I know a knife is not designed for this, but in a pinch when it's the only tool you have....there really isn't a choice. I had to cut through some thin stranded electric wire and the copper took a chip out of the edge on the first cut. The knife is a BM griptillian sharpened 15 degrees per side and stropped with rouge on a leather belt. Am I expecting too much from the blade? Shouldn't it be able to handle this. This is the second time its happened. First time was some type of thin tin or aluminum wire so I figured maybe it was the brittle factory edge or whatever, but the knife has been sharpened many times since then. Cutting cardboard also produces chips but they are very small and can't be seen by me without a magnifying glass. Maybe I got a bad blade?
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154cm blade chipping when cutting wire?
- Thread starter hudak
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If you are cutting properly there is no reason why 154CM would chip while cutting stranded copper wire or cardboard. I cut those things with almost any knife without thinking about it. Cardboard should never chip a knife though it can be abrasive. Perhaps the blade wasn't HT'd properly.
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- Mar 7, 2003
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Yes, i agree, you should contact Benchmade for warranty.
Doesn´the meant 30° included? Borderline, where damages could come, if metal is cut, but not to small for a knife in general.
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Wrong tool, and most of the tools that do that are high-carbon steel, but it still shouldn't be chipping, unless there's a wire edge on it.
I once dinged the factory edge on a Mini Grip by accidentally hitting a metal pipe with it. The 'ding' was where the edge actually folded over, and honing it on a kitchen steel restored most of the edge.
After a good 6 months of use, that same Griptilian is starting to chip. Instead of sharpening it, I've been stropping it to touch it up after use. What I believe this has done is slowly thin out the edge. The wire edge will "bend" off in sections, appearing to be a chip.
If this isn't what your experiencing, you may have a bad heat treat. I don't know, I'm no expert!
I once dinged the factory edge on a Mini Grip by accidentally hitting a metal pipe with it. The 'ding' was where the edge actually folded over, and honing it on a kitchen steel restored most of the edge.
After a good 6 months of use, that same Griptilian is starting to chip. Instead of sharpening it, I've been stropping it to touch it up after use. What I believe this has done is slowly thin out the edge. The wire edge will "bend" off in sections, appearing to be a chip.
If this isn't what your experiencing, you may have a bad heat treat. I don't know, I'm no expert!
Seems strange.Copper wire? What gauge?
I've cut a lot of copper wire with several different blades without chipping the edge. Can we see a picture of the edge and the wire?
Copper wire was home speaker type. Not sure of gauge...Maybe a millimeter thick? I'd post a pic but I resharpened and got the chip out. Took a while starting with the diamonds and progressing through the brown and white rods. Should I try the 40 degree setting next time?
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That's the reason. Edge integrity is a function both of the metallurgy and the edge angle. Too acute for cutting wire. Fine for most other things.
Agreed, try 40" inc.
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Could have been the angle But I have also noticed if you look in Benchmades catalog they list their RC range for 154CM at 58-61 so it might be possible you got a hard one
Jason B.
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Unless you are using a really hard tool steel you can expect this from any blade. I highly doubt there is anything wrong with your knife.
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I concur with knifenut1013. If you'll look close you can see a semi-small chip at the front of my Benchmade AFO. That chip use to go all the way through the old edge. It's a lot of work but you can get it out on a decent bench stone or send it to BM for reedgeing. I'll take another shot when I'm complete with it, and I wish I would have taken one when the full chip was there. The grunt that used this knife in the desert did something pretty much the same while cutting.
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- Oct 31, 2004
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I agree the best idea is to use the right tool for the job ie wire cutters for cutting wire etc. Unless you don't mind frequent edge work then cut what ever you want.
That said I think it was due to the 30 deg primary edge. I sharpen all of my users to 40 deg and I have cut 26 gauge up to 4 gauge stranded copper power cable (thin strand high strand count) with numerous blade steels ( aus 8, VG-10, 154CM, D2, BG-42, 14c28n, and S30V off the top of my head) and I have not had a problem with chipping dulling yes but no chipping.
I have chipped blades before just on harder materials.
That said I think it was due to the 30 deg primary edge. I sharpen all of my users to 40 deg and I have cut 26 gauge up to 4 gauge stranded copper power cable (thin strand high strand count) with numerous blade steels ( aus 8, VG-10, 154CM, D2, BG-42, 14c28n, and S30V off the top of my head) and I have not had a problem with chipping dulling yes but no chipping.
I have chipped blades before just on harder materials.
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Not all wire is created equal. My Leatherman and Gerber plier wirecutters could do appliance wiring easily, but the Leatherman died on a tiny piece of plastic-wrapped floral wire. The Gerber crapped out on a coathanger.
I still need to send those in. I've contacted both companies, and both say this falls under failure during normal use.
I still need to send those in. I've contacted both companies, and both say this falls under failure during normal use.
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- Feb 2, 2008
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30 degrees inclusive is certinaly not too acute to be tough enough. 154cm is more chip resistant in my experience than s30v so you got a bad heat treat, or, its just inherent of benchmades...which sadly i think is true. benchmades chip more than they should for their price.
The thought that 30 degrees is not too acute in my personal experience is completely false. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611649
Through some minimal testing I've had my 154cm Mini Grip chip on an unsharpened edge under situations I'd deem normal for a knife.
Sharpen the chip out and put it back to 40 degrees with 30 degree shoulders. I reckon it performs as well and holds and edge longer.
The bad heat treat is true to a certain extent. The factory edge could be easily chipped due to the heat raised while sharpening. However, this would have gone away while taking the edge down to 30 degrees.
Anyhoo - put it back to 40 and I think everything would be fine.
Through some minimal testing I've had my 154cm Mini Grip chip on an unsharpened edge under situations I'd deem normal for a knife.
Sharpen the chip out and put it back to 40 degrees with 30 degree shoulders. I reckon it performs as well and holds and edge longer.
The bad heat treat is true to a certain extent. The factory edge could be easily chipped due to the heat raised while sharpening. However, this would have gone away while taking the edge down to 30 degrees.
Anyhoo - put it back to 40 and I think everything would be fine.
