My beloved BK16 is bent!!!

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mountainmist

mountainmist

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Jun 12, 2013
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Hey guys! My 16 is bent. :eek: A couple of nights ago I was batoning a walnut log about 3&3/4" in diameter and didn't notice anything unusual. Yesterday I thought it looked funny but didn't do anything about it. I noticed that the scales were miss-aligned this morning and was going to swap them with my 15's scales. Same issue! I then put the 16 on the table and knew, it was bent.

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You can see here that the spine right behind the blade is "raised"
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The spine on the handle is flat in the table, but the blade is raised about 1&1/2! :eek:

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The blade is striping and the spine is filed sharp for a fire steel.

What do you guys think? Should I bother calling KA-BAR? :confused:
 
Never hurts to try... I have seen some interesting issues posted here and kabar has covered it.


And it really sucks about your 16
 
After splitting hairs/mauling it over. If you ax me, BK2 or don't baton. :D


Sorry to see your knife bent.
 
Maybe that could be the start of an interesting mod? Micro khukri? That is, unless the heat treat is wrong (could explain why it bent.)

Anyway, sorry to hear about it!
 
Yes, definitely call Kabar. I'm pretty sure they will take care of it after you mail it in.

I've never seen a knife bent like that. Do you remember if the walnut had any knots or if the 16 got stuck?
 
That is a bummer. That is my concern with these cutouts under the handle. On a small knife like this it really would not save that much weight but it would make it a lot stronger if the handle was left solid.

Having said that, probably this knife was not meant for batoning wood. Seems like these blades a through hardened though and it should not have bent.
 
There is nothing wrong with the heat treat. The handles on all the knives are softer so as to do exactly what that one did; bend instead of break. And no, to the best of my knowledge, Ka-Bar will not warranty a knife that has been batonned. Per them they view it as abuse. Still, never hurts to ask, and they might be interested in seeing it since it did bend instead of break. Although how did you not see this as it was happening? One whack with a stick will not bend it that far, at least not a stick that would be reasonably sized as a baton. A telephone pole would do it in one whack, but 1066vik or ThePointyEnd are the only people I know that could do that without a telephone pole.
 
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If you wanted a TDI it would be way easier to just buy one.

Yeah, you done broke it. My understanding is there is a technique to batoning to avoid concentrating the forces right at that point. I'm not a whackah, though, so maybe someone else can explain.

However, all is not lost, even if Kabar won't replace it. Looks like the beginning of a major mod to me.
 
just bend it back. Like was mentioned before. The handle is left softer so that your knife doesn't snap and if you are in a real situation you can bash it back (carefully) and keep on keepin on. actually you are kind of lucky, most of us never get to test out that particular function.
 
Interesting to say the least. For me, this makes me put even more trust in my BK's. The bend instead of break-thingy, I like that a lot. A blade with a good HT, and a handle with a HT that can whitstand a whack without breaking. Love it. Even though I baton through would myself, and I've been guilty myself as to see what I can and cannot do with a knife, I do tend to stay clear of issues from the past so that I not make the same errors twice. Yes, you can baton through hardwood if you really have to. But if you don't, then don't. There's plenty of pine, spruce or birch that splits like butter. It's fine for firemaking, it's fine for building a shelter. No need to put tons of energy in splitting walnut etc, unless that's exactly what you WANT to do: split walnut. Of course, you have to bear in mind the possible consequences of that. I might take my 9 to a piece of walnut, but I'd rather get an axe for that.

Wasn't it one of your tests where a Fiskars outchopped a 9 on hardwood, whereas the 9 outchopped the Fiskars on soft wood? There you go. On the one hand, there's technique, on the other, there's physics. Even though your tecnique might be splendid, if your tools are not réally up to it, physics will win :thumbup:.

Once again I want to emphasize that I'm not judging you or anyone by any means. I'm just sayin' I have learnt not to baton through hardwood with small/medium knives. You can do it, but that doesn't mean you have to.

tl;dr: right tools, right job
 
Oh I beat on my knife and it bent. I don't suppose you considered using a hatchet or axe? You realize that just because you have an awesome knife doesn't mean you HAVE to beat on it.

I swear.......some people. Hope it works out for you.
 
Its absolutely fascinating to me the kind of forces at work here to make steel bend like that. Its interesting to see the stress metal can take in certain directions, and sometimes even "withstand" it. This reminds me of something like a crumple zone ... neat lol....

I would say lesson learned on this one kid.
 
Batoning is a gental art. I've learned to really just hit on the blade portion that is directly above the wood. Just to drive the blade into the wood like a wedge. The wood should then start to split and you should be able to lightly baton the exposed portion of the blade while applying gentle pressure on the handle and continue to split the piece of wood.

Look's to me like you over did it kid!! HAHA! Probably getting out some anger issues and it felt so good to beat that poor little knife thru that log. Next time use the BK2. Or get a punching bag. But man, please go easy on the 16's........... I hate to see them abused like that. lol


Wonder if that's why my file work 16 has a curve to it. It's not that bad but it is noticeable. I do remember beating the living hell out of it when I first got it tho. lol

Man, so now we need to ask for a saber grind Bk16 with no cutouts to be produced.


I too am glad to see it bend rather than break! It is still a functional blade and even in a survival situation, would still work fine.

Wish I could have seen your face when you realized you bent it........... Bet it was priceless. :D
 
I baton with my 16 because I enjoy doing it. Yes, use a saw or axe if you have it. Baton if you have to, and don't be surprised if a knife gets damaged - most manufacturers don't recommend it.
 
if you break a knife at the handle or bend it like that during batoning, you're probably not batoning properly. at least from what i've seen in that definitive batoning video that someone will surely trot out ;)

it would imagine that KaBar MIGHT cover this, but depending, it might be borderline abuse

personally, i'd probably find a safe way to chuck that up, and get a pipe, and bend it back

what would you do in a "survivial situation"? ask for your warranty? no, you'd leave it, or fix it, and carry on

good luck
 
IMHO Don't punish an American knife company for something that is clearly from your actions, by batoning a good knife.
I don't blame anyone for batoning a knife for survival, if it breaks, deal with it, live and learn. :)
 
This is one of the most interesting BK16 mods I've seen yet. Interesting take on changing the ergonomics. I can't wait until you're done with it. :D

All snarking aside, that does suck! But, you're industrious enough to be able to figure out how to get it back in shape - without maiming yourself - OR just make a Tweener Machax. :thumbup:
Keep us posted. We like pictures. :cool:
 
You must have really be wailing on it to get it to bend like that. I have never seen anything like that before.

Hopefully this is a learning experience for you.
 
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