Blade keeps chipping

G

Gatait3@gmail..com

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Mar 2, 2019
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Hello, I am in the need for some advice and or help, I own a BenchMade Barrage , It is my EDC
I never use the knife on metal or cutting wood, only use it to cut cardboard or packing tape However the blade has a tendency to develop chips.
I sharpen to a 17 deg angle on a Lansky using diamond hones, then finish with a leather strop
I do not know what steel they used back about 10 yrs ago but think it maybe 154CM but I may be wrong.( I polished blade by hand and all markings are gone, did not heat blade!!)
What am I doing wrong? angle? or is 154CM prone to chipping?
Maybe I will bite the bullet and get one in M4
Thank You in advance
 
hey so i have never had 154 cm. but my buddy did for about three years and he went through about 3 knives. not sure why but it seems like a recurring problem lad. i would personally recommend buying a new knife. i am sorry to hear it was a benchmade as well, that cant be cheap. you can also try calling the company and tell them it chipped. my dad had a spyderco police issue and the blade had snapped. he called and they simply sent him a new knife all together. if benchmade is not working i'm a fan of spyderco. that is just me though. if you like the barrage, i would recommend the barrage 583, its a tanto variant and it may be a little easier to avoid chipping, and even if it does it cant be hard to take out. have a good one and good luck sir.
 
i would try s more acute angle, maybe 20 or 22 degrees, I never had chipping problems with 154, but that]s just me
 
I have a mini grip in 154cm and it doesnt chip. I set mine at 20 degrees on my hapstone using a digital angle meter. I used to use a Lansky sharpener and never had chips either, but it was set to 20 degrees also.That steel is softer than I'd like so I use edge trailing stroke ONLY past 400 grit and a light touch even when using SIC stones.The cardboard I cut on a daily basis is anything from boxes to super heavy appliance crates. I do believe Benchmade could do a better job of heat treating, yes, but the steel itself is good for EDC.
 
+1 to lessening the angle. I’ve had a couple minibarrages in 154CM and they all did great at 19 dps on my gatco then finished up on the sharpmaker 40* (which is 20 dps). And it sounds like I used mine harder than you do.
 
Need pictures to rule things out, sometimes measurements vary from person to person, expert eyes can see empirically and assist better.
 
My Lansky, the angles are off my 2-3 degrees. The 30 is really like 27. The 25 is really 23. The 20 is 18 and the 17 is 15.

Bump the angle up to 20. Microbevel it at 25. That should help.
 
There's a possibility that this edge was burned at the factory. If so, you would want to grind down into the edge, past the bad part, until it's gone. Regular sharpening would do this slowly. A faster way is to grind the edge, straight on (90 degrees) to a coarse stone until the chips are gone. This will leave you with a flat edge that's butter knife dull. Putting the edge back on the blade will take a bit of time. Depending upon how confident you are about doing mild regrinds, this might be a good option for you. Or it might not.

I'm not sure how long it would take on the Lansky diamond kit to bring a flattened edge back to sharp. On my belt sander it would be a few minutes. It might be a hour or more by hand. Just an idea for you.

Brian.
 
I think the lansky marked angles are from the hole to the tip of the clamp, ill have to check mine. The longer the edge sticks out from the end of the clamp, the lower the angle.
There’s other variables like depth the rod is set thickness of stone, and how straight the rod is.
I think my 17 degree hole is more like 13 with a blade 1 inch in height.
 
Considering the ridiculous prices Benchmade charges for their knives I would just ask them to replace it. I have owned and used several blades made from 154 steel over the last 20 years (including Benchmade) and never had any chipping from them.
 
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ditto what BBB said, and from my limited 154cm experience, BM n Buck, have not chipped. Thinking bgentry might be on to something, but a pic would help.
 
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