1095 spring steel

Is John Katt still reading this thread? I sent an email but not sure if he received it, trashed it, or whatever because I'm not really sure how email works in conjunction with this forum. I know that I emailed the powers that be on this forum a week ago and haven't heard boo back from anyone. I'm simply looking for an answer regarding proper forum etiquette but can't even post the question publicly without possibly breaking the rules so if anyone knows of a good forum resource who might actually reply to an email it would be much appreciated. John if you received my email but chose not to respond that is both just fine and quite understandable.
 
Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'm putting an edge on the 1095 knife and am about to report what I think anyway are interesting results but I have a forum etiquette issue that I would like some advice on. Can anyone direct me to someone at the forum who might be able to give me a ruling on my question? I've tried emailing at the general forum email address but never got a reply. I'd be happy to lay out the issue right now but don't think I can without possibly running afoul of the rules. I think this one has to take place at the side bar. Thanks in advance.
 
Charlie,
As I said you can just email or PM me with a question. If the question is not for me, then email or PM any of the regular posters you see here in Shop Talk for an answer - Rick, Salem, etc.

One rarely runs afoul of the rules when asking a question. If there is a problem with something in the question, a mod will take care of it. Just ask the question here and I or another will answer it.

Mentioning someone's user name or real name is not usually poor etiquette. It is a good practice when referring to a particular thread or knife in a post to name the source. Same goes for information you post. If it is from something you read or heard it is fine to say, " I read where Rick said to do.....".

The only place we try and avoid using names in Shop Talk.....unless it is really necessary....is when making a strong criticism of some statement or process not in current discussion here. In those cases, a question is best said as, "Why would a smith make a statement like...." or "Does doing XYZ really make a better blade". Those statements tend to be less inflammatory than saying, "Is BladeSmasher full of BS when he says........." D)

If you have a beef with a particular person, there is a sub-forum in The Exchange called "The good, the bad, and the ugly". That is the best place to air differences that are between two people or to expose bad business practices or shady dealings. Usually the posts are about good and bad buying/selling in The Exchange, but not exclusively.
 
Thanks to John and Stacy. I must have the letter "I" for idiot stamped on my forehead. I didn't see that the thread had spilled over onto another page so missed your replies. I will get my question off to Stacy later today. John thanks for helping out
 
small santoku in tester.jpgWell here it is and I think I probably would have given up on it if I hadn't gotten the advice I did from my fellow forum members. So my hat is off to all. I would like to remind everyone that this is my first effort at producing a knife so I am no knife maker and to call me a novice is probably an insult to all novices. I decided I wanted this edge to be sharpened at 15 degrees because that seemed appropriate for a fine kitchen slicer. At first I couldn't get a reasonable edge at all and I think that was due to the temper issues caused by the laser. I kept grinding and the thing finally started feeling and testing like a knife edge. The sharpness tester I use indicated that I had a huge wire edge so I first went to work on that with a couple swipes on the felt and then micro grit papers. On the BESS scale I finally got the knife to test 295 unstropped and 265 stropped which is a solid indicator that there is very little wire edge remaining (that's down from a whopping 550/174 when I first started). For those unfamiliar with the BESS it is based on the sharpness of a double edge razor blade which has a value of "0" on the scale. A utility razor blade is about 100 on the BESS and most factory cutlery edges are around 350. With that in mind you can see that I am considerably sharper than a high end cutlery factory edge but not anywhere close to "razor sharp" and don't want to be. The knife really cuts nice and seems to hold an edge reasonably well. I retested after slicing up a couple of tomatoes and four potatoes and while there was no discernible difference to me while using the knife the blade retested at 297. That's not very scientific but it's what I have to report at this time. I like the knife and in particular the handle but we're going to have to see if it suffers corrosion issues as time goes by. If you want to listen to the advice of a rank amateur and have limited shop resources like I do and if you want to start making knives this may be a possibility. Once again thanks to all for the good advice and input.
 
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For those not familiar with the BESS system, it uses a fairly standard reference edge ( double edge razor blade) and a simple balance arm to measure how much resistance the blade edge gives in cutting into a specific media (somewhat like a hardness tester works). The lower the force needed to make the cut, the sharper the blade edge. The amount of force is translated to the BESS scale numbers.

Don't confuse this with a physical cutting test. The BESS tester does not take into account the fact that all edges are not equal. A razor blade is a fraction of a bowie blade in thickness, and a bowie may be as sharp...but would test at a very high number. The system is used to compare equal blade shapes and bevel angles when testing. It is most useful in testing sharpening techniques on a single blade. each sharpening can be tested ( as Charlie did) and the results compared. The lower the number the smoother and sharper the blade edge is. This can help refine sharpening techniques and methods.
 
It couldn't be described any better than Stacy did. The BESS and accompanying instrumentation are pure edge testing/reporting mechanisms with no regard for blade geometry, sharpening angle etc. If an axe bit could be sharpened to the same level as that of a razor blade you would get the same reading from both using the test instrument/BESS. You wouldn't like shaving with an axe bit though and you certainly wouldn't want to try and chop down a tree with a razor blade.
 
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