Chipped Blade

[RatDrall]

My favorite knife is a Bark River Bravo 1 with G10 handles. I've hiked with it all Summer. Our last camping trip, I didn't bring a hatchet because we were buying split wood at the park, and there was no rain in the forecast. It rained like hell for a couple of hours and soaked everything. I used the Bravo 1 to baton through our whole pile of wood, to expose the dry stuff inside. I was the only one who had a fire going. I had one peice with a knot right by the outside of the wood. I beat the Bravo 1 through it, but took a small chip out of the blade at the base, right above the handle. There was already a quarter-circle taken out, just because it's where the blade begins, but now it looks like two quarter circles with a tiny raised section in the middle where it chipped off.

Should I just ignore this, and leave it alone, or can I sand/file it smooth? What would you do?

I guess that the only reason I want to smooth it out is because I'm afraid that the uneven lines are a weak spot that may further break. If you guys tell me not to worry about it, I won't.

Thanks guys!

PS. I could still shave hair off my arm after all the wood work

 

[mgysgthath]

I'd just file it smooth.. But posting a higher quality picture might help, it's hard to see. It looks like you just took the little corner off the blade side of the choil.

 

[RatDrall]

It looks like you just took the little corner off the blade side of the choil.

That's exactly what happened.

Unfortunately my camera isn't capable of better closeups, and the chip is so tiny that it hardly shows up in the picture I posted.

 

[mgysgthath]

I you take a pic straight down on it with the knife on a white background (piece of paper) it might show up better. But you pretty much just clarified where the problem lies. You might want to wait and get some more opinions before you do anything, but I can't personally see how smoothing it would hurt anything, just enlarging the choil slightly basically.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

You can use an appropriate size diamond bit, or a small chain saw cylinder bit in a dremmel. It won't matter if you leave it as is, either.

 

[aarongb]

You can also contact Bark River if you don't feel like doing it yourself. I believe its covered under their warranty.

 

[james terrio]

That may be true Aaron, but shipping it there and waiting for it to come back wouldn't be worthwhile. If nothing else, sandpaper wrapped around a small rod or dowel and a bit of elbow grease will clean that right up.

 

[RatDrall]

That may be true Aaron, but shipping it there and waiting for it to come back wouldn't be worthwhile.

This is correct, last time I sent a knife to Bark River it was $15 and I didn't have my favorite user for a couple of weeks.

If nothing else, sandpaper wrapped around a small rod or dowel and a bit of elbow grease will clean that right up.

I think that this is what I'm going to do.

Thanks for all of the replies!

 

[james terrio]

I think that this is what I'm going to do.

I think that's wise. Take your time.

The good news is, even if you don't get around to evening out that small chip, you already know the knife will perform well for you! It's a very stout design made from really good steel. :thumbup:

 

[other memory]

I'm not a maker so take my words fwtw. Seeing as the chip is so small that it's difficult for the camera to capture the image, its small. You should be able to sand that out.