CS Recon Scout Fails Miserably

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I spent yesterday with an axe pounding a carbon steel blade through junks of wood up to 6" across. I was hitting the blade hard enough so that the coating was fracturing off the flats of the blade.

The impacts were smashing in the poll of the axe. There was huge knots in the wood which I was chiseling right through with up to 4-6 hits necessary to clear through the larger knots. The knife was not effected in the slightest. It was about -15 -> -20 F.

This isn't what I would call extreme performance, just standard for a decent carbon blade, unfortunately there are very few blades that achieve this kind of performance mainly because of QC issues.


-Cliff
 
It is quite interesting how it broke the knife. I've batoned wood with both folders and fixed blades without any problems ever. My BM 705 was used to baton thick branches into thin dry kindling for quite a few fires. It never seemed like it put that much stress on where your knife broke. However, in my experience from all the times I lived out in the woods is:

1. You can visably see a knot in the wood, when batoning you want to avoid knots like the plague. The only time I came very close to injuring myself involved a knot. Not to mention they dull/chip/bend and edge like crazy.

2. It looks like a much larger log then I would want to baton into personally, and it looks like you are taking off a pretty large piece. Batoning for me is a method to get smaller pieces of dry wood (kindling) in order to get the fire going hot enough that I could put in the (possibly wet) branches I sawed off a dead tree. I just can't see having a log that big just laying around ready to be split. In a situation of survival you try to gather what is around you, while creating the least amount of work for yourself. I never had a big log like that when I was living outdoors. If my pocket saw couldn't cut it, I moved a few feet over to something it could.

Again, I'm not criticizing, I'm just lended my experence. The skill of batoning is good to learn and practice. It saved me a few times when the only wood I could gather was extremely wet.
 
This is very interesting,

I have used the RS for many years and have abused it much worse then this, In one situation I couldnt for the life of me find any small branches etc. to start a fire, one of those days where no wood is to be found.. not good LOL, to much snow and didnt want to burn energy trying to find wood let alone drift to far from my camp. But what I did find was a OLD tree stump, I used the RS to split chunks of wood out then made kindling, and basically that old tree trunk kept my fire going for two days.

I really twisted, pushed etc that knife and the only thing that happend was the gaurd came loose a little, I still have that blade and it has held up great minus the loose gaurd.

I agree with shpshooter to try and avoid knots as it will bind up the blade pretty bad, not to mention it can ruin a edge.

Batoning is something everyone should use when needing wood for a fire, To get to the good dry stuff, and to make big branches smaller for better kindling.
My Fehrmans have been through all of this with no problems at all, plus they have no sharp corners which makes the baton happy and last longer :)

But at the end I think you got a lemon, where the blade failed/broke shouldnt have happend imho.
But in a survival situation that blade still could be used, even without a handle.

This has made for a great read and makes one think that "you never know what might happen out there, so be ready for anything".
 
I really like this thread....some saying that the knife was abused and others saying it was defective.....either way...it broke.

I have to admit a mild amusement by this.....seeing how Cold Steel has had an aggressive and sometimes overbearing advertising campaign for years.

It's kinda like Martha Stewart going to jail :eek:
 
You are out camping with your brother,,,,,he asks to use your new knife...

You hand it to him, but warn him to be carefull because "Its new and took a lot of money to pay for"

He walks off to start a fire while you set up the tent,,,,then you hear him call you over, there seems to be a problem with your new knife...

You walk over to where he was working, and see a broken knife sunk deeply in a log just as what is shown in the photo...

you are ticked-off plenty,,,,but at your brother, or at the knife?
 
My brother would have had his own knife; but if he did borrow one it would have been my BK-7 and I'd be really surprised because it doesn't have the stress risers that seem to be a contributing factor in the CS RS failure. But if he broke it, it's his.

If he broke my Fehrman I'd want to know what he used for leverage.
 
Greg Covington said:
I really like this thread....some saying that the knife was abused and others saying it was defective.....either way...it broke.

I have to admit a mild amusement by this.....seeing how Cold Steel has had an aggressive and sometimes overbearing advertising campaign for years.

It's kinda like Martha Stewart going to jail :eek:
Click to expand...

That's funny! I'll bet THAT won't make it into one of the "Proof" vids.

Get a Swamp Rat or Busse (if ya got the $$$$) and not worry about it. Fehrman would be the third choice just cause it looks like he apprenticed at Busse.

Rob
 
EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SRK!!!!! temp was in the 50s, much much smaller piece of wood, and I was braging that it was a great knife as it broke in my hand. The only knife I have ever broke.

Last cold steel carbon V I buy.
Do I recommend doing this to a knife, no, but my Schade and buck knives have been much tougher.

It should never have broken unexpectly like this one and mine did.

I sure would not do this with a D2 knife either.
 
I used my CS Bush Ranger (AUS-8A) to cut down two trees in Nov. I believe that my knife at an Rc hardness of 57 is more for that kind of job than my CS SRK at an Rc hardness of 60. I've had several CS Carbon V knives chip and break where as myAUS-8A knives (softer steel) have held up very well.
 
I wholeheartedly agree with garageboy on the D2 comment. I have never had any blade other than maybe the Boker Ceramic one that is a brittle as that one is.

I love my Dozier skinner and it is a good knife for that purpose but I really question the D2 tactical knives ability to hold up like they should just because of the inherent brittleness that can be a problem with this steel.

Most all the D2 being produced today for knives is 60Rc or better in hardness and that can only mean brittle with a capitol B. Some of the other tool steel knives are the same way though.

I bought a Queen D2 whittler and it is a good knife but you can snap the tips on the three blades so easily even on softer woods that I don't know if the edge keeping is worth the fact that the blades are more brittle than say a CV steel or a 1095 or 01 type of steel blade.

To get back to the topic here though. I am still torn as to whether this was abuse or just a bad knife. The fact that I have done this same chore with the Recon Scout knife I gave my son inclines me to think it may have had a hairline crack in it from the get go right out of the box. My knife never gave any hints that it would give at all and it was a factory second at that.

I wouldn't give up on Carbon V just from this one example. It has proven to be a good steel from what I've read. Even the best break now and then.
 
GarageBoy said:
D2 is more brittle.
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Sorry but I have to disagree. Any steel with a high RC is prone to break. Not all D2 knives have to be harden to 60RC. Mine are at 58RC and they hold an edge very well. Add cryo and you benefit much more. I do have to say I've never put a D2 knife to this kind of test to see the outcome. Hmmm, I may have to try it. :)
Scott
 
Perhaps,,,,,But my view would be more like this...

I walk up to where my brother had been working to get a fire going...
I see the broken knife handle,,,,then I notice the blade sunk down to the spine in a HUGE log,,,,,Next I notice the knot in the log,,and understand that from the beginning there was no hope that the knife could have ever split such a log in that area,,,,Heck a log splitter would be hard pressed to crack that log open in that area...

I then notice the marks of the handle of the hammer?.....and in my mind start to understand just what my brother did to break my knife...

trying to split a log on the knot is NEVER going to work,,,the blade is stuck as if you stick it in a vise and started hammering on the handle....Sure it's going to break,,,,It's just a knife,,,,,

It was a good knife,,,with a min of care and concern Im sure it could have lasted forever as many other of the same types of kives have,,,,But Im also sure that no matter what knife you give me to use in the field,,,,no matter how good and strong you think your knife to be,,,Im sure that I could come up with a way to break it...hitting a knife into a solid block of wood in the winter is one such way,,,

In short,,,,I would be ticked-off at my brother for even thinking that what he was doing would work....,
 
I then notice the marks of the handle of the hammer?.....and in my mind start to understand just what my brother did to break my knife...
Click to expand...

I thought that the blade was used with a wooden baton???? Did I miss something here?

LOL Sure if my brother was beating on my blade with a hammer I would be pissed but I dont recall this being the case with the RS, I believe he said he used a wooden baton which is what I have always used with no problems nor damage to the knife.

Yes the knot is a bad thing, but I would expect edge damage before the handle snapping off.
 
All that did for me was confirm what I said earlier. Look at the tip on that knife in the link you gave.
 
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