Just The Tip

jazub

jazub

Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Messages
3,622
...just to see what it feels like to ruin a blade :o

Until this incident, I had never used a knife as a screwdriver, because it is the wrong tool. But one recent, very hot afternoon, I needed to tighten down a clamp on some poly tubing and didn't feel like walking to my tool bag. Busted out the knife; heard the "plink" on the last turn to tighten down :thumbdn:

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Since doing this a couple of weeks back, I've gotten kind of used to having a flathead/knife. Pretty convenient but I also miss the piercing capability for work. Good news is that Benchmade does blade replacements so I can get this baby back to where it started. Spoke to a rep today and it ships to Oregon mañana. :thumbup:

So ashamed of my bonehead move that I need to admit to it in public. Anybody else blow it and bust up the tip of an otherwise dependable tool? How did homemade re-grinds turn out?
 
Did it to an opinel, had a mall ninja moment and tried to throw it into a piece of cardboard. Missed the target all together. 20 minutes with a file and the damage was fixed
 
I've never broken a tip but I remember a distinct time i ued my knife s a screwdriver. I coach high school lacrosee and during one particulary tense and tight game one of our better players broke the head of his stick (the plastic part at the top where the net/mesh is). They are usually attched to the metal shaft by a screw and most kids have a back up head so swapping them out only takes a minute. Well whichever kid i has assigned to bring out the toool kit left it in the locker room at halftime so in a pinch i used my kershaw zing as a screwdriver. It worked, though we lost the game.
 
155440 said:
Did it to an opinel, had a mall ninja moment and tried to throw it into a piece of cardboard. Missed the target all together. 20 minutes with a file and the damage was fixed
Click to expand...

Good to know I am not the only one who does these things. I have a Glock Field Knife to abuse with reckless abandon.
 
My buddy did the same to his. He gave it to be to put a new tip on it. A little time with a bastard file, wet stone, and edge pro and you'd ever know it was ever broke. Obviously it's a slightly steeper angle but unless you have it next to one that's factory you'd never know
 
I'm very cautious about what I do with a tip so I haven't broken one.

Many years ago I worked in my dad's garage. He had handed down one of his traditional knives, after he broke the tip off of the longest blade. I squared it up with a bench grinder and made a folding screwdriver out of it which proved to be very hand working around cars. The rest of the edge could still be sharpened and I used it for cutting hoses and wire.
 
In my youth I used and abused my knives. I've never broken a tip though, even using my old Sog Pentagon Elite to pick a lock. Nowadays I carry a Leatherman Piranha with me and a Wave when I have the pocketspace. Right tool for the job.
 
That's an easy fix, either grind the edge up to meet the top of the blade or drop the point and yer done. That's only a few minutes of work right there and you're back in business.

I snapped the point off of a Kabar Bull Dozier FB, I was using it well beyond it's capabilities though. Ended up doing a convex regrind on the tip. :thumbup:
 
This is why I always have some sort of MT on my belt, usually a Juice CS4. This way I am never tempted.
 
My friends SAK: way more stupider than you if you ask me :p since the SAK has a screwdriver...
swiss_army_knife_tip.jpg

I was able to make it look better with a dremel.
swiss_army_knife_tip2.jpg
 
Honestly, you could just make the tanto point a little steeper on a grinder/dremel. If I were you, I wouldn't even send it in, I'd fix it myself.

I had a griptilian tip break because I used it as a handle for a frying pan while camping (hard to explain). I used my paper wheels to reprofile the tip to be just like new! Realistically, I lost about a quarter inch of blade length, big deal...
 
I broke the tip off a tops street scalpel breaking into my own house. We all decided to go for a walk and left out the back door. I forgot the chain was locked on the front door. Didn't have a key to the back door.

When we came back I tried to open the door and saw the chain lock. I stuck it under the part of the lock that screws into the wall and pried that part off. It was going fine and the screws were almost out and - SNAP! Broke 1/4" off the tip.

The knife cost me $20 and my neighbor said a new window was $30 or $40. Can't remember. Anyway I remember the knife was cheaper than the window. I still have the knife. It just stays it's blunt self at the top of my closet. Been there for 10 years or so.
 
simioh said:
My friends SAK: way more stupider than you if you ask me :p since the SAK has a screwdriver...
swiss_army_knife_tip.jpg

I was able to make it look better with a dremel.
swiss_army_knife_tip2.jpg
Click to expand...

I know it's just a matter of personal preference, but why did you decide to go with a blunted nose? Why not trim the edge itself and work up toward the spine, making the whole thing pointier?
 
I broke the tip off my Umnumzaan when it was less than a week old. Not the whole tip, mind you, just the very end of the needle point. It shouldn't be difficult at all to sharpen out, and still has some piercing capability. I'm just waiting until the whole edge is dull to get to reprofiling.

It was entirely my own stupidity... Went to the range and forgot to bring a multitool. Had a failure to eject, and I couldn't seem to get the stuck casing out of the chamber. Of course my first thought was to use the brand-new Zaan to pry it out... very stupid idea. I completely forgot that I had a keychain full of more suitable "prybars" for the task until after the tip had already flaked off.

It was simultaneously depressing and freeing. I was bummed that I broke the tip, but now that I've messed it up I no longer feel the need to baby it - all further scuffs and bruises just seem to add character.
 
Never busted the tip before but I have completely stripped the pivot screw on my buck vantage. It's so bad you cant even adjust it or remove the blade anymore. Total bonehead move on my part.
 
Lucky it wasn't a Spyderco.

Using your knife as a screwdriver is a horrible idea, usually ends with a "plink" as you described.
 
Maybe grinding the point is the way to go. It has so little straight edge to start with; it would suck to have even less.
 
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