My Chive just broke!

Originally posted by TheMartialWay
I would like to say something else. I have Had a Random Task for a couple of years or so and it is flawless. I have opened it THOUSANDS of time and it is still kickin strong. My brother has a chive and plays with his all day every day at work without any problems. After finally holding and handling a Chive I honestly think it is by far one of the BEST little production knives I have ever seen. Anyone that has one on order or is contemplating the purchase of a Chive, DO NOT CHANGE YOUR MIND . This knife is better than you can imagine. There are QC issues with every knife in the world. sometimes a less than perfect torsion bar slips into the market, it happens with anything. If you change your mind, you will be very sorry.
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I've gotta agree here. The Chive is a fantastic value. Mine never failed to fly open, the frame-lock set up tight every time, and it was scary sharp and easy to keep that way. However, I found myself playing with the damn thing way too much. It got to be like a nervous habit, flicking it open again and again. I'd carry it around in the pocket of my khakis, and ended up cutting myself several times in the same week by simple sticking my hand in my pocket and accidently setting it off. I ended up giving it to me son. He's been far more responsible with it. He set it on a shelf and just looks at it occasionally.

I found a replacement, though. Got a Boa a couple of weeks back. ;)

Doug
 
I bought a Scallion the same day JayHarley bought his and at the same show. I've flicked the daylights out of it and think it's a cool little toy but haven't used it for too many cutting chores. I just keep it on my bedside table to play with in the evenings. I have small hands and the Scallion feels really small to me, so my question is how come people love the Chive so much? It was WAY too small for me and I would have to assume that most people's hands are bigger than mine.

I also agree with Redratsnake. I don't feel at all comfortable with the full sized speedsafe knives. I always think I'm going to drop the thing and cut myself.
 
Wow, leave a good thread for a day and it sure produces. :eek:

I've probably flicked my Chive at least a thousand times since I got it last April, but rarely more than 50 times a day. I showed it to my friend the other night, though, and he dropped it on a tile floor, open. I can't believe I had forgotten that. Do you think that helped weaken the torsion bar or something? Hmmm....

To all those who are thinking of not getting a Chive: Get it. Flick it. Love it. Hehe, to paraphrase a current slogan; "flick = love". :) Someone said I could replace the torsion bar myself; wouldn't that involve taking the knife apart and thereby voiding the warranty? I'll probably just send it back to Kershaw. Thanks all!


Asha'man
 
I've handled 5 Kershaw folders and found each one to be lacking somewhere in the QC dept. The first was a Random Task that I bought through mail order back when that model first appeared. The edge bevel was terribly uneven and almost impossible to sharpen. The liner lock only had enough travel to bring it 1/2 the width of the tang and wouldn't engage because it was machined too short, so much so that I could push the lock the remaining distance across the tang without getting secure lockup. Next is a co-worker's liner action drop point, the blade locks, but the liner travels the full width of the tang and releases with little pressure, the owner loves the knife and says that's how the lock always functioned. Then 2 Whirlwinds, on one the Speed Safe would not function at all, the other had a lock problem similar to the Random Task, but would engage slightly. Finally a Scallion, after 3 flicks something got hung up and the blade would not open without prying it open using both hands, eventually freed up, but left me cold to the design. I don't think all Kershaw's are bad, maybe I've just had some horrible luck.
 
After I bought the Scallion, at the same show as Peter Atwood, I became addicted to flicking it open. I just bought a Boa and must say, I find it to be really nice.

However, if I open the Boa using the thumb stud I feel like the knife is going to fly out of my hand. However, when using the "tang trigger" as intended, I find it to be very very steady.

The surprising thing to me was that the Speed Safe is not simply a gimmick. It works very well on a larger knife like the Boa.

I did notice that the Boa was quite stiff when it was first used. It opened quite slowly. It has loosened up quite a bit and I had to adjust the pivot screw also. When the knife was just taken out of the box, I added a drop of Tuff Glide to the pivot. After the lubricant was in place the blade would not open completely. Evidently the tolerances are quite close in the mechanism and the Tuff Glide simply had to work its way in.
 
I sure wish they made them in a better steel than 420HC?

I might get one for the novelty factor, but a 440c or above steel would be amazing. Yes it would cost more, but would be worth it in my humble opinion! How about VG-10?:eek:
 
Thanks jayharley but I was aware of that. I have been loath to risk the CPM 440V from Kershaw as I am concerned that it is still at Rc of around 60 which makes CPM 440V very brittle. Spyderco reduced it to araound 55-57 with much improved results. The other thing is as much as I love CPM440V I am unsure if I want another super steel folder!

There is a cetain appeal to good old 440C or something like BG-42/VG-10. Easy to sharpen and they hold a good edge.

Though I am sure some would call BG-42 and VG-10 super steels! Which in hindsight they are :cool: !

CPM 440V is great stuff, resists rust amazingly well, but is just very difficult to get a shaving sharp edge with! I can do it, but it sure does take a lot of practice and time to do so. Also such an edge is not really what CPM 440V is best suited to, thus I wanted a more traditional high carbon plain Jane with a little Vanadium and Moly.

Must be getting lazy in my collecting:eek:

I must admit the BM 550/551 looks rather good value.
 
The General: Thanks for the clarification. I am not that knowledgeable about the various steels and how they react to different stress situations. I have heard that CPM440V is quite difficult to sharpen. When the time comes, I guess I will simply send this one back to Kershaw for a sharpening.

Again, thanks for the info.
 
I think the Kershaw Onions are worth it. If the torsion bar breaks, send it back to Kershaw. Otherwise, you have a perfectly fine working manual opening folder.
 
Originally posted by The General
I have been loath to risk the CPM 440V from Kershaw as I am concerned that it is still at Rc of around 60 which makes CPM 440V very brittle.
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No worries, Kershaw has their 440V at the same hardness Spyderco does. Still, I wouldn't try cutting up metal packing staples or anything like that, did it once and ruined the edge good. Haven't had any problems with plastics, rubber, cardboard or wood after I thinned it out a bit and put a slight convex edge on my Kershaw Ricochet. Waiting for my Boa to dull a bit so I can give it the convex edge treatment too, but that 440V stuff lasts for ages cutting cardboard bike boxes.
 
I talked with Craig at Kershaw today about the chive here on the forums that broke.Kershaw so far has ship 70,000 CHIVES and thus far only 10 knives have been returned for repair. From numbers like that for a production knive I think it's safe to say this failure
was not normal.

Darrell Lewis
 
I just received a reply, from Kershaw Knives, about the number of openings a user can expect on a Speed Safe knife, before any torsion bar breakage might result. Here is Kershaw's answer:

We cycle test the torsions bars and get over 15,000 revolutions before they break. This is constant cycles and causes more friction than the occasional opening and closing of the knife that that the average knife user would do.

Of course if a torsion bar does break we will repair it.

You certainly cannot ask for a better response. It is good to see a company stand behind their product, like Kershaw does!
 
Thats right ,we cycle test each batch of springs we recieve from the spring co that makes them.15000 cycles is the average.That is constant cycling which causes heat and premature failure.I've got knives that have exceeded 60,000 cycles and are still going strong.There is the occasional overlooked nick in the tortion bar that causes failure in a very few and Kershaw is there to make good on them it's just very difficult to see those fine nicks.
 
I have had two torsion bars go in my Avalanche. The first was a week after I got it. The second was three months later (last Monday). I've had a Chive since July and have no problems with it.

Maybe the greater mass of the blade puts more stress on the torsion bar.

At least they are easy to replace, but I'm not sure of what kind of lube to use in the little torsion bar pocket.
 
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