A friend of mine keeps breaking the tips of his work knives.

C

Captain O

BANNED
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
Messages
1,333
A good friend of mine has a business that requires that his knfe endures hard use (e.g. cutting cardboard, engaging in landscaping, etc.) Within the week he broke the tip of his American made Kershaw ( an assisted, tanto shaped, half-serrated, black oxide blade.) I can usually whip up an edge on most mid-range knives with reasonable alactrity, but I haven't the files for reshaping the tip of his knife. (I wantedto help, but felt so inadequate!)

If he were to replace this relatively new knife, what shoud I recommend to him?

Captain O
 
I'd recommend a Benchmade ($25 to replace a blade) and more specifically a good old 550HG. I'm far from an expert but it seems like the modified sheepsfoot blade has a pretty strong tip but it's not an auto. It's only ~$100 though so that's a big plus.
 
sounds like buying a new knife isnt going to stop from breaking the tip off another
 
I would encourage him to purchase and smaller, stout, inexpensive fixed blade if possible.
What about a kabar Becker eskabar, 45 bucks. Get a set of scales for another 12 bucks and you are in business. Can't imagine hurting that knife too easily.
 
mars5l said:
sounds like buying a new knife isnt going to stop from breaking the tip off another
Click to expand...

I have no idea how he broke the tip off of his Kershaw. I NEVER use a knife as a "pry bar" because there are better (and less expensive) tools that are to be used for this purpose. (I know better.)

Captain O
 
Maybe a TOPS XcEST Delta?

xcestd_add2.jpg



If he wants a fixed blade perhaps the MPK-01.

QHThALE.jpg
 


TOPS/Buck csar-t
Sturdy tanto style in a good tough steel...

If he breaks the tip on that one then Buck replaces it for free; he gets his knife back brand new, and it's time to consider a 2nd alternative to go alongside his new knife to do whatever it is he's doing to break 'em.
 
Buy him a trenching tool...

(actually, the TOPS recommendations are great - they are absurdly overbuilt for knives, but sound perfect for your friend)
 
A Cold Steel tanto-point voyager. I had one for years and no amount of prying with the tip and digging at things on a farm broke it. It's a tough knife. Wish I still had it. A used one here on the exchange or the auction site should be pretty cheap. He should go with the traditional Cold Steel AUS8A for ease of resharpening.

Zieg
 
Am I the only one that doesn't think of cutting cardboard as "hard use"? Prying of course is (abuse as well), but the rest of it doesn't sound too hard. Do you have any details on what exactly he was doing that broke it?

In all reality, how about a svord peasant? Cheap, relatively thick L6 steel, easy to open one handed, etc.

That, and as a landscaper, he should have some other tools nearby that are far better for prying (I worked on a landscaping crew for 3 years, and most crews/rigs had a basic set of tools for simple equipment repair).
 
For a knife I would not worry about jabbing in the ground, cutting sod, roots, even prying I'll suggest the Hultafors 380020 Heavy Duty Knife GK Green Handle with Sheath. They are inexpensive, good value knives. Buy a box of them when they are on sale on the big Brazilian river. Use camelcamelcamel.com to be alerted for sale price.

bill
 
There are folders with fairly stout tips. These CRKT models seem to be fairly stout:

DSC_6633b.jpg



This Benchmade has a pretty strong tip, but might be a bit too expensive for his use:

IMG_2831b_zps3dc8e684.jpg



But as previously mentioned there are some relatively low priced fixed blades that might make better choices.
 
Depending on what he is doing to it, no knife outside of a sharpened pry bar is going to hold up to prying.
 
Your friend sounds like he just needs to buy cheap knives and treat them like they are disposable.
maxresdefault.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top