Is this a stress fracture on my A.K. Bowie?

...The newer Bhakta 15" AKB's are very fine blades and refined to perfection in my opinion...
So you like the newer Bhakta 15" better (for use) than the older Buras? How thick is the spine on that one? It looks a little thinner but not significantly. If that's the "smaller" knife I'd get as a replacement, it would bother me not one bit...

Also, that is one hell of a collection. Awesome. :)
 
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So you like the newer Bhakta 15" better (for use) than the older Buras? How thick is the spine on that one? It looks a little thinner but not significantly. If that's the "smaller" knife I'd get as a replacement, it would bother me not one bit...

Here is my Bhakta 15" AK Bowie. The checkering on the handle was done by our resident pro, Bawanna.







The spine is 5/16" at it's thickest, This was one of the lighter models at 23.6oz



Bhakta Kami's mark:



You will not go wrong with this beast, if that is what you're looking for in a Bowie.
 
Yep! What cul said:thumbup: I cant say I like one better than the other because they are all different in subtle ways. Some like the palm swell, round, square, big tang, little tang etc. What they all do have in common is excellent balance and lively in the hand. Bhakta is as good as you will get in a Kami in my opinion and his 15" AKB is second to none made today. Ask for a 15" and you will get one like culs and your Bura. Aunti Yangdu will give you what you want if she has it. If not you might have to wait for another shipment.
 
It wont come checkered like that tho. You'd have to send it off to Mr. bawanna to have that done. Hes our resident checkererer. Pretty dang good guy for a northernerer;) He checked my itty bitty AKB I EDC and did a fabulous job:thumbup:
 
Wow, that bowie looks great. I would certainly be happy with that, obviously.

Send an email to Yangdu, taking her up on her offer of an exchange. She might have one in stock, or she could advise you about wait times. Be specific that you want a 15" version with as thick a spine as she has.

If one of these blades ever fails (which is rare but does happen, as your Bura blade shows) it won't be because the spine is too thin. In Cul's example the 5/16" spine is thicker than most of the blades sold on the Bladeforums exchange. Even 1/4" blades are considered "thick" by most non-HI standards. (The Becker BK2, for example, has a 1/4" spine and that's considered thick.) And HI blades are 5160 steel, which is very robust. There might have been a flaw in the steel on yours, and maybe a hairline fracture from batonning opened up or deepened over time as the metal expanded and contracted with changes in temperature and humidity (even during periods of non-use).

Good luck and let us know the outcome.
 
It wont come checkered like that tho. You'd have to send it off to Mr. bawanna to have that done. Hes our resident checkererer. Pretty dang good guy for a northernerer;) He checked my itty bitty AKB I EDC and did a fabulous job:thumbup:

Hey Mr. I'm a displaced misguided southerner through and through. I'm the poster child for sufferage up here in the damp NW. Rumor has it the scratch marks on the old front porch are still visible when my parents drug me out of the house to move here.
They are parallel and not quite as deep as the claw marks my daddy made when the Marines drug him out of the house when he got drafted. He did get a deferral for a few months on account of they didn't have nobody else to drive the school bus.
 
Its about time to send you another bag of Peekans so you don't forget your roots! My daddy always tole me never take your spurs off till its time to go to bed. Dig them heels in and you ain't goin nowhere. Id wear them to bed when I was a teenager so he couldn't drag me out of bed without taking the mattress and half the furniture:D
 
I never take mine off, don't even know they are there. Deaf, don't hear em jingle, dead from the neck, I mean waist down, don't feel em.

Crap, I just looked and they is gone. One of you thieves steal my spurs? I hate it when this happens.
 
you could have a talented person fill the crack with molten silver or brass/bronze, after they clean it up good.

silver would look better, but brass would be distinctive and give it that Japanese "fixed thing appeal"

if you use it, and you could potentially drill in advance of the crack, then reflow with silver/bronze.

or leave as is...
 
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I bought this 12-15 years ago, used it lightly for a year or so then put it away. Recently I've been using it for some heavy chopping and batoning, and I noticed the line in the pictures. It may have been there since the day I bought it, it may be new, I just don't know.

If it matters at all, I can't feel a ridge on that spot, the metal is perfectly smooth.

Is it a stress fracture? Is the knife dangerous to use? Is it nothing to worry about? It seems impossible that this thing could break, but you never know.

I can't help but wonder how rapidly that crack would propagate. I have not seen one like it before. It would be interesting to know of more battonning would open it up quickly, or if it could take a lifetime of battonning and not go much or any further.
 
I can't help but wonder how rapidly that crack would propagate. I have not seen one like it before. It would be interesting to know of more battonning would open it up quickly, or if it could take a lifetime of battonning and not go much or any further.
I wonder that too. I'm of two minds about this right now - use it normally including batoning, prying, etc., watch it and hope it doesn't get worse, or use it gently and watch it and hope it doesn't get worse :)

I also wonder if there is something I could do to mitigate the worst possible effects without significantly altering the blade - drilling a tiny shallow hole at each end of the crack to stop it from going farther? I don't have enough experience with this kind of thing to know if that would help at all or be a waste of time...
 
I wonder that too. I'm of two minds about this right now - use it normally including batoning, prying, etc., watch it and hope it doesn't get worse, or use it gently and watch it and hope it doesn't get worse :)

I also wonder if there is something I could do to mitigate the worst possible effects without significantly altering the blade - drilling a tiny shallow hole at each end of the crack to stop it from going farther? I don't have enough experience with this kind of thing to know if that would help at all or be a waste of time...

The jagged, almost fractal nature of the crack makes me think the steel at that spot is brittle, perhaps not tempered as soft as it should have been. If it were used hard, or maybe not so hard, I'd be afraid that it would propagate suddenly and massively.

I vote for exchanging it or polishing it up and putting it up on the wall.

- Bill D.
 
Please flame me if what I'm about to say is crazy! (pun intended)

What about torching that crack and let the steel melt to fuse it?
If the heating is quick enough, maybe it wouldn't ruin the rest of the heat treatment. It will also create a change in color of the surrounding area.
 
No way you could get that one spot hot enough to melt/weld without ruining the temper on the rest of the blade.
 
The jagged, almost fractal nature of the crack makes me think the steel at that spot is brittle, perhaps not tempered as soft as it should have been. If it were used hard, or maybe not so hard, I'd be afraid that it would propagate suddenly and massively.

I vote for exchanging it or polishing it up and putting it up on the wall.

- Bill D.
Drilling through at the lowest section of the crack should prevent it from spreading. How low? It might go a bit lower than the part of the crack we can see. Magnifying glass might help a bit. 2-3mm is the drill diameter I would use.
 
There are two safety issues here that should rule out some of the fixes that have been proposed.

Keep in mind that no one knows the nature of the crack. How deep is it? Is there a flaw in the steel? In the latter case, the flaw might extend beyond the metal that has already fractured.

Safety issue number one is that chopping might destroy a collectible Bura blade.

Safety issue number two is that a sudden failure of the blade while chopping could cause serious injury to the user or anyone nearby.

If Delta_Factor does chop with this blade, he'll have to be so careful that it would be no fun, if that's the right word. If he takes it backpacking or on any extended trip, he'd have to take along a backup blade in case this one fails. Might as well trade it for a good, solid user that has no issues.

If it were mine I would polish it up real nice and make it a wall-hanger. The only good thing about that fracture is that it makes the knife unique, like one of those postage stamps that were printed wrong.
 
i'd silver solder it and set it aside to admire...

though, if it does break, it'll make a great spade :D

or maybe anneal it, have an expert weld it, and then reheat treat it

i'd guess an inclusion or flaw in the metal. spine is probably 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick, breaking on its own? nah. maybe with a hammer or rebar ;)
 
I agree. It deserves a place of honor and I know just the place.
 
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