Hello fellow blade Lovers, and OMG I broke my BK2 !!

wow!
that has to be a one off im sorry.
dont know whats worse breaking a BK2 or having to use a bear grylls knife LOL j/k
 
I'll be dipped.... KaBar must have screwed the pooch somewhere.

I have beat the absolute hell out of a coupe trainwreckers and never broke one. I whacked one into a tree and hung from it (all 230 lbs worth) and it didn't budge. Bounced up and down - still steady. Batoning - no prob. Prying - no prob. Even threw it, sometimes it stuck, sometimes not. No prob.

Shocked to see this!
 
This is why I'm not a fan of differential hardening/quenching (if indeed that's the case with this knife, I'm not 100% certain of that). It creates a hard blade (which is good), a soft tang or spine (which is not necessary) - and a weak spot right in between... which can be very very bad.

It's much better to harden the entire piece fully, temper normally, and then draw the temper back just on the spine or tang. No transition areas that way. (It's also still not necessary, but whatever)

Regardless, it's still extremely rare to break one of those, though.
 
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This is the first time I've heard comments to the effect that differential hardening caused weakness. I thought it was meant to make the knife tougher.
 
mtangent said:
This is the first time I've heard comments to the effect that differential hardening caused weakness. I thought it was meant to make the knife tougher.
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It's supposed to. The problem with it is that when it's accomplished by only hardening/quenching part of the blade, it can leave a transition of weak, untempered steel with poor structure between the hardened area and the soft area.
 
The tang broke. Arguably the weakest part of the knife where all the shock of the blow is focused.
Depending on how the knife was being used I'm not particularly surprised by this.
At the least the knife will be replaced.
I would like to see how the knife was being used when this happened.
 
james terrio said:
It's supposed to. The problem with it is that when it's accomplished by only hardening/quenching part of the blade, it can leave a transition of weak, untempered steel with poor structure between the hardened area and the soft area.
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Is this process done with all Becker knives? :confused:
 
cards94 said:
Is this process done with all Becker knives? :confused:
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You would have to ask in the Becker and/or Ka-Bar subforums, I don''t know for certain.

Regardless, I'll say it again... this sort of breakage is very rare.

Please note that I said this sort of thing can happen... not that it will always happen. Millions of knives have been made that way, for centuries.
 
Kai Winters said:
The tang broke. Arguably the weakest part of the knife where all the shock of the blow is focused.
Depending on how the knife was being used I'm not particularly surprised by this.
At the least the knife will be replaced.
I would like to see how the knife was being used when this happened.
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It was a simple act of chopping, I was holding the knife near the pommel at the bottom to get some swing in the strike.
Nothing fancy
 
This is the exact same conversation re: BK2 breaking at the skeleton tang. The question arose about the older solid tangs being sturdier. As usual it was 50:50. It appeared here about 2 or 3 months ago. As I wrote then I was fearful of breaking mine as I use it to dig and I do apply side pressure. A gentleman here suggested I go to the BK3. Best advice I've received in quite some time.

 
SebBushcraft said:
It was a simple act of chopping, I was holding the knife near the pommel at the bottom to get some swing in the strike.
Nothing fancy
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It should not have broken and Ka-Bar has an excellent reputation for backing their knives.
That being said imo by holding the knife at the pommel area moved the shock area back towards the weakest area of the knife...the beginning of the skeletonized tang...sucks when it happens. No one was hurt, you did not mention injury, and the knife will be replaced and most of all a lesson learned...nothing is "unbreakable".
Keep us informed.
 
I'm quite surprised to see a broken BK2 during routine use. Chopping with such a short and thick knife, I honestly didn't think could generate enough shock to break the tang. Anyway, please let us know what Ka-Bar tells you.

And good for you for having a back up. Even if it was a Bear Grylls knife. :D
 
Usually that type break in that area comes from batoning and impacting too far back with the blade stuck hard in a knot. Sometimes a bit tilted. Very rare to break one of those just chopping. It's a PITA to get it replaced but they will take care of you.
 
james terrio said:
It's supposed to. The problem with it is that when it's accomplished by only hardening/quenching part of the blade, it can leave a transition of weak, untempered steel with poor structure between the hardened area and the soft area.
Click to expand...

Thanks James.
 
Kai Winters said:
It should not have broken and Ka-Bar has an excellent reputation for backing their knives.
That being said imo by holding the knife at the pommel area moved the shock area back towards the weakest area of the knife...the beginning of the skeletonized tang...sucks when it happens. No one was hurt, you did not mention injury, and the knife will be replaced and most of all a lesson learned...nothing is "unbreakable".
Keep us informed.
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I did not get hurt, the blade stayed attached because the first bolt kept it in place. I even used it for simpler task that didn't require heavy force, like feathering and cooking, because the BG PRO feels like a toy in my hand lol
 
Kabar's replacement knife arrived yesterday. Considering it was 4 to 6 day shipping and probably the same thing to send the new one back, that was pretty fast. They sent a catalog with it. If they thought I would buy an Eskabar because they though flashing pretty pictures of knifes in my face would work, they were right lol.

Only bad part is that I asked for the broken blade back, they kept it for safety issues they said, I would have liked to try and make a wicked looking neker with the 2 broken parts, oh well.

Soooo next trip! Going down solo canoeing the Devil's river in Quebec's Tremblant park natural reserve for 4 days. Can't wait!
 
Put that new BK2 to the works! Be safe, but work it hard. U got that 1 in 10000, doubt it'll happen again.
 
SebBushcraft said:
Kabar's replacement knife arrived yesterday. Considering it was 4 to 6 day shipping and probably the same thing to send the new one back, that was pretty fast. They sent a catalog with it. If they thought I would buy an Eskabar because they though flashing pretty pictures of knifes in my face would work, they were right lol.

Only bad part is that I asked for the broken blade back, they kept it for safety issues they said, I would have liked to try and make a wicked looking neker with the 2 broken parts, oh well.

Soooo next trip! Going down solo canoeing the Devil's river in Quebec's Tremblant park natural reserve for 4 days. Can't wait!
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Sounds like you know how to live,keep it up my friend -gook luck with the new BK2
 
The skeletonized tang certainly looks like a weak spot.
Are all BKs made like that?
I would be so embarrassed and mad if my "heavy duty" fixed blade broke while chopping branches.
Especially if it happened while I was way out in the bush with no Bear Grylls to back me up :rolleyes:
 
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