Kershaw Boa fails during HURRICANE IVAN

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pittsteele

Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
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at about 1:30am thursday morning the eye hit...my house suffered severe damage but held up. the wind and rain didn't even think of slowing down until sun-up. somewhere around 3 am *CRASH* i emerged from the safest place in the house, the innermost bathroom. tree branches had gone through the roof like spears...interior taking on water/wind. i had most necessary tools/flashlights etc. within reach and my Boa model 1580ST in my pocket...tried to use it to cut rope to reenforce the door that seemed like it wanted to come off the hinges (long story & hard to explain) going from rope to rope, the lock let loose and collapsed on my fingers (keep in mind this was minimal force against the back of the blade from rope). so after all was said and done, storm over, i checked the knife and it collapses with minimal pressure...****** time to find a faulty knife...needless to say i will never rely on a kershaw product again...just had to vent and share in case anyone else relys on this blade, sorry.
 
not bad cuts, but in the pitch dark, and the surrounding circumstances, that was the LAST thing i needed...still super peeved about this... :mad:
 
you'd think a new knife (couple months old) would be reliable...plus i had carried it off and on for small tasks...then wammy...when it was needed most :(
 
Wow!

Hope your fingers (if not your ego) are ok.

I know it's little help now, but you might consider replacing it with a knife with an Axis lock, a compression lock, or at the least, a framelock. (I'm paranoid about lock reliability and those are the only ones that I've tested over and over and will trust.)

-jon
 
I'm not that familiar with a Boa, but if it's a liner lock I'd never rely on a liner lock if I was in that kind of situation. Get a folder with the AXIS lock. :) Total one hand operation to open and close. While liner locks, frame locks, etc can be closed with one hand I find it takes more effort and concentration to do so.
 
BTW, sorry you had to experience Ivan and I hope you make out okay. BTW, if you look off the east coast of Florida you'll see some rain moving in with a little rotation around an area of low pressure, and guess what? THAT'S IVAN! What is left of the mighty storm has decided to come back for round 2.
 
I really feel bad for everything you went through. At least the damage to your home and your fingers wasn't as bad as it might have been.

Since you are in a hazardous area and this sort of thing can happen again, I would suggest a kit, something that would fit in a belt pouch, with some energy snacks, a lighter & tinder, a flashlight, and a small fixed blade like a Nimravus or a Master Hunter.
 
Did you choke up on the handle so if the lock fails, the flipper will collapse on your fingers and not the blade? i always thought that might be a secondary safety of sorts if the lock ever failed.
 
yeah, you guys are all right...thankfully i had a Becker BK10 on me as well with a SAK in the sheath...tough little beater there
 
Bottom line a failure should not occur.
Thank God! you're safe.

Thanks for the report.
I'll file it away for my future planning
Tom
 
I had my Kershaw Boa fail on me before, too. I was cut, but fortunately not as severely as I could have been. I checked it afterwards and it wouldn't stand up to even a light spine whack test. I can't trust it ever again. Nice knife, but very poor lock.

Chris
 
Pittsteele - thanks so much...Its really great that your sharing your misfortune... possibly saving several others from experiencing the same misfortune. Maybe I should spine-whack test a couple of my new folders.. like you said.. "you'd think..." wow - this forum is very helpful.
 
I've found my Boa to be rock solid! Never failed on me.

Sounds to me like one of those times in life when everything is out to get ya. :( Glad to hear you survived. Hope ya make it back up!
 
After reading this I went in and whacked the crap outta my Boa and it held up fine. Even squeezing and twisting the lock never gave out. Sounds like Murphy the evil one was out to get ya that night. Sorry to hear about your fingers and the house. I feel your pain. Frances gave my roof a passing blow that left a leak in my roof too. Never found the branch that poked the hole in it though. :eek:

And on a brighter note, the county made good on their promise to take away all of the debris if it was piled on the curbside today. :D :D I had an oak and half of a full grown Camphor tree's worth. :eek:
That was truly no fun to clean up and I still have half of an oak tree on the west side of the property hanging on my fence and yard and in the old man next door's yard. Finally got hold of him today and got permission to go into his yard and cut it the rest of the way down and then cut it up. The tree grew in his yard but ended up in both of our yards. Jeesh! :(

This is probably the most destruction in a single hurricane season in recorded history for this state.
We're all praying for a much quieter second half of the season.

Three major hurricanes in a month's time is pretty much enough of a bad thing.
Our cups runneth over, along with our lakes, our rivers, our ponds, our swimming pools etc, etc...ad nauseum.

Best of fortune to you and yours,
Mike U.
 
Best wishes to all of you in that path, and they say there's more coming. I hope they're wrong.

Good planning to have backups, especially the Becker. You definitely can't go wrong there. I've got a Companion (BK2, I think), and it's about as stout a blade as I've come across.
 
UPDATE:
have to give credit where credit is due...I contacted Kershaw and they more than took care of the problem, very good customer service. the replacement was flawless (yes, i checked this one). just wanted you guys to know...
 
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