Benchmade 741 snapped @ thumb hole

[frontline29]

I still haven't seen Spyderco broken around hole area , I am sure someone did it but I havent seen it yet.

A few post's down.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=670718&page=6

 

[philwar]

You should believe
Because...

More photos http://photofile.ru/users/ramses/115024235/137037346/#mainImageLink
This happened when i try cut billet twig`s (with size like a finger)
BUT... Anyway i think that 741 is great slicer and very handy in EDC
Just want get normal heat hardening

I believe the knife broke. I do not believe it happened during use that most people would consider normal and appropriate.
The Onslaught is not a hard use folder, but I've 'chopped' a few small branches as well, twigs actually. The 741 is tough enough for what a normal folder is designed for.

 

[Ratamahata]

I khow what is "delicate knife" and for example Opinel with less thick, don`t allow this trick.
I have not been making great efforts (because already seen diversionmary`s broken knife), only gently tried to cut (with short amplitude strokes) the billet twig`s
So, what you think, should i try to write to Benchmade company with my case?

Thanks friends

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

I doubt they will replace it for free but you can buy a new blade for $25. Black coated blades are $35 if available.

 

[diversionmary]

I doubt they will replace it for free but you can buy a new blade for $25. Black coated blades are $35 if available.

Is this true? I'd never heard of this! I suppose you have to submit the busted blade and knife for them to install the new one?

That's a pretty good deal in my opinion.

 

[Apec]

Is this true? I'd never heard of this! I suppose you have to submit the busted blade and knife for them to install the new one?

That's a pretty good deal in my opinion.

Same warranty deal applies to fixed blades, not just folders (in other words, you're replacing the entire knife with the exception of the handles.)

 

[puukkoman]

JRA, that's great! In the computer business, things happen spontaneously. No one ever instigates, things break all on their own.

There are names for those errors:
"PEBKAC" - Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair
"I D ten T" - spell it out...... "ID10T"

I agree, that guy subjected his blade to more stress than it was intended... just like a JRA scenario (my neighbor works at a bike shop, so we use that term all the time; glad to see it's universal ).

 

[diversionmary]

Received my BM741 today. The blade is *very* thin perceptually... and off-center.

I'm not really sure where this knife will get use. The blade is thin enough that I'd be worried about it doing most anything.

It's roughly the same thickness as my BM950 or BM710, but they're so much sturdier feeling.

 

[orthogonal1]

Received my BM741 today. The blade is *very* thin perceptually... and off-center.

I'm not really sure where this knife will get use. The blade is thin enough that I'd be worried about it doing most anything.

It's roughly the same thickness as my BM950 or BM710, but they're so much sturdier feeling.

The 741, despite its size, is a knife in the same use category as the 710. Just be careful of prying, a task the 710 isn't great at, either.

Oh, yeah, and the 741 makes a better spatula for flipping food.

 

[philwar]

Received my BM741 today. The blade is *very* thin perceptually... and off-center.

I'm not really sure where this knife will get use. The blade is thin enough that I'd be worried about it doing most anything.

Don't be. I've used it cutting really tough plastics (the kind that could easily slice the arteries on your wrist) and thick carboard. It feels more than strong enough for ordinary chores.
I really can't imagine what I'd have to do to it to make it fail like the photo's depicted. Unless I was actually trying to break it.

 

[Cotherion]

Darthsoaker:

Why would a broad (wide) blade result in a weak blade? It seems like the wider it is, the more metal and stronger it would be. Just curious the logic behind that?

Broadness does not improve "pryness strength" (if there ever was a word ) as much as increasing thickness.

I agree with more metal equals more strength but it's all about efficiency.

Imagine case 1 where I take the blade in question and hammer it to a broader shape (length maintained, just simply stretching it out broadwise) then I have just weakened the blade's "pry" strength but increased it's strength along the cutting axis.

Case 2 where I ask Benchmade to make me a 741's blade of twice thickness but half width. This new blade with similar cross-sectional area of steel will resist prying type stresses better than the current 741's blade.

Hope you get my description/picture. Similar idea idea to H beams (steel) where the material is more focused on the flanges and not on the web to improve bending.

PS: Holes, grooves, material take-offs generally in most cases tend to result in it being weaker compared to if un-holed or un-grooved blades. Just a weight, aesthetic and design (for cutting improvement) consideration

 

[orthogonal1]

Don't be. I've used it cutting really tough plastics (the kind that could easily slice the arteries on your wrist) and thick carboard. It feels more than strong enough for ordinary chores.
I really can't imagine what I'd have to do to it to make it fail like the photo's depicted. Unless I was actually trying to break it.

I was prying the flaps from a heavy duty box (I wanted to keep the box in a useable condition) and the blade sure did flex more than I felt comfortable with.

The Onslaught gives the initial impression of being a heavy duty knife in the vein of the Rukus. The Onslaught is NOT such a heavy duty knife.

The Onslaught is simply a big knife for, as you indicate, "ordinary chores".

 

[Cotherion]

If he was trying to center the blade by bending it in his hands, then it is possible to misjudge the strength. It is not impossible to break it by hand.

A lot of times (even with me) we "feel" that it is that much strong or that much tough. In actuality more accurate to use science to gauge how strong or tough either by experiments or by calculations. Human beings are not computers or high tech and "feels" are rarely as accurate as equipment. I agree experience leads to good points but not towards ends of the spectrum of the strength limits of the blade which anyone rarely put's it to.

PS: I hope you guys do not think I'm being a smart-ass here. Though I tend so myself sometimes but I can't find a better way to say what I just said without sounding like a smart-ass.