Question?

jasonp

jasonp

Joined
Oct 7, 2002
Messages
1,213
Lets see who knows the answer to this.
So I work for large Agency whose job it is to prevent the illegal entry of people into this country, narc smugglers, et al.. A couple of days ago, we tracked a narcotics load across several miles of S. Texas Ranch land. The guy was riding an ATV crashing through fences, cutting them, cutting chains on gates, etc. After about 20 miles or so of tracking, we find where he had abandoned the ATV, a Polaris 400. When we found it, the thing was very hot and was obviously stolen due to the wires being ripped out. The problem was, he had abandoned it in some thick brush and due to the heat, we needed to get it out of there before it caused a fire. The only metal item on me that was long enough to ground the contacts and hot wire the ATV to start it was my new Spyderco Endura 4 (VG-10 steel). In the process of starting it, I get the old popping sparks and some tack weld marks on my blade :grumpy:. Well it was powerful enough that the burn spots are visible on the opposite side of the blade. I don't mind the ugly marks since it’s a work knife but does it affect the integrity/strength of the blade? Anyone?
This is the side that made contact..
original.jpg

as you can see, the burns went right through...
original.jpg
 
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depending on how bad the burns are i wouldnt expect it to affect the HT, same thing if you left it in the dryer, it get hot but not hot enough to change the crystalline structure

nope nm that spot is gunna be a dull spot
 
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I can pretty much promise you the heat treatment is screwed up, but unless the hot spots were near the edge, you'll probably never have a problem. If they were near the edge, you'll likely have soft spots in the steel that could kill the edge-holding in those areas.
 
I pretty much agree with yablanowitz. The only effect you will notice is if the mark is on the edge. The overall strength of the blade should be unaffected.
 
knarfeng said:
I pretty much agree with yablanowitz. The only effect you will notice is if the mark is on the edge. The overall strength of the blade should be unaffected.
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As it turns out, I had my camera. Unfortunately, it worst burn IS right on the edge. Oh well, live and learn. guess I'll start saving for a new Spyder :( I can hear the wife now, "You were just looking for an excuse to buy a new knife"
Photos added to original post...
Dangit...
 
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It is only localized at the burned areas, the rest of your knife will work solidly, even if you have one tiny part of edge which will dull faster. The only potential failure I can see is the tip breaking at the edge, but attempting to pry will probably harm the tip anyways.

I think your knife is still ready for more carry & use, and it makes a good conversation item.
 
Live and learn, but just keep using it. Next time just cut some of that ripped up wire, long enough to safe your blade.
 
CWL said:
It is only localized at the burned areas, the rest of your knife will work solidly, even if you have one tiny part of edge which will dull faster. The only potential failure I can see is the tip breaking at the edge, but attempting to pry will probably harm the tip anyways.

I think your knife is still ready for more carry & use, and it makes a good conversation item.
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Yea, I guess your right. Besides, someone somewhere at some point will post the question on the forums, "Can you hot wire an ATV with a knife with VG-10 steel" So in a way, I have provided a service. I'm just helpful that way :)
 
Sharpen it and see if edge retention is affected. Even if it is, the Enduras blade is so long, that it wouldnt matter. Youll still have enough edge for any cutting task.
 
jasonp said:
Yea, I guess your right. Besides, someone somewhere at some point will post the question on the forums, "Can you hot wire an ATV with a knife with VG-10 steel" So in a way, I have provided a service. I'm just helpful that way :)
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I think the lesson learned is: next time, use the spine of your blade to hotwire a vehicle! :thumbup:
 
CWL said:
I think the lesson learned is: next time, use the spine of your blade to hotwire a vehicle! :thumbup:
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^ You took the words right out of my fingers.


Jasonp, give the knife a good sharpening and take a pic of the spot. It only looks like a small spot on the edge got effected. The overall performance of the knife should be fine, but that spot will probably dull or dent easier than the rest of the blade.
 
You *could* regrind the bad spot out. Looks like your knife will lose less than 1/2" if you did go this route.
In any case it's a user knife now, got a battle scar and it has been "made yours" in the process.
Thanks for doing your job bud!
 
Then with the smaller bad spot you may be able to just polish it out a bit, that one looks like it is not a threat to the steel's overall integrity.
 
stormyone said:
That knife is fried.

Buy a new one.

Life is short.
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we can always find reasons to buy a new knife ;). the blade is 3.75" and it only looks like 1/4" section got fried. he should just give the edge a good sharpening and keep using it (and buy a new knife just because). as he uses and sharpens it, he'll naturally wear the spot away. no need to waste good steel IMO.
 
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