# Kitchen Knife.  What happened here?



## fishingpol (Mar 19, 2013)

I really love this santoku knife for general slice and dice work in the kitchen.  We have always hand washed this knife and stored in a drawer when not used.  It was used for dicing onions, carrots, slicing chicken, pork etc.  We have never dropped this knife either. 
Today, my wife was cutting potatoes and it snapped at the handle.  The blade fell onto the floor after it broke. 






A few questions.  What is "no stain" versus "stainless".  Is stainless forged over regular steel?




Picture of the snapped end.  It looks like rust and then clean metal.  Possible crack from the lower part that rusted through?




If "no stain" is regular steel treated for stain resistance, I will not buy another one.  

I'll take any thoughts or opionions.


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## heat seeker (Mar 19, 2013)

fishingpol said:


> If "no stain" is regular steel treated for stain resistance, I will not buy another one.


 
That's what it looks like from here. It appears to have rusted through.


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## thewoodlands (Mar 19, 2013)

fishingpol said:


> I really love this santoku knife for general slice and dice work in the kitchen. We have always hand washed this knife and stored in a drawer when not used. It was used for dicing onions, carrots, slicing chicken, pork etc. We have never dropped this knife either.
> Today, my wife was cutting potatoes and it snapped at the handle. The blade fell onto the floor after it broke.
> 
> 
> ...


Do those have a lifetime warranty?
Lifetime
Calphalon will replace any item found defective in material or workmanship when put to normal household use and cared for according to the instructions. Minor imperfections, surface markings as a result of shipping, and slight color variations are normal. This excludes damage from misuse or abuse, such as improper cleaning, neglect, accident, alteration, fire, theft, or use in a commercial establishment.
Yours might be a different knife but it's worth a try.
http://store.calphalon.com/calphalon-contemporary-cutlery-5-in-santoku-knife/612005


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## fishingpol (Mar 19, 2013)

That's the one zap.  I'll look into returning it.  It is a nice knife to work with.  I am using it's big brother the 7", and I miss the smaller lighter 5".


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## ironpony (Mar 20, 2013)

do not write off steel to quickly, one of the reasons you probably like it is that it stays sharp. Stainless will not hold as good an edge as steel.


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## semipro (Mar 20, 2013)

Stainless steel has a certain minimum amount nickel and chromium in it in addition to carbon which is typically added to steel to strengthen it. The addition of the Ni an Cr typically renders a steel that is much less susceptible to corrosion.  How impervious it is is dependent upon how much Ni and Cr and other alloying agents are added and in what ratios.  The addition of these alloying agents has other effects also as does the heat treatment.


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## jharkin (Mar 20, 2013)

semipro said:


> Stainless steel has a certain minimum amount nickel and chromium in it in addition to carbon which is typically added to steel to strengthen it. The addition of the Ni an Cr typically renders a steel that is much less susceptible to corrosion. How impervious it is is dependent upon how much Ni and Cr and other alloying agents are added and in what ratios. The addition of these alloying agents has other effects also as does the heat treatment.


 
Yup and as mentioned above the higher the chrome/nickel content the weaker the metal becomes.  Knives are typically made with a lower grade stainless so they hold an edge well, which is why knives may rust spot in the dishwasher when stainless spoons wont.

From the look of the picture, it appears that maybe the blade and the tang were separate pieces bonded together in the forging? Maybe that is the point that broke?


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## bmblank (Mar 20, 2013)

"no stain" may just be Engrish (bad translation) for "stainless".
Was that a full tang knife? For what its worth i wouldn't ever by any more knives without then being full tang.
It may just be a manufacturing defect. Every manufacturer has an acceptable defect rate. Perhaps its just one bad part out of the thousands they sell in a day. Contact the company, I'm sure they'll replace it.


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## scooby074 (Mar 20, 2013)

Ahh Calphalon.. Chinese quality at made in USA prices.

Personally Id write this one off (unless you can get warranty) and get yourself a nice Henckels 4star or Wusthof Classic. These are lifetime knives, made in Germany. For something different and every bit as high a quality, have a look at Grohmann. Hand made near my hometown.http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/kitchen.html Their Forged line is every bit as good as the Germans. They might be very hard to find in the states though. FYI, ive been around commercial kitchens, either cooking or just getting in the way, since I was about 8 yrs old.


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## fishingpol (Mar 20, 2013)

scooby074 said:


> Ahh Calphalon.. Chinese quality at made in USA prices.
> 
> Personally Id write this one off (unless you can get warranty) and get yourself a nice Henckels 4star or Wusthof Classic. These are lifetime knives, made in Germany. For something different and every bit as high a quality, have a look at Grohmann. Hand made near my hometown.http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/kitchen.html Their Forged line is every bit as good as the Germans. They might be very hard to find in the states though. FYI, ive been around commercial kitchens, either cooking or just getting in the way, since I was about 8 yrs old.


 

I'd drive to Nova Scotia for a good knife 


Thanks for the comments everyone.  I'll write it off as a defect.  The blade is lightweight.  The tang runs the length of the handle, but is not as deep as the handle itself.  It does hold a nice edge, and does feel and sound a little delicate.  I will try to get it replaced under warranty, but also look for an upgrade to a slightly better knife.


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## scooby074 (Mar 20, 2013)

fishingpol said:


> I'd drive to Nova Scotia for a good knife
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 97304


 
You might not have to drive that far..  There are American retailers. http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/onlinedealers.html  But we welcome your tourist dollars if you want the drive :D


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## ScotO (Mar 20, 2013)

by the looks of the break, it had a fracture there at that point for a really long time.......
it looks as if it was hanging by a fraction of the tang.....that probably happened when they forged the knife.  I'd say it was a defect from day one......


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## Fifelaker (Mar 20, 2013)

I love our Cutco knives. Made in USA life time no questions asked on warranty (I tested that one) Spendy but worth it.


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## Dune (Mar 20, 2013)

scooby074 said:


> You might not have to drive that far.. There are American retailers. http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/onlinedealers.html But we welcome your tourist dollars if you want the drive :D


 
Get the Ferry to Yarmouth running and I'll start coming up there again. Driving to St John's is a joke from here.


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## scooby074 (Mar 20, 2013)

Dune said:


> Get the Ferry to Yarmouth running and I'll start coming up there again. Driving to St John's is a joke from here.


 
Were working on it. They put out a tender for operators to run a new, "cruise style" ship, but the tenders received were inadequate. Goal as of now is to have it running next spring. Here's hoping.


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## Sisu (Mar 21, 2013)

It is possible that the tang and ricasso were not tempered properly.  That area is a stress point and will crack if it the steel is too hard.  A small crack might have started slowly and travelled over time. 

Do you clean your knives in the dishwasher?  If so, clean them by hand in the future because the dishwasher soap and environment is hard on them.


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## fishingpol (Mar 21, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> by the looks of the break, it had a fracture there at that point for a really long time.......
> it looks as if it was hanging by a fraction of the tang.....that probably happened when they forged the knife. I'd say it was a defect from day one......


 
 Agreed.  If it was abused or dropped, which it was not, the break in the steel would be clean all across and not rusty.


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## fishingpol (Mar 21, 2013)

Sisu said:


> It is possible that the tang and ricasso were not tempered properly. That area is a stress point and will crack if it the steel is too hard. A small crack might have started slowly and travelled over time.
> 
> Do you clean your knives in the dishwasher? If so, clean them by hand in the future because the dishwasher soap and environment is hard on them.


 

Always hand washed and towel dried or put in a plastic utensil cage in the dish drying basket.  I worked in a hospital through high school and learned a lot on knife usage.  We always washed as soon as we were done with it.


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## Jack Fate (Mar 21, 2013)

The knife was dropped  or impacted in some way causing a crack then through time & washing corrosion finished  the job

Just an opinion , a good knife is a good friend

Cheers


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## Hearth Mistress (Mar 21, 2013)

scooby074 said:


> Ahh Calphalon.. Chinese quality at made in USA prices.
> 
> Personally Id write this one off (unless you can get warranty) and get yourself a nice Henckels 4star or Wusthof Classic. These are lifetime knives, made in Germany. For something different and every bit as high a quality, have a look at Grohmann. Hand made near my hometown.http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/kitchen.html Their Forged line is every bit as good as the Germans. They might be very hard to find in the states though. FYI, ive been around commercial kitchens, either cooking or just getting in the way, since I was about 8 yrs old.



+1 for Henckels. I buy a new piece in the set when Bed, Bath and Beyond as 20% off an item.  I have even bought Henckels at flea markets for a few bucks because the rivets are missing or separated from the handle.  They swap them out, no questions, ever.
I love the boning knife (no comment you guys) as I buy pork bellies to butcher and cure for bacon and it is by far the best knife I've ever used!


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## ironpony (Mar 22, 2013)

agree with the "cracked from day one " theory. then the 1/4" remaining fatigued and finally broke.

OR

you were dicing carrots, wife said thats not small enough, you threw the knife across to the room bouncing of the wall, landing on the floor and parting ways.


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## Flatbedford (Mar 22, 2013)

I have little patience for inferior tools. Kitchen tools is the one place that I will not give Mrs. Flatbedford a hard time when she buys pricey stuff.


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