broken Henckel

oregon · Oct 17, 2005

Fixed dinner for the clan last night and dropped my flippin favorite kitchen knife, medium sized JA Henckel, about 3' to a linoleum floor breaking it in 1/2 (spine to edge break, about 1/2 way from handle to tip).

Luckily, both feet are intact. :thumbup:

Surfed over to the Henckel international site and was directed to my local retailer, Williams Sonoma is a candidate, for warranty info. Clumsy oafishness can't possible be covered can it?

Feel unlucky, cursed like breaking a mirror. Don't break many knives. Perhaps this is the bottom of a trendline and it gets better from here on. Maybe this dark and unfortunate event is brightly lined with an invitation to buy another blade. I have been itchin for a sog flash II for some time now.

Now, just where did I put that wacky glue?

Best,

oregon

tim8557 · Oct 17, 2005

You are lucky in that your foot is intact.

My wife accomplished the "one in a million" with a 4" Henckel that I keep razor sharp (much to her chagrin). She was cutting something and happened to be in her bare feet. Dropped the knife; jumped up and back to avoid it; knife went the same direction and landed with the edge up just as her big toe came down on it. It was a nicely "butterflied" toe.

At the ER, the doc was just amazed at what a "surgical" cut this was and that with stitches would heal quickly and pefectly. We then proceeded to get into the manly discussion on the best way to sharpen blades. Of course, my wife is laying there with her toe in a pan bleeding like crazy. She had to kind of yell at us to get us back to fixin' her up. Fortunately there was no nerve or tendon damage and as predicted, healed with minimal scarring.

mete · Oct 17, 2005

You broke it in half just dropping it on the floor ??? Had to be a defective blade !! They aren't very hard or brittle .Breaking a tip or chipping the edge yes but not breaking it in half.

Cliff Stamp · Oct 17, 2005

oregon said:
Clumsy oafishness can't possible be covered can it?

Unless it is a ceramic one the warrenty should cover it, a steel knife should not break in half from such an impact.

-Cliff

oregon · Oct 17, 2005

Tim, Ouch! I'm glad I haven't had breakfast yet. Your story hit me like a punch to the gut. :barf: Maybe the best strategy, during a falling knife incident, is to keep still and bet it won't fall tip down. I, as usual around the house, was in my stocking feet. So, I did the double-clutch-shuffle as it fell. After hearing your wife's result I think I will do the happy dance to celebrate my good luck.

Mete, It fell only 3 feet, at the most, onto modern vinyl flooring layed over plywood subfloor. It broke with a short and sharp twang. The point is perfectly intact. I was surprised. It was sharpened only once, by myself, on an edgepro. So, it was what I consider lightly used, never abused, only for kitchen slicing chores.

I intend to take it to a retailer and see what they say. I'll let you know any result. I expect a boot to my rear, a favorite strategy of my father who always maintained that a complaint deserved something to really complain about. :grumpy:

Best,

oregon

oregon · Oct 17, 2005

Cliff,

I did not purchase this knife myself. The knife was my mother's. It was a gift from her Nephew, who worked at an upscale kitchen supply store, Williams Sonoma.

The knife has markings on the blade: "J.A. Henckels Zwillingswerk AG no stain-friodur solingen germany 31071-160mm (6")." It has a black synthetic molded handle. Here is a pic of a slightly longer version of the knife: http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Cutlery-All-Henckels_Chef_s_Knife_Four_Star_31071_200/display_~reviews

I notice that the broken blade end wants to stick to the broken handle end. It, apparently, is magnetized. There are no splinters or other pieces which came off in the break. The break is slightly diagonal off of the verticle, in an unbroken line straight from cutting edge to spine. The break is located about four inches from the tip.

Best,

oregon

Dijos · Oct 17, 2005

Not to hijack, but I had a 8" chef's crack from the edge halfway to the spine (differentally tempered?). I want to fix mine too.

oregon · Oct 17, 2005

I sent email to Bed, Bath, Beyond (they carry a large selection of Henckels & are close to me) asking if the break was covered by warranty and if so would they, online customer service or one of their nearby stores, replace the knife.

They shot email right back at me today :thumbup: with intent to be of aid by giving me a directory of all six inch Henckel knives for me to pick one and email them back. I did find the right one and emailed them back. It is this one: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=10156661&

I will post any further contact.

All the best,

oregon

Andrew Taylor · Oct 17, 2005

I was amused by the only review on that page you posted
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Cutler...isplay_~reviews

Henckels! I Wasn't Expecting This For Christmas!
by sweetsue_98, Oct 25 '02
Pros: Will last forever :foot:
Cons: Expensive

Over twenty-five years ago, I received this knife for Christmas from my husband. Now, I must admit it wasnt a diamond necklace, or some other really starry-eyed gift, but good knives are indispensable to operating an efficient kitchen.
==========================
One of my chefs dropped a Global filletting knife onto a quarry tiled kitchen floor and snapped an inch of the tip. You would somewhat expect that, but I think for yours to snap on a lino surface over wood it was Basil, (Fawlty that is). Mine was replaced without question. I quoted 'over tempered'. Good luck with our local supplier.

Knifeclerk · Oct 18, 2005

Wait, was this a Henkles or a Henkles International? There is a considerable difference. Anyway, if you have a Merlo's Cutlery in your area, we replace Henkles products. No questions. Come with your broken knife, leave with a new one.

oregon · Oct 18, 2005

Thank you kindly everyone for your comments. You are all right.

I just received this gracious email, from BBB, today. I think it means that they will exchange the broken knife for a whole knife upon receiving the broken knife at a store. I think they are saying that they will refund only when I produce a receipt and the broken knife.

They never mentioned whether the breakage was covered by warranty or not. So I'm guessing that any consideration is based on BBB corporate policy and not Henckels warranty.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you for your email. We apologize the merchandise did not stand up to the quality you come to expect from Bed Bath & Beyond, Please feel free to return it in any condition it is in, for an exchange or refund with the receipt. Again please except our apologies."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

All the best,

oregon

oregon · Oct 18, 2005

Result:

Took the broken knife to my local BBB and they exchanged it for a new replacement of the same knife. :thumbup: Thank you BBB.

All the best,

oregon