Kershaw Shallot CB bent - How did that happen?

[Morales]

First: Yes, I will post pics tomorrow to clarify the matter.

Second: How I found out my Shallot is bent.
I bought my CB Shallot 5-6 weeks ago on the secondary market, but NIB. I use my knives and I love to use my Kershaws, so I used my Shallot to test the ZDP-189 steel. Pretty soon I started to notice that the blade touched the left, non-locking liner when I closed it. The A/O worked just fine so I didn't expect it to be any great issue.
Two days I played around with my Shallot, when I saw that the whole knife itself seemed to be bent as I looked down on it. I took a closer look, put it on a flat surface and my eyes proved to be right. My Shallot is bent and I was shocked.

To give you an impression how it is bend.
Imagine you take the knife in your hands, pivot part in your left hand, the lanyard part in your right and try to bend/break the using your thumbs pushing the knife away from you: That's how my Shallot is bent.

After some years as a knifeknut I was surprised as I've never seen anything like this before. I don't mind if a production blade has minor flaws that I can fix myself but this is impossible here. So how could both liners be bent in the first place? I'd so glad if somebody here could give me an explanation, maybe somebody else has experienced anything like this.
And most importantly: Can it be fixed??

I hope you can understand how I feel, the Shallot feels like a car damaged in an accident every time I close it and it's one of my favorite "cars".

 

[spiralarchitect]

That sounds like an issue for the Warranty dept. b/c that is just weird. Have you taken it apart? Are there any signs of stress like you can some times see in a finished steel product when you bend it? I would think the blade would have some sign of damage if you or the previous owner had done it (b/c you would need all the leverage you could get to bend a hardened handle. If none of that is present the handle may have warped after the HT process at the factory or it may have been improperly HTed and just a bit soft... then bent under normal use.

I'd give them a shout here: http://www.kershawknives.com/contactus.php?brand=kershaw

I'm sure they would like to see it and they always deserve a chance to show you how good their CS can be

 

[-Ranger-]

Will it show in pictures?

 

[Jabaski]

I'd give them a shout here: http://www.kershawknives.com/contactus.php?brand=kershaw

I'm sure they would like to see it and they always deserve a chance to show you how good their CS can be

From personal experience, I'd try giving one of the people in the service dept an email. Not to be picky, but I've found that you usually get a response quicker when you skip the cookie cutter and go directly to the people that can answer your questions and get you your knife back in pristine condition faster.
Kershaw has to have the best customer service I've come across.

Oh and some helpful advice for anyone stumped on how to take apart their shallot, I'd like to offer a helpful tip. When it came time to take mine apart (to replace my torsion bar), getting the pivot bolt undone was a headache. I've heard people suggest opening the knife and then putting pressure on the side of the blade to "stick" the pivot bolt in place, but I was hesitant to take on an open bladed knife with one hand and a lot of pressure.
What I eventually ended up doing was cutting a 5mm x 5mm square out of a rubber band. I undid the pocket clip enough to stick the rubber square under neath it and tighten it back down. With the rubber band square in place, the pivot screw isn't allowed to idly rotate, and taking apart the pivot screw assembly is a breeze.

 

[Morales]

Will it show in pictures?

Oh yes it does. I hope it also does in my pics...

This the spot where the blade touches the liner. The other pics just show how far the liners are bent. I hope it helps...

 

[spiralarchitect]

Looks to have a bit of a swag in it.... I still say, send it in to CS. Thay'll get you fixed up. :thumbup:

 

[svrider3]

Looks like someone tried to center the blade gangsta style. There's no way those two liners came out of a random batch of liners at the factory and put together like that. I've seen people in the past post rotten techniques for centering a blade. In this case, lay a towel on the edge of a counter top and push with all ya got. :thumbdn:

 

[t1r2u3s4t]

maybe you sat on it?

 

[Morales]

Hey, I'm not that heavy ^^ ....and my 200 pounds couldn't bend two hardened liners! I consider shipping it back to Kershaw so it can be fixed...but the question is if it can be fixed after all. The problem with shipping it back is that I can't prove how the knife got here to Germany and that customs duty has already been paid...and I don't want to pay it again. I had hoped that maybe Thomas or someone else could give me an explanation how this might have happened and if Kershaw can fix it but this thread seems to fly below the radar. Maybe I just take the knife apart and bend it back myself...that would save me all the bureaucratic hassle.

 

[svrider3]

SA gave you the best advise, send it in. If you don't want to or can't, you can always take the knife apart and try to
straighten it yourself.

If you send it in, Kershaw can and will fix it.

 

[t1r2u3s4t]

Hey, I'm not that heavy ^^ ....and my 200 pounds couldn't bend two hardened liners!

oh I meant no disrespects. I have plain Shallot and I carry it clipped in back pocket of jeans. Being a long and slender knife I can see it being pinched in the wrong angle and bent slightly. Not really sure
How hardened the 410 frame really is...

 

[Pete1977]

Dennis Strickland sent me a S30V Leek that had a gradual bend to the blade. It doesn't touch the liner on either side but the blade is noticeably curved to the left. So far it has not affected the cutting performance of the knife however.

 

[joewest69]

I was just touching up my shallot on my sharpmaker and noticed my blade looked to have a bend to it as well. Was there ever any word from kershaw on this ? I would imagine there are no longer any replacement blades available.

 

[vwb563]

Maybe I just take the knife apart and bend it back myself...that would save me all the bureaucratic hassle.

That's exactly what I would do IF I were in your situation. The liners should bend fairly easy since they are not going to be hardened like the blade. Now straightening the blade will be more of a task but not impossible. Take your time and use a straight edge to see exactly where the bend starts. Bend it a little at that point and keep moving forward bending a little at a time until you have it straight. Just be very careful since the blade is undoubtedly sharp! Let us know the outcome ok?