I bent my SOB

K

knife chop

Joined
Feb 11, 2014
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816
I was batoning a knotted and seasoned mesquite today and I noticed that my SOB bent permanently at 45 degrees. I've seen Busse's in the past being bent more than that and can still spring back to zero.

Anyway, I was able to bend it back using a vice. I had to bend it back and forth until it went back to zero. Now my question is have I put damage on the structure of the steel by bending it and is it a heat treat issue why my SOB didn't spring back to zero.
 
I know pictures or it didn't happen rule but I was not thinking about it at that time. I was using an old wooden baseball bat as a baton and the wood has some gnarly knots in them. I saw the blade bending as I went deep but I kept hammering it down (user error) I thought it's nothing as I've experienced it with my 1311 and INFI is more malleable than SR101.

I wanted to duplicate the bent after I had straighten it but I didn't have anymore of the wood that had the same knots. I beat on it again using the same wood with less knots and didn't have the same results as i expected.

I didn't exactly bend it back and forth like a maniac to straighten the blade. I used a tube to bend it, to my surprise I was able to make it straight but it might be a few degrees off to a zero.
 
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It's interesting it bent that far and stayed like that for such a small knife. Have you got pics of the knife now?

I reckon you send it in to Busse and they'll check it out for you.
 
Wow ! 45 degrees and then you bent it back and it keeps going !! Amazing !! I would send Jerry and Lexi an email about it, if you haven't already done so. I'm sure the shop will check it out for you.
I agree with above ^^^ any pics how it looks now ?
 
Outstanding testament to how tough Busse knives really are. Most other knives would have failed whilst battoning, let alone bending back and forth to straighten them, especially a sub 5" blade. I would have left it at 45° and put it on display. :)

As others have said, send it back to Busse for inspection. I've bent a few Busse blades battoning on Australian hardwoods, ( Its not called ironbark for nothing. ;) ) not as far as 45° though and they've all sprung back. In any case, I, as I'm sure are many others are keen to see how the stresses of bending it back and forth may have affected the blade. Please keep us posted.
 
I'm anxiously awaiting pics :) any pics. :)
 
Send the knife in and we will take a look at it. The great thing is that our warranty has you covered.

Garth
 
Busse knives are as tough as they come, but any metal that has been bent to the point where the shape was retained while not heated has had at least micro damage. I will bet money that if a cross section was examined under high power magnification you will see changes. Now that is not to say the damage is bad enough that the knife is unserviceable, or even that you will ever notice the change, but it is never 100% after a deformation like that.
 
mach 5 said:
Busse knives are as tough as they come, but any metal that has been bent to the point where the shape was retained while not heated has had at least micro damage. I will bet money that if a cross section was examined under high power magnification you will see changes. Now that is not to say the damage is bad enough that the knife is unserviceable, or even that you will ever notice the change, but it is never 100% after a deformation like that.
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See, not only Busse could answer your question.

From you comments, next time you will stop when you see the load overcoming the strength of the tool.
 
HS50 said:
I've bent a few Busse blades battoning on Australian hardwoods, ( Its not called ironbark for nothing. ;) ) not as far as 45° though and they've all sprung back.
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by "sprung back" do you mean the blades reformed via their own elastic potential energy (like voracious1's pics above), or did you have to forcefully bend it back...
 
Boing :)

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PeteyTwoPointOne said:
by "sprung back" do you mean the blades reformed via their own elastic potential energy (like voracious1's pics above), or did you have to forcefully bend it back...
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Same as voracious1's pics. The blade came back to straight on its own.

Edit. I do try to avoid it and back off once I see it starting to happen.:)
 
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