Bend or Chip first?

Rebel Nimrod

Rebel Nimrod

Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
740
When stressed beyond their design limits (like hitting a rock or nail) in your experience, do Becker’s tend to chip or bend first?

When chopping a stump out of the ground I hit some gravel and got small chips, haven’t done any worse damage....yet...

I know some have hit Hemlock knots and busted out half moon pieces from the blade edge.
 
I have only accidentally hit small gravel-size rocks while batonning and the worst result has been very small chips on the edge. This has happened a few times and I just simply sharpen them out. I find the steal VERY tough but the edge is easy to manage/fix.
 
Ok, sounds like they normally fail under duress by chipping instead of bending. Anybody have a different experience they would share? Pictures even better! I understand it’s scarce as hen’s teeth finding an edge failure on a Becker...
 
From what I have seen, the edge will take chip-esque damages which are actually very small rolls in the steel at the edge that can be steeled and then sharpened out. In my exeprience at least. I haven't had any significant failures with any of mine, but again, my experience so far.
 
My Machax gets used the most and therefore sustains the most edge damage. I just hit it a few licks on the Worksharp KO and I'm back in business. If I know that I'm going to be clearing saplings close to the ground I grab my Woodmans Pal which has a blunt edge at the tip just for that reason.
 
I wouldn't characterize chips/small rolls as "failure" but rather the steel yielding to something harder than it through force. Fortunately for us, the 1095 CroVan in our Becker knives, handles these situations far better than many other steels and can be remedied, as suggested by those above, quite readily. While I am no metallurgist, I suspect this is a combination of the structure of 1095 CroVan as well as the heat treat it receives.

Whenever I ponder hard use knife steels, I think of 10-series steels in the context of the millions upon millions of lawn mower blades and truck leaf springs that have been made and the lives the lead.
 
Beckers bend quite well, and snap back. generally not something to worry about.

over decades we've seen those concoidal fractures caused for various reasons (aforementioned hemlock knots), but imho, that's normal and and borderline abuse. warranty covers you.

it was common knowledge 100 years ago, in the Kephart book: "don't chop the knots of things like hemlocks". they are SUPER STUPID hard, esp when frozen. like, they are silicated!
 
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