Faulty new BK7 - Mr. Becker can you please help us with RMA?

[Guyon]

Your names in blue Guyon, your a ninja Mod..lol

Note the slight slant of the letters. It's tricky.

IMHO, this knife looks like a classic issue of "a bit soft".

Yeah, the machete I mentioned was a Tram with a very thin edge, and machetes are softer steel as a rule.

 

[Silverthorn]

I have seen a knife do this batoning. when it came out of the wood the area that had been "Bent" felt pretty warm at the flex. Can stress create enough heat to soften the steel ?

 

[Bladite]

Note the slight slant of the letters. It's tricky.
Yeah, the machete I mentioned was a Tram with a very thin edge, and machetes are softer steel as a rule.

i still can't ban you, but i'm working on it

just got off the phone with the BOSS MAN. feel bad calling him up with business, so we chatted a bit too

Ethan is having a nice trip, but when he can, sometime in the next little while, he will be poking his head in.

this is will be taken care of, i'm PRETTY SURE

also, you non regulars: we love the feedback. keeps us honest. just you know, be polite about it. it's Ethan's house.

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey MKabar......

I am riding in the back seat with 1066Vik driving coming back from a bar....... I will get with KaBar first thing in the morning..... At first glance, it appears to me that we have a blade that is softer than spec....... Please tell your friend that between KaBar and I we will do the right thing...... I am in no shape currently to give this the thought it deserves( I am very tired and have been at the beer) ....... I will get on this right after the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning...... Thank you for your patience.......

Ethan

 

[Cody4x4]

i still can't ban you, but i'm working on it

just got off the phone with the BOSS MAN. feel bad calling him up with business, so we chatted a bit too

Ethan is having a nice trip, but when he can, sometime in the next little while, he will be poking his head in.

this is will be taken care of, i'm PRETTY SURE

also, you non regulars: we love the feedback. keeps us honest. just you know, be polite about it. it's Ethan's house.

Hey MKabar......

I am riding in the back seat with 1066Vik driving coming back from a bar....... I will get with KaBar first thing in the morning..... At first glance, it appears to me that we have a blade that is softer than spec....... Please tell your friend that between KaBar and I we will do the right thing...... I am in no shape currently to give this the thought it deserves( I am very tired and have been at the beer) ....... I will get on this right after the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning...... Thank you for your patience.......

Ethan

Looks like we have some more additions to the "why we buy beckers" thread almost 11pm (depending on time zone) on a Sunday night and still getting a response

 

[jdk1]

Just my 2 cents, not that anyone asked, but I've seen that damage before. It has been on near dead soft khukuri improperly hardened. The edge was intact, but the rest was waving like crazy. I've had it happen on green saplings also. So, it's possible.

 

[Jonny1280]

Looks like we have some more additions to the "why we buy beckers" thread almost 11pm (depending on time zone) on a Sunday night and still getting a response

Doesn't get any better than that does it!?
Pretty cool.:thumbup:

 

[Bladite]

Just my 2 cents, not that anyone asked, but I've seen that damage before. It has been on near dead soft khukuri improperly hardened. The edge was intact, but the rest was waving like crazy. I've had it happen on green saplings also. So, it's possible.

yup, and i've returned a few. not many mind.

you know the soviet logo? hammer and sickle? history lesson. the hammer is for what? hint: it's not for smiting. it's for the sickle.

 

[Bobby3326]

What I find interesting is regardless of the manufacturer whether Becker, schrade, or a Gerber the minute someone has an issue you always will have those people who feel compelled to tell you how bad that brand is...usually they have nothing to back there claim up and if they do it's there best friends uncles sisters boyfriend had an issue with every (insert brand here) they bought therefore that brand is junk.

For every one person who has had an issue there's thousands of very happy customers without issues.

To the op hopefully every thing works out for you and your buddy and you get that 7 replaced with a new one. Once you get that new one don't be afraid to hurt it again. a properly constructed 7 will take a lifetime of hard work.

 

[Bladite]

What I find interesting is regardless of the manufacturer whether Becker, schrade, or a Gerber the minute someone has an issue you always will have those people who feel compelled to tell you how bad that brand is...usually they have nothing to back there claim up and if they do it's there best friends uncles sisters boyfriend had an issue with every (insert brand here) they bought therefore that brand is junk.

For every one person who has had an issue there's thousands of very happy customers without issues.

To the op hopefully every thing works out for you and your buddy and you get that 7 replaced with a new one. Once you get that new one don't be afraid to hurt it again. a properly constructed 7 will take a lifetime of hard work.

yeah, well, that's why there are mods.

people we've never seen, who probably don't own, never will own, the "THING", but they have an arm chair opinion. good for them

99.99% of them are shutdown, or there abouts, because, either the "THING" performs, and almost without fail, is replaced to satisfaction by all.

the silence is pretty cool after.

don't like "THING"? well, sell it. nobody is butt hurt about that either. broke one? got your replacement? sell it.

given how many have been sold, in terms of shear magnitude, one expects failures. that's just production. as KaBar is basically saturating the market, failures are GOOD. it shows were to improve.

my 99.99% is a reference to six sigma. you're never going to see a process without flaw. however, if that process is improved over time, we all benefit.

 

[Bobby3326]

yeah, well, that's why there are mods.

people we've never seen, who probably don't own, never will own, the "THING", but they have an arm chair opinion. good for them

99.99% of them are shutdown, or there abouts, because, either the "THING" performs, and almost without fail, is replaced to satisfaction by all.

the silence is pretty cool after.

don't like "THING"? well, sell it. nobody is butt hurt about that either. broke one? got your replacement? sell it.

given how many have been sold, in terms of shear magnitude, one expects failures. that's just production. as KaBar is basically saturating the market, failures are GOOD. it shows were to improve.

my 99.99% is a reference to six sigma. you're never going to see a process without flaw. however, if that process is improved over time, we all benefit.

Well said.

 

[1066vik]

Having been a soldier - and having known soldiers -- when something gets broken, it's like dealing with children: "I was just standing here and all 4 wheels fell off the jeep, sergeant! honest - we didn't touch anything!" (this is not me calling you or your friend a liar -- believe me. It's me laughing over how I imagine the look on your friend's face when he realized what he had done to his knife -- no matter how it happened)

cutting small branches off a dead spruce -- like was said earlier in the thread can severely damage a knife -- if chopping through knots, especially hidden ones.
dents and rolls like that generally happen when the metal is soft enough to bend instead of chipping or tearing.
In my opinion (which isn't worth much, since I don't work for Kabar), if the knife had been hardened properly, it would likely have chipped. (and yes, I have dented a competitor's knife in a similar manner before -- chopping through what I thought was a piece of juniper -- and after chopping through it discovered it was an old Osage Orange (AKA Bois D'Arc or Hedge) tree branch -- a wood hard enough I have used it as a hammer in the past)

for the doubters - the wear on the coating in front of the damaged part of the blade looks like normal finish wear from chopping branches. Granted - it takes a lot of chopping, OR chopping in some hard/tough material. I suspect the soldier in question was showing off the knife and letting all his buddies give it a try before the damage was noticed. I don't see where the coating on the sides of the blade looks particularly worn, but I do see mud and dirt on it -- again, folks using a knife outside -- dirt happens.

I'll pour some strong coffee in Ethan in a few hours and he can look at the thread again.

I have used the Kabar warranty before and this is what I did:
I packaged up the knife with an explanation of what happened and how and mailed it to Kabar -- there are instructions on exactly how to do this on the website link posted earlier in the thread.
I also sent an email to customer service with the pictures and an explanation of what happened and let them know the knife was on the way.

Once they had the knife, I got an email telling me they couldn't find any hidden flaws in my knife -- heat treat was good, no inclusions or other metal flaws -- and that sometimes things happen -- and that my replacement knife would be on the way soon.
since I live in the USA, shipping times were much shorter than you/your friend will face -- best of luck getting a speedy turnaround.

 

[MKabar]

Hey MKabar......
I am riding in the back seat with 1066Vik driving coming back from a bar....... I will get with KaBar first thing in the morning..... At first glance, it appears to me that we have a blade that is softer than spec....... Please tell your friend that between KaBar and I we will do the right thing...... I am in no shape currently to give this the thought it deserves( I am very tired and have been at the beer) ....... I will get on this right after the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning...... Thank you for your patience.......
Ethan

Thank you very mutch for your help Mr. Becker, take your time. No rush necessary.

Marc

 

[B.F.U]

Hey MKabar......

I am riding in the back seat with 1066Vik driving coming back from a bar....... I will get with KaBar first thing in the morning..... At first glance, it appears to me that we have a blade that is softer than spec....... Please tell your friend that between KaBar and I we will do the right thing...... I am in no shape currently to give this the thought it deserves( I am very tired and have been at the beer) ....... I will get on this right after the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning...... Thank you for your patience.......

Ethan

Man, Kabar could not have made a better decision when it came to a designer/spokesman. Hard to argue with that!

To me, judging from experience making knives and not heat treating them well, that looks like something that would only happen with a bad heat treat. It's a production blade, there's no way they can achieve perfection with every one at any price let alone <$100. I'm sure Mr. Becker and Kabar will handle this well.

 

[iwouldhurtafly]

Always awesome when the designer of the knife takes time out of his day to come around and help. Very cool, thank you again Ethan.

 

[OFFICIAL_KA-BAR]

Hello Mr. Becker,

I need your help please. I can't contact you directly, I don't have your email address and PM doesn't work here, I was trying to add you on Facebook couple weeks ago (Marek P..., H&K logo instead of profile picture) to send you a message.

My friend soldier from the Czech army recently bought new Becker BK7 from some Czech survival/army shop (not a well know shop). When he tried the knife for the first time, the blade was instantly damaged.
He tried to chop some small thin branches from a dead tree. It was a soft wood (spruce) and inside the branches it wasn't anything metallic - nail or something like that, he checked it multiple times. Not even a knag.
The blade is deformed like it was made from some aluminium. I am thinking, that this piece somehow skip hardening process in the factory. It bend instantly after hitting the thin branch.
I can send the blade in the USA of course by the Post Office, but it will take two weeks at least. And of course I need a address where to send it.

I am adding pictures of the damaged blade and bill from the Czech shop. The shop instantly denied RMA, they say that the knife is not for chopping wood or anything similar (they should watch some BK7/9 in action ).
And according to them the blade damage was caused with mistreatment from the owner. I have a RMA protocol from the shop also, but it is in Czech language, so I am not adding it, it's pointless.

Can you please help us with RMA directly in the Ka-Bar factory? Thank you very mutch for your help.

My email address is: mkabar(at)gmail(dot)com

We will get this sorted out. Please contact us directly at info@ka-bar.com with more details such as point of purchase, if you are a dealer, etc.

All, please take note. The quickest way to bring things to our attention and get them resolved is by contacting us directly at either info@ka-bar.com or 800-282-0130. Otherwise we are getting information second hand.

-OKB

 

[Bobby3326]

It's always good to see a company stand behind its product.

 

[flavc3]

Hey MKabar......

I am riding in the back seat with 1066Vik driving coming back from a bar....... I will get with KaBar first thing in the morning..... At first glance, it appears to me that we have a blade that is softer than spec....... Please tell your friend that between KaBar and I we will do the right thing...... I am in no shape currently to give this the thought it deserves( I am very tired and have been at the beer) ....... I will get on this right after the first cup of coffee tomorrow morning...... Thank you for your patience.......

Ethan

And this here is why I decided to go with Beckers for my "outdoor" knives.....can't get better customer service than that!:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Ethan Becker]

Hey MKabar......

As you have probably figured out, I talked to the plant this morning...... There should be no problems other than the logistics and that can be solved and soon...... I suspect that there will be quite a bit of head scratching at the plant as to how this happened ...... Please tell your friend that I apologies for the inconvenience and worry..... He put out a big chunk of change and relief is at a considerable distance.........

All best

Ethan

 

[codycash]

I'm agreeing with the soft steel theory all the way. I've broken many a knife and I've only seen waving like this when the grind super thin and gets stuck in something and gets twisted. That edge should have chipped out with impact stresses.