Anyone heard from Cris Anderson?

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Neville Lin

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I have a knife on order from Cris, but I haven’t heard from him in 5 months aside from a short message 2 months ago and his email is undeliverable. Has anyone spoken to him recently, or know what’s going on?
 
He's notoriously difficult to get a hold of. There was a thread about it earlier too.
I spoke to him a few months back. He said the lockdown is keeping him busy caring for family, kids out of school, and is messing with his supplies of belts and etc. he's making slow progress (my order is ways out still).
I have no more recent news though ..
 
Yes, it was. I’d heard nothing but good things from everyone here about Cris, and he was super enthusiastic at the time. It’s been far to long though, and the complete lack of any communication is worrying. I know that times are hard for everyone right now, but I’m sure he could’ve found 5 min to just send me a message sometime in the last 2 months.

I’m kind of at a loss as for what to do now...
 
That sucks. One thing I have learned from this forum is never, ever pay upfront for promise of a custom down the road. Too many examples of makers who start off be engaging forum members and then suddenly vanish. I have been lucky in my dealings with makers when ordering custom work, but none have ever asked for payment upfront either. I’m sorry you are having difficulty contacting Chris. Hopefully he will come through for you.
 
Yes, it was. I’d heard nothing but good things from everyone here about Cris, and he was super enthusiastic at the time. It’s been far to long though, and the complete lack of any communication is worrying. I know that times are hard for everyone right now, but I’m sure he could’ve found 5 min to just send me a message sometime in the last 2 months.

I’m kind of at a loss as for what to do now...
Let me guess, did you send him the funds through PayPal friends and family?
 
@thebradleycrew seems to know how to contact Cris. Maybe he can intervene and get an overdue update. No excuse holding someone's cash and not delivering within a reasonable timeframe. Did he give you an idea when you should expect delivery?
 
@thebradleycrew seems to know how to contact Cris. Maybe he can intervene and get an overdue update. No excuse holding someone's cash and not delivering within a reasonable timeframe. Did he give you an idea when you should expect delivery?

No firm date, but we were talking in terms of weeks. That was back in February.
 
Well, try Marko T and you’ll stop complaining about a few weeks... Been on his custom list since January 2013 and don’t care about it anymore. That dude has become a no-go for me, even 2nd hand...
Did you pay upfront too?
 
We have been down this road before more than once. Let's just focus for now on trying to help OP to contact Chris before we start to pile up stinky stuff. I am not aware of Chris having this kind of issues in the past and he has been around for a while now. Chris' last post on IG is from 28th of February - some serious stuff must have happened if he even did not put up some info post on IG or his homepage.

Disclaimer - I am not excusing anyone, just trying to be constructive.
 
We have been down this road before more than once. Let's just focus for now on trying to help OP to contact Chris before we start to pile up stinky stuff. I am not aware of Chris having this kind of issues in the past and he has been around for a while now. Chris' last post on IG is from 28th of February - some serious stuff must have happened if he even did not put up some info post on IG or his homepage.

Disclaimer - I am not excusing anyone, just trying to be constructive.

I do agree with this but if someone asks for upfront payment they need to at least respond once (privately or publicly) explaining that they have personal matters to deal with and offer an estimated time frame for future communications. Anything less is completely unprofessional.
 
Just tried emailing and also got a message that his email addy is no longer valid. His web site is up and running though. You might want to see if the contact form works.

He has indicated before that he lives in a rural area with poor phone and internet service. I was under the impression he had to leave his house and drive somewhere where he could get Internet access and phone service.
 
I have paid upfront and have heard ZERO on getting an update....
I have tried to direct message thru Instagram, as well as email...
he is MIA......disappointing to say the least....if anyone hears from him, please let us know....
 
Unfortunately I have to add to this as it has been close to 3 years, I have not mentioned it before not wanting to disparage him and respecting that people can fall on hard times. He sold a semi custom knife and paring knife for me that he had made (I got a custom from him a bit earlier), paid me the deposit the customer had forwarded but I have not seen the final payment. He said he ran into financial difficulty and had to use the money when he moved. He owes me either the money or a knife (I suggested this as an alternative and was willing to pay any difference). As it did not relate to a purchase my only recourse would be legal I guess. Still holding out hope that I see something from him. If I remember correctly I liked a 150mm or so gyuto someone else sold that should have been around that price.
 
Taking money upfront is super super stressful for a Knifemaker and nothing but a liability.

Harbeer, thanks for your perspective as a knifemaker (and a very good one, at that!)

Paying money upfront and then not getting a knife, delays, and lack of communication are super stressful for a knife buyer.

I've dealt with Cris before, and I think he'll come through, eventually, but it's hard to say win. He's a very talented knifemaker and I believe he cares a great deal about his customers, but he also has some complications in his life that sometimes get in the way. Though the post by mc2442 above was news to me, and I'm a bit surprised he'd leave something hanging for that long.

I know it's been said before, but:
Paying for a knife in advance is generally a very bad idea.
It's an even worse idea to pay without some kind of buyer protection.


There are just too many examples of things going wrong that it makes for a risk of total loss.

In the spring, I broke the rules above by paying for a custom knife up front. I had a few months where I had a lot of questions, but right now, it looks like there is a very good chance of it working out. I still have time to seek a refund if it doesn't, but that's going to be my last resort. I won't make such an arrangement again.
 
After debating, I am going to file a credit card dispute with Cris...
will keep you all posted on the progress and outcome.....
i have zero contact or background with Cris but find it hard to believe he cares about his customers....I do believe he cares about his customers money..
 
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