Broke my BK-9

Razorsharp1986

Razorsharp1986

Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
991
Hello folks.
I went on a full day outing today with my friends, and got disappointed tremendously. When batonnig wood for my fire today, my BK9 got stuck in a knot. I tried to get the knife out by hitting it on the handle, only to realize that the handle broke off completely. I don't understand why, as I did not hit it nearly as hard. It was it's second outing ever, and already broke. :mad:
This knife was my favorite chopper / outdoor blade. I took some pix on my phone, but can't seem to find the USB cord at the moment.
I must mention, again, the I did not hit the blade or handle in a way it shouldn't be hit, just some rather LIGHT batonning. Anyway, will post pix tomorrow. What a sad sad day it is.... :grumpy:
 
Yikes. Post up those pics. Sorry to hear about this one.
Grain and knots can put some funny pressures on a batoned knife.
Was the stuck portion of the knife near the handle break? That is, was the knife under stress at or near the break point?
 
Call KA-BAR and send it in. I think you will be happy with their solution for you.
 
TheLastDaze said:
your scales broke off or are we talking complete knife?
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. Good question. By "the handle broke off completely," I read the post as the knife snapping in two. But that line does need clarification.
 
Post up some pics when you can, so we can get a look at this fella. Clarification please. The grivory handles came off, or the knife body broke somewhere?

Thanks.

Moose
 
The point where it broke was not stuck in the log. It is close to the handle, but the BLADE itself broke. I got the blade now as one piece, and the handle with maybe 1.5 inch blade as the second piece.
I've batoned many times with many different knives. I never do anything foolish, especially since I take only 1 large knife with me when outdoors, and breaking it is not something I'd ever WANT to do.
I honestly could not believe it. It started the day really strong. Chopping effectively and batonning easily. The knot I hit was not even the hardest one my BK-9 faced today, and I have hit it before on the handle, ever so gently, to get the blade out when it got stuck.
Honestly, it was my champ, and now I can't even make myself look at it. What a bizarre way to brake a Becker.
I've got other Beckers, but not in the same caliber. They all do their job perfectly, and so did the 9. I just hope I had a lemon, because I really want another one, one that will NOT break hopefully.

What do I need to do in order to claim my warranty? I hope I don't need to spend too much time or money. In any case, I wouldn't think twice, and buy myself another one regardless of what happened.

PS. I was using a wooden baton throughout the whole process, as I always do.
 
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I suspect the process begins with mail it back to Kabar with a letter explaining what happened and your contact info including mailing address.
There was another thread a couple months back where Toooj posted a return address for a guy who chipped his bk9 chopping up hemlock. If you need a mailing address, you might search out that thread.
 
Toooj will hear or see this tomorrow, promise.

No one is accusing you of abuse, we are all generally concerned. We don't see this kind of thing often. Tough luck about the blade, bro, and if I know Kabar, they will get you squared away toute suite.

I feel for ya, really I do, bro.

So you gots other Beckers? How old and who made them? Which one is your favorite?

Moose
 
wow, yeah I'd say its a lemon.. it's not a perfect world that's for sure.. consider the knot, the surface temperature, yada yada, and the weak link in the lemon and you have the perfect storm..

really sorry to hear about that..
 
Again Razorsharp1986, sorry to hear this happened.

Like I said, knotty wood, especially hard wood can put some crazy bows and stresses on a knife. You may have even cracked the blade at some point without realizing it and then the added tap on the handle put it over the top. Who knows?

Whatever the case, you clearly weren't abusing the knife, and I bet Ka-Bar takes good care of you. Please put up the pics when you get time and keep us posted regarding the warranty claim.
 
That's bad news.

Good news is that it gives you an excuse to buy an ESEE Junglas.

Actually, I broke the top 1-1/2" tip off my BK9 earlier this year. But I was clearly doing something with it I shouldn't have been doing.
 
While this sucks it doesn't hinder me from using my BK9 because I know from others experience that Becker really come to play with issues like this. Definitely want to see the pictures.
 
Hitting on the spine of the handle with the blade stuck in a knot, gives a nice leverage effect.
In order to free the blade you should have hit upwards.
 
That sucks bro, I've never had it happen but I imagine it would be quite the letdown to have your only knife on you break while on an outing. Good luck!
 
well, that's not fun... call Toooj, phone number on their website, or send them email, or wait, he'll find you...

what kind of wood? pictures please! also of the knife :)

how cold out was it? other factors?

how sharp was the knife? any chips, or bends or ?

sounds like a bit of hit or miss accident, so to speak. easily resolved.


Bladite
 
I was also wondering what kind of wood you were in. How big (diameter)? Was it frozen? Inquring minds want to know:D

Moose
 
The other Beckers I've got are the Bk-2, 7, 11, 13 Remora and the Magnum Camp (this one by Camillus). All great knives btw.

As for the wood log, it was relatively small in diameter, maybe 5 or 6 inches maybe. It wasn't frozen solid, but indeed the temp was below 0 Celsius.
I always keep my knives sharp, this one was no exception. Actually, it still is sharp, just not usable. It stayed sharp, and did not ding or chip really except when I hit some small stones in the dirt (the previous outing); which oubviously did not have anything to do with the failure. I have some dings on the handle part (1.5 inch blade) but these are from trying to free the stuck and already broken blade from the log.

Looking at it now, and considering all the fact, I honestly think it had a weak point from factory. I have never seen or heard of a knife break that way. And really guys, it felt just way too easy when it broke.

Anwyay, I'll post pix in the next post. Uploading them to photobucket right now.
 
get some of the grain at the break, it could have some signs of why it broke, and I'm sure becker would love to get it to study it and why it broke. The point it fractured might have been pre-existing for some time and finally let go.
 
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