New Ray Mears knife with marked blade

[Erbswurst]

That isn't Excalibur, it's just an overpriced bushcraft tool.

If you intend to use it you will scratch the surface there pretty soon anyway when you sharpen it, should it break or get a rolling edge you can send it back later too.

If it was meant as a drawer queen I would send it back now and ask for a better polished one. The competition sells you for the same price a couple of very similar knives and they know it.

 

[Terry.m.]

Dont think its staining, I unsuccessfully tried to remove it with Duraglit which had no effect whatsoever. The knife cuts well I just find it unsightly and for a little under £600 I expected it to be perfect not blemished.

Your last sentence encapsulates the underline problem, so I would agree and send it back for them to exchange.!
It will get marked up as time goes on but that’s to be expected,.


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[Coach]

That isn't Excalibur, it's just an overpriced bushcraft tool.

If you intend to use it you will scratch the surface there pretty soon anyway when you sharpen it, should it break or get a rolling edge you can send it back later too.

If it was meant as a drawer queen I would send it back now and ask for a better polished one. The competition sells you for the same price a couple of very similar knives and they know it.

The whole point is that I dont want it to break when I'm using it.
I have a R.M. Bushcraft which is a user and hasn't scratched when sharpening due to the method I use.
As for the 'overpriced' bit, thats just your opinion and Im not getting into a pointless debate about it.

 

[Erbswurst]

I doubt that they would refuse to replace it should it break.
But that's a survival knife and although my own knife costs a fraction of yours I also would ask questions if it would have strange stripes.
We don't buy survival knifes because we are interested when they break but because we assume that they do not break in intended use, of course.

I think the best is to send the maker himself the photo. He surely can tell you if the stripes are usual and no problem or if he perhaps did a relevant fault.
You never know. Even the best ones may have a bad day, whyever.

I rather assume that someone touched the blade, didn't pay attention and it was left in a drawer for longer time. That looks like the usual first patina on a cheap carbon steel blade. But I don't know if this steel tends to react like that in such a case.

The maker can tell you about that.

 

[Coach]

I doubt that they would refuse to replace it should it break.
But that's a survival knife and although my own knife costs a fraction of yours I also would ask questions if it would have strange stripes.
We don't buy survival knifes because we are interested when they break but because we assume that they do not break in intended use, of course.

I think the best is to send the maker himself the photo. He surely can tell you if the stripes are usual and no problem or if he perhaps did a relevant fault.
You never know. Even the best ones may have a bad day, whyever.

I rather assume that someone touched the blade, didn't pay attention and it was left in a drawer for longer time. That looks like the usual first patina on a cheap carbon steel blade. But I don't know if this steel tends to react like that in such a case.

The maker can tell you about that.

These knives are made to order by Emberleaf in small batches then sent to Woodlore who sell out in hours such is the demand. The knife wont have been in a drawer at anytime, Woodlore had it in my hands less than 24hrs after they took delivery from Emberleaf.
I have several knives from other manufacturers in 01 tool steel and I've never had marking like this before which is why I posted about it here hoping that someone could explain what it was or what had caused it. I will take the advice given and contact Emberleaf for their opinion. Thanks for all the comments and advice guys its much appreciated.

 

[Stew]

I would say it probably won’t affect performance but probably will affect resell value if still visible.

 

[JonathanD]

Looks like normal patina build up to me after using. I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[lostplanet]

Coach, if I were you I would ask for a replacement. Although it may have absolutely no affect on how the knife performs, the seeds of doubt have been sewn and to me that would just be irritating.

 

[Coach]

Looks like normal patina build up to me after using. I wouldn’t worry about it.

View attachment 71478

Based on experience patination like that in your photo can be removed by polishing with metal polish. The marks on my knife wont clean off - Ive tried. Ive emailed Emberleaf this morning asking for their thoughts. I will post their response on here.

 

[C_Claycomb]

@Coach
How smooth is the bevel where the marks are? Jus wondering if there are grinding scratches protecting what looks like surface oxidation. The only reason I can think that polish does not remove marks is if the marks are in valleys and the polish can hit only the hill tops.

 

[Mike_B]

If I'd paid £60 for a knife, I'd be sending it back if it wasn't perfect.

 

[Coach]

@Coach
How smooth is the bevel where the marks are? Jus wondering if there are grinding scratches protecting what looks like surface oxidation. The only reason I can think that polish does not remove marks is if the marks are in valleys and the polish can hit only the hill tops.

The bevel is very smooth and even,.. just in case I will try to polish out the marks again before I send it back to Emberleaf who responded immediately on getting my email. They have offered to check and put right anything wrong with the knife.

 

[MrEd]

The bevel is very smooth and even,.. just in case I will try to polish out the marks again before I send it back to Emberleaf who responded immediately on getting my email. They have offered to check and put right anything wrong with the knife.

If they have offered that I wouldn’t waste time trying to polish it more. I would send it back to them to sort out

 

[C_Claycomb]

I agree with MrEd. Just send as is.

 

[Danceswithhelicopters]

Is that not the charm of carbon steel blades? There's no intrinsic fault, there's a mark which is the trademark of a high carbon steel and that will pale into insignificance after a single gutting or splitting sap wood... Or even a damp day in a leather sheath.

 

[Coach]

Is that not the charm of carbon steel blades? There's no intrinsic fault, there's a mark which is the trademark of a high carbon steel and that will pale into insignificance after a single gutting or splitting sap wood... Or even a damp day in a leather sheath.

If you had paid £575 for a knife and it arrived looking like that would you just shrug and go "Oh that's totally charming! Never mind"? And how do you know there's no intrinsic fault without actually seeing or testing the blade!??
And btw I don't take leather sheathed knives out in wet conditions, I have other alternatives in nylon or kydex.

 

[JonathanD]

If you received it like that, then that’s not acceptable. Forgive me, but on reading your post I thought you’d used it and then noticed the mark.

I do use my 01 knives and leather sheaths in wet conditions though. Just a case of a tiny little bit of extra care. In the decades I’ve been using them, I’ve never had a problem. I like that the steel reacts and needs attention.

Im intrigued to know what caused it though, so keep us updated. In my experience Woodlore customer service has always been exemplary, so you will get it sorted very quickly with any luck.

 

[Coach]

If you received it like that, then that’s not acceptable. Forgive me, but on reading your post I thought you’d used it and then noticed the mark.

I do use my 01 knives and leather sheaths in wet conditions though. Just a case of a tiny little bit of extra care. In the decades I’ve been using them, I’ve never had a problem. I like that the steel reacts and needs attention.

Im intrigued to know what caused it though, so keep us updated. In my experience Woodlore customer service has always been exemplary, so you will get it sorted very quickly with any luck.

I Had used it once, to try feathersticking dry seasoned hard wood. It arrived oiled and I didnt wipe the oil off before I used it only after when I noticed the marks. I dont believe that feathersticking bone dry wood caused the marks or should cause marking like that and the blade hadnt come into contact with anything else, except the sheath. So I can only assume the marks were there on reciept. However if Im wrong about that Im sure Dean from Emberleaf will tell me. I will keep you posted.

 

[JonathanD]

Don’t send it to Emberleaf, send it to Woodlore. It’ll get sorted faster and is the best way to go about it. Your contract is with Woodlore not Emberleaf, and you may not get the expedited service that Woodlore would be sure to offer. And if it is a quality control issue, then it was missed by both companies, so Woodlore need to see it first anyway so they can take it up with Emberleaf and prevent it from happening to anyone else.

 

[Coach]

Don’t send it to Emberleaf, send it to Woodlore. It’ll get sorted faster and is the best way to go about it. Your contract is with Woodlore not Emberleaf, and you may not get the expedited service that Woodlore would be sure to offer. And if it is a quality control issue, then it was missed by both companies, so Woodlore need to see it first anyway so they can take it up with Emberleaf and prevent it from happening to anyone else.

As I stated in my original post I have already spoken to Woodlore about the knife. They had the chance to look at and rectify the problem there and then but chose to do nothing. Emberleaf however as also previously stated responded immediately asking me to return the knife so that they could identify and correct any problem that might exist. Thanks for the advice but I'll stick with my original decision.