The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission says that Harbor Freight Tools is recalling its Gordon Folding Knives due to a potential laceration hazard. The recall of the knives was instituted on Oct. 4, 2019, and affects around 1.1 million units. As part of the recall, the company has offered to refund customers’ purchases of the recalled knives. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this with Scott Hardy, President of Top Class Actions.
Transcript:
*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
Farron Cousins: Anyone who’s ever worked with any kind of tool knows that you really have to respect that tool, whether it’s a knife, whether it’s a drill, any kind of tool, hammer, nails, everything. It’s all pretty dangerous if used incorrectly. And unfortunately sometimes a faulty product design can make those dangerous tools lethal and luckily right now we have a couple of tools out there being recalled before anyone got killed. But there have been multiple different injuries reported from these tools. Joining me to talk about this is Scott Hardy with Top Class Actions. So Scott, we have two today to discuss. Let’s start with the Harbor Freight folding knife, you know, this one obviously very sharp, very scary if used incorrectly and it’s got a faulty design that actually leads to people being lacerated by the blade.
Scott Hardy: Right, and so you have the Harbor Freight folding knife that you’re supposed to be able to fold it out and it clicks in place and locks in place so then you can cut, you can use it however you want and that blade is not going to fold back over. But unfortunately, this particular blade has a, has a faulty locking mechanism. So it clicks into place and then you’re trying to pry something. You’ve got your hand wrapped around that blade and then you’re cutting something and that blade goes, bump and cuts ya, and gets you.
And that’s what this class action or this, this recall involved is that Harbor Freight said yes, we sold 1.1 million of these knives and they’ve received a number of different reports talking about the laceration hazards. So if you have one of these Harbor Freight knives, follow, take, take a look at the instructions, get your money back and don’t use it anymore. Because if you’re using that knife, you know, on a job site somewhere and that blade disengages from the lock, you could quite literally cut your fingers off.
Farron Cousins: You know, I, I’m wincing a lot as you’re saying that I, I grew up fishing a lot with my grandfather, always had knives to, you know, clean fish and all that. And I couldn’t tell you how many times I would cut my hands pretty much constantly. And, and, and thinking about it, God really, really takes me back and I can’t even imagine, you know, I, I’ve done a lot of work around my house and you know, cutting drywall and I use knives and I use razor knives and that’s always been a big fear of mine is as I’m going with this thing and putting my full force behind it. What happens if that little locking mechanism comes off? I don’t have a Harbor Freight knife, but what happens if it comes off? I mean you’re, you’re in a lot of trouble there and subsequently a lot of pain and hospital bills.
So this, this is a big one and as Scott mentioned, if you have this knife, don’t ever use it again. I mean, let’s not be equivocal about it all. Don’t ever use it again. Call the company, take it back to the store, get your money back on this because that is a very serious hazard. And we’ve got another hazard here, Scott, this one from DeWalt. Now DeWalt very trusted brand name for, for tools. Anybody who’s ever used them knows that some of the best out there, but they have a utility bar that is prone to breaking that has now been recalled. Tell us what’s happening.
Scott Hardy: Yeah, so DeWalt sold 145,000 of these utility bars, also known as a pry bar, that snap. They had 56 reports of the utility bars breaking during use because this is a pry bar that you sit there, you know, you’ll put in their place and you’re going to really work on it, put a lot of weight on it. So if that thing is snapping and breaking, you have major problems. I’m glad that DeWalt caught this after only having 145,000 units out there. And so this is a very dangerous item. If you’re using this on a construction site, you want to get your money back. They sold between $30 and $40.
Farron Cousins: And again, this is something, this is the kind of tool that when you’re using it, any kind of pry bar or crowbar, you almost put your entire body weight into it to, to get the job done. And sometimes that does require, you’ve got to get down very close to whatever it is you’re prying. And if that bar snaps, you could look at, you know, impaling problems. Because again, you’re using your full force pushing down and if you land on that broken spot, you know, that can be game over. Or you know, even less significant consequences, you’re going to fall again with your full force hitting down.
This is a big deal and, and again it is good that DeWalt recognized, oh God, we’ve got a problem. We’ve got to fix this, we got to get it outta there. So hopefully this one’s going to be resolved much like the Harbor Freight knife. Get them all turned back in. If anybody has been hurt, get them compensation for that. So hopefully this thing doesn’t get any bigger than it already is.
Scott Hardy: Exactly, and the thing that’s important to note about these, that these are recalls and so they already have that money waiting for you. You can go ahead, you can get your money back for your Harbor Freight knife. You can go ahead and you can get your money back for your DeWalt utility bar. So it’s not like a class action, you have to submit a claim and wait months or years to get a check. No, you can go right now. Follow the instructions and get paid or get reimbursed for your expense. So don’t wait. Don’t think you’re going to have to wait forever to get your money back. This can happen to you now.
Farron Cousins: Absolutely, and to find out how to do that, follow the links in the description of this video and head over to Top Class Actions and of course while you’re there, make sure you sign up for their weekly newsletter to stay on top of stories like this and so many others. Scott Hardy, Top Class Actions. Thank you very much for talking with us.
Scott Hardy: You’re welcome. Thanks for your time, Farron.
