[Sca-cooks] A Knife Problem

[Kihe Blackeagle]

> My dear wife, who had previously been warned repeatedly regarding the proper > use and care of cutlery, has managed to break about two inches off the tip > of my henckel chef's knife. Clean break at approximately 90 degrees to the > blade. Any suggestions? I've contacted henckel but as she was clearly > misusing the blade I suspect that such is not covered by warrenty. About > all can think to do is have it ground round.  Daniel, not actually seeing the break (and relationship to the blade, edge, handle, etc.), my initial thought would be to have it filed & shaped "square" instead of round -- creating a flat edge at 90 degrees to the length of the blade -- instead of attempting to restore the curve that produces the rocking motion that makes a chef's knife superior to several other blade shapes (IMNSHO).  I'd actively campaign against using a powered grider to do this shaping, unless in the hands of someone who has the serious patience and some amount of experience in avoiding de-temperingby overheating.
 
One question that has to be asked:  how much of the exposed metal appears to be rough "crystals", smooth metal, or somewhere inbetween?  Ideally (to my mind), if it looks like rough crystals you should return the blade to a Henckel service center with a clear claim of manufacturing defect, probably likewise for bright/smooth metal.  If it looks like a matrix of fine crystals could be more of a judgement call. . .
 
And go get your wife a set of Tramontina, Chicago Cutlery, or equivalent to learn with instead of any of the remainder of your Henckel.  All while re-teaching her in appropriate techniques & choosing the proper blade for the task at hand, of course.  (Tramontina:  what I have are Brazilian made, picked up at Sam's Wholesale Club several years ago, and hold a decent edge under fairly rough conditions while still allowing me to re-dress the edge quickly and without angst.)  
I must admit that I am more than a little curious -- when the blade broke, was she using a cleaver strike, trying to pry something with the blade tip, or ????  Also, and this could be important for your case, did the missing portion of the blade separate along a single breakage line or was it found in multiple shards?Adieu, Amra / ttfn - Mike / Pax ... Kihe  Mike C. Baker / Kihe Blackeagle Opinions? I'm FULL of 'em SCA: al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra, F.O.B, OSCA "Other": Reverend Kihe Blackeagle PULC (the DreamSinger Bard) alt. e-mail: KiheBard at gmail.com Buy my writings!: http://www.lulu.com/WizardsDen  http://www.livejournal.com/users/kihebard/  
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