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Should I be worried about buying this knife?

K

KingNothing

Diamond Member
Kershaw Leek

I bought a knife like this off EBay last week for $45. Yesterday the seller refunded my money and sent me an e-mail saying that he had dropped the knife and broken the tip. He said he'd be getting more of them in soon and would sell me another one for $10 off due to the hassle.

Should I be worried about being able to break the tip on this knife simply by dropping it?
 
I've seen many knives broken that way (even Spyderco and Victorianox). What usually happens is that the tip sticks in a board or something, and the knife's momentum just puts an unbelievable amount of leverage on the tip.


...granted most of the broken tips I've seen were caused by people throwing them, it's the same effect.
 
I guarentee that a Benchmade would never do that... 😀 But yeah, he is probably lying about the broken tip. He was probably just out of stock and needed a good reason.
 
edro13: got a benchmade knife that I can borrow? 😀

Unless the blade is flexible, it'll be prone to having it's tip broken off. Many of the higher end knives end up with a more brittle metal in the interest of keeping the blade sharp longer. A softer metal will wear faster, but be less prone to getting it's tip broken off.
 
Originally posted by: edro13
I guarentee that a Benchmade would never do that... 😀 But yeah, he is probably lying about the broken tip. He was probably just out of stock and needed a good reason.
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i dont ebay much, but my sister does....i was quite surprised at the number of times with different dealers shes been told they were out of stock on something. edro is probably right, just an excuse, bah
 
Knives with very acute tips tend to do that, and cheap steel will only tend to accentuate that tendancy. I've had good experiences with Kershaw knives, but I don't really consider them on par with Benchmade or Cold Steel products.
If you're worried about losing a tip, get something with a tanto style blade. I'd avoid any knife with ATS-34 or 440C on it, but that's just me.


I've seen many knives broken that way (even Spyderco and Victorianox). What usually happens is that the tip sticks in a board or something, and the knife's momentum just puts an unbelievable amount of leverage on the tip
Click to expand...

Spydercos are notorious for losing tips. It's mostly due to the shape of their blades though (very acute with a chisel grind). As for Victorinox, they just use surgical stainless, which is 440C I believe. 9 out of 10 times they lose their tips because the user thought he could do without a screwdriver and improvise. Surprise! It's not a Leatherman!

Just my Benchmade 9000 Auto...
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Yep, nice piece. Did you get the bead-blasted finish? I've always wanted one of those sweet Microteks myself, tried my best to swindle the boss into ordering me one but he never did (bassid).
 
I bought a Kershaw knife at a auction one time, not noticing that the tip was broken off. ($3.00 as I recall)

Snap-On sells Kershaw knifes.

The next time the Snap-On guy came by, new knife! ($65.00 value = $0.00) 🙂
 
Randall, Randall... fixed-blade carbon steel pieces? I seem to recall hearing that name before, although the store I worked in didn't carry them.

When friends come to me for advice on knives, I usually tell them to hit a few knife stores before settling on something via the web.

Fixed blades: Cold Steel all the way. SOG has some nice designs, but they use a lot of 440A to cut costs. Bleh.

Tactical folders: Benchmade for overall quality, Cold Steel for value. I think Spydercos make good light duty pieces, but I'm wary of their locks and tips. The "SpyderEdge" is probably one of the easiest serrated patterns to resharpen as well.

Autos: Benchmades are great, but some of the early models had handles on them which were just horrendous. Microteks (if you can find'em) are hardcore. The springs used are fantastic, I think I remember one SOCOM model that was rated at 90~ lbs/psi opening pressure, ie. could be opened underwater if need be with no slow down. Not sure about the warranty on them though, whereas support with Benchmade is usually hassle free and expedient.


Whatever you decide on, before buying it stop and think what you would say to a cop if you had to explain it's presence - is it over your state's legal length? Bizarre/cruel looking designs might not jive with the explanation of "I use it at work to open boxes! Honest! Some states only allow police/fire/EMT/military personel to carry autos.


*gets off soapbox*
 
Randall is, imo, the manufacturer of some of the greatest blades on earth. Hand crafted perfection. There's a waiting list something like 2 years long to get one.

(I'm also a happy owner of a benchmade 9050 automatic... damn nice knife. 😀 )
 
FWIW, the Kershaw knife I was buying uses 440A steel. I guess I'll just wait for the guy to get more in stock, take my $10 off discount, and be careful not to drop my knife. 😀
 
Originally posted by: KingNothing
FWIW, the Kershaw knife I was buying uses 440A steel. I guess I'll just wait for the guy to get more in stock, take my $10 off discount, and be careful not to drop my knife. 😀
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Abuse any knife hard enough and there will be consequences. Abuse can be as simple as dropping it, or trying to use it as a pry bar, a screwdriver, throwing it at a target, etc...

kage69, what do you prefer over ATS-34 and 440C? S30V? And what specifically dont you like about them?
 
Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Randall is, imo, the manufacturer of some of the greatest blades on earth. Hand crafted perfection. There's a waiting list something like 2 years long to get one.

(I'm also a happy owner of a benchmade 9050 automatic... damn nice knife. 😀 )
Click to expand...

Yes, Randall knives are awesome and have been around forever. One even went on a trip to the moon as official gear.

I've also got a Benchmade auto and several other fine knives. Recently got a Chris Reeve Sebenza... awesome folder.

There is a link to a forum in my sig with some nice knife forums. Everybody from Anandtech is welcome. Lot's of very knowledgable knife guys and even a few makers and dealers. Hot babe forum too, for members. 😉

 
kage69, what do you prefer over ATS-34 and 440C? S30V? And what specifically dont you like about them?
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ATS-34 is quite the chore to sharpen. It was originally developed in Japan as a tool grade steel, which stresses edge retention over all other traits. For a stainless recipe, it's also kinda weak on the anti-corrosion side. I've seen people's Benchmades that sport ATS-34 develop rust on the blades from water vapor via perspiration (they would only carry when jogging or "out on the town"). ATS-34 was very much pumped as a 'designer steel' that looked good on paper, and started quite the bandwagon effect (ooooo! it says here it's vacuum forged! KEWL!) It just didn't deliver in my eyes/hands. Apparently others feel the same way, as i see Benchmade has started using D2 instead, and other have gone to ATS-55.
440C varies more in it's consistancy, I've used some knives with it that were good, and others were downright awful. It's very inexpensive to produce, which is why so many companies use it.

My best experience so far has come from AUS10, but good luck trying to find it. It's the only stainless variety that has astounded me with how well it retains a razor edge, and as far as sharpening it, crock sticks are all that is necessary. AUS8 is much easier to come by, so the majority of knives I buy for friends and family have that on them. I've actually become quite taken with carbon steel. Cold Steel's proprietary Carbon 5 recipe in particular is grrrrrreat stuff. I have 2 fixed blades made with it and am very impressed.
I don't have any experience with S30V, sorry. I've heard 440V is supposedly pretty much impervious to the elements, so I can see it's worth used in a survival knife, for instance. Probably not much fun to sharpen though.
 
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