some savant-created wonder. Truly, how much “quality” goes into a flat saber ground knife, pre-blanked, CNC ground, with linerless CNC contoured scales and a blasted blade finish. Many of the finishing processes may have been specialized but the effort just doesn’t return on investment. Not to mention, the hard use marketing doesn’t match the obsession over perfection that comes with a fine piece of cutlery. No matter how much time goes in, the finish will not last with use. This sounds more like ego and stubbornness. I think taking a hard look at the finishing and finding more efficient processes could have gone a long way. It sounds like Guy’s autism or maybe OCD got in the way of progress and he didn’t have the ability to prioritize anything different from what he had already determined was best. Yes, they’re good knives at a good price point with excellent heat treatments (Peters is the best in the world), and they use excellent steels, but they’re really not that special in the market. They’ve been elevated by scarcity if nothing else. If they were ubiquitous the hype would have faded whether they got pulled out of the mud or not.

I got a refund from Paypal. I was Lucky. Thanks for posting the video.

Jon great of you for sharing this and spending the time, new Sub for ya brother....would be great if they had a white knight come in to take the company over...there knives should stay in the market and people need to have orders full filled

Damn. That hurts to hear. I was rooting big time for Survive. I think it was you who contacted me to change my M390 EDC-4 order to Elmax (which turned out to be a better steel choice anyway). I love that knife and I really wanted Survive to succeed. I was hoping to bring a GSO-10 back into my collection. It was such an amazing large blade. I also had a design that I think would have been bad ass to have made by Survive. My heart breaks for Guy, Ellie, Mike, and you. I honestly still hope that some sort of miracle happens and things turn around and Survive goes big because America needs companies that show that USA made is still the undisputed absolute best and Survive's quality from what I've seen is astounding for a non-custom knife. Better than Bark River or LT Wright by a lot. I will keep you all in my prayers in hopes that things somehow work out because the GSO-10 will always have a special place in my heart as the large knife I most regret having sold and because I hate seeing my fellow American knife lovers end up where Survive is right now. If I had a ton of money, I'd pay off all of their debts just to see them rise. My deepest sympathies and prayers to all🙏

You think it's possible to get the unfinished blanks? I paid for the materials, whatever state they are in. I'll take what I can get at this point.

So, for any future Warranty Issues, whould we send them to this address??? Survive Knives, Warranty Department C/O Pennsylvania Department Of Corrections 451 Fullerton Ave Cambridge Springs, PA 16403

I am really sorry to hear about your situation. I hope the best for you, and I hope you can fight your way into the knife world. I am one of the orders that is going on nearly 2 years. We've emailed, called, and done so many things to get answers. I do not find this your fault whatsoever. Be well! It is such a shame, I was looking forward to such a nice, high quality knife.

I have an open preorder on a Vendetta 4.5 tactical. Thought it would be a great investment... But i am really more devastated that the company is no more

Man… so close to getting a vandetta from my 2020 order lol

Jon, thanks for the video. A few weeks ago, I gave Guy my number to call me if he wanted to talk and he called me. And I was very surprised he called me. He told me then it was over. One thing I agree with you is he is a phenomenal designer. I'm also very fortunate that all the knives I ordered, I received. And I feel badly for the people who have outstanding orders too. If you decide to make a part 2 video, could you talk about the whole MagnaCut debacle? I know you came there at the end of that, but I was always curious as to what caused all of those problems. I told Guy that I would pray for him, and since watching this video, I think I'll include you too; I hope you don't mind. Again, thanks for doing the right thing and letting everyone know. You'll get through this storm and come out the other side a better man. Take care.

Much respect for making this video. I feel really bad for the folks who will not receive the orders they paid for. Good on you for trying to help it’s very commendable.

I have 3 GSO knives and am one of those who pre-ordered a GSO 5.1 in MagnaCut, and this is sad news. I realize that I wont get my knife or a refund, but I still like their knives. But I do wish that Guy gets the mental help that he needs and deserves. Sounds like a wellness check needs to be done!

@thepreppersbunkeroutdoors needs to apologize. A lot of people made orders based on his unfounded assessment that Survive was headed for its best days

If you did a pre-order from Survive I'd highly recommend filing a claim through your bank account that it was a fraudulent charge. Most banks will take care of it. But I'd do it before he files bankruptcy.

Does the ending of Survive Knives! mean that the left over Survive Knives out there are gonna go up in price?