What is wrong with my knife??

[Pete]

I bought a fixed blade "bushie" from a knife maker on Blade Forums. It is a good looking knife and one of the sharpest I've seen. Shaves like a razor, push cuts through thin paper, etc. The other day I decided to use it for a real task and butterflied a chicken. It cut through skin and flesh effortlessly. But when I cut a couple of leg joints and wing joints it took effort. When I was finished with the carcass I washed the blade in warm soapy water. The blade is now stained with large rainbow colored blotches. This is not really of concern to me but what did concern me was that the edge of the blade was severely notched and misshapen!!

The blade is 1095 steel, 4' in length. The divots are ~ 4 mm across. Did I abuse this blade or is something wrong with the way it was produced?

Thanks for your help.bushie.jpg

[spydusse]

Not a bladesmith but that doesnt sound right to me. 1095 is some tough stuff, looks like u hammered it into concrete. I would contact the maker for sure

[Clydetz]

I'd question the heat treating of the blade. Something ain't right.

[Glenn]

Looks like it was "cryo tuned" By Master Will Moon .


Brought out the "rainbow"

[anchoking]

From the pictures it seems like you have chipped the blade am I correct. If that is the case, the edge is probably too brittle.

[Komitadjie]

It took a very nice patina, anyway... Bone can be really tough on a thin edge, I've seek some large hunting knives with REALLY buggered edges where guys have tried to chop through bone on one of their game animals. The edge embeds into the bone, which holds it EXTREMELY solidly, then the bone rotates a little and acts like grabbing the edge with pliers and breaking a section off. No way of saying if that's the issue here, but as I understand it, that's why bone kills knives so badly. Also could be a heat treat that left the metal too hard, of course.

Does seem kind of funny that it would chip out like that without FEELING bad, though...

[Pete]

Nope, the blades not chipped at all. You can't see it in the pic but the edge just caved in.

[TopHat]

Does seem kind of funny that it would chip out like that without FEELING bad, though...

Some knives are stoic and hold their feelings inside......

[S.Shepherd]

1095 is very difficult to HT correctly

without a better pic, it looks like it could be a few things,

it could be too brittle

the edge could be too thin or a combination of the 2.

Too many variables to make a guess, I'd be interested to know how it was heat treated.

[Komitadjie]

Nope, the blades not chipped at all. You can't see it in the pic but the edge just caved in.

As I look more closely at it, I can indeed see that it looks like impaction or rolling damage in the back notch... I know that softer steel etches more during a deliberate etching operation, I wonder if it patinas more dramatically too? That might lean toward confirming that the blade is excessively SOFT, corroborating the way the edge impacted with fairly little effort...

[Stabber]

Yep, If that dented like that, She's way to soft. Send it back

[firebolt]

nice serrations

you should make some more in it

but really
should not happen with a knife that easy

[Mike Stewart]

As Sean Said - Contrary to Common Belief - 1095 is NOT easy to Heat Treat Properly.

Most people that use it really don't have it right but don't ever know it because the knives never get stressed in use.

Bones Stress Knives - all Knives.

Knives are not for cutting bones unless that edge is set at a very thick - cleaver like - angle to give enough support to the edge spine.

If you want a knife that push cuts paper and has a very thin edge - Don't Cut Bones with it.

Those little half moon circles out of the edge - either pushed that way or Chipped out are usually an indicator of bones or chopping with the knife on something that is unsupported causing the "Unsupported Chopping - Edge Break Out Phenomenon"

Fowl Leg Bones are a Common Cause of these little Semi-Circle Edge Issues also.

Before we crucify the maker here - It really could be a combination of the Bones and the use of a thin edge on a job the knife was not made to do.

Conversely - It also can be not getting the 1095 Through-Hardened and then having the temper make it worse.

It could also be a combination of both.

Regardless - Re-sharpen the knife and take the Rolls or Chips out while You do that - you will have a little smaller Blade but you can set the edge geometry a little thicker so it might never happen again.


Mike

[Buffalohump]

I have a forged knife out of 52100 that I sometimes use to quarter a chicken when I'm feeling prehistoric. It is differentially heat treated and convexed, so it can handle some heavy action. I will say though that I tend to aim for the gristle rather than the bone itself. From what I understand the heat treat is really the critical factor, but if you plan to chop with a knife, then best the edge is convexed and not too thin. Also 52100 is some tough steel. As are 3V and 5160 from what I have heard. So consider those next time you are shopping for a chopper.

[Pete]

More butterflying experience.

Since then I tried the same thing with a different knife also purchased on Blade Forum. This knife is made o a different type of steel but I can't remember what. It also shaves hair and push cuts paper.

After I cut up the chicken (after all it is BBQ season in CT) I used a steel ? to straighten out the edge, although there was no apparent damage to the blade. This knife still shaves and cuts as before the chicken cutting.

I also tried a larger 154 cm convex edged knife. No apparent damage to the edge, but I had to strop it (not sure if I could use a steel on a convex edge) briefly to get it to shave etc. again.

The only (only?) bones cut in all cases were the ribs on either side of the back bone and down the latitudinal center of the breast bone.

In any case a knife is easier to use than the scissors my wife uses for the same purpose.
Thanks guys.