TGTBT Matthew Danitz Custom Bowie

[Jason Burns]

*Too Good To Be True Bowie*
Well I took a chance on a young maker who was on Instagram and EBay. Matthew Danitz and I began a dialogue through eBay and wound up agreeing to having him make me a 1095 Bowie. I provided handle materials and he forged the blade and assembled the Bowie in about 6 weeks time and delivered just before Christmas.
The day I received it, I took it out and did some chopping on a 3" poplar in my yard to see how it would perform and hold an edge. It was very thin at the edge with a very thin point so it was not a great chopper but held an edge well enough. I took the knife out a couple of days later and attempted to use it to trim back some gree branches on a pathway when it broke after a couple of swings. I sent Matthew pics and he offered a refund. I asked him to make a replacement instead and even offered to pay for the materials and steel needed to which he agreed and stated he knew his heat treat must be off and/or he made the edge too thin. I sent the knife back for him review as he got ready to make a replacement and then got a text stating that he would not make a replacement or refund the cost.
The transaction was done through EBay and I have started a dispute with EBay but sometimes I guess it is buyer beware when you use a new maker. Your experience may be different but I have only ever had one other knife fail when chopping green limbs. It was a SOG jungle canopy and they immediately sent a replacement.

 

[Jason Burns]

 

[Jason Burns]

finally got the link done with imgur!

 

[longbow]

That sucks, PP should make it right though. Definitely defective. What's his ebay name cause I buy a good bit of my bowies on that site. thanks

 

[katanas]

It looked really nice until you used it. Hope you left appropriate feedback.

 

[Jason Burns]

That sucks, PP should make it right though. Definitely defective. What's his ebay name cause I buy a good bit of my bowies on that site. thanks

Danitz-custom-cutting-works

 

[Jason Burns]

Figured I would see if an old 8" chef's knife could handle the same tasks. Well, not the same exactly... it is 30 degrees colder, the stump is now frozen, and I am chopping mostly hickory saplings rather than light brush. Seems these stainless thin stock chef knives must be amazing at handling "extreme testing"!

 

[Cobalt]

Live and learn I guess. Did he tell you why he wasn't refunding your payment? Did his warranty say that his knives were only good for looking at?

 

[Jason Burns]

Live and learn I guess. Did he tell you why he wasn't refunding your payment? Did his warranty say that his knives were only good for looking at?

He states that chopping was "extreme testing" and that cutting limbs was "misuse." I suppose he expects that knives are decorative because nothing I cut would constitute "hard use" much less "misuse" to any make I have spoken with. But, there is no way to appeal to a guy who expects nothing of his work to "make it right." He has convinced himself that a blade is not for cutting and I don't suppose it bothered him that a store bought chef's knife could outperform his "craftsmanship."

 

[Cobalt]

TGTBT is right. I just checked his ebay listings and he has a bolo out of 1095 for $150. Sad part is I have processed several hundred pieces of wood with my ESEE Junglas and it barely lost it's sharpness. The Junglas is about the same price. This guy does not know hot to HT a simple carbon steel and that dollar size divot proves it. Unfortunately for you.

 

[Jason Burns]

TGTBT is right. I just checked his ebay listings and he has a bolo out of 1095 for $150. Sad part is I have processed several hundred pieces of wood with my ESEE Junglas and it barely lost it's sharpness. The Junglas is about the same price. This guy does not know hot to HT a simple carbon steel and that dollar size divot proves it. Unfortunately for you.

Yeah... I paid him $215 and I provided scale and liner materials. I even offered to pay for the supplies, including the steel stock, to make a replacement. Approached it like I was helping him learn but it was me who learned a lesson.

 

[Cobalt]

I think this is turning into a good bad ugly thread, lol. I think this thread will probably save a few people some money. At your expense unfortunately. If you paypalled him, you can also put in a dispute with paypal and I would certainly put in one with Ebay. A camp/bowie knife that can't do camp chores is a misrepresentation of an item. You might as well call it a paper weight. I would send him a link to this thread first and then follow up that the next thing will be a video on youtube. I also would not send him any materials. I would make him get them himself. That is what knife makers do.

 

[JohnWE]

Figured I would see if an old 8" chef's knife could handle the same tasks. Well, not the same exactly... it is 30 degrees colder, the stump is now frozen, and I am chopping mostly hickory saplings rather than light brush. Seems these stainless thin stock chef knives must be amazing at handling "extreme testing"!

Hey how'd you get ahold of my chefs knife...?

Your situation with the thief sucks, I hope you follow up.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Did he offer to sell you a knife outside eBay after a contact about a knife for sale on eBay?

 

[stonesell]

Seems like a scam, the knife being so fragile.
In Brazil, I’ve seen people with $5 Tramontina machetes that they use every day on tropical hardwoods. Some of those knives have lasted more than the 20 years that I’ve been going there. They also butcher hogs and cattle with $2 kitchen knives, and even baton through some cartilage and bones.
As collectors, we don’t really need to spend so much money if we want basic tools, but the hobby is enjoyable, if you have the extra cash for the fancy styles.

 

[Cereal_killer]

Is that a Hamon line I see on the blade where the break happened?'
I'd love to hear his side of the story and especially his HT method.

 

[Jason Burns]

Did he offer to sell you a knife outside eBay after a contact about a knife for sale on eBay?

No, the purchase and my dispute are going through eBay.

Is that a Hamon line I see on the blade where the break happened?'
I'd love to hear his side of the story and especially his HT method.

No hamon visible... must just be shadow.
I have not found where he is a member of a forum or guild. He now contends that he did some chopping with the base of the blade when it came back so he concluded it must be abuse. Popping a half dollar sized chunk out of a blade (that was clearly not used for prying) on a green wild plum limb hardly constitutes abuse in my book. Just felt folks should know what they might encounter.

 

[Matt-D]

My regards to Ralph aka "tombstone" for sending me a link to this thread. Here are some pictures that were not included in the threads post. It was approximately two weeks before I received any news of failure. The bowie was returned for further inspection upon which I came to my conclusion and issued this response.

"Hey Jason, I received the Bowie knife. After further review and upon inspection I have come to the conclusion that this blade failure was due to exceeding its intended and designed purpose through extreme testing and use. After much thought & review I believe that I made this blade correctly and to the best of my ability and that it would’ve performed its intended purpose without issue e.g cutting, slicing & puncturing. I believe that the heat treat and grain structure are of a more than acceptable quality for this piece. Therefore I cannot in good conscience make a free replacement blade for what I deem to be a failure that is due to misuse and unintended use. Also note that I did not build this piece to be a chopper but a Bowie and Bowie’s are not at large designed to be choppers nor was I informed upon building this knife that it would go through an extreme chopping test.
I am willing to return this blade to you at my own expense with the handle wood you sent me when it arrives.
Thank you.
Matthew"

I also did my own tests with the blade in the condition it was returned in. My response to the buyer

"Some tests: I did some chop tests with the blade that was returned in the condition that it was returned in. First I chopped a dried poplar log in two. Then I chopped some green saplings. I finished by chopping a piece of antler in half. There were no chips or breaks. From this information alone I can determine that the heat treat was fine for this knife's designed purpose. If the heat treat was truly off, the blade would have broken in half at the first instead of having a large chip break off. If after this case is closed you receive a refund then business will be ended between us. If after this case is closed you do not receive a refund then I will as stated in my original message return this knife to you at my own expense.
Thank you,
Matthew"

There is no Hamon by the edge. The blade was treated (by the buyer) with apple cider vinegar to help protect from rust. With use the finish wears off.

As for asking to complete the transaction outside of eBay, I declined. Since the contact and transaction had been started through eBay I wished to complete it through that venue.

My heat treat.
1. Normalize several times after forging to relieve stress and refine grain.
1st cycle, 4-5minutes , 1600° -1650° F
2nd cycle, 4-5minutes 1550° -1585° F
3rd cycle, 4-5minutes 1500° F
4th cycle, 4-5minutes 1475° -1500° F
5th cycle, 4-5minutes 1400° -1425° F
6th cycle, 2-3minutes 1200° -1350° F

2. Quench in oil after 4-5 minutes soak time at 1475-1500 degrees Fahrenheit

3. temper two cycles, one hour each at 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit letting it cool to room between cycles.

Heat treating was done in a propane forge. Included are some pictures of the grain.

tempering was done in an oven that was temperature checked.

Edge thickness - 0.15-0.2"

Pictures.

Pictures from buyer after receiving it

After being returned - Inspection and grain

My test

 

[stonesell]

I guess that with all the special heat treat, this knife is very hard but brittle. The cheap knives hold up so well to abuse, since they are way more flexible. The only downside being that they do not hold an edge nearly as well. Convexing the cheap machetes with a Worksharp, really turns them into reliable hard use chopping tools, that hold an edge much longer.

 

[Jason Burns]

I guess that with all the special heat treat, this knife is very hard but brittle. The cheap knives hold up so well to abuse, since they are way more flexible. The only downside being that they do not hold an edge nearly as well. Convexing the cheap machetes with a Worksharp, really turns them into reliable hard use chopping tools, that hold an edge much longer.

I use a 1x42 belt grinder for sharpening as generally the convex edge is more shock tolerant as well.
Glad you found the lower portion of the blade (before the distil taper) to perform closer to my kitchen knife and not be as brittle as the belly apparently. Perhaps the lower half can be used for something by someone.