Knife Test: one of them broke

[jungleblade]

In my last post I put a cheap folder through some tests until it broke in my quest to learn what a knife can do. I think it is vital to gain this knowledge if one thinks of a knife as a survival tool. This time I tested two fixed blades, one of them broke.

The one that broke was a $35 “Muelay” knife made in Spain that I got as a gift. It had a 6” blade marked “inox”. The handle was beefy made of metal and plastic. The knife that survived was a Cold Steel Recon Tanto.

Like the tests of the cheap folder I cut apart several empty metal food cans with both fixed blades until I got bored. I then went to the old metal garbage can, stabbed 6 holes with each, and twisted the knives 360 degrees enlarging the holes. That got boring. I then pried 3 cabinet doors off the frames, with each knife, ripping the screws out.

The Recon Tanto had some slight scratches on the black coating but was still shaving sharp. The Muelay blade was dull and it developed some play where the blade meets the handle.

I decided a good practical test would be to see how much weight a blade could support. I inserted the blade of the recon tanto (blade down) into an open metal pipe (2” diameter) that is used to hold my weights. I used the cold steel as a step and it easily held my 210 pounds, I even bounced up and down. The sharp part of the blade was not damaged and I shaved some hair off my arm.

I tried the exact test with the Muelay. It snapped where the blade meets the handle. Upon examination I found that it was not a full tang. The handle gives you the intentional false impression that it was a full tang.

I learned first hand that I can depend on my CS fixed blade knifes to do certain things and not to trust cheap knifes made in other counties. You get what you pay for. I just ordered some swamp rat knives. I wonder how they will hold up.

 

[Danbo]

Pretty sure you will love and have no problems with the Swamp Rat knives.

 

[jaime]

I have owned many, many spanish knives, specially Muela and Aitor, and I can say that a few are outstandingly good and many of them seem to fail even with light work.
The last knife I bought was an Aitor Safari, a 10´ bolo style, for a christmas present, and just pounding it into a log to split it, it cleanly broke in to, about 1´ from the handle. I didn´t even finish pounding it in, it broke in the third strike with the baton.It is a full tang, but that didn´t help very much.
As a compensation for my nephew, I ordered a couple of Beckers for him. Too bad I have to order from the states and pay for the S&H, because my boy is American.
Anyway, at least they are very cheap, something I cannot say of the Fallkniven NL1 Thor, and it worked about as bad as my worst buys.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Jaime, did the blade even get evaluated by Fallkniven to comment on the damage?

Jungleblade, solid post, you might want to include some comment on how the blades cut in addition to how they fare on the general harder use.

-Cliff

 

[jaime]

Cliff, I did not send the knife to the factory yet, and I am not in a hurry to do so.
You may think that it is not fair for me to talk that way of a knife, and you might be right, but think of it this way:
The Fallkniven NL1 Thor is, as far as I am concerned, a custom blade, for it is individually made, tested and, of course, highly priced. Therefore, I find that "The Final Exam" for a brand that makes a knife like this is the knife itself. Theres no point in asking a teacher if he "even got his pupil to take a look at the exam he just failed".
Not only that, but if I was paid 350 US $ for, say, four days of work, and I was allowed to test it meanwhile and after, and then decide if I handle it in or throw it to the bin and start all over again, I assure you you would get some excellent results. If not, I would have failed as a professional for that particular kind of work.
Don´t missunderstand me, please, I am not saying that Fallkniven is a bad brand, by no means. I know many people have had excellent results from their knives, but this model, this particular job, is not a good one, and I bought it because it is said to be the top notch of the brand.
I don´t abuse knives, I just use them. I don´t want to test a knife to know if it is as good as I am told it to be before I need it. The brand is supposed to give me the quality they claim, the features they sell to me and all the toughness they offered. That´s the deal. They got paid the minute they sent it to me. I got dissapointed the minute I used it, I insist, not tested it.
I am sure I will get a replacement as soon as I send it, I don´t expect a pinch less, but I am also sure that this knife has gone through the most rigurous tests at the factory, or at Lula university, or wherever, and this knife is what they suppose it to be. Meanwhile, I use a knife that can stand what I think is a job suited for a knife. When I get my replacement I will hang it on the wall for my friends to see this beautiful knife. And it is beautiful. That´s why I am not in a hurry to "even" send the knife.
Don´t take this post the wrong way, I respect you, but I am solid in my point. If you think I should change my mind, please don´t hesitate to help me undestand.
Nevertheless, I do not think you should imply that sending the knife is the least I ought to do.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

jaime :

First off, "even" in the above post was supposed to be "ever", small typo which completely changed the tone of the post, sorry about that.

The Fallkniven NL1 Thor is, as far as I am concerned, a custom blade, for it is individually made, tested and, of course, highly priced. Therefore, I find that "The Final Exam" for a brand that makes a knife like this is the knife itself. Theres no point in asking a teacher if he "even got his pupil to take a look at the exam he just failed".

In respect to the job that Fallkniven has done, this is correct, you should not have to allow them to redo their work in order for you to have a quality product, the same as you should not have to send knives back to be sharpened, or have locks adjusted when new to get them to 100%. What I would consider in the above though is that it is possible for the fault to be outside of Fallknivens control. It could be a problem in the steel for example, and they could have done everything right and the blade went completely wrong.

Now you could make the arguement that at this price level the blades should be individually tested, as there are custom makers who will do that. Each blade will be used to do fine cutting, heavy chopping and checked for edge damage and blunting and then flexed back and forth to insure that it has a workable level of strength and ductility. However I don't think it is reasonable to have a production company do the same thing considering th volume they make. They should do testing of course, but by sampling.

I do not think you should imply that sending the knife is the least I ought to do.

The number one reason why I would send a knife back that I had critized in such a manner is that I think it is necessary to allow the maker to defend his work, this isn't possible fully unless they can examine it. In the ideal world where everyone is completely honest and there is no hype this would not of course be necessary, but in the real world it is. Consider if for example you made something for someone, and then they claimed it failed, and made such claims public, but would not allow you to check it. If it was me, I would want to be able to do so, both for ability to defend myself, but also for the possibility that I had indeed made a mistake and maybe my methods or materials need changing. Plus there is always the point that right now you have spend the money and don't have a working knife, if you get a replacement you can at least sell it to replace the money if you don't want to try it out again.


-Cliff

 

[jaime]

It is a wise thing you are saying here I think, the one on the ideal world. Indeed, to make it perfectly clear how the knife was broken I bought a bone the same as the one that screwed the edge, and I got it vacuum sealed to send it to the factory. Also, the tip broke taking kindling from the inside of a pine log, which of course I don´t intend to send.
The point is that I am very intrested in Fallkniven knowing exactly what broke my knife, so I am not taken to be a liar or a person who just wants to make trouble. But again, that was months ago, and I am not in a hurry. Maybe because I was very, very dissapointed I am taking my time. A little unfair revenge.
Anyway, when I send the knife and get a response from the factory I will post it in the forums.
Thank you for your point of view.
Respectfully,
Jaime.