I've broken tips off a couple of times. Once was a very nice gyuto (a Japanese chef's knife). I got this Moritaka in Ao-Ko for the super skinny, delicate tip...left it on the cutting board at work and a coworker knocked if on the floor.
Took 1/3" off that super delicate tip I wanted. The other was a Spyderco Dyad (iirc the name properly). It has a serrated blade and a slendy flat grind blade. This time I'm the one that dropped it, neatly snapped the tip off.
Both knives are still usable. I've seen guys mess up knives a lot worse but I can't recall ever snapping one in half. I try to use knives for knife stuff and saws for saw stuff, etc. But I expect in a tough spot I'd use any tool I had for any task that simply had to be done.