How tough is A2

U

ukknifer

Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
424
Hi
I have had bad experience with A2. I had sever chipping in a bark river fox river just by hacking through some small branches (dead branches but small). I would really like a bravo2 but I am hesitant because I saw clips and read things that confirm my experience. How would A2 compare to 1095 in a bk2 or in an esse?


I found this on another forum.
At 58-59 Rc, the resistance to breakage under impact (Charpy C-notch):

S90V (420V) - 19
S60V (440V) - 16
S30V - 25
3V - 85
440C - 16
D2 - 22
A2 - 40
VG 10, ATS-34 and 154CM are about the same as 440C
 
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convex it, changes a lot
it comes fullconvex, make it convex resharpening the edge, even BRK suggests it, I've seen that it make the blade a lot tougher and sharper, for a longer time
 
yep

instead a full convex make it a convex grind with convex edge
edge becomes sturdier being a tad thicker but cuts even better, proved.

the different angle of grind and edge make the sructure a lot sturdier, did it on a few BRK and it's hard to damage a 4" even doing tons of batoning
edges are convexed and polished on most of mine, works well, they cur like crazy, hold an awesome edge and hold pretty much

after a few tries you can find the angle that suits your needs most
cheers
Maxx
 
i remember a thread where the TS complained that his bravo 1 was chipping. Mike Stewart said to send it back and replaced it for him and he never had a problem after that.

Maybe you got a bad heat treat or something. I have never had not even 1 problem with my BRKT knives.
 
Your problem is not the A2 steel but Bark River, their heat treat or edge, maybe both. Take a look at the long thread in the reviews/testing forum. Do a search and you'll find even more.
 
I have had bad luck with BR. The few that I owned had problems with the edge being extremely thin.
 
I remember the guy I mentioned before was trying to cut snakewood or iron wood; something really hard.

That's why his fox river (?) was chipping so much.
 
Phil Hartsfield use A2 and his stuff are real work horses and it is one of the best if heat treated correctly.
 
seems once you get a complaint or 2 its like it goes viral. I know you dont want a 200 plus knife to not perform. i just got mine and its freakin awsome. had to go out and thrash it some on some dried wood i had laying on my firewood pile, and batoned a 5" log went threw very easy. the convex blade shape doesnt bind in the wood. this is a well made knife imo and comes with not kydex not nylon but a real leather sheath, a real nice well thought out sheath, my only complaint is its almost too pretty to thrash it, but mine took the abuse and came out still shaving sharp and still looks like new after a cleanup.
 
No problem with my BRKT Bravo 1, A2. Sure, for the price, the fit and finish was leaving me a bit wanting, but no chips caused by chopping/slicing wood.

Please note, I don't hit the ground with the blade edge when I baton through wood.
 
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When the edge on a new knife is weak, you should grind it back a little with coarse diamond stones. The thin tip of the edge can be damaged by grinding a little too hot during manufacturing. Common problem, easy fix assuming the basic heat treat of the blade is good. I'd imagine some people just get carried away with convexing the edge to a ridiculously thin degree sometimes. Trial and error eh ?

Just send it in and have Bark River do it if you don't have the tools or inclination.
 
Jerry Busse used A2 before moving to INFI. I have around 20 fixed blades in A2 and have never had an issue that didn't strop out in a few minutes. I've carved wood all evening and could still shave hair off my arm when I got home the next day.

Bark River has changed its practices to increase the thickness of the edge for more robustness. If you are unhappy with your Fox River contact Mike Stewart and he'll replace it.
 
I've gotten a few knives like that, in all sorts of steels ranging from tramontina machetes (very common) to a 300 dollar 154cm Microtech, and even a busse in Infi steel. All of the above were cured with one or two good sharpenings. The only time it doesn't fix it is when the product is of low quality (most machetes that didn't have tramontina stamped on the blade) or there is a heat treating/steel flaw. Actual steel problems are rare but they happen to even the best makers. One notable one is when Scrapyard Knife co (busse offshoot) had a bad batch of S7 that had bubbles and other wierd stuff going on in the core of the barstock that didn't show up when grinding and finishing.
 
Um, maybe I'm stupid, but this still makes no sense to me.
Pix would help.
Lenny

Mad_Maxx said:
yep

instead a full convex make it a convex grind with convex edge
edge becomes sturdier being a tad thicker but cuts even better, proved.

the different angle of grind and edge make the sructure a lot sturdier, did it on a few BRK and it's hard to damage a 4" even doing tons of batoning
edges are convexed and polished on most of mine, works well, they cur like crazy, hold an awesome edge and hold pretty much

after a few tries you can find the angle that suits your needs most
cheers
Maxx
Click to expand...
 
My experience with A2 has been positive. Durable, more resistant to corrosion than say 1095, and takes a very keen edge. It's actually my favorite carbon steel that I've used. That experience has been with 2 Bark River knives, one of which I still have. Both had/have a very shallow convex grind geometry, but both held up well to any thing I threw at them. I think many folks forget that convex knives are done by hand. It cannot be replicated by a machine. Because of this, there can be some human error occasionally. It's just the nature of the beast. What I do know, is that when it's right....it's hard to deny the performance.

Lenny said:
Um, maybe I'm stupid, but this still makes no sense to me.
Click to expand...

Lenny, what I think Mad_Maxx is trying to say is this. A convex EDGE can be altered just like a V edge. Some folks will take a V edge to say 30 degrees inclusive, but put a 40 degree micro edge on for durability. Some folks with do this with Scandi grinds as well. You can treat a convex ground knife the same way. By raising the spine a little more when sharpening or honing, you create a more obtuse convex EDGE. This is actually the way Bark River knives leave the factory, but they are blended in so well it's hard to notice. Many makers (both factory and custom) who use convex grinds do the same thing. My Fallkniven's came with a secondary convex EDGE that is more obtuse than the primary convex GRIND. I've read comments from custom makers here that use that same technique.
 
i have put a convex edge on most of my knives prior to getting my bravo 2. though not true convex knives i find the edge stays sharper longer than a flat profile. the bravo 2 is my first full convex ground blade, love it. will probubly be adding more bark river knives to my collection over time.
 
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