Broke the tip off my AFCK!

ShadedDude · Mar 6, 1999

I was down in the shop and thought it would be nice to open the window. To do this I had to cut the paint that was holding the window shut...I got a little crack started...so I slid the blade in (didnt have a screwdriver handy or I would have used that) gave a little light pressure to see if the window would give at all...and SNAP. I didnt think I had that much pressure on it, but evidently I did.

I e-mailed Benchmade to see if I have any options with them. Word of advice, knives are for cutting...DOH!

[This message has been edited by ShadedDude (edited 06 March 1999).]

[This message has been edited by ShadedDude (edited 06 March 1999).]

Ken Cook · Mar 6, 1999

DOH!

Don't feel TOO bad, I did the same thing last year trying to dig a 13 dollar competition arrow out of a tree. There was a highly localized gravity fluctuation between me and the target. (Totally unavoidable. Happens more than people know.)
Anyway, I managed to reshape the blade tip well enough that you can't tell it was broken unless you measure the blade. It's about 1/8th shorter than it used to be but still perfectly usefull. Something to keep in mind if BM can't or won't help you.
Just get a GOOD, CLEAN file and work slowly and carefully.
Hope this helps!

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I cut it, and I cut it, and it's STILL too short!

thecook · Mar 6, 1999

ShadedDude-
Next time that you need to open a stuck window, remember, blades aren't for prying...
For god's sake, man, use the pommel to shatter the glass!

Seriously, my heart goes out to you... I've carried my AFCK for 3 years of hard use and abuse and the only time that it's let me down is when I was using the pommel to try to hammer off some ice formations on the walk-in freezer door...and the plastic spacers in the back between the liners broke in two places. Its just a shock to finally realize that your daily carry is a mere mortal after all... But I still carry it , wounded or not...Maybe you'd be interested in purchasing mine? It's still got the full blade..

Think about it!

Sincerely,
Nick B.

barnaby · Mar 7, 1999

I have sin. I was trying to open some oysters with my only folder, a Puma Deer Hunter. The tip did not break but bend a little. Eventually I grinded the tip away and it is now 1/8" shorter.

I've seen people in restaurants opening up oysters with a small and thin blade with no problem. What is the secret? Next time I'll use my 1/4" fixed blade.

[This message has been edited by barnaby (edited 07 March 1999).]

jki · Mar 7, 1999

My guess is that tip breakage after only slight pressure is applied is due to improperly tempering after heat treating.

I took a weekend knifemaking class a month ago from a bladesmith (Karl Schroen) and we hammer forged, annealed, heat treated, and tempered the blades in coal-fired furnaces. When finished, Karl took the blade edge and hammered (hard!) it into a deer antler without any damage. He then hammered the blade tip into his wooden work bench (hard!). Try that with your production knives. No tip damage!

(One advantage of hammer forging a blade is that in the process of hammering the blade into rough shape, the grain of the steel is forced together at the tip, making a far stronger tip than a blade made using stock removal, where the grain is uniform and parallel, offering no tip strength advantage).

The point here is that a well made blade, properly manufactured and heat treated, should be able to tolerate a moderate amount of abuse (even at the tip) without damage.

Chang · Mar 7, 1999

Wow, I thought I was the only one stupid enough to break the tip off of a knife. My Gerber EZ was to pry into some paint on concrete, and evidently got into a crack or something in the concrete and when pulled out, the tip was kind of bent and rubbed off by the concrete rather than just snapping. I had to resharpen the thing, but it still doesn't look right, and the finish near the tip is scarred! Should I file it down 1/8" more when I've already shortened it 1/8"?

[This message has been edited by Comrade Chang (edited 07 March 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Comrade Chang (edited 07 March 1999).]

Yekim · Mar 7, 1999

You weenies...(I mean that figuratively

)

One of the first things I do is snap the tip off of my knives and regrind them to a more appropriate point. Depending on how much of the tip broke off, you can easily regrind it to a functional shape. I purposely whacked & bobbed my Ascent to get the tip I wanted. Most of my knives recieve this treatment (the Cetan will not be one of them). With a little effort one can perform this sort of surgery and make it look original. It is not the end of the world. I am sure an afck ith a 3.5" blade would not be too offensive to the senses..

Regrinding the tip of a broken knife offers a user the oppurtunity to change a knife to suit their purposes. There is no such thing as a perfect knife, but a knife that has been modified by the user in a manner that not only suits them better, but reflects on their ideal vision of a perfect knife, is a step towards perfection.

YeK

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"Will Dremel for Food!!"
"No, it's a Vaquero Grande in my pocket, but I am happy to see you!"
yekimak@hotmail.com
MegaFolderians Unite!!
Dyslexics Untie!

[This message has been edited by Yekim (edited 07 March 1999).]

Bartman · Mar 7, 1999

Hey ShadeDude, fear not I also broke the blade on my AFCK about 3yrs. ago! I sent it back and if I remember correctly they replaced it for $15.00....Pretty cool I thought! I called them and got an RA #...Had it back in 2 weeks. Don't tell anybody but I was throwing mine at a big oak tree, busted the tip off. But I just told them it was my fault. No problemo...

James Mattis · Mar 8, 1999

Heck! I have one of my hand-made knives that is about 1/4" shorter than it was, because thin ATS34 doean't make a very good icepick. Live and learn.

Some knife company - I forget which at the moment - says in their little pamphlets in the package, "A knife is the least efficient and most expensive prybar you will ever own."

There are knives out there with "reinforced" points that will take abuse better than most. If the point is too thick to be a decent paring knife, it might work for the hard stuff, but prying is still tempting fate.

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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com

amacks · Mar 8, 1999

I actually like the barlow that I have better w/o it's tip. I sharpened the break straight across, and use it like a small scraper.
Aaron
ps James, it's Columbia River

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Why did you stab that girl?
You won't believe this, but I had too much coffee!
-Edmond by David Mamet
aaronm@cs.brandeis.edu

ShadedDude · Mar 7, 1999

I thought about leaving it flat across the front and sharpening it that way, if benchmade doesnt want to fix it for a reasonable price I will probly do something along those lines...or I may go nuts with it...who know

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Life is like a box of knives...

ShadedDude · Mar 21, 1999

Benchmade said that to replace the blade is $25 or I can get a black blade for $35.

I'm gonna go for the black one

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Life is like a box of knives...

tknife · Mar 22, 1999

I too broke about 1/4 in. off the tip of my mini AFCK cutting heavy leather. I carefully Dremmeled it down to a spey shape, and I like it better! But now I mostly carry my Sebenza anyway.

Cliff Stamp · Mar 22, 1999

ShadedDude, M2 or ATS-34 AFCK? Considering the workout Thaddeus gave his M2 I am betting ATS-34.

Regarding knives being used for cutting and not prying - that's the same as saying don't store your knives in leather sheaths.

I have a mini-AFCK in M2 and I have only done light poking with it, but from what I have done I know I would have to exert significant pressure to snap the top off. It would never happen accidently.

-Cliff