Spyderco Southard blade failure with pics

The broken surface doesn't look very reflective. It may have been broken a while. Atakdog, can you comment as to which parts of the fractured surface are dull, or shiney.
 
mtangent said:
The broken surface doesn't look very reflective. It may have been broken a while. Atakdog, can you comment as to which parts of the fractured surface are dull, or shiney.
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What? The opaque cross sections of the blade are where the fracture occurred. This is very concerning because the more steel that is missing from the blade the more likelihood that is where the greatest stresses will be focused. Yikes.
 
Scurvy092 said:
Wow... I've never seen an internal stop pin design that leaves so little material towards the tang. Crazy.
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Agreed. I think the failure started there and then the other side snapped as well. The amount of material on the left side seems too thin.

Someone should bring this to the attention of Sal before he leaves for SHOT Show in Vegas.

knifefailurepictures002_zps9ebfcab8.jpg
 
A Domino looks like this, very similar. Easily a strong enough design for cutting things. Now, if one wishes to rely on impact rather than sharpness, perhaps a chisel might work better... (Not implying anything about the OP, just an observation).

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Cereal_killer said:
If you put the links in image tags it will show up as the picture and not a link.

Image tags


Photo bucket will provide you a link already in image tags to simply paste into a forum.
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Oh, that's what that does. I'll edit the post and put that in.
 
I own a southard and am surprised at the thin design of this internal stop pin. I never understood the need for an internal stop pin. The external stop pin is pretty much bulletproof. It works fine. Why do people feel the need to try to improve a design that works fine already? The Sebenza comes to mind.
 
mtangent said:
The broken surface doesn't look very reflective. It may have been broken a while. Atakdog, can you comment as to which parts of the fractured surface are dull, or shiney.
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Both of the surfaces that fractured were a completely matte light gray.
 
Here are some photos I just took of mine. The initial pics of the broken blade did look alarmingly odd but after taking it apart it makes a little more sense. The stop pin is only in contact with the weakest point when the blade is closed. (pic 4) Exactly why the OP's broke I'm unsure of...

IMG_20140110_244410802.jpg


IMG_20140110_242435010.jpg


IMG_20140110_242502906.jpg


IMG_20140110_242541021.jpg
 
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RevDevil said:
What? The opaque cross sections of the blade are where the fracture occurred. This is very concerning because the more steel that is missing from the blade the more likelihood that is where the greatest stresses will be focused. Yikes.
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Atakdog said:
Both of the surfaces that fractured were a completely matte light gray.
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Like I commented earlier, in my one experience with a blade snapping, half the fracture was shiney, & half dull. I made the assumption that the shiney part was what I had just broken, & the dull part had been fractured during manufacture. Perhaps I am wrong in that assumption. It will be interesting to hear from the more experienced.
 
The snapped blades I have seen show dull gray and rough at both sides of the fracture, just like the OP's Southard. I had no idea how much metal is gone near the pivot on those to accommodate the internal stop pin. It looks weak, major stress risers at the ends of that arced slot.
 
I was told by an engineer at the ASM that a frosted appearance is characteristic of sudden failure.
 
fetzer85 said:
Here are some photos I just took of mine. The initial pics of the broken blade did look alarmingly odd but after taking it apart it makes a little more sense. The stop pin is only in contact with the weakest point when the blade is closed. (pic 4) Exactly why the OP's broke I'm unsure of...

IMG_20140110_244410802.jpg


IMG_20140110_242435010.jpg


IMG_20140110_242502906.jpg


IMG_20140110_242541021.jpg
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Nice pics fetzer.

It Looks to me like a strong side load like while carving or whittling on a tree branch could possibly over stress that aft most part of the stop pin half circle that is milled in the blade, and snap it, if the pivot isn't tight.
 
So it sounds like this is an issue Spyderco would have an interest in it. I know Sal is on this forum frequently and will probably be referred to this thread eventually, but should I send an email to Spyderco with the pictures anyways?
 
Atakdog said:
So it sounds like this is an issue Spyderco would have an interest in it. I know Sal is on this forum frequently and will probably be referred to this thread eventually, but should I send an email to Spyderco with the pictures anyways?
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That would be the best way to handle it for sure. I am sure they would want to know about this sooner rather than later.
 
You did nothing wrong. I whittled the bark off a whole tree branch with mine and was impressed with the edge holding of this knife. Send it back to Spyderco and let them make it right.
 
I've had my Southard for almost a year. I've whittled, cut, and batoned with mine. It's still holding up really well. I'm surprised to see it break like that. Must be a lemon that slipped through. Or could it be one of the knock off Southards?
 
I'll be that guy people will poke fun at and say I avoid internal stop pins like the plague for this very reason. You either have to have a thin engagement tang or a thin stop pin unless the knife is huge. No thanks.

Edit: And holy crap, for that kind of money I had no idea the Southard was made in Taiwan.
 
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