- Joined
- May 22, 2013
- Messages
- 477
Last edited:
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
My bk2 broke under the scales!! WTH!
- Thread starter JTmisterknifeguy
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2011
- Messages
- 26,000
Sorry, doesn't count. No photographic evidence.
- Joined
- May 22, 2013
- Messages
- 477
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2011
- Messages
- 26,000
No, the flaw is that long things with many holes and/or steps in them have demonstrated they are more likely to break than short things with fewer holes and/or steps in them... Long things have a greater amplitude of vibration, and that is dangerous with batoning since the steel is trapped between two vibration-damping objects, and so is not free to vibrate... I'll concede a fully non-skeletonized solid tang probably would have held, but then that 5" knife would be 20 ounces...
Gaston
Excellent reference. Gave me some lolz :thumbup:.
I understand that you don't particularly like the BK2. And if I'm completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of it either. Now that I've become familiar more with what my preferences are, and have picked up more skills/familiarity with knives, I find it severely overbuilt (at least for my uses). The BK9 that I tend to carry weighs almost the same, and has more usefulness (for me), and is very similar in size/weight to the Randall that you use (IIRC).
However, to simply state that it is a design flaw, and discount the inherent randomness of flaws in materials/HT is a bit strange. If this was a design flaw, then EVERY BK2 used like this would break the same way. Clearly this is not the case, as myself, and numerous others have used ours far beyond what broke that BK2. Then of course, there is Ethans response, which points out that it is rare, but has happened. And it is nice to see that when things like this do happen, that the warranty (and owner) make things right.
And you're right Gaston, a solid tang throughout there would likely be stronger (whether or not it needs that strength is a different topic), but the point is that the problem was with the missed HT in that transition zone. I'm sure we've all seen photos of other knives with solid full width/ full length tangs break because of the same reason (HT), which again, is my point. That the failure for this specific knife seems to be the HT, not the design. Otherwise NO knife with a solid tang would ever break.
IMO, complaining/blaming the cutouts in the tang for this is somewhat akin to saying that an "I" beam should simply be a square chunk of metal (instead of you know... an "I"), because one broke/bent that had a flaw in the steel itself.
Anyway, that's how I see it at least.
- Joined
- May 22, 2013
- Messages
- 477
Ethan Becker
Moderator
- Joined
- Sep 1, 1999
- Messages
- 3,564
Every single blade is a series of compromises...... More like a razor or more like a cold chisel, too hard makes it brittle, too soft and it just will not cut worth a damn....... Make it too heavy for the tasks it is supposed to perform and it will never leave the house or the truck....... A machete that is a half inch thick is unlikely to break... Ever.... But unlikely to be used....ever....... The Two is a big bundle of compromises, as are all the other blades out there...... As I get older I worry more about weight....... And I want more slice....... Batonning with a portion of the blade trapped between two dampening points invites the same kind of bad harmonics that throwing gives you.....I think!...... I know personally of no science, so I think this is the case....... Will not always happen but it can and does happen...... Something to take note of and get on with it...... Process controls are never absolutes, just ask NASA and they X-ray and magnaflux and do not so random destructive tests at a prodigious rate.....
Ka-Bar specs damn good steel and does it's damnedest to control the heat treat process....... It is all any one in the industry does and Ka-Bar demonstrably does it better than just about anyone I am familiar with....... When bad stuff happens they stand behind the product and do the right thing...... A rare and wondress thing in this day and age....... They consistently make me proud to be associated with them......
Ethan
A celebration is in order........
Ka-Bar specs damn good steel and does it's damnedest to control the heat treat process....... It is all any one in the industry does and Ka-Bar demonstrably does it better than just about anyone I am familiar with....... When bad stuff happens they stand behind the product and do the right thing...... A rare and wondress thing in this day and age....... They consistently make me proud to be associated with them......
Ethan
A celebration is in order........
- Joined
- May 22, 2013
- Messages
- 477
You sir, basically summed up all cutlery with that one post.
You and the incomparable folks at Ka-Bar are a match made in heaven.
I agree, a celebration is indeed necessary!
I'll celebrate every time I use my Beckers! Working 'er hard!
I don't think the performance to cost ratio could get any better than your knives Mr. Becker.
I mean that.
And I'll further celebrate by getting more of your excellent knives, and telling anyone who will listen that they're not just good cutlery, but an investment, and a possible inheritance for posterity.
I've only experienced customer service like yours/Ka-Bars once before, in my fathers and elder brothers contracting/building business.
My pops WANTS your blade in his kits, truck, house, and cabin I believe in very large part because he understands what you're all about sir.
Taking care of the handful of guys who have gotten lemons sells dozens, if not hundreds, more knives than not.
Customer for life.
-JT
Last edited:
My first Becker was a BK2 that I purchased three months ago. I used it one time to remove some 2 inch branches, and was satisfied - except for the finish. When I removed the finish, I discovered a hair-line crack exactly where the breaks are showing up - the crack is only on the top portion of the blade. I wonder how many other cracks are covered up by the thick black finish ?? Although it's still like new, I guess I'll eat it rather than fight the customer service / return ordeal. If I don't subject the knife to any abuse, it still should last longer than my old 70 yr old body will. Not too satisfied for sure.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 19,854
ordeal? post some pictures. call customer service on monday.
if you are not satisfied, well, ... can't blame KaBar or Ethan.
I'm certainly not blaming anyone - especially Ethan ! I'm just disappointed that something that thick could crack/break with so little effort. After I did the finish removal, I did notice that the very rough finish on the entire perimeter of the blade - like saw cuts that were barely deburred. Just a simple step of polishing the .25 thick surfaces would go a long way to preventing crack propagation. I'll give customer service a call next week.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 19,854
looks like you are one of the lucky winners chicken dinner of the rare bad heat treat
if so, they'll make it right. hard to ask for more.
My apologies to Becker. I put the "crack" under a 20x lens, and it blended in with the surrounding tool marks, but without the magnification it looks like a crack. I began polishing the suspect area to a smooth surface, and there is no evidence of a crack. What I was seeing was a deeper than normal grind mark that still retained some of the black finish. So, I'll continue polishing the entire thing, and then go crawl off into a hole. Thanks for the advice - I'm embarrassed.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2003
- Messages
- 19,854
lol. well, you know, keep polishing, but nobody makes claims to being flawless.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2013
- Messages
- 7,205
Funny thing, I had a bicycle that this happened with once. Totally looked like a crack in the seat tube. Stripped the frame, took it into the LBS and they said "sure looks like a crack"....called me back a day later and said that they'd looked at it under magnification and it actually wasn't cracked, and they weren't going to send it back. Put it back together and rode it.....until about a year later when I noticed the seat stay had separated from the dropout. They gave me all kinds of $#!+ about trying AGAIN to get a warranty replacement (all in good fun, 'twas pretty obvious the frame had failed). There's no doubt it's a good idea to check - just don't jump to conclusions. BTW, the bike thing turned out great. Rode the original aluminum frame for 10 years, lifetime warranty and extra awesome customer service got me upgraded to a carbon fiber frame & fork (for the price difference) that I could have NEVER floated past my wife as an outright purchase. Instead it was like "it's a warranty replacement!" and that was it. I LOVE the new one (well, 6 years old, now), but when the old one broke, it was REALLY obvious. Not the hairline crack that was making me THINK it was broken............
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2015
- Messages
- 3,599
This is Gastons REAL take on the BK2 so no use in taking into account anything he has to say here...
See post #48...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...t-knife-knives-do-you-not-quot-get-quot/page3
Last edited:
If I didn't always take the high road, I'd make a very obvious sophomoric joke about excuses...................
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2015
- Messages
- 134
Exactly. This of course is why there are so many different types of knives out there (BK2, BK4, BK7, BK9, BK14, BK16 etc etc), so you can pick the knife that has the least amount of compromises for the purpose for which you buy your knife.
And this is why people should think before they spend their hard earned money on a knife.
If you act on impulse and buy a knife without thinking about its specifications and purposes, and without comparing it to other types of knives, you'll risk buying a very expensive dust collector
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2006
- Messages
- 7,038
imho, skele-handles on the big boys are a bad thing. it's cheaper to go back to squared spines and solid handles. practical too.
but, not my knives, not my circus
i won't give up my old solid tang knives, and the few i've designed? no rat tails. no skele-handles. solid. tapered profiles even better.
You sir have my respect. You are affiliated but still have the stones to tell it like it is, love it. It is a crying shame that what is apparent to most of us, seems irreversible because of a beloved designers pig headed decision. A real pity. I ordered and cancelled one of those new green handled 32's or whatever they are called now. I wanted a 2 again, but those busted tangs keep appearing and I lost trust in the knife. I'll just grab another ESEE instead.