Knife Failure Survey

Buck 110.

I bought it in 1975 and in 1993 a friend was cutting a peice of rope with it and the blade broke off at the ricasso. Looked like there had been a crack there for some years I hadn't noticed.

I actually returned it to buck saying it was the knife I had gutted my first deer with and it had a lot of sentimental value and could they fix rather than replace?

They fixed it. There was a slight dip on the bolster where they had removed the pin.
 
My only break was a Bob Dozier whitetail hunter. The knife broke off a half inch piece off the tip when I was skinning a hog.
 
I broke a USMC Ka-Bar batoning it through a big chunk of wood. the Handle broke apart from the blade.
 
I've broke a Buck 110 and 450 both trying to crack a pelvis in a deer. I've given up on that process and just cut everything out and leave the pelvis in tact. I could probably get through with my Ka-Bar or a bone saw, but don't figure it's worth the hassle anymore.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
I'm sorry for being a necromancer and resurrecting this post from it's deathly slumber... but an Opinel for wood processing?! No, no, no! Don't blame the Opinel! You use it to cut cheese, twine, things like that. It's not an axe.

- Mag
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Actually, wood is one of the things that I use my Opinel No. 8 for most on the farm. Goes through it like a laser and hasn't taken any damage yet.
 
The shield fell out of my Schrade Walden 165OT Woodsman in 1991. Schrade repaired it free even though it was more than 20 years old. Does that count as a failure?
 
I had the Schrade knock-off of a Buck 110 that I snapped the tip on while using it as a screwdriver. I can't use the excuse of being young, it was just what was handy.
 
Condor Hudson bay while I was doing the unmentionable (Battoning) They said it looked like a bad heat treat and sent me a new one great customer service.
 
kilroy.45 said:
Condor Hudson bay while I was doing the unmentionable (Battoning) They said it looked like a bad heat treat and sent me a new one great customer service.
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Yeah--that blade should stand up to some pretty heavy batoning without much difficulty. I've only ever snapped one Condor and it was a bad HT for sure, because it snapped on the third hit on a 1" green birch branch. Got it replaced super quick and I haven't had a problem since.
 
Broke a Mora Clipper awhile back while cleaning a big softshell turtle. If you've ever opened one up, you know the two harder spots on either side of the shell that hold the top and bottom together. Really surprised me, I've used smaller pocket knives to do it before.

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fishshooter said:
Broke a Mora Clipper awhile back while cleaning a big softshell turtle. If you've ever opened one up, you know the two harder spots on either side of the shell that hold the top and bottom together. Really surprised me, I've used smaller pocket knives to do it before.

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I have seen several photos of broken Moras---

They are great knives for the $--but Hard use they are not
 
Only knife I have broken is an old survival hollow handle knife (I knew it would probably break). Throwing it. It has been a worthless knife since I got it as a kid. The steel (if you want to call it that) would not sharpen, or even take an edge, let alone hold one. I bet the steel was some where in the 40rc. Pot metal would be my guess!!!!!!! Or maybe tin!

I was pretty much trying to break it.


I have had several knives broken by other people when borrowed (or stolen by my brother's thief of a friend......got that one back missing 1 inch of the tip and a broken hardwood handle).

I have several knives that I have tried to break doing things that should have broken them. They keep on going.
 
While I was in the boy scouts we destroy litterally buckets of opinels and SAK. Mostly broken tips, or by throwing them against trees (yeah, kids .are dumb). I've actually not seen many "catastrophic" failures. From time to time knives would be pretty soft, like non h-treated (probably production failures). Actually I've seen more breakage in the occasional survival knives (ugly stuff like, notably large stainless military knives from Spain that were fashionable at the time).
 
I've destroyed many a cheap folder throwing them:D

No breakages during normal use are far as I can remember.

-sh00ter
 
I have broken a Gerber MK 2 survival knife in 1981- I was 17, in Germany, in the US Army (yes 17). Bought it at the PX & threw it at a tree 2 hrs later, it stuck but broke 1" off the tip. I took it right back & said WTF-over ? I did NOT say i threw it & they gave me a new one. I have never thrown a knife since.

I broke at least 3 Ontario M7 bayonets, chopping small branches off dead trees for a fire, opening my C-Rats when my p-38 failed, & making a notch in a piece of wood by stabbing & twisting.

My Ka-Bar came unsnapped & fell out of the sheath onto concrete, from the back of a 2 & 1/2 ton truck & the endcap broke off.

To me, a knife is a tool. I try to use the right tool for the job as much as i can, but that does not always work out !
 
Two knives in my life. Both by handing them to the same guy. The first was a Gerber Pixie about 30 years ago, he threw it into an almond tree and it separated the blade from the handle. Then 10 years later I handed him a Masher engraved dagger that was over a hundred years old, and he threw it into a log that was burning in the fire. Lost the tip and shattered the bone handle. He is still a friend but I no longer let anyone touch my blades.
 
A Solingen steel hunting knife broke off at the tip, when throwing it into a tree, it was over 40 years ago.
Broken springs on a couple of Victorinox Classics. One was the nail file the other was the blade. Dunno why/how not particularly abused.
I had a Columbia River PECK that fell out of my pocket onto a tiled floor and snapped the spring.
 
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