Becker Grivory Handle Destruction

I'm not the smartest but I really don't know to many people who would carry a three pound sledgehammer to baton with. Don't you all use another piece of wood? Am I doing something wrong? Why not just carry a small ax? Just wondering.
 
Guyon said:
eo, to do this right, you're going to need an Instron high-speed instrumental drop tower, the perfect addition to any living room.

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I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night but is that the refelction of a man in the middle of that thing?
 
It's so powerful it crushes bowling ghosts.
I think there's a mini fridge for beers on the bottom.
 
There's definately an angry man in a bowling shirt inside that thing. Creepy.
 
I heard on several accounts of the Becker grivory handles breaking with use.
With batoning and even when chopping ,I wasn't there though,so I can't say how they were chopping or batoning.
People batoning their knives hitting the handle on accident,might break these handles too.Wooden batons can be heavy and massive too.

After seeing this video it wouldn't surprise me that wood can break this hollow handle too.


Anyway.
Very interesting video.
 
noviomagus said:
I heard on several accounts of the Becker grivory handles breaking with use.
With batoning and even when chopping ,I wasn't there though,so I can't say how they were chopping or batoning.
People batoning their knives hitting the handle on accident,might break these handles too.Wooden batons can be heavy and massive too.

After seeing this video it wouldn't surprise me that wood can break this hollow handle too.


Anyway.
Very interesting video.
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I have hit mine very hard on many occasions with a wood baton and there is no problem. I am not an engineer but I think they are much stronger when attached to the knife.
 
How do you break your handles when chopping? I'm not doubting your word (and I'm sure it happens all the time), but I'm just having a tough time visualizing that.
 
tradewater said:
How do you break your handles when chopping? I'm not doubting your word (and I'm sure it happens all the time), but I'm just having a tough time visualizing that.
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Perhaps they're chopping with the wrong end. ;) :D
 
tradewater said:
How do you break your handles when chopping? I'm not doubting your word (and I'm sure it happens all the time), but I'm just having a tough time visualizing that.
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Yes I was surprised too.
The guy claimed it was during chopping.
I don't know what it means to him though.

But ,I personally am not fond of the hollow scales.
For the mentioned reasons,being weaker than solid scales,and it can store unwanted moisture.
And the micarta.I haven't seen one shop that sells them here in the Netherlands.
I understand it's cheaper to sell them with the grivory scales.But I would rather pay a little more for the difference of having those beautifully made micarta handle scales.
 
noviomagus said:
Yes I was surprised too.
The guy claimed it was during chopping.
I don't know what it means to him though.

But ,I personally am not fond of the hollow scales.
For the mentioned reasons,being weaker than solid scales,and it can store unwanted moisture.
And the micarta.I haven't seen one shop that sells them here in the Netherlands.
I understand it's cheaper to sell them with the grivory scales.But I would rather pay a little more for the difference of having those beautifully made micarta handle scales.
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There are shops in europe, online that sell the micarta. They go out of stock quick since they service the entire continent.

As far as the hollow scales, they are as strong as they should be. Any stronger and they should be steel. I doubt these broke during chopping since I have been out in the woods in -30C and these knives took everything, even some abuse.

The grivory handles aren't weak, but like I said and other did too, there's not much you can't break with a 3LB hammer. The point was to show what it would take to break these and obviously wood shouldn't break them, even something hard, like oak or walnut. I hear a lot of people talking crap about the handles but what more could you ask for at the price the Beckers are offered? The biggest advantage is that they are removable so you can get micarta if you chose....
 
europeanoutdoorsman said:
There are shops in europe, online that sell the micarta. They go out of stock quick since they service the entire continent.

As far as the hollow scales, they are as strong as they should be. Any stronger and they should be steel. I doubt these broke during chopping since I have been out in the woods in -30C and these knives took everything, even some abuse.

The grivory handles aren't weak, but like I said and other did too, there's not much you can't break with a 3LB hammer. The point was to show what it would take to break these and obviously wood shouldn't break them, even something hard, like oak or walnut. I hear a lot of people talking crap about the handles but what more could you ask for at the price the Beckers are offered? The biggest advantage is that they are removable so you can get micarta if you chose....
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As strong as they should be?
Well, I have seen your video and read several experiences of people and tend to disagree.
They break like glass. And your hammer didn't impact with a lot of force.
Do that with a Condor Polypropylene handle a you won't get the same result.
Besides that I find them too slick.
Why not sell it with micarta .As a standard.

Many people when batoning hit the handle also.
I'm not saying that it is good to do that. But it happens.
And there is a chance to break that handle. Even with wood.

By the way ,I'm not a fanboy of any brand.
I just look critical at knives.(Isn't that the way to make a knife better than before.It is.)

The BK-15,16 and 17 have the solid zytel handle slabs.
And even a spare couple when you buy them.
These on the larger Beckers would already be better for ME,than the hollow handle slabs.
What I said.
Hollow handle slabs store water/moist.
What good is that .


"As far as the hollow scales, they are as strong as they should be. Any stronger and they should be steel"

But this statement of yours is maybe a provocation to get the opposite out of my mouth so you don't have to say it?

No?

It worked .
 
Becker scales could be a little slick ..... but they are nice and contoured. .the shape itself lends itself to a positive grip ...unlike some knives with flat slabs. The lack of texturing might be appreciated under long use and help avoid friction points.
 
Grivory is plenty strongfor whatever use any of us will put the knife through. The grivory scales are not solid,they are hollowed out. My only problem(a minor one) with all Becker scales is the nut and screw attachment. I would rather see the type of screws used by Esee or the Ontario RD series. That said most of my Beckers have the stock scales and I see no real need to change except when I customize.
 
Ok, so if I were going to sacrafice my grivory handles to an appropriate break test, and post the video on here, how would ya'll like me to go about doing it?
 
noviomagus said:
Yes I was surprised too.
The guy claimed it was during chopping.
I don't know what it means to him though.
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If your location is particularly cold I can see that causing the issue. The Fiskars hatchets with supposedly "indestructible" handles have been known to break in extremely cold climates, I imagine grivory would do the same. Of course, for the rest of the world that generally isn't an issue most of the year at least, which would explain a vast difference in performance. As the video shows the grivory handles do break, but in a fairly extreme and unrealistic test. While attached to the knife any baton would hit the knife in a place where it should hit the metal handle portion first, dispersing a great amount of the energy and reducing the chances of the grivory breaking from impact. In proper usage, one would never have a reason to need to hit the scales full on with anything, so it is going to be a rare occurrence for anything of that nature to take place in any reasonable setting. Again though, extreme cold would skew any material closer towards breakage simply because that is what cold does. If that isn't the case in your area or the area where the gentleman claimed he broke the grivory during use, then I don't know what to tell you other than it shouldn't have happened, and I have a really hard time seeing a legitimate usage that would cause such an event.

Either way, the fact that aftermarket scales are available alleviates this, so for those with a different preference there are options out there. KA-BAR chooses to make them aftermarket instead of stock though which reduces the prices for the average user who has no need of micarta scales, and as they are the largest demographic they have determined that the grivory will remain stock and the micarta an aftermarket option, regardless of how much you may wish otherwise. Sorry for that, but it is what it is.

As far as the handle scales retaining moisture, that is true, but that shouldn't cause any issues unless the handle portion of your knife has been stripped and all the epoxy paint is gone. That stuff is there for that very reason (among others).
 
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NikkiR said:
Ok, so if I were going to sacrafice my grivory handles to an appropriate break test, and post the video on here, how would ya'll like me to go about doing it?
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Attached to the knife would be a good start. Maybe hit it in the air (not between two hard surfaces)
 
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