Another Blackbird down(updated-got replacement)

Tbaggin

Tbaggin

Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
399
So I was playing with some knives in the woods in between working on some bike trails. I brought my GSO-10 by Survive! With its attached bk24, my bk7, and my blackbird. I was chopping tree limbs and before I realized it, the blackbird was toast. WTF!? I said, hen just put it away and continued with the more reliable steel:
Bummer

Wrecked blackbird by sdtrev, on Flickr

Up close at home

image by sdtrev, on Flickr


image by sdtrev, on Flickr


image by sdtrev, on Flickr

And after all the effort I put into the handles!!!!! Including the spacers.

image by sdtrev, on Flickr


image by sdtrev, on Flickr

Ontario is getting a friendly call on Monday...
Anyone think warranty will cover it? It wasn't abuse, so why not?

Edit:So when I got the mail today, I had a strange box to sign for.. And low and behold! A BRAND SPANKIN NEW BLACKBIRD! This one was fresh from the makers with its own cardboard sheath and another spec-ops sheath!! Thank you Ontario! This blade seems to be the same thickness, but it seems to be a thicker grind. As in the grind guy gave me some more steel on the edge :) of course, I'll have to grind a little bit of steel to match to the scales I modified. Ontario recommended I keep my originals and they understand I'd have to do some more modding to match up since all handles aren't exactly equal in shape. All in all it was a long turnaround(expected) but the customer service was stellar. No pictures necessary, I don't think..


Thanks again for looking
 
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Ouch, sorry to see this!
It's not fun to experience what You did, but it has happened a few times to me also.

Firstly, the knife can be reground into a thicker, but lower profile and put back to service again.
It will not be the looker it once was, but still a useful tool.

Now, chopping treelimbs can be disastrous to thin edges as the wood flex away when the knife strikes the limb.
A thin blade bites deep and gets stuck in the wood fibers wich flex and You still has a firm grip of the handle, with halfmoon chips as a sad result.

There are knives around that can handle woodflex, but their cross-sectional edgegeometries are closer to the thick edge of a hatchet.
Such a knife costs several hundred dollars and compared with the cost of a hatchet, there's no competition in favor of the hatchet.
However, I like chopping knives and I own a handful.

I have used them all and my two favorites are a reground (after chipping) Bark River Golok and a Fällkniven NL2 Odin.
The Odin has been used just as much as the Golok and can take hour after hour of chopping, without edgefailure.
The Golok was ground too thin, but with a new regrind into a thicker edge it holds the edge and chops like a demon!

View attachment 338548View attachment 338549

A knife good for both chopping and general cutting chores demands a careful attention to details and overall balance between different parameters, hence it's very costly compared with the axe, but very fun to use.


Regards
Mikael
 
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I did consider a regrind. We'll see what ontario says, I don't mind modding some more either way
 
154cm is a fairly high carbide stainless and really won't ever be a tough, chopping type steel. It has good wear resistance and better corrosion resistance than most carbon and alloy steels though. S30V, Elmax, etc. are substantially tougher but they pale in comparison to the really tough steels like 3V, A2, 5160, L6, S7, 5, 1, Cruwear, etc.

They just aren't designed for toughness. It's not a defect, just the way they are designed.
 
Good factory customer service means that they will stand behind their product. No sweat, friend.
Sonnydaze
 
On the bright side, the rehandle that you did looks awesome and with a regrind will be a true custom. After all... "If life gives you lemons, find someone who's life has given them vodka and have a party!"
 
why were you chopping with a knife like that? Seems counter intuitive, even if it had the strength, the lack of weight has got to make any sort of chopping a chore.

let's put a fund together to get OP a hatchet.
 
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goodeyesniper said:
why were you chopping with a knife like that? Seems counter intuitive, even if it had the strength, the lack of weight has got to make any sort of chopping a chore.

let's put a fund together to get OP a hatchet.
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I wouldn't chop with that knife, it's not even remotely close to being a chopper.
 
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TwinStick said:
They should replace it. Bad heat treat. It happens.
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Poppycock. Wrong usage of the blade.

The Mastiff said:
154cm is a fairly high carbide stainless and really won't ever be a tough, chopping type steel. It has good wear resistance and better corrosion resistance than most carbon and alloy steels though. S30V, Elmax, etc. are substantially tougher but they pale in comparison to the really tough steels like 3V, A2, 5160, L6, S7, 5, 1, Cruwear, etc.

They just aren't designed for toughness. It's not a defect, just the way they are designed.
Click to expand...

Agree.

RevDevil said:
I wouldn't chop with that knife, it's not even remotely close to being a chopper.
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Definitely agree.
 
Or perhaps batoning had weakened it? It's not like it was trying to chop through a tree. Thanks for the uplifting information knarfeng
 
TwinStick said:
They should replace it. Bad heat treat. It happens.
Click to expand...

Geezum petes, I'm so tired of seeing this, everyone time someone has a mishap. Somebody shows immediately and just states as a matter of fact something like this.

From what little we know by the story and pictures this is NOT BAD HEAT TREAT, this is using the wrong tool for the wrong job, call it abuse if you want. MikaelW in the first response probably nailed it. Thanks for your brilliant nonscientific deduction and of course blaming in on the manufacture, classic.

Stop with this garbage about bad heat treat and especially the manner in which you wrote it. First blaming the company in They should replace it and then the drive by, bad heat treat it happens. Really, really?
 
You are new enough here that I considered it worthwhile pointing out the replies to which to listen. No need for me to put into my own words what they had already stated so well. Wouldn't want you to go blaming the heat treat.
 
MikeC said:
Geezum petes, I'm so tired of seeing this, everyone time someone has a mishap. Somebody shows immediately and just states as a matter of fact something like this.

From what little we know by the story and pictures this is NOT BAD HEAT TREAT, this is using the wrong tool for the wrong job, call it abuse if you want. MikaelW in the first response probably nailed it. Thanks for your brilliant nonscientific deduction and of course blaming in on the manufacture, classic.

Stop with this garbage about bad heat treat and especially the manner in which you wrote it. First blaming the company in They should replace it and then the drive by, bad heat treat it happens. Really, really?
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I agree Mike. MikaelW was the best constructive comment. Yours was a rant, respectfully. I just wanted to put this up for future searchers and wanted to see what old timer knife users would say. Honestly, some people jump to conclusions and post, some read and move on. Either way, this is all up to ontario(obviously). If they replace it, cool. If they dont, I look forward to MikaelW's recommendation.
 
I am new, your second post was pleasantly honest. I don't blame anything. I'm a wreckless human, life goes on yada yada. Thanks
 
Tbaggin said:
It was just small limbs too.. I think I'm a half brain?
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There's a sometimes unexpected bit of physics that occurs in a flash when you hit a small branch with a knife,
that causes it to to snap back and grab the blade with a great deal of force.
 
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