Silencer Co has sold more than 20,000 Scythes. There are about 50 failures reported in the thread. If that percentage is acceptable to you, as it clearly is to Silencer Co, then carry on. You see a low failure rate. For me, I see a company with a relatively large market share that won't honestly address a potential problem because the risks of failure are outweighed by the benefits of selling more products.
By way of comparison, SIG Sauer sold over 3 million P320s. There are about 100 reported failures. SIG is fighting this hard. It has a ton to lose. If we want to go just off statistical odds, the SIG P320 is far less likely to fail than the Scythe Ti (of course, the likely severity of injury is arguably much greater for the SIG). I have used SIG Sauer pistols for 25 years without any issues. The P320 issues won't stop me from continuing to use my P226 and P365, but I wouldn't buy a P320. And I wouldn't attack anyone who felt differently about it.
Remington's recall on the 700 series potentially affected 7.5 million rifles and 1.3 million were actually recalled. There were about 2000 complaints. To their credit, Remington did actually issue a recall and suffered the consequences of poor management decisions.
Ford sold over 2.1 million Pintos between 1971 and 1977. 38 of them caught fire in rear end collisions. 24 people died and 27 were injured. "Internal company documents showed Ford was aware of the defect but decided to prioritize production over safety, believing it was cheaper to pay for injuries and deaths than to modify the design." Potentially the same situation here? Statistically, the Ford Pinto had a lower failure rate than the Scythe Ti (although no one has died from a Scythe Ti failure).
When I look at Silencer Co, I see a company that has a relatively large share of the market that continues to have the same kinds of failures that plagued it in the past. Welding titanium is hard. It can result in brittle weak spots. They recalled five models for precisely that problem just two years ago. Silencer Co knows it is a problem. The company continues to churn out tons of cans, sell them relatively cheaply (my LGS had a promotion on them for about $600 last month), while still making a decent profit, and drown out the competition. People look at the marketing materials and things that Silencer Co feeds industry shills and decide to purchase their products. See, e.g.,
https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/silencerco-scythe-ti-suppressor/485440
(By the way, doesn't this testing regimen sound really familiar? Is it actually a good way to test the strength of titanium cans? I don't know.)
I know other suppressor companies have had issues with titanium weld failures in the past - the TBAC 2021 recall is one noted example. But I also don't see continued failures of the same kind with TBAC. Whatever caused the weld failures in the past, it seems to have been addressed. They either have a better process, a better safety margin, or better QC to catch potential failures before they go out. Or maybe they will have issues again? I don't know.
When I see 20,000 Scythes being sold, I see a relatively large company that is swamping the market with a product that employs a technique that continues to fail. I see a market in which it is harder for an innovative startup to compete. I want to see companies competing to make more reliable products, not just more products.
And, when I see people who have not experienced any failures with their Silencer Co cans reporting their positive individual experiences, I replace "Silencer Co" with "Leupold" or "Vortex" or "SIG" or "Ford" or any other large company with a large market share and documented reliability issues. Most users won't experience any issues. No company is perfect. If Tikka or SWFA or "other RokSlide favorite" suddenly starts having widespread QC issues, we can be certain that a number of people will come along and fill the thread with delightful chortling. That's not what I am about, I don't want to see products or companies fail. I want to see better products fill the marketplace.
The point was made that Silencer Co has had to "go silent" due to pending litigation. That would be one thing, if it was actually happening. But Silencer Co has not "gone silent." Their customer service people are making all kinds of statements - some of which are manifestly untrue. I called Silencer Co to ask them about the failure rate and what I could do to ensure that I didn't have any issues.
They told me, words to the effect of, "All the failures are due to user abuse. The users failed to follow the published ROF of 10 RPM. Failure to follow the published ROF can result in excessive heat, which can weaken the welds and result in failure. These restrictions are published in the user manual. By the way, don't worry, if it does fail due to your abuse, no one has been seriously hurt. If you stick to the published ROF of 10 RPM, you will not have any issues unless you do something else unsafe. Also, just so you know, using handloaded or reloaded ammunition counts as unsafe."*
You can read the manual and their website. There is no published 10 RPM ROF. The marketing video actually shows people allegedly using the Scythe and apparently firing more than 10 RPM.
* The reload or handload restriction actually is in the field manual, down in the warranty section, but not in the marketing materials on the website. How many people knew that using handloads might void your warranty before they bought the can?
Contrast that complete absence of any published 10 RPM ROF with what you read on the Airlock page when you purchase one of their cans.
Designed without compromise, the Zero Gravity 6.5mm is purpose-built for backcountry hunters. At just 5.7 oz and 5″ long, this suppressor is crafted from Aerospace-grade 3D printed titanium for unmatched durability in a minimalist form.
airlockindustries.com
So, my problem with Silencer Co isn't just that they have "had some failures." It's their entire approach to their failures.
Have a good day, folks.
