Trashed my Recon 1 today UPDATE

shinyedges said:
Man 2 cold steel knives with serrations and chips.. This is conclusively a weak knife and every recon 1 will grenade in 3..2...1 oh wait. 2 of possibly HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS doesn't mean it is an epidemic?!? Whoops carry on.
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Well, I think it all comes back to the expectation CS creates. They say, about the Recon...

A popular knife with Military and Law Enforcement Personnel, Fire and Rescue crews as well as civilians who appreciate a hardworking, dependable tool for any occasion. Sharp as a scalpel and tough as a tank, the Recon Series is available with 2, 3, 4, and 5 1/2 inch blades, and every facet of their construction has been over engineered to make them as strong, durable and effective as humanly possible.
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Does that copy and their video give folks the expectation that they can chop with it? Yeah, kinda, I think. But...in their vid...they don't chop with it. So maybe you are not supposed to expect to be able to chop with it.

Its a fine line they kinda dance around. Their "thing" is demonstrating the indestructabilty of your knives, but they are really just demonstrating the indestructabilty of their lock.

But I'm sure they want you to think their thin bladed knives are immune from that kinda chipping. But their thin bladed knives are not. Nobody's are are. But they never told you that they were. :D

Clever.
 
I really like the Cold Steel Recon 1, I'm shocked actually for a $169 knife, but I guess it happens and I'm sure they will replace it no charge.
 
I got an email back and they told me to send it in for evaluation. So I'll send it in this weekend and see what happens.

On another note, I realize what I did was not the brightest thing, so thank you to all of you who pointed it out to me without calling me an idiot lol!
 
A full flat grind on such a broad and relatively thin blade with sharp serration edges is just not gonna be suitable for chopping. I think CS's folder in general has their hollow grind done too deep making their edge more prone to chipping. They have started doing flat saber grind for their new 2015 models like Ultimate Hunter and Swift to increase the blade strength.
 
Strider9 said:
I really like the Cold Steel Recon 1, I'm shocked actually for a $169 knife, but I guess it happens and I'm sure they will replace it no charge.
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It doesn't matter if it's a $1690 knife. Thin is thin and thin runs the risk of chipping like that.
 
Yea I got you, cs does propagate the line of thought that their knives are the "worlds strongest". So when people who read the box and then think they can use their folder to build Noah's ark experience a failure some blame is on cs and some on the consumer, "shrug" lol

marcinek said:
Well, I think it all comes back to the expectation CS creates. They say, about the Recon...



Does that copy and their video give folks the expectation that they can chop with it? Yeah, kinda, I think. But...in their vid...they don't chop with it. So maybe you are not supposed to expect to be able to chop with it.

Its a fine line they kinda dance around. Their "thing" is demonstrating the indestructabilty of your knives, but they are really just demonstrating the indestructabilty of their lock.

But I'm sure they want you to think their thin bladed knives are immune from that kinda chipping. But their thin bladed knives are not. Nobody's are are. But they never told you that they were. :D

Clever.
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Folding knives are just the wrong tool for chopping branches. There are many $15 machetes that are designed for hacking at plant materials, and they can last forever, especially if you convex the edge.
 
I have a few Recon 1's.

I've found the Aus8 steel to be pretty tough in use.

But, the hollow grind on them is thin. On my version, it is surprisingly svelt.

It is not a chopping knife, by any stretch of the imagination.

I have lopped off my share of branches, but nothing too thick. One thing that can happen very easily while chopping branches, is that they move when you wack them, especially dead fall, not anchored. So you can get a lot of lateral stress on a thin point.

I've seen more than a few knives designed for chopping have this same type of damage from allegedly the same use. I've seen a few Bark Rivers have this happen.

I have plenty of big choppers, and a few machete's and Khukri's etc.
 
craytab said:
It also shouldn't be ignored that the "chip" occurred perfectly in a set of those strange serrations.
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Agreed.

I've used my Contego to chop up branches as well if we're talking about folders that can take abuse.
 
Leftytwogunz said:
opplanet-cold-steel-brand-logo-2014.png


Well I guess they are not the world's Strongest and sharpest after all.
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Strong and sharp are qualities that don't go well together. You must sacrifice some of one for more of the other. What Cold Steel offers is a good balance, and that's why they use hollow grinds as much as they do. Yes, a chip happened, but the knife isn't broken per se, and in fact is still very usable. Matter of fact, I wouldn't even send it to Cold Steel. Sharpen up that chip and you've got yourself the same grind many pay hundreds more for on custom knives, and while it won't be as practical as it was before overall, I'm sure there could be some interesting uses for it in the same vein as a gut hook.

I'm not a fan of sharpened prybars, because I buy knives to cut things and not to beat on for the hell of it. I've never had a problem with one of the thin hollow grinds we tend to see on Cold Steel's blades. Same goes for Spyderco and a few other companies.

I'll reiterate that a chip like this is only to be expected when you beat on a partially serrated knife with a thin, high hollow grind. I think some of y'all take the marketing more seriously than CS does themselves.
 
I bet they will replace it, but also make you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement! I jest...sort of...
 
It seems that's the spot they break doing such things:

[video=youtube;Ui8E5GjNt7k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui8E5GjNt7k[/video]

Just don't use the replacement to do the same thing.
Get a Rajah 2 for your pocket-knife chopping needs. :)
 
Sosa said:
^ he could have bought 20 opinels that wouldn't break like that.
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True.
In its defence though, the Recon slices like mad with that thin, high hollow-grind. :)
Just really, really not meant for any sort of lateral forces like those involved in chopping, it seems.

Now people know. :thumbup:

The OP will likely get his knife fixed/replaced, and those wanting a folder capable of light chopping tasks will buy a different model.
It's all good.:cool:
 
stabman said:
I remember Cold Steel taking someone else's marketing too seriously in the recent past...:D
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Haha, I will agree with that.

stabman said:
True.
In its defence though, the Recon slices like mad with that thin, high hollow-grind. :)
Just really, really not meant for any sort of lateral forces like those involved in chopping, it seems.

Now people know. :thumbup:

The OP will likely get his knife fixed/replaced, and those wanting a folder capable of light chopping tasks will buy a different model.
It's all good.:cool:
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We're both thinking of the Rajah II, aren't we?
 
stabman said:
It seems that's the spot they break doing such things:

[video=youtube;Ui8E5GjNt7k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui8E5GjNt7k[/video]

Just don't use the replacement to do the same thing.
Get a Rajah 2 for your pocket-knife chopping needs. :)
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Those stupid serrations are probably the culprit
 
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