S30V Ritter Griptilian chipped

The problem with a twisting hypothesis, I think, is that there's no sign of twisting in the chip itself. It looks like the type of break that would occur if the blade was overly brittle. There's no bent steel anywhere on the blade or around the points of failure. I don't think that chip has anything to do with abuse. I think the steel was made or heat treated improperly somewhere in the process.
 
Vivi said:
H1 is pretty tough. Then again it's not stainless...it's stain proof.

1zppjqt.jpg


;)
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Very cool picture Vivi:thumbup:. That's good to know.
 
I personally question BM's HT but I don't know if that could be a issue or not here. I'm sorry but the forces made by push cutting would not cause this type of fracture, you would need hundreds of pounds of force probably applied at high speed and then it would still be questionable. My bet is on heavy side load or twisting force, by the shape of the damage it makes the most sense.
 
Cheers for moving the thread, hadn't thought of putting it here. :cool:

Yeah, I don't know how be did it. That it happened twice makes me think there is something about how he uses a blade that just didn't suit this one, twisting or something, but like I said, he isn't usually that rough on kit and nothing has ever leaped out at me when I have watched him work. :confused: I do wonder whether the crack started as a result of a small chip (stress riser) at the edge and then spread, un-noticed, until an otherwise minor task proved the last straw. That would mean that there was no one single case of major abuse...and that it is really important to keep edges dink free! :eek:

I have only three folding knives in S30V and none have shown any particular tendency to chip, but the edge holding has been variable, one is pretty good, one is alright, and one seems a little poor. I was most impressed by the 13C26 used by Kershaw, but when I took it on a canoe trip it got little rust color spots when it sat for too long in a wet pocket. That’s why I haven’t been tempted to try any tool-steel bladed folders, and why I am now back to using my own Ritter for trips.

I didn’t mean to run the Ritter down and I am sorry if I gave that impression. I know two other friends with them and neither of them have ever had a problem. The Ritter has been the best all around camping/outdoor folder that I own, good blade shape, good handle size, great lock, light weight, adequate edge holding, easy to sharpen and good resistance to moisture. I have appreciated how well it slices bread, sausage and cheese at lunch breaks and I have never had problems using it for prepping small kindling and the like.

However, I am always very careful with tools.

I posted that photo for information aimed at folk who could be a little heavy handed with tools, or who are planning on going into places where tools can get stretched a bit. Obviously, the overwhelming bulk of people’s experience with this knife is good. Mine has been too. That picture is just a data point and people are free to draw their own conclusions.

Thanks guys.:)
 
Pretty bad. It doesn't look reprofiled. If that's a factory edge I suspect either abuse or a really unlucky buyer.
 
That honestly looks like what happens when you "hack" into wood and then "twist" trying to pry a piece of wood off.
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe said:
That honestly looks like what happens when you "hack" into wood and then "twist" trying to pry a piece of wood off.
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I would have some sympathy for this view as something similar happened to me. Not with a grip but with my SnG which is S30V. While prying into a piece of hardwood, (yes, stupid thing to do), the tip snapped off. I suspect that S30V is somewhat unforgiving of sideways pressure or bending.

After I roughly sharpened the chipped off bit.

sngtip.jpg





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Cut and pasted from elsewere


I notice that the Ritters blade says S30V , but not CPM S30v ,

yes I know Crucible make CPM S30V which all my Spydies are made from , but does any other company make a S30V steel not made by CPM ?

Is it a patented steel or free to any steel company that can make it , or is it just that some knife companies dont put the CPM part on their blades .
 
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Yeah they use CPM S30V, but I suspect it's the heat treat, not the steel. When you have chips this big, it's a clear sign of brittleness. You would have to get a big flex in it for it to chip like that. I snapped an S30V tip on purpose once, it flexed a good 60 degrees before it broke. On impacts I got rolling edge damage not chipping. Here we're talking about similar thickness, so the same logic applies.

If you're detecting chippiness, you can retemper your S30V in an oven at 500F. You won't lose any hardness if the blade was spec'ed to 59 rc.
 
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Seriously, and i'm not Trolling Here,if you have a prob with whatever you buy,from any where

You take it to the manufacture, to sort the problem out

If you don't get any satisfaction from the manufacture,then you tell it on an open forum

The OP dug straight in to Benchmade, and Doug Ritter,without getting in touch with them, with claims of Quality,why has it never came up before :confused:

Just smell a rat,as said OP poster,has very strong links with a rival US company,The OP poster has made 200 odd posts here,why the thread ?Think about it ;)


Perhaps will get another infraction for this post.but don't give a flying,my knives sell for the quality, not the bullshit ;)

Bernie
 
Bernie, you are on thin ice.

This is a knife discussion website. We bring lots of questions to the membership for advice because many people here have the specialized knowledge or the contacts to do some of the research for us.

There is nothing improper in the original post.

Keep your personal feuds out of here, as C_Claycomb has.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Bernie, you are on thin ice.

This is a knife discussion website. We bring lots of questions to the membership for advice because many people here have the specialized knowledge or the contacts to do some of the research for us.

There is nothing improper in the original post.

Keep your personal feuds out of here, as C_Claycomb has.
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No dig at you Esay,you run a good honest ship here :thumbup:Just find the OP post strange,from a poster with problems with Benchmade,which should IMOP,should have been dealt with them first,not an open Forum

Bernie
 
gajinoz said:
I would have some sympathy for this view as something similar happened to me. Not with a grip but with my SnG which is S30V. While prying into a piece of hardwood, (yes, stupid thing to do), the tip snapped off. I suspect that S30V is somewhat unforgiving of sideways pressure or bending.
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Yep, I did almost the exact same thing with the thin tip of my first Queen folder with D2 steel. Stuck it into a piece of wood and tried to pry to a section and snapped the last 1/8th inch or so off.

Queen reprofiled it for me,and I learned my lesson on some steels don't take a lot of sideways prying, especially if they are profiled for thinner edged slicing.
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe said:
... especially if they are profiled for thinner edged slicing.
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The question has come up before. When a blade is ground especially thin at the edge, can this damage the heat treat? We've heard of knives that chip repeatedly -- until they are sharpened back away from that original weak secondary bevel.
 
Some steels are known to be more brittle than others. Heck, even one steel can be heattreated differently, and create severly different results. Take 1095 as an example. You can heattreat and temper it to where it'll cut like a razor and keep its edge for a loooooong time, but shatter like glass. Then you can turn around and heattreat+temper it, to where it can act as a spring, and almost never break. I'd say this probably was a bad heattreat batch, but it could also be the very nature of S30V. I just find it strange, as i have a Buck Hartsook in S30V, that has shown no signs of chipping, even after i reprofiled it to an even thinner edge. I also have a Buck Mayo Kaala in S30V, reprofiled to a very thin edge, still no sign of chipping. Mind you, i use my knives to cut, not pry. (Not saying the OP's knife was pryed with.)

Again, taking into account how large a scale Benchmade must manufacture their knives at, it's no surprise if a blade or two in each batch turns "sour".
Live and learn, choose what works for you and remember the rest.
 
I wonder what RC the blade would test at? Is blowing the edge out like that indicative of over-hardening or under-hardening per manufacturers specs?

Someone [the possum?] posted a picture of a Benchmade folder... 154cm... a huge chunk of the edge blew out similar to the Ritter when he struck, I think, bone. Big difference between bone and hard wood, but I guess we don't know the exact details of how much lateral pressure was applied in this case, etc etc etc etc etc.

Maybe just sharpen the curvature and you have a custom serrated edge? :)
 
The only qualm I have with Benchmade knives is the durability of their axis locks. At my store I was giving a knife demonstration (similar to the Cold Steel video demonstrations) and had an axis lock break on my left hand pointer finger. Took six stitches to sew it back up, and a public hit to my pride was all I suffered haha... Also had a bit of trouble with the CRKT double locks (like on the M16-series). I guess if you are using the knife for it's intended purpose you wouldn't have to worry about breakage, but I had a little more faith in Benchmade then a few of their blue and black lines demonstrated. I still do keep my trusty Nimravus cub close though...
 
Esav Benyamin said:
The question has come up before. When a blade is ground especially thin at the edge, can this damage the heat treat? We've heard of knives that chip repeatedly -- until they are sharpened back away from that original weak secondary bevel.
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That or is it just poor knife handling??? Knives, especially thinner blades, are meant to slice, not pry, so I wonder if they just aren't meant to have that sideways twisting stress applied to the edge like that.

In my case with my D2 Queen, I see myself as totally at fault for putting that thin tip into wood and trying to pry with it.

A thicker blade probably wold not have snapped, so I wonder if it's heat treat or blade thickness that is the reason??
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe said:
That or is it just poor knife handling??? Knives, especially thinner blades, are meant to slice, not pry, so I wonder if they just aren't meant to have that sideways twisting stress applied to the edge like that.
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There may be more than one reason for the chip.

In building for hard use, the manufacturer should over-build, but the user should under-utilize. Don't push a tool to the very edge of its capability and it won't fail.

There is a significant difference between a small folding knife and a large fixed blade. As we blur the differences, with tough folders, we blur our understanding of what common sense suggests.
 
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