[Pax Jordana]

Somebody else asked what the ultimate knife is. Well, we all know it's the Lamb's Foot Knife. But before I carried that ultimate pocket-katana, I carried any one of a bunch of knives I'd bought simply because I liked the look of them, or some features.

Thing is, I've only ever broken one, and that was in a rather abusive situation.

Has anyone out there actually broken a knife in normal use? Kindly share your story.


(I guess the point I'm trying to make is, any reputable knife will serve just fine in a survival situation.. it's really the misuse that'll break it. What do you think?)

[sm]

I admit I have abused some, the situation dictated the abusive use and consequences to the knives.

Kershaw Leek.
Breaking down boxes, and a chunk of the blade chipped out, no staples, no strapping tape, just perhaps the heat generated from using on cardboard (which gets pretty hot) attributed to this.
Leeks hate me, I kept trying though...
Clips (I hate these stupid screws) and have handles, hinges and everything go ka-put. I got by for some time with Leeks, then one day Leeks decided to hate me.
Chives too...

Some liner locks, I forget what these were, newer ones, and locks failed.
Some were expensive.
Cleaning small game, cutting rope, fuzz sticks, whittling...uses such as these.
Oh one lock gave slicing ham and chicken...that was odd.

Gerber something, Gator?, forget. Blade chipped, and became really loose breasting ducks.
I could not believe it. The Old LSTs did this chore just fine.

[auschip]

I've broken the blade on a SAK before, and I bent a Leek when I dropped it. Had a couple cheap lockbacks stop locking back. Broken scales off several other SAKs. That the kinda stuff you meant?

[Corndogg]

the tip of my SOG Pentagon broke off, quite easily actually. not even doing anything really. POS!

[pete f]

I have broken a few, mostly of good reputation. I had one Buck that snapped in half about an inch infront of the handle, it was a 105 pathfinder, it was less than two weeks old and it just snapped. Buck (or rather the hardware store I bought it from) gave me a new one which I still have. I looked at the snapped blade under a loupe and it clearly had rust on about half of the broken edge, with the rest being shiny steel. So it had clearly been some sort of a fault.

I broke a Gerber EZ out at the hinge pin, the plastic just cracked, I was de burring the inside of a piece of PVC pipe at the time, so no great effort was being expended, it just snapped.

I had a SAK that when I pushed hard trying to split lengthwise a strip of willow, it folded over backward. I got a nasty jab from what was the spring/backer strip when that happened.

[Dave Markowitz]

Years ago I broke the tip off a Camillus USAF Survival Knife, that's about it.

[MASTEROFMALICE]

I went through a phase in my younger, poorer years when I bought a few of those two dollar hardware store knives.

I can't break these things!

I generally carry two knives. One nice knife, like a Benchmade or a Kershaw and I also carry a "beater" knife. The kind of knife you do very un-knife-like things with like throw them or saw through things you shouldn't. These knives (all made in China) have stood up to rediculous amounts of abuse that would make the Cold Steel guys cringe.

I don't abuse the nice knives because, well, they're nice.

[poor_richard]

I have an Old Timer that I bought when I was a kid, and somewhere along the line I bent the tip (didn't break). That knife came with specific instructions to never pry anything with it, or stab any hard surfaces (actually mentioned wood). The most I've ever had has been some of the screws comming loose or falling out. But then I usually keep my knives sharp, and only use them for cutting, not stabbing or prying. Guess I've been fortunate.

[Creature]

Believe it or not, one knife that I simply HAVENT been able to break is a Victorinox Swiss Army "Soldier" knife. And I abuse the heck outta that little knife.

[JShirley]

I saw a Cold Steel Bushman break at the handle/blade seam when being thrown.

[hso]

Oddly enough, no.

[Fred Fuller]

The only knife I have had problems with as an adult was a Randall... and it wasn't my fault. :D

Back in 1982 my best friend was working his way through the Special Forces Q course. I decided to order a Randall #1 for him for a graduation present. I thought about it a bit and decided to order one for myself as well. Both of them showed up in due time, both of them got used.

Several years later, after use (but NOT abuse) stretching over several years, I noticed a J-shaped crack in the back side (false edge) of my blade about 3/4 inch from the point. I called, and they said send it back for a looksee.

A few days later I got a call from Randall to find out what knife I wanted for a replacement- they said it was a stress crack in the steel and not something I had done. I asked for a duplicate of the knife I had sent them, and again in due course it arrived.

That one's still NIB...

lpl/nc

[DZL HOG]

6 days a week (work) I carry a Leatherman multitool and Benchmade Griptillian. I usually use the Leatherman for screwdriver/prying work. So that has saved the Benchmade several times. One day at work I wasnt thinkin flipped the Grip to pry out some dump bed marker lights. I poped out 3 of em, then a coworker was gonna "give me a hand". He ended up breaking the tip off my $85 knife and still didnt get the light out.
Its still a good knife tho after 3years, just not quite as sharp. Cutting some string off a pallet jack wheel left some nasty gouges in the blade and I dont know what messed up the serrations. And the cheap black "coating" aka paint on the blad was almost all gone after the first month of use. The next one will have a nice coated blade of some sort. But I wouldnt take nothing else for the Axis Lock.
I had a cheap liner lock knife that cut great, the blade got real loose and the pocket clip got stretched too. I ended up loosing the entire knife one day.
I carry a cheap($8) S&W liner lock on Sundays, blue metal handle with etched blade. It has never cut that great and I lost the thumbstud off it. It doesnt fully lock sometimes either. Thats a scary feeling when a locking knife almost closes on your fingers when you dont expect it.
My dads a logger and he can break knives all day long. He usually carries small cheap ones for just that reason.

Matt

[Byron Quick]

I've broken knives but it's all been abuse by throwing except for one. I had a Buck hunting knife (don't remember the model) snap on me about thirty years ago. Wasn't prying with it either.

I've broken a Cold Steel knife, a Ka-Bar, and a Gerber throwing them. The Cold Steel and the Ka-Bar snapped off the blade next to the hilt. The Gerber lost its tip, I filed it down, resharpened it, and kept throwing it for years. Finally, the blade came loose from the hilt. I put in a dab of epoxy and kept throwing it for years more.

[rcmodel]

I have broken a few, mostly of good reputation. I had one Buck that snapped in half about an inch infront of the handleBuck went through a sad period a few years ago when they replaced the stacked aluminum/fiber guards they had always used with a "cast in place" solid aluminum guard.

The heat from casting the guard on the tang made the blades very brittle, almost like glass.

I have broken two, a 119 and a 120, with a hammer blow to the plastic handle when trying to break off the old handle to use the blades for custom projects.

I won't even touch a Buck with a cast guard for any use now after I found out how easily you could snap a blade off one.

I think they only made them for a year or two until they got overwhelmed with broken knives, then went back to the old stacked guard again.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[coelacanth]

unless breakage includes chipping an edge or blunting the tip of a blade. I've had various high tech folder designs give me minor problems and had I not repaired them or quit using them as vigorously they would have failed. My fixed blade designs have proven to be remarkably tough and forgiving pieces of kit regardless what sort of nonsense they have been subjected to. I try to follow the usual advice re: not using them as pry bars or not making believe they are axes and such but even during deliberate abuse ( when the proper tool was not available ) they have all served me very well.

[ArfinGreebly]

Young and foolish.

Picked up a Gerber Shorty and a Mini-Magnum when I was on base in Germany.

Brought them back.

Threw the Mini-Magnum at a tree, to show how good I'd gotten with it. (Score 50 minus points for throwing a tool steel hunting knife.) It stuck in the tree. And left a good inch of steel behind as the heavy cast aluminum handle snapped back from the initial bending force. Dammit.

I spent days with a file re-shaping the end of that knife. Once it looked like a knife again and had a good edge, I gave it to my mom to use in the kitchen. It made a fine paring knife.

The other was my Gerber Silver Knight. I dropped it in the kitchen while trying to do something clever (I forget what now). Broke the tip off. Took it back to the store and asked what could be done. Store owner took the knife, disappeared in back, sounds of whirring and grinding, reappears with my knife. It's an eighth of an inch shorter than the new ones, but you can't tell if you don't already know. I still carry it.

Oh, and one more. Really stupid.

A wonderful Swibo butcher knife. I tried to hack off the end of a large soup bone with it. Broke a large (like an inch) chip out of the middle of the blade. I nearly cried. I just stood there, looking at my best kitchen knife, now ruined. Then I discovered the place where I bought it didin't have any more. I've never found an exact replacement for it, although I have finally found a source for Swibo knives.

I gotta stop. This is depressing.

[Joe Demko]

Broke a cheap no-name bowie when I was a kid. Given the time period, it was probably made in Japan...when that typically meant cheap junk. I was hacking at a railroad tie with it, for no good reason, and snapped the stick tang right at the ricasso.