Abuse or Weakness?

C

CauseforAlarm

Joined
Oct 18, 2004
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I have been carrying what I consider mid-level knives for years now, but finally upgraded to a Benchmade 732 a few months ago. I've been impressed with edge retension and cutting ability, and have had no true complaints until yesterday. In retrospect, I would have avoided the action but hindsight is 20/20, and I'm not even sure I truly abused the knife. I used the knife to release the trigger group on a rifle, and both rounded out the tip and took a small chip out of the blade about 1" from the tip. The tip issue was corrected via sharpening, but I've got no way to fix the chip which does snag on a slice. I've done the same countless times with 440C blades and had never had an issue before. Did I truly abuse the knife, or were my expectations of strength within reason? I'm considering sending it to Benchmade to correct, I assume that grinding could correct the issue. If the fix costs more than $30, I've got an excuse to buy something to baby and still have a fantastic knife in the Ares to use as a beater. Thanks
 
I wouldn't expect BM to fix it for free. Using a knife as a screwdriver certainly constitutes abuse.
 
I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what you did, but as you know, the Ares was designed for cutting, not prying. 154CM makes for a good blade but prying steel with its cutting edge probably doesn't fall under its job description. The 440C knives you used to pry may have had thicker cutting edges and you got away with using them to pry.
 
Technically, what you did could constitute abuse. Send it back to Benchmade, tell them what you used the knife for and leave it up to them to decide if it is abuse or something they will cover under warranty.
 
I would not use a knife for that, unless I absolutley had to. I would definetley, use a screwdriver, or something besides an expensive cutting tool.
 
Every knife I've purchased says "Don't use as a screwdriver, chisel, or prybar" in the included literature.

I won't chide you further for doing it, since messing up a $100 is probably making you feel bad enough already, but I will suggest carrying at least a small SAK or multitool so using a knife in that manner isn't the only option.

The thing is, most "tools" like screwdrivers or whatnot aren't taken to the same hardness a knifeblade is, because at these hardnesses, steel (even non-stainless) becomes much more brittle. Add this to the fact that a knife blade is thinner, especially at the edge, and you've got the worst, most expensive screwdriver you can buy.
 
i'd have to see you do it in person, but at this point i'd say it's abuse.... :D

you ask "abuse OR weakness?", i don't think its one or the other, its basically both at the same time. if you used a Strider tanto instead, it probably wouldn't be damaged.....; the BM is simply not up to that job you performed, so you might call it "weak"too really.. ;)
 
CauseforAlarm said:
I've done the same countless times with 440C blades and had never had an issue before.
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Were they of similar geometry, if so then its not abusive.

-Cliff
 
The intended purpose of a civilian knife is to cut. If the knife was not being used for its intended purpose then it was being abused.
 
Knife steels are hardened pretty hard, and lateral pressure can cause what you experienced pretty easily.

Even "tough" knife steels will chip/break when the edge is twisted.

I cant count how many knife tips I have fixed for friends, mostly on kitchen knives. :p
 
Thanks for the responses. To clarify, I would not consider the action to be prying but pushing, as it was a slow forceful push into a hole in the rear of the trigger assembly to release the spring. The other knives which I've used for this task have been clip points or spear points, and have been AUS-6 or 440C. I have only used knives in this fashion when unable to locate a screwdriver. I know I should just buy a SAK or a multi-tool, and I probably will, but I'm still tempted to buy something I'd never use for such a task, and the BM 690 might be the answer. If the 660 didn't have those dot-inlays, it'd be in my hand right now. Thanks again for the responses, I'm split on sending it in for repair or having a new beater. Repair costs will be the decision maker.
 
If I'm not mistaken, Benchmade offers lifetime free sharpening, just for the cost of shipping and handling. This sounds like something that can be taken care of with just a little time on the grinder. As long as you don't expect the blade to be replaced, I don't think it would be a problem.
 
CauseforAlarm said:
The other knives which I've used for this task have been clip points or spear points, and have been AUS-6 or 440C.
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That is what matters, the other knives did it fine, so there is no reason to expect the Benchmade to holdup to less. If Benchmade does state abuse it is a direct admission of inferiority.

Now if you try a radically different designed knife, like something like the Spyderco Dodo which has a *really* fine point, you need to adjust your expectations accordingly.

Benchmade has long had a reputation for having more than brittle blades, more so in the past than present, but problem knives always get out from time to time.

If you do contact them be very sure to note that you did the same thing with similar knives made out of steels which they will promote as inferior.

-Cliff
 
It sounds like you were using the knife for a "non-knife" task.

I say you should see if Benchmade can fix it, and you should be willing to pay for the fix--I doubt if it would be too costly.

If companies are expected to fix abused knives at no cost to the owner, it inevitably raises the cost of their knives for everyone.
Nothing is free and the cost is always passed on to the consumer.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
CauseforAlarm said:
To clarify, I would not consider the action to be prying but pushing, as it was a slow forceful push into a hole in the rear of the trigger assembly to release the spring. The other knives which I've used for this task have been clip points or spear points, and have been AUS-6 or 440C.
Click to expand...

Say, was this rifle by any chance an SKS?

If so, I'm really surprised the other knives held up, considering how hard that spring clip thingy is. Use a round of ammo next time.

Either way, just how much damage are we actually talking about here? If there's a 1/4" piece of steel missing from the edge, I'd definitely say it's defective. If the nick is a half millimeter deep or less, I'd just say stop worrying about repair costs and sharpen it out yourself.
 
I had a similar experience, where I was surprised at the damage done to an ATS-34 blade on a fairly expensive Pirhana auto I keep on my keychain, that l used to get into an aluminum can of baby formula once, I never expected something as soft as aluminum to do any damage to a quality, hardened ATS-34 blade, let alone screw up the edge and tip pretty badly. And, this blade had a fairly thick edge too.

For any sort of task where your blade will apply force to metallic objects, at the very least, a knife with a thick edge and a reinforced tanto-like tip is needed I think to avoid major damage. My new Extrema Ratio Nemesis comes to mind. :)
 
You use the edge of your knife to disassemble or separate parts on your rifle?
I don't know that I'd call that abuse or weakness, but using the wrong tool for the job. Get a properly sized punch, screwdriver, whatever, depending on the rifle.
Benchmade will repair it for you. They call it their "Lifesharp" service.

btw, I don't find the fact that other knives have handled the same use very meaningful. It can be harder to remove pins or springs from one time to the next. One time a pin might pop right out with the tip of a ink pen, next time around you might be tap, tap, tapping it with a punch. The difference doesn't matter if you're using a punch, but the sharpened edge of a knife, well, yeah...
 
It was in fact an SKS. I usually use a screwdriver or a nail to do the deed, but I was ill prepared and without access to either.
 
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