Interesting blade failure on a Sebenza...

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Gaston444

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I just came across this: The guy describes washing it and wiping it off against his pants, and the blade breaking across the thumb stud hole from merely the wiping pressure...

Of course a one-off, but I thought it was remarkable enough to share here, since he provided photos: Blade was apparently S30V:

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CRK of course came through on their warranty....

It is from a French blog site "A couteaux tires", on the page "Couteaux Chris Reeve, L'efficacite pure et pure"

Gaston
 
Likely an unseen stress fracture formed at the thumbstud hole. It can happen during manufacture and not be noticed. I once had a Puma fixed blade snap when it was dropped on a linoleum floor due to a stress fracture under the grip panels. It was an old knife but Puma replaced it after inspecting it.
 
Yes - most probably a stress fracture. It still amazes though as there must have been quite some stress accumulated if it could break the blade with minimal external forcce.
 
If you have a smaller than average hole and a larger than average stud ,pressing in the stud may start a crack. Then a small force like dropping the knife may continue the fracture through the blade !
'The applied stress exceeded the available strength '
 
If you have a smaller than average hole and a larger than average stud ,pressing in the stud may start a crack. Then a small force like dropping the knife may continue the fracture through the blade !
'The applied stress exceeded the available strength '

If you photograph the fracture surface I would be much more able to tell what happened.
 
Whether they are or they aren't, what's your point? Unobtanium hasn't been discovered yet. Until it has, any blade can break from a variety of reasons including stress fractures. In the case of Sebenzas, blade breakage occurs rarely . . . very, very rarely. But it happens. That's why manufacturers have warranties and the good ones like CRK stand behind them as they did in the case of the OP's knife.

If you're looking for a knife with an unbreakable blade guarantee, you're on the wrong planet.
 
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I'm not buying this as a CRK manufacturing issue. I'm thinking this is a counterfeit CRK or that someone put excessive lateral pressure on the blade that caused it to fail. CRK knows how to drill the right size hole for the thumb stud, it is automatically done hundreds of time a day I'm sure.

This whole issue just doesn't hold water, not to mention it came from a French source.
 
Except for just one thing. If we're to take the OP at his word, CRK replaced the blade. If the knife were a counterfeit, they wouldn't have done that. And nobody has to make excuses for CRK. Blades break. EVERYBODY'S blades break. It happens. If it didn't, manufacturers wouldn't need to warranty their knives against defects in materials and workmanship.
 
Bludgeon said:
I thought those were supposed to be the best.
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What's your point, do you realize how old the blade is?
Looking at the hardware, the knife appears to be between 8 to 10 years old.
Depending on what the knife went through, it can happen to any knife made.
 
Absolutely. And it can take a long time for a defect like the OP's to actually cause damage. Once again, we're back to the warranty, the reason for it, and the company that stands behind it.
 
Even with Chris Reeve's amazing QC, to believe that one doesn't slip through every now and then, is foolish.

As bld522 has already mentioned, Unobtanium hasn't been found yet.

That being said, if you buy a CRK, there is an extremely unlikely chance that you will get a bad egg.
 
I've never, ever, heard of a blade (fixed or folder) break from just wiping in on somebody's pant leg...

Unless the hardness on that blade was crazy high there's no reason for it to break like that.

Seems fishy to me.
 
I had a Mcusta from japan fail exactly the same way. Broke cleanly through the opening hole and M that is cut out of the blade. I was promptly shipped a new one by the manufacturer. Great service.
 
Ajack60 said:
What's your point, do you realize how old the blade is?
Looking at the hardware, the knife appears to be between 8 to 10 years old.
Depending on what the knife went through, it can happen to any knife made.
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OMG! I need to stop carrying my 27 year old Police Model. It might explode in my pocket.


 
I believe it broke-as any knife can. The "pants wipe" is probably the story he made up to make sure they replaced it after he dropped it onto a tile floor or similar surface at just the right angle. Absolutely not needed with CRK, but you'd be amazed at what people will say to save a buck, or franc, in this case. Using it as a pry bar would do it, too, and is even more likely. It would also explain why the lie, because truthfully, that'd be abuse, and a lot of companies won't cover it.

Edit. just noticed "tolerances sheep" is apparently talking out of his.. :D
 
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MONKEYAZZ said:
I had a Mcusta from japan fail exactly the same way. Broke cleanly through the opening hole and M that is cut out of the blade. I was promptly shipped a new one by the manufacturer. Great service.
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Please elaborate exactly what it was that you were doing to cause the blade to break; folding knife blades are quite tough in my experience ( more than a couple years using knives, as well as with hundreds of folders/fixed blades). They don't just snap like icicles...

kaotikross said:
I believe it broke-as any knife can. The "pants wipe" is probably the story he made up to make sure they replaced it after he dropped it onto a tile floor or similar surface at just the right angle. Absolutely not needed with CRK, but you'd be amazed at what people will say to save a buck, or franc, in this case. Using it as a pry bar would do it, too, and is even more likely. It would also explain why the lie, because truthfully, that'd be abuse, and a lot of companies won't cover it.
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Thank you for being realistic; this is what I'm getting at.

I had a kabar bull dozier that snapped at the tip; it lost about half an inch off of the end to the knife. :eek::thumbdn::thumbdn::thumbdn:

What I failed to mention is that it occurred while I was hammering the knife point first into a 2x4 clamped in a vise snapping the knife out sideways... :rolleyes:
 
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