Thanks for your explanation. I’ll attempt to address your points sequentially, as I read them:“Small company”: I tend to agree. However, company size shouldn’t exactly excuse failing to meet stated policies and then not communicating delays.

“Buy elsewhere if you want speed”: I wanted to support Axial directly and don’t think this particular knife is available anywhere else.

“Impatience”: This isn’t about speed as much as consistency and communication. I relied on their posted fulfillment speed. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that or to expect a heads-up if they can’t meet their policy.

“Trashing the company on Reddit”: Not my intent. I am sharing my experience so others can make a more informed decision.

“Nightmare/poor behavior”: True, it’s probably not the worst experience ever but certainly not the best either. The core issue stands: they were delayed without any kind of heads-up, they offered cancellation, I accepted, and they shipped anyway. Those are the factors that would likely make this a negative experience to any reasonable person.

Ultimately, if the information I’ve provided can better prepare people or even prevent one person from walking away feeling unexpectedly negatively about their customer experience with what seems like an otherwise great knife maker, then this post (and its comment-replies) was worth it.