Knife Failures?

ATwistedStaple

ATwistedStaple

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I read a lot about better steels, better locks, better grinds, etc.

Being "better" because of consistency makes sense. I'd certainly agree that the grind on my Protech CQC-7 is better than the one on my Kershaw CQC-5k. Not because one functions better than the other, but because one is perfectly executed and the other is quite crooked. 1/4" off to be exact.

My question though has to do with the other sort of "better". Has anyone had an "inferior" knife fail under normal use? We can all make a knife fail, but does one really ever fail when being used for normal tasks? I have a Kershae Chill that I've feathered sticks and processed plenty of cardboard with. I don't recommend feathering sticks with it. It worked just fine, but being as petite as it is, my hand hurt like hell afterward.

The Chill is a Chinese made liner lock with crap steel. While it did dull on the stick it still did the work. Which seems contrary to what YouTube reviewers would have you believe.

Has anyone had a real failure?
 
I've had an Ultratech's mainspring break when I fired it. Does that count?

I once eased off the lock tension of a very sticky liner lock, and when I went to cut open a cardboard box and tried to pull the blade free for the next cut, the liner slipped and the knife unlocked. I could see a brand new knife with equally weak liner tension do the same sort of thing.
 
Yes. That said, I don't base my qualifications for better purely on consistency and percentage of failures. A steel can be better because it exhibits better corrosion resistance if you're in a salt water environment. It can be better by exhibiting greater toughness if you want to pound it sideways through a log. Personally, I did fine with steels like AUS8 until I changed jobs. Now I cut lots of cardboard and after a full day of work AUS8 just won't cut it (pun intended).

Same thing with other characteristics. Many people get very bent out of shape about lock strength, but if you have two locks that are identical other than the fact that one is stronger and one is weaker, the stronger one is better. If they're identical and one is easier to operate, it's better. If they're identical, but one is more reliable, it's better.

The trick is, things aren't identical, so you have to make some compromises and find out what works better for you. Then, that knife is better.
 
Practically any knife that is made by a reputable maker will hold up to plenty of use. Especially folders, they're usually not used as aggressively as fixed blades. Before I really got into knives, I carried cheaply made knives. I don't think I ever spent more than $10 or $15. They held up well, and that's saying something because I used them hard... really hard... Prying, throwing, digging, etc, I even used them as screwdrivers. Although they're beat up (but functional), I still have them in my old knife case.

I don't think any of them ever actually "failed", as surprising as that is...
 
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My friend had a cheap Boker Magnum travesty, one of those ugly things with a glass breaker and seat-belt cutter built in.
He used it at work for cutting drywall, plastic, and whatever else came along; it fell apart while he was using it one day.
The pivot just fell out...one of the body screws stripped out too.

I gave him a better knife. :)
 
asdf12345 said:
I've had an Ultratech's mainspring break when I fired it. Does that count?

I once eased off the lock tension of a very sticky liner lock, and when I went to cut open a cardboard box and tried to pull the blade free for the next cut, the liner slipped and the knife unlocked. I could see a brand new knife with equally weak liner tension do the same sort of thing.
Click to expand...

Well, the spring certainly counts as a failure, but I haven't seen much discussion about better spring alternatives. Have you ever received a knife with a weak liner lock as you've described? I'm sure it's a possibility, but I've gotten one.

I only bring up the argument because these seem to be major selling points or motivational factors for some and it seems odd to me. I don't like frame locks, not because they're inferior in any way, but simply because the asymmetry with synthetic handles bugs me. I like VG-10, not because it's the best, but because it doesn't rust in my pocket and I can sharpen it quickly.

I guess my point is that discussions seem to be primarily about superiority rather than personal preference, but I haven't really seen any evidence to support the argument. You don't hear horror stories about that damned old liner lock costing someone a finger it that crappy 8cr13mov snapping in half again.

But please don't think it's another argument for only buying cheap knives. The next on my list is either an Olamic Wayfarer or a Shirogorov 111. No good reason for buying one, I just like them.
 
stabman said:
My friend had a cheap Boker Magnum travesty, one of those ugly things with a glass breaker and seat-belt cutter built in.
He used it at work for cutting drywall, plastic, and whatever else came along; it fell apart while he was using it one day.
The pivot just fell out...one of the body screws stripped out too.

I gave him a better knife. :)
Click to expand...

A good friend had that happen with his CQC-10. Pivot screw backed completely out and he didn't notice. Waved it out of his pocket and the blade went flying. Luckily, noone was hurt. I keep trying to tell him that Emerson has a excellent warranty and they'll undoubtedly make it right, but he hasn't gotten around to sending it in.
 
ATwistedStaple said:
Well, the spring certainly counts as a failure, but I haven't seen much discussion about better spring alternatives. Have you ever received a knife with a weak liner lock as you've described? I'm sure it's a possibility, but I've gotten one.

I only bring up the argument because these seem to be major selling points or motivational factors for some and it seems odd to me. I don't like frame locks, not because they're inferior in any way, but simply because the asymmetry with synthetic handles bugs me. I like VG-10, not because it's the best, but because it doesn't rust in my pocket and I can sharpen it quickly.

I guess my point is that discussions seem to be primarily about superiority rather than personal preference, but I haven't really seen any evidence to support the argument. You don't hear horror stories about that damned old liner lock costing someone a finger it that crappy 8cr13mov snapping in half again.

But please don't think it's another argument for only buying cheap knives. The next on my list is either an Olamic Wayfarer or a Shirogorov 111. No good reason for buying one, I just like them.
Click to expand...

In this case, superiority and preference are heavily linked. Better can certainly be an objective measure, but it's a personal one because we do different things with our knives.

I cut a bunch of cardboard throughout the day. The Manix 2 XL is an objectively better knife for this than the ZT 0560. If, however, I was doing things like prying or tasks that required thicker edge geometry to avoid damage, the 0560 would be objectively better.
 
stabman said:
My friend had a cheap Boker Magnum travesty, one of those ugly things with a glass breaker and seat-belt cutter built in.
He used it at work for cutting drywall, plastic, and whatever else came along; it fell apart while he was using it one day.
The pivot just fell out...one of the body screws stripped out too.

I gave him a better knife. :)
Click to expand...

I had something like that happen on a Smith&Wesson. It was one of the knives that I use to throw, before I learned that was a 'no, no'. I chucked it at a tree or something and I guess the force was too much for the Pivot to handle. It either broke the Pivot pin or it broke the head of the screw off; I can't remember.

So, I guess I did have cheap knives fail... The longer I think about my old knives, the happier I am that I still have all my fingers.. :eek:
 
I've had several lock failures and blade breakages on cheap'n'nasty liner lockers- normally after a few months usage, the lock won't engauge any more and the thing becomes a slack slipjoint.....As I don't use the spine for knocking in nails, this has never resulted in being able to count to 9 on my fingers ;)

I also had an M-tech Kabar copy that appeared to be made from a very special 'foamed metal' that essentially crumbled when I used it

I learned then that you buy nice or buy twice.
 
Reading these posts; It seems the only universal "better" or "worse" arguments to heed are ones about brands.
 
demoncase said:
I've had several lock failures and blade breakages on cheap'n'nasty liner lockers- normally after a few months usage, the lock won't engauge any more and the thing becomes a slack slipjoint.....As I don't use the spine for knocking in nails, this has never resulted in being able to count to 9 on my fingers ;)

I also had an M-tech Kabar copy that appeared to be made from a very special 'foamed metal' that essentially crumbled when I used it

I learned then that you buy nice or buy twice.
Click to expand...

Haha, I fell into the knockoff KaBar trap too. :D
 
Nope. I've used everything from a Leatherman Crater with the liner lock all the way over to Striders, and all kinds of knives in between, and I've never had a failure under normal use. Whether in the woods/ on the trail, kitchen, garage, etc... I mostly carry Emersons' and they have held up to prying, twisting, cutting, etc., etc... All good. That being said, fixed blades are always my preference for nearly all tasks.

Nonetheless, my folders have always worked just fine.
 
I've never had a failure while working with a knife, but my ZT 0770cf has lock rock as a result of me cutting cardboard practically nonstop for 8 hours at work for close to a week. I can force the lock to disengage by pressing on the spine while the blade is open, so I'm not sure if inducing failure this way counts, but as it stands the knife is unusable and I'm waiting to be able to send the knife back in for some maintenance.
 
I've had a big brand flipper out of box have zero detent. Definitely could've caused some problems, but sent it back.

Had another small very popular inexpensive knife scale crack, but I put that thing thru more than ever intended

I've also beaten the crap out of a multi-tool liner lock knife with no failure.

Snapped a tip on a fix blade, but I was also prying with it. Manufacturer replaced it no questions.
 
Kamoe said:
I've never had a failure while working with a knife, but my ZT 0770cf has lock rock as a result of me cutting cardboard practically nonstop for 8 hours at work for close to a week. I can force the lock to disengage by pressing on the spine while the blade is open, so I'm not sure if inducing failure this way counts, but as it stands the knife is unusable and I'm waiting to be able to send the knife back in for some maintenance.
Click to expand...

Wow, that blows. I wonder if that's something that can be expected of the 0770? 8 hours of solid cardboard cutting though would probably equate to 9 months of typical use in my hands.
 
Kamoe said:
I've never had a failure while working with a knife, but my ZT 0770cf has lock rock as a result of me cutting cardboard practically nonstop for 8 hours at work for close to a week. I can force the lock to disengage by pressing on the spine while the blade is open, so I'm not sure if inducing failure this way counts, but as it stands the knife is unusable and I'm waiting to be able to send the knife back in for some maintenance.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you received a lemon. Definitely send that baby back.
 
I have yet to fail a pocket knife yet.
I still have this $5 tobacco store gift knife, (to practice sharpening) and to my surprise it works well, and would do the same job my large sebenza which costs 100x more. Knives are very tough, i think it would take abuse to fail a knife.
 
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