What To Do If My Bowie Knife Blade Gets Bent

Common areas for bends to occur are at the tip of the knife, as well as on the edge and even the midsection of the blade, itself. These are usually the result of accidental drops onto hard surfaces, or they might be the result of intentional misuse on the part of you or someone to whom you lent your knife. Regardless, bent blades are usually not covered by the manufacturers or bowie knives.

First, you can try to bend the blade back into shape. However, this is a dangerous prospect. It can even lead to injury or further damage to the knife blade. If you are not careful and put too much pressure on the blade in the attempt to bend it back, the blade can actually snap off, leaving you with a useless handle and possibly a serious wound in the bargain. Therefore, bending back the blade might not be a good option.

If just the tip of the knife is bent, you can try to bend it back as well, using a pair of pliers. Usually, this will result in the tip snapping off the blade, though. If this happens, it’s possible to use a whetstone to reshape and sharpen the damaged portion of the blade. Obviously, this is not a great scenario. While you will have a usable knife, it certainly will not look the same ever again.

A professional blacksmith or cutler will be the one best suited to repairing that bent blade. These professionals are able to handle numerous types of damage. Even if you feel that you might be able to repair the damage on your own, you might consider taking your knife to a professional simply because they can do it faster, easier and with more precision.

These professionals will use high heat to make sure that your blade becomes malleable, without losing its vital temper. You’ll also find that cutlers can repair damaged blades if the tip has broken off. Though the knife will be somewhat shorter than it was originally, you’ll have a functional blade tip once more.