UKC

HELP! i recently bent my ice axe pick on a pair of dmm raptors.. Im looking for some advice on the best way to straighten it without damaging it further. the shaft and all is fine, just need to straighten the pick which has got a bit of a curve on the end now
any suggestions guys?

In reply to David Clover:

Can you not get a replacement pick?
http://dmmclimbing.com/products/raptor/

In reply to markh554:

i was hoping to avoid the expense if possible

In reply to David Clover:


If you go down the replacement route, V12 have cosmetic seconds picks at the moment. Who cares about the paint job on a pick anyway.

Al

In reply to David Clover:

Why can't you straighten it? Stick it in the fire until it's red hot then bend it back and allow to cool. Don't quench with water as you'll make it brittle. Clean, sharpen and re-paint.

In reply to David Clover:

Can't you just stick it in a vice and bend it back, that is presumably similar to how you bent it in the first place? You might need to be creative with a a jemmy or scaffold pole or similar to get enough force on it. In the absence of a vice you could use a big hammer.

In reply to David Clover:

Out of interest, how did you bend it?

In reply to David Clover:

If you heat it and let it cool you will undo the heat treatment that DMM carefully did when they made it. It will become very soft and bendy. Don't do that.

I'd have a go at bending back in a vice if you really don't want to buy a new one. If you bend it back and forth too much however it will become more brittle but once or twice should be okay.

In reply to George Fisher:


I'd agree. Although, I'm not sure, could heating the pick gently to around the tempering temperature (~ 300c I think ) help to make it a bit more pliable and less likely to crack?

In reply to gethin_allen:
That's a good question, without knowing the grade of steel used I couldn't say. Is a raptor pick made from the same material as a Switch for instance?

I think I'd avoid all heating scenarios, I'd just buy a new one and be done with it.

In reply to David Clover:

....and throw away a perfectly serviceable piece of equipment? Heating and gradually cooling won't necessarily change the temper of the metal and make it flexible. Heating and quenching will make it brittle but I'm sure it won't break under normal use, unless you wallop a rock. Bending and re-bending can work-harden certain metals but once ought to be OK. I would heat it, straighten it, cool slowly then wallop it into a wooden block a few times to test it.

In reply to David Clover:

You've been given some fairly bad advice in this thread. A lot depends on how badly bent the pick is and how far up the blade the bend is, but if it's bent enough to definitely need straightening, metal fatigue could well be a risk, particularly if the blade has weight-saving holes in it as these will create points of weakness. Heating it is the way to deal with that risk, but my understanding is that you would have to heat it to cherry-red to bend it back safely. Then you would have to temper it by heating and cooling it again in a precise and controlled way which would vary according to the exact nature of the type of steel alloy involved (all steel is an alloy). All told, unless you have access to the services of a skilled metallurgist or a really first-rate blacksmith for free, then it would be much, much easier to buy a new one. Or you could decide to live with it as is, which brings us back to the question - by how much is it bent?

In reply to David Clover:

For something that cost anything between £30 and £40 I would not even bother...
I totally agree with Andy above.

In reply to Nicola Ciancaglini:

Wow! That's £30 to £40 he could be spending on bike parts!

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Or the thousands the NHS spend putting him back together when his pick snaps. I've seen what can happen to someone when their axe breaks and it isn't pleasant.

To the OP: you've overloaded a vital component on a piece of safety equipment. Don't mess about with it, replace it.

In reply to David Clover:

I'm still curious as to how it happened....

Bending a T rated pick surely can't be that easy?

In reply to J_Trottet:

Using it to prise something open would be my bet

In reply to David Clover:

Interesting discussion. I once bent a pick on an old Vertige Glencoe. Just happened to whack it into a thin layer of ice with solid rock immediately underneath. As it was an old axe there was no way to get a replacement pick so I had a go at fixing it. I managed to do it just by heating it on a gas cooker and hammering the pick flat against a piece of wood. It looks as good as new but to be on the safe side I don't use that axe on ice any more, I'll only use it on soft snow. I've got a number of climbing axes so I don't need to rely on the repaired one.

If in doubt I'd bit the bullet and buy a replacement pick. What's 40 quid compared to your safety?

In reply to David Clover:

Here you go, depending on the model you have:

www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Winter-Climbing-Equipment/Ice-Axes/Ice-Axe-Spares/DMM/Fly-Pick-20123-onwards#.VMfla_6sVlo

www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Winter-Climbing-Equipment/Ice-Axes/Ice-Axe-Spares/DMM/Raptor-Pick#.VMfltP6sVlo

www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Winter-Climbing-Equipment/Ice-Axes/Ice-Axe-Spares/DMM/Raptor-Pick-pre-2012-2#.VMfl5_6sVlo

Only £27.00 to £29.99 seems not to bad.....

In reply to easers:

£22 from V12 for a pre scratched one.

Just look in the DMM seconds section. They have hammers and adze.

Al

In reply to David Clover:

Buy a new pick from V12, you risk be playing with your safety by heating the pick yourself and trying to sort it.

In reply to David Clover:

If its a minor bend - just bend it back, I've done that many times in the past with no issues. Otherwise buy a new one.

In reply to David Clover:

The cost of a seconds replacement is probably less than the fuel to go winter climbing. ()

http://www.v12outdoor.com/product.php/3011/raptor-alpine-hammer-headset-cos...