Anybody else afraid of hard use?

[bmwfish]

Only for the more expensive and/or rare ones. I have some custom traditional Kbits straight out of West Java in Indonesia that I keep in a display case that I would not allow to be used to hard use. I also don't put any of my EDC defensive blades through hard use, as they are for that purpose only. As such, I also carry a utility knife specifically for hard use. Which has been a Tenacious for a long time. I don't worry too much about it for several reasons. One is that it was relatively cheap and destroying would be of little to no concern too me. And two, it is good supply in just about anywhere that sells knives, so replacing it is essentially just a matter of having the money.
In short, don't put extreme hard use on your more prized blades, and have some specifically for being abused.

First off, thanks for the candid responses. I'm glad to know I'm not alone.

The above reply got me a-thinking. You are absolutely right. Every knife has a purpose and few knives do everything well. Delicate, expensive, pointy, and pretty knives should not be used for making kindling out of big logs. Likewise, BK-7s make lousy letter openers. All of this is justification for owning lots and lots of knives. :D

I feel better about the whole breakage thing, but I still don't like Spyderco's policy. True, some Benchmades are very expensive, as are some Spydercos. I will probably carry a Benchmade more often because I know I can get it repaired. My spydercos will probably spend more time in the kitchen out of harm's way.

I'm still not sure I'm ready to buy into the $40 disposable Tenacious thing tho. Lol.

Thanks again. I look forward to spending time and learning here.

Cheers!

[bmwfish]

Just want to add a little more info. Zero Tolerance will replace a broken blade for $30. Kershaw will do it for $10 (assuming it's not covered under warranty).

[sal]

Hi Fish,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[Zenith]

I dont mind using my blades for hard cutting tasks, however I tend to:



Before most tasks no matter the maker.

[bmwfish]

Thanks Sal!

[razorsharp]

http://instagram.com/p/jfVhIoR62L/ cutting through copper sheet with 900 dollar custom with a mallet
http://instagram.com/p/icgi12x6wY/ Prying with that knife (the sound is off)

http://instagram.com/p/icgGpAR6_y/ heavy Prying

http://instagram.com/p/ihMhZSR69T/ single phase cord
http://instagram.com/p/irkWE8R6zF/ Chopping big branches
http://instagram.com/p/isPs-Zx64L/

Just search #siriustest or go through my account lol

[this_is_nascar]

... and again, they may explain the up-front cost of purchase. Don't get me wrong, I think the policy is great. I like know that if I snap the blade on my 940, I can have it replaced for $25+/- and shipping. That being said, buying a new 940 cost you a boatload of coin in my opinion. You charge high (in my opinion) up-front, to pay for the folks asking for free clips because they don't like the clip that came with the knife, etc. Thank you for your service to our country Sir.

Couldn't agree more, and thanks!

I'm going to have to do a better job of reviewing my responses before hitting the enter button. I sound like a friggin' illiterate in that response.

[NoFair]

Worst damage I've had caused a loss of about 1mm of tip from one of my Militarys. When prying (lightly) I prefer the tip of the Techno and LionSpy :D

With the small changes Spyderco make on their models keeping blades fitting every variation would be difficult and probably not cost effective. Unless you really destroy a blade a factory regrind would really loose you much functionality imho.

[Knivesinedc]

I have 5 spydies. all my spydies have been gifts cause I can't afford them myself. Instead of being confident in Spydercos replacement services I am much more confident in the actual knife and its capabilities. Even if one of my Spydies broke, I wouldnt be terribly sad because its gonna happen. But as for durability, my Native FRN SE split a oak log about 4 inches wide in half. I took another log and beat on the spine of my knife till I was about 3/4ths of the way through then a gave it a sharp twist and the log split but the knife was perfectly fine. Literally nothing happened to it. So as for hard using my Spydies I have no problem with pushing them to their limits.

[LC Kid]

Hi Folks!

Hard Use Fear? Are you serious? :D A knife is a tool, and it means that it is supposed to get used, not to be put in some shelf to get tons of dust.

If you think you're gonna use it really hard, maybe hard enough to brake it, then it's time for you to get yourself a Techno! :cool:

[LC Kid]

Hi razorsharp!

[quote="razorsharp"]
Cutting through copper sheet with 900 dollar custom with a mallet...
Heavy Prying with that knife...
Chopping big branches...
[/quote]

Those Dalibors are Real Feral Beasts! [/font] :D

[mikerestivo]

I use all of my knives, but I do use my more robust models for hard use. And by hard use I mean cutting, slicing, piercing and shaving/whittling - not batoning through steel I-beams and so forth. I use a knife as a knife - not a screwdriver, hammer, or pry-bar - so hard use is confined to normal knifish tasks in my universe.

My robust knives are my Manix (the original); Military M390 sprint; Caly 3.5 Super Blue sprint; Stretch ZDP-189 and such.

For the hard use stuff that I do, I doubt I would break any of my knives.

[tvenuto]

Nope, although my relatively indoors life doesn't often present me with tip-snapping scenarios. I get my enjoyment out of carrying and using my knives, and I have no doubt they are overbuilt for all sane folding knife tasks. I have no doubt that if you broke a tip doing something normal the Spyderco people would take care of you.

I also think you have to take the knife design into consideration here, Spyderco has plenty of hard use folders, but they also have some dedicated slicers as well. Right tool, right job etc.

[rodloos]

My knives are tools, and I use them, but I also believe in using the right tool for the job. If I need to open a can of paint, I would far rather use my $5 mini prybar on my keychain than use my knife. I *like* the slicing ability I get from a thin blade, and am willing to be more careful with its use.

I do have quite a few ESEE knives, which have the replace-it-if-you-break-it-for-any-reason warranty. But I have seen them post up some of the moronic things users do to break their knives. I would rather Spyderco not have to build into the price the cost of replacing a knife that a user broke by prying.

If I have to pry really hard on something, I won't use my 1/4" thick ESEE 5 for it because things tend to slip, I'd rather not have a sharpened prybar slip and take my hand off or something :) . I don't have a problem using a stout fixed blade to split firewood, though I'll take care not to drive it through tough knotty wood that puts a lot of lateral stress on it.

[klug932000]

I start by being very gentle on all my knives, then when I accidentally put a scratch on it it's game on! Abyse it and when it wears out know it had a good life.

[Surfingringo]

I can relate to what you are saying op. I have a pacific salt and a titanium military. That ti Millie is a real beauty but I often find myself using the salt knife more. It does everything that that Millie can do and if I tear it up I'll just buy a new one for $70. There's something to be said for using the less expensive spydies as everyday beaters.

I also can relate to what you're saying about blade replacements. Sure, I would like to know I could send my Millie in with $25 and get a new blade if I ever had a mishap, but I think that someone gave a really good example earlier. When u look at the pricing of some of the other brands, you see that that warranty "insurance" is priced in and spread amongst every buyer. So a guy who buys lots of knives and takes care of them is paying a high insurance premium for the guy who buys a few and cuts firewood and stabs 55 gallon drums with them. I tend to take pretty good care of my blades even when I'm working em hard, so I'm fine with skipping the "insurance premium".

[jackknifeh]

Most of my life I haven't worried about hard use because I only bought cheap knives ($20 and under I think). Break one, buy another. Still, I don't remember breading one due to abuse. Even the less expensive Case knives I never broke, even a tip I don't think. I always considered Case a pretty good knife but didn't know anything about "nicer" knives. What I'm getting at is if you treat a knife like a knife is supposed to be treated I don't think anyone needs to worry about "breaking" one.

Now that I'm buying more expensive knives, mostly Spyderco I do think more about how hard I use them. But that is mainly for cosmetic reasons. I don't want to get the Chaparral 2 all scratched up. I don't worry about breaking it because I will never abuse that knife. About the only time I may break a tip off is by dropping a knife. That is always possible. In this case I would love to be able to get another blade for $25 instead of buying a new knife. Especially now that I don't own very many under $25 knives. I am rather fond of my $13 Opinel though. :D

I wasn't aware that there was so much difference in what one company will do regarding repair like broken blades when a warranty isn't the issue. Paid for repair is something I always thought Spyderco did. I knew I couldn't buy a blade but if I broke my blade I assumed I could get it replaced and pay for it. However, I haven't given this any real thought. The lock spring in my Sage4 lost it's springiness within a month or two after I bought it. Instead of replacing the spring they replaced the whole knife. This was fine with me but I would think they could save money by replacing the spring which takes about 5-10 minutes or so. But, that's up to them.

It is interesting to know about different company policies regarding this. But, I don't think I'd buy a knife because I knew they would do repair work if I break one through neglegence or abuse. Still, I thought Spyderco does this. Do they NEVER replace a blade? If my blade snaps at the Spyder hole and I send it for repair will they send it back still broken? Hopefully, I'll never NEED this answered. :) I am curious though. I may send them an email. Or, I could probably just read the warranty/repair section on the site or in a catalog. :D

Other than this thread I may not think about this any more but I could see it being an issue at some time.

Jack

[dialex]

Hi Fish, welcome aboard. There is a nice bunch of fine SPydies you are having there and let me tell you I am confident all of them will meet (and most likely exceed) your expectations. I'm the user type and I'm not gentle with my knives, but I have to say I use them as knives - not as prying bars, hatchets, screwdrivers or who knows what else. Knowing the limits of your knife is the key, that's why there are people who can swear on their SAK can do anything - and they are probably not lying at all.

[Cujobob]

My knives are for cutting, not prying, stabbing, or 'abusing' though I can understand why someone would be short on pocket space and would use whatever was convenient. Spyderco is a small company. They probably offer the best cutting geometries and heat treats on their steels of any production company. They are not set up for a ton of warranty work, that would drive up prices and would mean we each own far fewer Spyderco models. Other companies have gone the higher price route with better warranty service and will meet the needs of those who seek that sort of experience. Personally, I'd use a spyderco knife and a multi tool if I found myself doing hard/abusive stuff regularly. Multi tools are cheap and have great warranties. For hard use cutting, I will never think twice about using a Spyderco.

[Evil D]

Not at all, but I use knives as knives and not pry bars and screwdrivers. That said, I also believe in using a knife appropriately for how it was built. What I mean there is, you won't see me twisting or batoning with my Centofante 4, but I don't hesitate to chop/twist/baton/pry/stab with my Wildsteer WX. I don't remember ever breaking a folding knife blade.

Now, if Spyderco offered an inexpensive blade replacement program, I might be tempted to loosen up a little bit, but you still have to know your limits if for no other reason than preventing personal injury.

One more thing...as a general rule, don't abuse what you can't replace. If you're carrying a run o the mill Delica and you're in a pinch and need to pry something or baton something and you end up breaking the blade, you're only out the money it cost to buy it. I wouldn't dream of doing something like that with a sprint knife, unless of course my life depended on it. Then all bets are off.