Becker BK7 snapped while processing wood

It's always great to see Ethan chime in and take care of business. I've never personally had a failure while processing my wood though.
 
And Ethan saves the day yet again.

I follow Ethan's advice and never baton with my BK.
I "club" it, just like he said to do :-)
 
I love it. Mr Becker himself replies and offers to talk to the op. I posted a while ago that I had bought a BK9 and loved it, again he replied. What a great company. I've now bought a BK7 .
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hey Logan.....

First of all I am sorry this happened to you....... l baton judiciously all the time and have yet to experience a failure..... that said there could well have been a small chip in the blade which created a stress fracture which in turn caused catastrophic failure......

I noticed that there is a lot of what I suspect is baton detritus on the thumb ramp which would indicate that you batonned between the handle and the target area.... This is one of the best ways to create a failure....... Please contact Ka-Bar at 800 282-0130 and they will help you.....If you get a chance please contact me at423 295-2500 this evening.... after seven EST and I would like to talk about how it happened and help you avoid a similar event in future..... I am looking forward to talking to you......

Ethan
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thank you for the help Ethan, I really appreciate it. I will contact ka-bar this afternoon. I will try to get in touch with you this evening as well. I think I'm gonna be investing in a BK2 next
 
NCSlice said:
Ooohhh!!!!
BUSTED!!!
Click to expand...
And it was Florida pine in both cases. Must be nasty stuff ;-)
Just pulling the OPs leg in good spirit.

What are the physics that batoning between blade and handle is more likely to result in catastrophic failure than hitting towards the tip?
Is it only bad if putting force on the handle at the same time by holding it or jerking it around?
 
That piece of pine isn't even that thick. I have pounded my Beckers through seasoned oak 6 inches thick without failure. I have seen my Bk4 bend halfway through and it always bounces back once the wood gives way. I have concluded that I simply am not man enough to break a Becker knife. That florida pine can't be that hard can it? I have batoned plenty of white pine, lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine and none of it was that hard. Anyway, that piece of wood shouldn't have broken that knife. Don't hit on the handle side of the wood unless you are hitting it up because you are trying to get the the knife out because it is stuck. You can blame the knives if you want, they are your knives and it is your money but a slight tweak to your technique may be in order. ;)
 
Jens Schuetz said:
And it was Florida pine in both cases. Must be nasty stuff ;-)
Just pulling the OPs leg in good spirit.

What are the physics that batoning between blade and handle is more likely to result in catastrophic failure than hitting towards the tip?
Is it only bad if putting force on the handle at the same time by holding it or jerking it around?
Click to expand...

Take a 3' 2x4... center it over a cinder block. Hold one end with your hand and beat the other end until it snaps(prob wont)
Take the same 2x4...place each end on a cinder block and stomp on the middle.
Kinda sorta the same principle
 
So I'll try not to be a snark but 2knives in 3 days we'll that can be prevented Ethan chimed in and btw he has some great videos on the subject I think your technique might need well uhh let's just say improvement??? Uhmmm it's not normal to break 2 knives in 3 days I assume your method of wood processing is a little bit odd??? Just have to ask were you batoning with a sledge hammer or a block of concrete? Both times that is...... so uhmm yeah maybe batoning with a sledge hammer is not these smartest thing in the world. I think what you need is this thing called an axe it's like this metal head attached to like this handle just follow this link http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+an+axe?
 
James w said:
So I'll try not to be a snark but 2knives in 3 days we'll that can be prevented Ethan chimed in and btw he has some great videos on the subject I think your technique might need well uhh let's just say improvement??? Uhmmm it's not normal to break 2 knives in 3 days I assume your method of wood processing is a little bit odd??? Just have to ask were you batoning with a sledge hammer or a block of concrete? Both times that is...... so uhmm yeah maybe batoning with a sledge hammer is not these smartest thing in the world. I think what you need is this thing called an axe it's like this metal head attached to like this handle just follow this link http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+an+axe?
Click to expand...

Actually, I was thinking the exact same thing. Becker, and Tops both put out very good quality stuff. Breaking two in three days seems to me that the user is likely the problem rather than the knives.
 
James w said:
So I'll try not to be a snark but 2knives in 3 days we'll that can be prevented Ethan chimed in and btw he has some great videos on the subject I think your technique might need well uhh let's just say improvement??? Uhmmm it's not normal to break 2 knives in 3 days I assume your method of wood processing is a little bit odd??? Just have to ask were you batoning with a sledge hammer or a block of concrete? Both times that is...... so uhmm yeah maybe batoning with a sledge hammer is not these smartest thing in the world. I think what you need is this thing called an axe it's like this metal head attached to like this handle just follow this link http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+an+axe?
Click to expand...

Batoning wood is a valid way to take small pieces and make them smaller, much more accurate and safer than an axe when dealing with smaller wedges of wood. I carry an axe when I go out camping and use is to split up rounds of wood to the point that I am no longer accurate enough with it to get consistent splits. Then, I move to the batoning, and my BK9 or BK20 does a bang-up job finishing it all off to whatever size I want in the end.

No need to snark someone who got a defective blade, I'm sure he knows what an axe is or else he wouldn't've mentioned it in the first post. It makes no sense to act like an ass towards a new Becker owner who's just trying to make sense of a knife breaking where it shouldn't've.
 
NCSlice said:
Take a 3' 2x4... center it over a cinder block. Hold one end with your hand and beat the other end until it snaps(prob wont)
Take the same 2x4...place each end on a cinder block and stomp on the middle.
Kinda sorta the same principle
Click to expand...
Yeah makes sense. Thank you.
So if you don't hold the handle and thus don't provide a second fixed point then hitting on that end should be the same as hitting towards the tip?
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hey Logan.....

First of all I am sorry this happened to you....... l baton judiciously all the time and have yet to experience a failure..... that said there could well have been a small chip in the blade which created a stress fracture which in turn caused catastrophic failure......

I noticed that there is a lot of what I suspect is baton detritus on the thumb ramp which would indicate that you batonned between the handle and the target area.... This is one of the best ways to create a failure....... Please contact Ka-Bar at 800 282-0130 and they will help you.....If you get a chance please contact me at423 295-2500 this evening.... after seven EST and I would like to talk about how it happened and help you avoid a similar event in future..... I am looking forward to talking to you......

Ethan
Click to expand...

Now THAT's customer service!
 
James w said:
So I'll try not to be a snark but 2knives in 3 days we'll that can be prevented Ethan chimed in and btw he has some great videos on the subject I think your technique might need well uhh let's just say improvement??? Uhmmm it's not normal to break 2 knives in 3 days I assume your method of wood processing is a little bit odd??? Just have to ask were you batoning with a sledge hammer or a block of concrete? Both times that is...... so uhmm yeah maybe batoning with a sledge hammer is not these smartest thing in the world. I think what you need is this thing called an axe it's like this metal head attached to like this handle just follow this link http://lmgtfy.com/?q=What+is+an+axe?
Click to expand...

Actually on both occasions I was batoning with a smaller piece of pine. And yes I know what an axe is but if you actually read my post it might've saved you some typing. My technique should not be based off of the defects of a blade. And for a piece that small an axe would almost be overkill. Any knife should be able to handle that.
 
based on the other post "I have a TOPS silent hero and it has quickly become my favorite blade. But I was recently processing some Florida pine and the blade bent. But in the blades defense, it was some very tough, resin hardened stuff (lighterknot). The piece was probably 4 inches wide. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced a Silent Hero failing or having any trouble. Thanks. "

southern pines tend towards hardwoods. their knots are like rocks. if the knife doesn't move freely through the wood, never force it.

batoning on the handle side is "not done"... there are some good batoning videos. tip only, yah?

the best way imho to split up small wood like that is with a light (aluminum) wedge, and a 3-4 lb hammer. works. always.

still, KaBar should have you covered. please, just don't baton that way.

and yes, technique does override blade quality.

imho

goodluck...
 
fielder said:
I love it. Mr Becker himself replies and offers to talk to the op. I posted a while ago that I had bought a BK9 and loved it, again he replied. What a great company. I've now bought a BK7 .
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This ^^^ is why I love Ka-bar Becker knives. Are you kidding me? When the man himself gets on and offers to help... Customer for life, Mr. Becker. You are a class act, sir and I thank you!
 
Ethan's response in this thread is one more reason why my BK9 definitely won't be my last Becker.


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