I personally would NOT send that in.
but thats just me.
it's a small dent or chip (who really cares what it is?) so I would just sharpen it out and use it hard! you might have hit something metal (seeing what a tiny dent that nail left makes me think you probably hit something HARD) and if you get any huge blowouts then send it back.

thats Just me though.

Users get little chips and such. I don't care who makes them. I'd just use it and drive on like a Ranger.

get a few more and call it serration.

Keep in mind if you used something like a belt sander to sharpen you can wreck the temper in the edge and make it more prone to problems. This goes for any blade. The second thing, I remember some Busse blades use to have issues with micro chipping until you sharpened away the factory edge, then you ended up with the peak performance.

Not sure about your case, however I will echo other sentiments here, steel it & touch it up but don't sharpen it right out. Keep enjoying beating on it and you will eventually sharpen them out through your regular touch ups.

I've still got a couple marks in my DF edge that I should post up here. I was chopping up a computer case and hit a couple of spot welds. Needless to say, the spot welds won, however the DF held up like you would expect it to! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

How hot would the blade need to get to damage the temper if it is heat treated to Rockwell 58?

you can actually do slow damage to a temper as well.
BTW. Like through dishwashing.
so I wonder if you were to heat it up alot on a belt sander whenever you sharpen, even though you don't get it hot enough to actually change the temper over time I wonder if it can happen?
I would think that would be a bigger problem with a bench grinder though.

I agree with coldone.
I never sharpen anything all the way out, it's just a waste of time and metal since it will eventually sharpen out anyways.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Think of it as a love bite. Just makes your knife that much sexier! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

Now here's a man (or woman or child or indeterminate) looking at the glass half full. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Personally I have always wondered why knives don't come with serrations out on the tip where you can get a quick slash with them. Instead the serrations always end up down at the base of the blade where you want it straight for fine cutting and carving... Maybe it wouldn't work great, but I don't think I've ever seen anybody even try.

Momaw: Jerry Busse has done that in fact... with the same resons you've mentioned in mind. (I believe)
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I did a little testing of my own at work today and it definatly looks like a chip under the mircoscope. The good news is I had the blade mag particle tested and UV dye tested, it appears there are no flaws in the blade. I also beat the living hell out of the blade cutting up an oak pallet and it passed with flying colors. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I have no plans to send it back to the yard, its a user and I fully expected it to get some dings and dents.

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