Aged steel cuts better??? You are kidding, right?

KnifeHead

KnifeHead

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Apr 5, 2006
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I have to admit that when I first starting reading the article starting on page 68 in the current(June) issue of Knives Illustrated, I flipped back to the front cover to make sure it wasn't the April 1st Edition. The article is titled: Aging Steel: Testing Reveals the Older Some Knives Are, the Better They Cut.

The assertion by the writer is that some knives that he tested 1-4 years earlier were now cutting 3 to 10 times better....because they have "aged". Sharpening was done with a Lansky system to establish the same edge geometry on all knives tested and similar rope was used for the cutting test.

I don't doubt that he was able to cut more rope 1-4 years later but, the last time I looked into it, extreme temperatures were needed to change the properties of steel. I'm astounded that an article like this gets into a magazine such as KI but I am novice...who the heck am I to judge an expert(I'm assuming this and you know what that does:p)

Am I the big goof here for not believing this line of reasoning? I am willing to to be re-educated though, so what's your thoughts.
 
Maybe he was using the same rope to test now that he before.....it dry rotted making it easier to cut. :p
 
Maybe factory sharpening compromised the heat treat on the cutting edge, and years of use and sharpenings got him down to properly hardened steel.

Just my WAG.

Chris
 
Murphyslaw said:
Maybe factory sharpening compromised the heat treat on the cutting edge, and years of use and sharpenings got him down to properly hardened steel.

Just my WAG.

Chris
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:eek:WOOOooooo now THAT'S plausible. Good thinkin!
 
I also think it's plausible that he got better at sharpening and pushed harder. :D
 
It would probably vary by steel and i'm no expert. But work hardening could come into play here.
 
If you age wine or cheese, the Rockwell hardness increases. Why not knives?
 
Complete bunk. It's embarrasing that a national magazine would print that. Nobody can remember how a knife cut years ago well enough to make a comparison. That is even if the edge were in exactlyl the same condition - never sharpened and never used. It reminds me of the audiophiles who believe they can hear connecting cables. This is a good example of what is known as the "placebo effect."

I suppose it is all done in the name of entertainment.
 
Knife Outlet said:
Complete bunk. It's embarrasing that a national magazine would print that. Nobody can remember how a knife cut years ago well enough to make a comparison. That is even if the edge were in exactlyl the same condition - never sharpened and never used. It reminds me of the audiophiles who believe they can hear connecting cables. This is a good example of what is known as the "placebo effect."

I suppose it is all done in the name of entertainment.
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Exactly...look how much fun we're havin ;)
 
The Indonesians used 'old steel' to make keris and other weapons because they believed it was better: new steel was looked down upon. Indonesia lacked iron, but had a serious blade culture until firearms became ubiquitous. Scientifically I know there's no basis for the article's claims, but maybe there is something to it we haven't as of yet identified ;)
 
jayinhk said:
The Indonesians used 'old steel' to make keris and other weapons because they believed it was better: new steel was looked down upon. Indonesia lacked iron, but had a serious blade culture until firearms became ubiquitous. Scientifically I know there's no basis for the article's claims, but maybe there is something to it we haven't as of yet identified ;)
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Indonesian belly dancers are better, quite possibly :D
[youtube]0YSoTZepTwc[/youtube]
 
Wow, she incorporated classical Javanese dance and hip-hop, among other styles, into her routine. That was interesting for reasons aside from the obvious. ;)
 
Age hardening actually is a method of post-hardening. It's been a few years since Material Science, but as I recall the molecules are still a little flexible after heat treatment and take a while to settle into a stable and rigid pattern. I think the material actually absorbs something out of the atmosphere and incorporates it into it's lattice, which strengthens the material. I think the property that is increased the most by this is yield strength.

I don't know how much age hardening does for the edge holding of steel, but I know of a few lots around town that have a lot of aluminum and steel forgings and billets sitting out on lots to age harden for a year.

As far as machining goes, a lot of the billets we buy are advertised as aged. This improves the properties and stability of the billet if you have to remove a lot of stock.
 
If you have a test you have developed and reduced as many variables as possible and wrote down the results you don't need to remember anything.

I have had knives get better as the original edge is sharpened away. Also H1 is one steel that is supposed to get better with use as it work hardens. It is supposed to gain a couple points in rockwell hardness which should make a noticeable difference. I can see there being some improvement although I don't think time has to do with it but use.
 
tiguy7 said:
If you age wine or cheese, the Rockwell hardness increases. Why not knives?
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Cigars get better with age, if you keep them in a humidor at 70% humidity and around 70 degrees, only if they are taken out of the cellophane they are shipped in. The cellophane just stops the aging process the moment they are stuck in the stuff.

New stogies can leave you with a bit of the shakes after smoking, older ones do not exhibit this tendency. So I guess there is some truth to it after all.

But aging causes metal to improve? Never heard of such a thing.:confused:
 
KnifeHead said:
I can't stop watchin the belly dancer :o
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Enough with these "does aged steel really cut better". More belly dancing posts please Kerry.

p.s. See if can get the ol' dawg Tony to make of those belly dancing videos.

BTW, there's your next slogan, "Discover belly dancing; ask me how"
 
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