Chipped ElMax Blade on a ZT 0561

Status
Not open for further replies.
A chip blows out when it happens, your not going to find the missing chunk because it explodes and looks like this.

PIC101.jpg


A chip will not look shiny like the little dent in your blade it will look dull because it is a fracture of the metal.
 
In a previous post I talked about the wear my Elmax 566 took when cutting fiberglass landscapers fabric. After sharpening, while testing the edge using phone book paper the edge "stuck" in a couple of places. Looking at it under a 10x loupe I could see, just barely, several hard wear spots that looked similar to a chip but I knew were not.
I'm really fussy about the edge of my knives, not all of them, so prior to another run on the Lansky I used the fine diamond hone to carefully smooth the edge by running the hone over the edge until it was smooth and wear free.

It took perhaps an hour on the Lansky to sharpen it using the medium/fine diamond, black arkansas, yellow then blue ceramic hones followed by black/green compound on my strop...edge came out glistening and sharper than I'd ever achieved before. Shaved arm hair like a laser, same to phone book paper.

It was worth the effort both as a learning experience and higher level of edge sharpness for me.

PS: I finished cutting the landscape fabric using utility knife blades...used one and threw it out...you could see the wear on it much more easily...almost like cutting carpet or a roll of paper.

Point is: If you feel your knife's edge has any annoying nicks, etc. don't be afraid to hone the edge smooth and start over. You won't remove enough metal to matter, unless it is a large chip/nick then I suppose you have no choice either unless you can live with it...I could not.
 
Here is a example of a deformation, you can see how the damage is elongated like the damage in your photo and not a half moon like a chip.

PIC107.jpg
 
I can't tell if it's a chip or a ding, but it looks like you have a serious wire edge. If the chip was hanging on by a thread, it was hanging on by a wire edge. In any event, that's a minor sharpening problem and you need to resharpen anyway.

What I can't figure out is how you can get either a chip or a ding in that location when the blade was closed when it fell.
 
If I've got this right, the knife initially hit the concrete in the closed position, bounced off the concrete, deployed on the way up as a result of the impact, and hit the concrete again . . . apparently tip first.
 
Oh hell no!!! Hahaha. Just read and learn from the pros here. It's definitely not a chip. If it's too much, send it it for resharpening.
 
ARundrpillow said:
In real life it looks very similar in size to Blues Bender's chip.
Click to expand...

Highly unlikely...

I think it's worth noting that my chip is on a machete, it is very unlikely your "chip" is this deep.

Note the guitar pick for size reference...If I could do a macro pic, this thing would look like a mountain:D

14479148284_34b9c6754a.jpg


That's what happens when you chop roots and hit some bedrock:grumpy:
 
I'm with you on being a bit bummed out that you hurt your knife on the first day. I get that. You saves up, bought the knife you liked, dropped it on accident, and the edge was "damaged". I understand. That said, that nick is NOTHING to sweat. That will literally be handled by 5 minutes on a 100 grit stone/diamond. Honestly bro, I've done worse on skinning a boar. The hair covered in mud and muck will destroy a knife edge. I promise, that will buff right out. Have no fear.
 
I am impressed! I own numerous ELMAX knives but am always impressed when I see testament to how tough this steel is!

ELMAX chipping just lightly with a fall on concrete as such as is actually testament to just how tough ELMAX is...the opposite of this thread.

Knives falling on concrete generally lose significant tips (like 20%+ of the entire blade), have huge chips which are so bad replacement may be needed as sharpening through would deform the blade severely, and even catastrophic failure.

The damage that happened to you was so superficial that it could only be described as impressive. Most knives would not be in that sort of condition after a fall as such. And judging by the area of the damage, you dropped the knife on the absolute worst possible place for it to fall...and still ELMAX showed its extreme toughness in resisting major damage...
 
ARundrpillow said:
its not showing up well and it is a chip not a deformation. The largest light spot on the edge closest to the tip is actually missing material. I know it to be a chip because it was hanging on by a thread when i saw it and came off when I touched a strop to it. In real life it looks very similar in size to Blues Bender's chip. It should sharpen out I believe. I want to thank everyone for their comments productive or unproductive they were all either informative or entertaining and I enjoy both.
Click to expand...

That's really tiny, and yeah I can see it fine on my 32" monitor.....

That's impact damage, minor......

Wouldn't take more than a few mins to sharpen that out...
 
ARundrpillow said:
It happened.
Click to expand...

What this image shows is an end-result of the absolute best outcome you could wish for after a folder takes a nasty fall as such. I am wowed that it held the tip and most of the edge after that kind of impact because it is very common for the tip to literally break off when it hits concrete in a fall...this is a 5 minute repair job versus what would be a blade replacement or major reprofiling with many other steels.
 
ARundrpillow said:
...I guess this was a good test of the steel and it definitely failed.
Click to expand...



The only Fail I see is the OP's assessment of his new knife.

I'd say the knife Passed with flying colors.


The irony is that we all clamor for the newest steels pushed to be as hard as possible and then get mad when obvious abuse
slightly damages the blade.

I say the knife get's a Pass, and the OP gets a Fail.

Of course, folks will use this thread to reinforce the rest of the negative comments about Elmax.

Thankfully, now that we've seen the photos, those of use who care to seek the truth can reach our own decisions on the Pass/Fall situation.




Big Mike
 
I don't think the fall caused this damage. For a closed knife to fall on concrete, then open and still have enough energy left to bounce up and land on the part of the blade just below the tip doesn't make sense. For a tiny chip or ding to happen right below the tip, the knife would have had to hit at an odd angle, one where the force vectors would be going a different direction.

My guess is that the damage was there before the fall, but not obvious until the knife was dropped and the OP examined the edge closely.
 
bld522 said:
If I've got this right, the knife initially hit the concrete in the closed position, bounced off the concrete, deployed on the way up as a result of the impact, and hit the concrete again . . . apparently tip first.
Click to expand...
OK,now you guys got ME worried! My ZT0561 doesn't bounce,should it?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top