Breaking knives

runningboar

runningboar

Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
2,325
I hear a lot about "good" woods/survival knives, knives that won't break, that are bullet proof, will take abuse, knives you can trust your life on...so on and so on. What the hell do yall use your knives for?

I have never broken a knife in my life and the only knives I have seen broken were being thrown, prying the lid off a paint can or other things you shouldn't use a knife for, I have never seen a knife broken or even damaged from doing it's desired/designed purpose, cutting. A good knife in my opinion is a knife that takes and holds an edge for a reasonable time, is easy to resharpen, fits my hand well with the grip and edge being in the right line to cut efficiently. All the bulletproof, can't break them if you tried designs I see are pretty piss poor cutters because of the thickness of the blades and edge. So I guess my question is how do yall break your knives that you need knives so tough? Chris
 
That's a good question. I've never managed to break a good knife either, although I've dulled or broken the tips of some less expensive knives more than once, doing something a bit stupid but useful in the situation. The cheap Chinese stuff aside, it's hard to break any fixed blade knife while using it the way it was designed to be used. Some people prefer to have some room for using their knives for non-knife things, though, like prying open doors and breaking concrete blocks.
 
I think its funny when someone says, I would stake my life on a knife.

Really, I will stake my life on the knowledge and skills I have practiced. Not some knife. I most cases I believe that if you know what you are doing, your knife shouldn't break. I am not an expert, but I believe that one should begin with practicing skills. And as a note, most people on this forum do practice skills with there new knife, so I am not bashing anyone. But once in a while I get this feeling that this certain person thinks that by having "this knife" he will be ok in the woods without practicing skills.

Granted, I believe in having good knives, But I just feel that sometimes people think that having this certain knife will give them a lifeline in the woods. Men long ago survived without these awesome knives that we have today. Sorry for the ranting, I hope some agree with me here. Its just that I get tied up sometimes that I think I need this certain knife right now, and this knife, and this knife, RIGHT NOW. I am trying to get the basics down, and to resist buying just "another knife" when I have other financial duties. :)

Take care everybody,
Scottman

In a survival situation, what you got with you, is what you got. Make the best of it.
 
I agree with you runningboar,I have never broken a knife,just about any decent qualty knife will do it's job,but Im not one that expects a small fixedblade or folder to split logs,just to cut.Not sayin everyone should carry a mora,but give me a Swak and a machete or axe and Im pretty comfortable.
 
in the woods, sometimes, knives are the only tool available. This means, sometimes, they are used in ways other than cutting.

If all you ever use a knife for is to cut meat, vegetables and fuzzsticks, then even the cheapest knife will appear to be adequate. (I have a set of four knives that cost 88 cents new.....for the set)

If, on the other hand, you need to cut thru bone, logs etc, and dig/chop thru ice (to get to water) etc, etc, etc, the knives only designed for cutting soft material will be found wanting pretty fast.

.
 
Only once. When I was young and foolish (but I repeat myself), I tried to chop a 1" branch off a tree with a very thinly hollow-ground knife. AND, to make it "better," I chopped down into the crotch, where the wood is most dense. Ping! a half moon gap appeared in the blade.

Through several moves, I have managed to keep that knife - as a lesson.

I did have to dig with a knife a couple of times -- really had to (once due to a root fire and once to get water). It was a Cat. 225Q, and it was up to the task, although rocks left nicks that I had to polish out.

Never used a knife as a screw-driver or pry bar.

But it is useful to know what a knife can do in the worst extremity when you do not have the luxury of the "right tool for the job."
 
David E said:
If, on the other hand, you need to cut thru bone, logs etc, and dig/chop thru ice (to get to water) etc, etc, etc,
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Sorry I don't buy it, I think knife manufacturers have sold this idea in order to sell you a knife. I have killed and eaten so much game I can't even name the different animals big and small and have never had to split a pelvis or any bone for that matter with my knife. If I have to chop though ice to get to water I will melt the snow or ice first, I will burn the logs in to instead of chopping. As I said I just don't get it. Chris
 
I broke a couple knives when I was a kid, but they were swap meet specials. The "Rambo" knives with the big bubble compass.
 
I to have never broken a quality knife using it as it was designed to be used. I do understand however, the importance and confidence someone places in knowing they are carrying a knife that is "bullet proof", or that they can trust their life on it not breaking. What this comes from is the fact that if you are caught in a true survival situation and for whatever reason you only have one knife and nothing else (lost all of your back up gear) that knife might be called upon to do jobs that it is not designed to do, but it's all you've got. Let's say for instance your leg is pinned between a rock and a sizable fallen limb, if you are carrying your Ranger/Busse/SwampRat/Scrapper/etc. you might be able to pry it up enough to escape. It ain't gonna happen with the Mora or the Buck 110.. So, you kind of answered your own question in a round about way, in that you don't need an indestructable knife as long as you are using your knife for things knives were designed to do, but in a survival situation, all bets are off. Your knife may well be the ONLY tool you have and it now has to become a hopefully idestrucable multi-tool.
 
Never broken one either...though I did "melt" halfway through a pen knife blade when I was a kid...that'll teach you quick to be certain the wire's not hot.
 
runningboar said:
As I said I just don't get it.
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Baton or not to baton ? With a crappo knife, you won't have the choice.

Having more than one knife is a good thing. Expecting a Mora or the 88 cent knife to chop or baton thru a log is stupid. Hence, more than one knife.

But if you choose to ONLY have one knife, limiting yourself to a weaker/cheaper blade is asking for trouble.

Melting snow to make water is time consuming, requires a fire and a vessel to hold the snow while you melt it.

Some folks think that if they haven't had to do it, then nobody has had to do it. That others, instead, bought the marketing hype that you smugly ignored. Maybe their uses/experiences dictate a stouter knife than yours. Does them make them wrong?

.
 
I've never broken a blade. I've hit rocks and pipes with my choppers while cutting low brush, which chipped some blades. besides batoning I've used knives to pry apart logs and thats about it. One of the more insane things I've heard is people pounding a knife into a tree or something to use as a hand or foothold. Loading a very sharp metal object isn't the brightest idea out there.
 
David E said:
BINGO !!!!

.
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Double bingo!

Broke and or bent at least 5 in my time through various hard use but never throwing etc. Yes, I did climb that learning curve and now sit on top to stay.

Despite what some people believe on this entire forum there is major differences in steel quality, construction and durability.

What you have to decide as an individual is how much value do you put on a blade to keep you safe and alive if thats your blades goal. If it is important to you then pony up for a quality blade and not settle for one that has merely just "worked for you in the past" under normal conditions.
When you need it to perform under stress many blades that have gotton you through in the past may not under new and desperate stresses you force on it.

All my top quality gear costs $ and I can abuse it and count on it.
My pack is $200+, my boots $350, my GPS $400 etc... why in the world would I settle for a $50 blade.:rolleyes:

It confuses me that some will blow $200 on a weekend bender and carry a POS blade in the back 40, it mistifies me.:confused:

Bottom line, whats your life worth as it could come to that.

Skam
 
Tolly said:
Let's say for instance your leg is pinned between a rock and a sizable fallen limb, if you are carrying your Ranger/Busse/SwampRat/Scrapper/etc. you might be able to pry it up enough to escape. It ain't gonna happen with the Mora or the Buck 110.
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In the last 17 years as active duty Army and and loving everything outdoors all my life, I have spent a lot of time in the outdoors in lots of different countries and environments from the Alps to the Mediterranean to SouthWest Asia. I certainly have not seen everything but I do have a bit of experience. If you feel you need these "bulletproof" knives to pry boulders off your leg then by all means spend as much as you think you need to. Chris
 



These came from the closed Imperial Schrade factory. Examples of how people treat their knives... good knives, and then expect a manufacturer to replace them.

Last year alone I skinned and processed a dozen deer. I have done at least as many each year for the past twenty or so years. Before that I did as many as one hundred a year. Turkeys, ducks, huge (35-75#) catfish, hogs and assorted small game. I've not broken a blade yet. Most animals that I have butchered come apart easily at the joints by cutting ligiments and cartlidge. I can and have done this with a small pen knife. And a flint shard. And a broken coke bottle once. Digging is best done with a digging stick. Prying is done with a hardwood branch or something besides my knife.

I guess it is the way of the world nowdays, and hunting/outdoor sports in particular. Rather than developing skills and learning the proper use and maintenance of tools (knives, guns, etc.) folks expect to make up for their lack with a "bulletproof" tool.

Codger
 
I haven't broken a knife, either, since I was about 12 or 14 years old at least. I did snap about one sixteenth of an inch off the hard point of a Mora knife about 10 years ago when I was picking the seal out of a "sealed" ball bearing assembly in the idler pulley of my truck's engine. When carefully done, it's not difficult to remove one or both seals from such a bearing so you can pack it with fresh grease and greatly extend its life. After a few minutes on a stone I had the point of that blade nicely reshaped. Live and learn, die and forget it all.
 
runningboar said:
If I have to chop though ice to get to water I will melt the snow or ice first, I will burn the logs in to instead of chopping. As I said I just don't get it. Chris
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Fire is important in a survival situation. To make a fire, you will need some dry wood. If it rains since a couple days, all the wood you can get will be wet on the outside. To get the dry inner layers, you need to split the wood, most likely with your knife and a baton. And this was just one simple example. Sure you don't need that sturdy knife for car camping, only when the things go wrong, or you simulate a survival situation for yourself, for practice.
 
amiga said:
Fire is important in a survival situation. To make a fire, you will need some dry wood. If it rains since a couple days, all the wood you can get will be wet on the outside. To get the dry inner layers, you need to split the wood, most likely with your knife and a baton.
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Never been to an environment yet where I had to.

Pict, who I respect very much, says that in Brazil in certain months it is necessary to baton and I believe him without doubt. So I am sure that there are places it is necessary but I have never personally seen it. Chris
 
Codger_64 said:



These came from the closed Imperial Schrade factory. Examples of how people treat their knives... good knives, and then expect a manufacturer to replace them.


Codger
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If they are breaking like that they are not good knives, seems obvious.

For the record I have skined and butchered dozens of game with cheapo chinese folders with little damge ever. This does not mean I would trust my life to it by any means. Its the unknown you want your blade to get you through.

Skam
 
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