The 15 take #2

H

hollowdweller

Joined
Sep 22, 2003
Messages
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So I was hiking last night and was cutting this dried oak that had fallen across the old logging road. I took out the 15 and it was cutting great. However much to my suprise when I drew the blade out of the cut after I was about 3/4 thru about a 3/4" length along the blade right before it curves had bent:rolleyes:

This is the same place one of my other 17"ers bent so the tempering must not have extended quite far enough back:(

I managed to take the edge back on the other one past the bend, but this one has a fairly stout, not thin edge so I'm gonna pack it up and send it back, and hopefully get another like it since it's a great khuk:thumbup:

So so far I have bent 2 HI khuks, 1 AK bowie, 1 Tora and broke one GB mini:rolleyes:

Wonder if Cliff Stamp will adopt me;)
 
can such bends be fixed? i imagine someone could anneal the blade, pound things true, and re-temper. of course, that someone best would be the kamis - probably trivial as long as there wasn't damage.

maybe the kamis could acid etch the blades to show the temper lines :>

bladite
 
Bladite said:
can such bends be fixed? i imagine someone could anneal the blade, pound things true, and re-temper. of course, that someone best would be the kamis - probably trivial as long as there wasn't damage.

maybe the kamis could acid etch the blades to show the temper lines :>

bladite
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I could bend it back with a hammer and it would probably be OK for 99% of the chopping I do, but next time I chopped a dry oak it would do it again:thumbdn:
 
Which model was it, and how much did it weigh? When you say it bent, exactly what happened? Have a photo?

Were you using lots of strength or taking light swipes at the wood? Many of the blades I have are much softer steel as you approach the cho.

I would think that it would be difficult to differentially harden a long blade by pouring water, but then 15" and a 10" blade is not that long.

I use my knives to decorate the side of a bookcase, and so they are much stronger than they need to be.
 
arty said:
Which model was it, and how much did it weigh? When you say it bent, exactly what happened? Have a photo?

Were you using lots of strength or taking light swipes at the wood? Many of the blades I have are much softer steel as you approach the cho.

I would think that it would be difficult to differentially harden a long blade by pouring water, but then 15" and a 10" blade is not that long.

I use my knives to decorate the side of a bookcase, and so they are much stronger than they need to be.
Click to expand...

It's a 15" BGRS, I'm guessing about 20-22 oz. Mine are tough as hell, and so far have avoided this mishap, but I also haven't been cutting a bunch of hardened oak with them. Sounds a spot was missed on the temper.

Norm
 
I have a 15" BAS that weighs about 21 oz. I can't imagine breaking it....it feels as tough as a crowbar.
I also haven't been trying to cut oak. Oak is a pretty tough and very hard wood, but not as hard as properly tempered steel.
 
Bummer, Hollow.
I have used my 15" BAS by Bura to cut a couple living oak saplings,
but nothing dried yet. No problems so far though.

DaddyDett
 
Did you give it the Yvsa Test beforehand, HD?

I smack the flats of mine on a post or a stump before use; I'll also sink the edge into a stump or such and apply some body weight on the handle. Depending on how easily it flexes, it'll see something between half and all of my weight. The way I figure, if it'll put up with this, I'm probably not going to be able to break it through normal use.

Can you describe the bend a bit more? I'm trying to envision just what happened.
 
A long time ago now I had three blade failures in a row; like, in 4 weeks . Bill wrote back and said he used to think that was a sign of an abusive customer, but he'd listened to how I used them and did not think so. One of his customers was a professor who liked to use the khuks for wood carving. He broke a few and Bill refunded the money and suggested they stop sending khuks back and forth. The professor showed Bill how mathematically it was quite 'normal' for one person to get a disproportionate amount of breakages. Bill was relieved. He sent out another khuk and had no further problem. I haven't bent or broken one in three years myself.


munk
 
munk said:
A long time ago now I had three blade failures in a row; like, in 4 weeks . Bill wrote back and said he used to think that was a sign of an abusive customer, but he'd listened to how I used them and did not think so. One of his customers was a professor who liked to use the khuks for wood carving. He broke a few and Bill refunded the money and suggested they stop sending khuks back and forth. The professor showed Bill how mathematically it was quite 'normal' for one person to get a disproportionate amount of breakages. Bill was relieved. He sent out another khuk and had no further problem. I haven't bent or broken one in three years myself.


munk
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I think it's just not tempered far enough. I was chopping similar stuff with my other 17" BGRS and the FF and no problem.:thumbup:
 
I actually have to send one back myself, I just noticed that it looks like it was bent and hammered back into shape but the edge has a 1/2 or so bend in it. Bummer cause its one of my favorites. I know what steel looks like when its hammered back to shape, its gets spider kinda look to it. One of my old nihonto has it so my eye caught that first then I looked down the edge and saw the dip.

Dips happen, good thing to know is that Yangdu will stand behind her products.

Billy
 
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