Warranty Apparently Voided On A BK2

G

GreyKane93

Joined
Sep 8, 2014
Messages
12
Howdy everyone! This is my first post here on BladeForums. I have spent countless hours reading over many of these posts (primarily on the Becker forum), and finally decided to register an account on BladeForums and get involved in all this Becker awesomeness that is going around. Though I know that there have been other forums regarding this topic, I have a question regarding the warranty on Becker knives. To be more specific, I’ll tell a little story. My first Becker was a BK2. I bought it after tons of research, and was extremely impressed on the excellent reviews it got. After receiving it, I wasn’t too impressed by the sheath, but knew without a doubt that the knife could take some serious abuse. After much debate I decided to strip off the coating (thanks to Chris Tanner’s recommendation in his videos on Youtube), and used a gun bluing compound (cold, not hot if that makes a difference) to add some protection against rust/corrosion. Sometime after, with only some minor use on it (I really think I only batoned one 3in diameter log, and did some minor whittling) I noticed that the tip had a slight bend to it. I don’t think it was enough to affect performance too critically, but it did cause the edge near the tip to be at an odd angle. (Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of this, though I now wish I had). I contacted Kabar’s customer service via email about this, and was told that my stripping of the coating voids the lifetime warranty of the knife against manufacturer defects. With this unfortunate knowledge, I ended up selling the knife. Just recently, I read on the forums that removing the coating is not supposed to void the warranty, so I am just checking to see if anyone could shed some light on the subject. I still have the email sent to me by Kabar's customer service if anyone wants the exact wording. Thanks for any input!

-Jiggs
 
I'm sure this will be resolved. There have been folks that stripped their blades and had them replaced.
 
Just wanted to make something clear, I have not lost ANY faith in Beckers because of this encounter. I currently own a BK7, and love it to death. It's still pretty green, as far as mods go. I plan on making some custom handle scales for it, and will probably strip it as well. I do plan on adding many Beckers to my massive knife collection.

-Jiggs
 
A lot of people have commented on what they thought was a bent tip but was in reality the hand ground tip was ground more on one side or another. This can result in it looking like it has a bent tip. The BK2 is a hard one to bend.
 
Tobiism,

Now that I think about it (and it was a long time ago) that actually could have been the problem. The thing that worried me was that if I sporadically decided to take my soon-to-be stripped BK7 on a 5 year stay in the African jungle and I damage it battling savage natives and huge lions, and I return to civilization in one piece (obviously with an empty wallet), there is the possibility that Kabar will not replace my battle scarred BK7 and I'll have to get a job and start saving up to buy a new one. Ha ha!! :D

-Jiggs
 
Pretty sure if you came back with that story, you would have zero issues getting the 7 taken care of.
 
in the field, it's been found that stabbing lions removes rust too
 
Lion blood is an excellent lubricant! :D
Welcome to the forums GreyKane!!
 
Ha ha, thanks guys! If I ever find myself in Africa with my BK7, and I haven't contracted malaria yet, I'll be sure to have a go at the first lion I see! And if it eats me, I hope you all feel bad for encouraging me! :p

-Jiggs
 
GreyKane93 said:
Howdy everyone! This is my first post here on BladeForums. I have spent countless hours reading over many of these posts (primarily on the Becker forum), and finally decided to register an account on BladeForums and get involved in all this Becker awesomeness that is going around. Though I know that there have been other forums regarding this topic, I have a question regarding the warranty on Becker knives. To be more specific, I’ll tell a little story. My first Becker was a BK2. I bought it after tons of research, and was extremely impressed on the excellent reviews it got. After receiving it, I wasn’t too impressed by the sheath, but knew without a doubt that the knife could take some serious abuse. After much debate I decided to strip off the coating (thanks to Chris Tanner’s recommendation in his videos on Youtube), and used a gun bluing compound (cold, not hot if that makes a difference) to add some protection against rust/corrosion. Sometime after, with only some minor use on it (I really think I only batoned one 3in diameter log, and did some minor whittling) I noticed that the tip had a slight bend to it. I don’t think it was enough to affect performance too critically, but it did cause the edge near the tip to be at an odd angle. (Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of this, though I now wish I had). I contacted Kabar’s customer service via email about this, and was told that my stripping of the coating voids the lifetime warranty of the knife against manufacturer defects. With this unfortunate knowledge, I ended up selling the knife. Just recently, I read on the forums that removing the coating is not supposed to void the warranty, so I am just checking to see if anyone could shed some light on the subject. I still have the email sent to me by Kabar's customer service if anyone wants the exact wording. Thanks for any input!

-Jiggs
Click to expand...

Jiggs,

I'm a hiker and not a camper & so didn't intend to strip any of my Beckers, but since I had two BK2s I didn't mind beating one of them up -- nothing too severe, just sticking it in some deadwood now and again and taking some photos, e.g.,



That hike took the coating off the tip and I had the impression the tip might be bent. In fact I've studied it several times. I've concluded its some sort of illusion because when I look at it carefully up against a lamp or out the window toward the son it seems perfectly straight. Like some others have written, this is a really tough knife. It would take quite a lot to bend or break the blade -- or a major glitch in the manufacturing process to produce a defective knife.

Lawrence
 
Hey Grey Kane......

There is a blanket policy of modifications voiding the warranty and stripping the coating is a modification. Having said that if there is a manufacturing defect then KA-BAR will almost always cover the problem....... I know this sounds a bit washy-washy but, there is a pile of very interesting but, truly abused blades that have been covered....... If you are a modder AND an abuser you may luck out and you may not....... Somebody will make a judgement call........

Please bear in mind that the sharpening process is done by hand and by its nature must be done with a certain amount of speed to ensure no hot spots. There WILL always be variations and almost always they are most pronounced at the tip....... Sometime these slight variations will make the tip appear slightly bent......

I suspect that that is what happened in your case........

I am very sorry that you had a bad experience but happy that the experience has not soured you on my knives......... If you would like to talk the problem over, please give me a call at 423 295 2500...... Nine to noon EST usually finds me at that number....... Do not leave a message as I do not check them.........

All Best...

Ethan
 
Ethan,

My friends call me Jiggs. Thanks so much for taking the time to remind me just how much you value your knives and customers. I was unaware of the fact that the knife edges were hand ground, but with that in mind it makes complete sense that the edge could come out varied. I also understand that there are people out there that do not know how to take care of knives (I have met my fair share), and that you and Kabar must be careful to not replace knives abused by those individuals. Though I was initially confused by my encounter, I continued to (and still will) highly recommend both Beckers and Kabar to anyone that'll listen to me! Thanks for all you do Ethan!! I'll give you a call sometime if I have something important that can't be resolved over the forums! Thanks again!

-Jiggs
 
Ethan Becker said:
Hey Grey Kane......

There is a blanket policy of modifications voiding the warranty and stripping the coating is a modification. Having said that if there is a manufacturing defect then KA-BAR will almost always cover the problem....... I know this sounds a bit washy-washy but, there is a pile of very interesting but, truly abused blades that have been covered....... If you are a modder AND an abuser you may luck out and you may not....... Somebody will make a judgement call........

Please bear in mind that the sharpening process is done by hand and by its nature must be done with a certain amount of speed to ensure no hot spots. There WILL always be variations and almost always they are most pronounced at the tip....... Sometime these slight variations will make the tip appear slightly bent......

I suspect that that is what happened in your case........

I am very sorry that you had a bad experience but happy that the experience has not soured you on my knives......... If you would like to talk the problem over, please give me a call at 423 295 2500...... Nine to noon EST usually finds me at that number....... Do not leave a message as I do not check them.........

All Best...

Ethan
Click to expand...


Ethan,

I forgot to say in the note above that when I received the knife (from an eBay seller who said it was in "new condition" I noticed the tip didn't look as pristine as the one on the BK2 I bought through Amazon. For one thing it was much more pointed. I just now got out my rock-hounding glass and looked at the tip more carefully. It isn't bent to the left or right but there is a very slight backward bend, and it is definitely more pointed than on my other BK2. It was not noticeable with the naked eye -- at least my old naked eye.

I thought there was something slightly off when I got the knife and thought that most likely the seller had used the BK2 for something before he sold it to me (I've had other eBay sellers present items as better than they appeared when I got them); although what he might have done I couldn't imagine since I noticed no other defect other than this very minor one on the tip -- nothing I would ever complain about and I'm not complaining now but since Jiggs introduced the subject I am interested.

Your explanation about the grinding variable explains a lot. Out of curiosity, is there a Quality Control function after grinding or is the grinder the final step before assembly and boxing?

Lawrence
 
Thanks for your input Lawrence! I am now convinced that it was either my eye playing tricks on me, or just some uneven grind on the edge from the factory.

Gadsden, I would actually say that is some A++ customer service. If I wasn't so broke (and I already have SO many knives that need to be used and loved), Beckers would be all that I carried. Not only are they ridiculously tough, but their designer stands behind them of they break when they shouldn't (which I hear is practically never).

-Jiggs
 
Hey Jiggs and Lawrence Helm.......

Just a quick note........ The variation comes primarily from going from the left to the right stroke...... I think very few of us can maintain a perfect left to right switch....... I have done the final sharpening on thousands of blades and have NEVER been completely consistent....... Not even once!!!!!!...... And I was trying.......

There is a series of QC checks and a human eyeball is the final one......... Nothing is supposed to leave the building with obvious defects........ Minor variables in sharpening are considered OK....... If you loupe any factory blade I know of there will be those small variations......... I know this May sound a little self serving but, I personally don't give a damn if a factory knife I buy has those little oddities.......... If I spend a bunch of money on a custom I will put on my "Sunday go to meeting eyeballs" and play detective....... Especially as I usually know the Maker and will be happy to deliver endless amounts of manure if the blade isn't perfect........

All best....

Ethan
 
Jiggs,

Thank you for making this thread. I'm relatively new around here and just bought my first Becker...after reading through this, I'm even happier with my purchase (my first Becker, a BK7), and I haven't even received my knife yet haha.

Larry
 
Larry,

Congrats on purchasing your first Becker!! Which one did you get!? I have only owned the BK2 (which I sadly no longer own) and the BK7 (which I still have). The feel of them is something I haven't felt in a knife before, and trust me when I tell you you are only gonna want more!! Glad something good came of this thread!

-Jiggs
 
Wow, sorry Larry. My brain must have totally skipped over "(my first Becker, a BK7)"! You are gonna love it!! I went ahead and bought stainless bolts for the handle (from the hardware store) and put some ranger bands (bicycle inner tubes) on the handle to add some grippiness to it.

-Jiggs
 
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