Front Swedge Line Ending Below Front Tip of Blade / Tip of Blade Situated in Swedge

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Claude_88

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I have avoided purchasing knives via the internet due to the inability to personally inspect and examine a knife, prior to purchasing it, though I am aware some online stores may be contacted in advance, take note of and send a knife in accordance with your wishes (ie. a centered blade if important to you), assuming they have more than one such knife in stock.

A gift certificate for a large chain of stores was burning a hole in my pocket and I decided to make use of it about a week ago. Unfortunately, the store has no locations anywhere near me. Thus, my only reasonably convenient means of using the gift certificate, was to do so, online.

Such being the case, I used the gift certificate for an online purchase of a fixed blade knife. Specifically, a Ka-Bar USMC, full size, with leather handle and sheath. I called customer service in advance to request that it be extremely sharp and as free of specified defects as is possible and practicable.

It arrived a few days ago and I am very pleased with it. Most notably, the degree of razor sharpness. It is able to EASILY shave arm hair and glide through paper, despite not having what I would consider to be a thin blade. I am very impressed. There is only one (1) defect and for a production knife in its price range, it was anticipated by me to some extent, and is perfectly acceptable to me. I bought this Ka-Bar to use, not to stare at. Moreover, I do not suffer from O.C.D. As such, from an aesthetic and general satisfaction standpoint, I don't give a flying f*** about the defect. However, as I will in fact be using this knife, I am wondering whether any of you would know, or be able to opine, as to whether the following below described defect will affect the structural integrity of the knife, by making the tip more prone to breaking or becoming rounded:

The swedge on one side of the blade does not line up with and flow into the tip of the blade. Instead, the swedge, which appears to have been grinded too long and/or close toward and into the tip, is abruptly cut-off by the edge of the blade, below the tip, thus failing to reach the tip or the spine and assume the shape of a full scallop. The edge passes through the lower portion of the swedge, and the tip is situated in the upper portion of the swedge, above the swedge line. The swedge line on the other side of the blade lines up with and flows into the tip, and as such, seems to better support the tip, due to the thicker dimension of the swedge line upon which it sits. Whereas, the side of the tip that resides above the swedge line and in the actual swedge, only has the relatively thin swedge wall behind it, lacking the relative thickness of the swedge line to support it.

Again, from an aesthetic or general satisfaction standpoint, this defect does not bother me, whatsoever. However, if it indeed does make the tip more susceptible to breaking or becoming rounded, I would incur the hassle of sending it and exchanging it.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks in advance.

Claude
 
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The swedge that was grinded too long and/or too close to the tip, whereby the tip sits above the swedge line, in the swedge, and is supported only by the relatively thin wall of the swedge, without the assistance provided by the relatively thicker swedge line, that should be lined up with and flow into the tip. Pictures of the other side, with a properly grinded swedge , to follow for comparison purposes.
 
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The other side, with a properly grinded swedge, whereby the swedge line flows to the tip, providing additional support to the tip, by virtue of its relative thickness.
 
Again, I don't give a crap about the aesthetics. I'm concerned my tip is more susceptible to breaking or rounding, by reason of this defect. If the difference in tip strength due to this grinding error is negligible, I'd be inclined not to exchange it. I honestly don't know and don't want to find out the hard way, as this knife will be used and abused.
 
in the extreme, that would seem to weaken the tip because less metal is on one side of it. however in real life i dont think this weakness would be a problem or that the stress would even be reachable during real use, even if that use is considered "abuse"
 
This one just needs to be returned due to principle ...that grind is plain terrible
 
It's an imperfection, but unless you were planning on stabbing through steel oil drums I can't imagine you breaking the tip off during actual use. I think that any act that would break that tip off would just as likely break a perfectly ground tip off.

If you have the option of returning it, then that's an option. But of course, there's no guarantee that the next knife they send you won't have some other imperfection. At that price level you don't get a high degree of perfection.
 
This is precisely why I will not purchase knives online, except for the few online sellers you can call and someone will actually examine it for you, prior to your purchase, to ensure you're not getting a dud. But, like I said, the gift certificate was burning a hole in my pocket and I rolled the proverbial dice and hoped for the best. Fail. I had a similar situation a few weeks ago, when I used an Amazon gift certificate to purchase a Bedlam. I didn't need to seek opinions as to whether to return it. The blade was so off center I could barely open and close it due to the amount of contact and pressure it was putting on the liner. Tried to fix it, as I am rather good at it and have several techniques and tricks. This thing was stubborn and would not budge. So, back it went.

At this point, I'm almost convinced that some manufacturers earmark and set aside some knives with imperfections for internet sales and sellers, in order to prevent purchasers from examining some knives prior to buying them, knowing that a pre purchase inspection would cause prospective purchasers to avoid buying the knives with appreciable imperfections.
 
killgar said:
But of course, there's no guarantee that the next knife they send you won't have some other imperfection. At that price level you don't get a high degree of perfection.
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Yes. I made express reference to this fact in my posts. It's not reasonable to expect a production knife in this price range to be perfect. Which is why I am inclined to keep it unless the imperfection would make the tip more likely to break or round, in more than a theoretical sense.
 
What about sharpening it, in the tip area. Does the fact the tip and section of blade immediately under the tip is in a swedge ditch, pose any problems?
 
It's almost impossible to handle a knife before you buy it here. The best quality I found in local stores is BM/Spyderco/ZT, at well above MSRP.
 
If it bothers you that much, send it back, for Scagel's sakes.

And if they won't take it back, then you are "stuck" with a mass-produced, $80, yet still high-quality, perfectly usable knife with a slight imperfection.

Goodness. :o
 
Charlie Mike said:
It's almost impossible to handle a knife before you buy it here. The best quality I found in local stores is BM/Spyderco/ZT, at well above MSRP.
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That sucks. Here, they full on take the knife out of the box for you, if it's not already out of and on top of the box, and allow you to examine it, thoroughly. No rush, surprisingly. The reason many are on top of the box already, is many stores either keep only 1 in stock, if it's expensive and must therefore use it as a showcase model, or they've sold all but the showcase model, if they had more than 1 in stock. After you handle and examine it, they clean it. For this reason, they are often discounted. I bought a 710 a few weeks ago from a store, having wanted one since 1999. It was perfect in all regards, which I was able to determine before buying it. Whereas, as mentioned above, the 860 I bought from an authorized dealer via Amazon, was a joke. The blade was so off center it was an impediment to opening and closing the knife, due to the blade making contact with and putting pressure upon the liner. It was one of the rare occasions where all my tricks and techniques failed to get the stubborn s.o.b. to budge.
 
marcinek said:
If it bothers you that much, send it back, for Scagel's sakes.

And if they won't take it back, then you are "stuck" with a mass-produced, $80, yet still high-quality, perfectly usable knife with a slight imperfection.

Goodness. :o
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Do you suffer from serious reading comprehension problems? I didn't anywhere state that it was bothersome. Quite the contrary, actually. In fact, I said I am inclined to keep it and was simply asking whether anyone knew if it would make the tip more susceptible to breaking or rounding.

Goodness. (gay emoticon)
 
Claude_88 said:
LOL. Believe it or not, I am. My reply was well deserved. His response was based upon an imaginary fact pattern and laced with derision and abusive ad hominin.
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It was ad hominem. You are being overly bothered by this minoir detail, in my opinion. But it is your knife. Like I said, if you are so concerned, send it back. Sheesh, life's too short to be so worried about that silly little millimeter. Send it back or move forward.

The drama!
 
Claude_88 said:
Do you suffer from serious reading comprehension problems? I didn't anywhere state that it was bothersome. Quite the contrary, actually. In fact, I said I am inclined to keep it and was simply asking whether anyone knew if it would make the tip more susceptible to breaking or rounding.

Goodness. (gay emoticon)
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Why are you so sensitive? And why do you need to bring sexuality into the discussion?

Kids these days...
 
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