Forgive the terse response, Dan, but the damage my regulator handle suffered was NOT from beating on the guard. Rather, it's from being deep in a knotty log, beating on the tip of the blade, and having the blade rotate and jam the guard into the log. The little bit of metal in front of the guard on the sod prevents things like this from happening, and the same treatment on the top of the blade would work just as well on the regulator.
I apologize for not making the direct cause of the damage more obvious in my test team report, but I feel the guard issue is more significant than you realize.
MM,
A raised thumb ramp will NOT stop a blade from rotating into a log that is being split. If you are splitting a log that is too large then this will ALWAYS be a potential problem --- Always!
It is important to know the limitations of your equipment. That is why we test as heavily as we do and that is why the Test Team was so invaluable.
What has been highlighted here is that you should only split wood that is small enough to leave room for batoning on both sides of the piece being split. If not, you run the risk of damaging your handle, or your hand, or worse yet, possibly spilling your beer!
There is no design change that we can make that will prevent every end user from finding a new and creative way of damaging a knife.
In the end, it's really no big deal because your Scrap Yard warranty has you covered.
What can be learned from incidences like these is that sometimes it's not the fault of the knife's design, it's simply operator error.
Reminds me of the old story where the guy goes to the doctor and when asked why he was there he stated, "Doctor, Doctor, it hurts when I raise my hand above my head!. . . What do I do?. . . The doctor responded, "Don't raise your hand above your head!"
So, if you're preparing to split some wood with your Regulator and there is not enough blade left on both sides of the log for your baton to strike without hitting your handle, then don't do it!
Thanks for the lengthy explanation, Dan. And while I certainly can't speak for everyone, I've learned never to take anything personally. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
If the quillion damage occurred as you described, I'd agree with your assessment completely. If I've read the comments of Test Team members properly, however, the damage to their quillions occurred when the TIP of the blade was struck with the baton and the knife was forced downward at an angle, driving either the top or bottom quillion into the rear of the wood being split. What caused the knife to assume an angle when the tip was struck with the baton wasn't explained. But I assume it resulted from variations in the density of the wood as what one might encounter when hitting a knot. Clearly a metal guard in front of the handle would have prevented that type of damage from happening. I hope I've described that properly.
PS: You beat me, MM. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I was composing my post when you were posting yours. Looks like I described what happened pretty well. But not as well as you did. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />
Bld522,
You are correct, a metal guard will stop a knife from rotating into a log. However, if the guard is what stops your blade from rotating into the log, then you are most likely going to hit the handle anyway, since striking a thin, slip over guard that is pressed up against a log is going to be nearly impossible.
Even if you are able to only hit the guard and not the handle, repeatedly beating on a slip over guard is just not a great idea. Either the guard will work its way loose or the repeated impacts will most likely damage the handle anyway. Slip over guards are certainly not designed for this type of impact.
Again, it's a matter of knowing the limtations of the tool that you are using and choosing the right model for the job.
Dan
