Can a blade really be that sharp.

richard j said:
what about hair splitting sharp? does that qualify as sharp? when i do fundraisers, i get a kick out of splitting a hair for someone with their knife after i sharpen it. some people said they thought that the witch on the bugs bunny cartoon was the only person who could split a hair.
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Lengthwise, I assume

Please,please post some pictures of that
 
I dont think that that just gravity alone would cut it. Of course for the movie that was guarenteed special effects even IF it was possible to accomplish such a feat.

As for the movie itself.... Well lets just say that wasn't that good. A bit corny in my book, but then again I really don't expect much for comic/game related movies. I definitely would not pay $10 to see it although I watched it on my computer because I was bored.
 
i just split a hair. who wants to see a picture? send me your email address and i'll email you the pick.
 
RandyW said:
Sounds like a good episode for Mythbusters???
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They already debunked the samurai sword cutting a machine gun barrel in half myth. Even heating the barrel to red hot and attaching the sword to a robotic arm with twice the force of the best human swordsman, it would just nick the barrel and snap the sword in half.
 
richard, you can host the pic at www.imageshack.us, then copy the url of the pic and paste it in the box you get when you click on this little guy
insertimage.gif
 
I think you guys should take a better look at the movie.

The "cut in question" happens about 0:29 remaining (for those that like to fast-forward).

I see no problem with it. Personally, I have never tried anything like it. But they have set it up to seem believable. There is already a "start" in the cut. It falls in a way that starts cutting near the handle and goes out toward the tip. This is ideal for this knife and this kind of cut.

Am I saying it actually happened? No way. That's Hollywood - no complaint there. Just saying that under ideal conditions...I could see it happen.

Keep in mind that the sword is not cutting a wee hanky...but a large (and probably weighty) cloth/cape that is falling down (not floating gently down).

Now...if it were burlap...I might have a problem.
 
Obsidion - nice hair pic. :thumbup:



Wait...did I actually say that?

:D :eek: :p
 
Several years ago Steve Swartzer and Alfred Pendray did a demo with some wootz the Pendray had made. The scarf was floating but the knife was in motion. Long ago in blade magazine After Alfred had some of the research with the University. Mike
 
RandyW said:
Sounds like a good episode for Mythbusters???
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They actually did a Mythbusters about cutting the machine gun barrels. Busted. They built a pneumatic machine to really whack the barrels with a sword. They even heated the barrels until they were red hot before whacking them. The best they could do was to break the sword.

Of course, they probably didn't use one of those magical, mystical samurai swords that all the Japanese soldiers were carrying during WWII.

Kevin B.

Edit: Sorry, I missed Rich_S reply. Never mind.
 
I just saw the trailer....what a hillarious b-grade movie!

I don't think swords can cut that floating silk. The edge would be too thin. I believe Sal once did a similar test...he put a thin piece of paper on the edge of a santoku and blew on it...I believe the paper did get cut. Or maybe that's an urban myth.

You know the sharpest knives? They're the thinly ground kitchen knives that the Japanese like to make. Are the edges fragile - you bet!
 
GroovyMr1337 said:
Well, there are stories told about an ancient steel, the real Damascus steel, that could cut ladies handkerchiefs merely by gravity. However, none of these swords are still in existence today to prove that.
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There is more than one still in existence, they are just in a collection or the Smithsonian or somewhere that wont let a card carrying knife nut have one after walking in and saying "hey, can I sharpen that up and test it?" One was sectioned and analyzed for an article by Verhoeven with Pendray attempting to recreate what was found. Its still floating around the net.
 
spyder10 said:
I would say yes and no. There have been knives that can get down to a few microns thick, such as obsidian and some medical blades. But it is impractical and near imposable to get small FB let alone a sword that even close to that sharp. The edge would also be so thin and weak that it would fold over and serve no practical purpose as a weapon.
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I've seen several micrographs of edges that were less than half a micron, and some as low as a .35 microns. These were all steel edges, stainless at that. I have no information on obsidian, but less than a micron is not unheard of on quality steels. The smallest edges I believe were done with the Tormek leather wheel loaded with diamond lapping compound. 6000 and 8000 grit waterstones were producing edges in the .5 micron range, before stropping. They were somewhere in the 35 to 45 degree range, included, so 17 to 22 degrees per side, with a hardness of HRc 60.
 
I reckon it's a digital effect. Done with Maya or Lightwave's cloth simulator. I work in vfx for film and tv, and I can guarantee it's an effect.

With regards to a real blade doing it, I agree with most here, it's just about impossible to do with even the best quality steel man can make. It would just be too thin.

Apparently the sharpest things on the planet according the Guinness Book of World Records are some tiny scientific glass pipettes used for cutting cell walls. These could do it, but the weight of the silk would probably break them anyway.
 
Are we watching the same flick?

:D


I guess not many of you have ever had a truly wonderfully sharp edge. "Shaving above the arm" hair sharp. No resistance sharp.

I do not disagree with the idea that the edge would be fragile....nor do I disagree that the shot is indeed a digital effect...

But....I do disagree that it is impossible. Fikes, Carter, Goo (and many others) have demonstrated incredible (almost baffling) levels of sharpness. Things that make other makers scratch their heads.

We're not talking about edge holding here....entirely different matter.

Just utter sharpness. The ability to do one cut....extremely well....extremely fine edge.

Why would it not be possible?

The question (correct me if I'm wrong) is simply could the weight of the fabric in question be enough to cut it?

Not, could you do battle with the sword...clanging up against another sword, and still split falling silk....to that question I would say absolutely not. That enters the realm of fiction and mysticism.

I certainly sharpen my knives to the best of my ability (and take some pride in it)...but I do not do it to the level of the best in our field...so I regrettably cannot perform this test myself.

But having seen the things I've seen...I do not doubt it being possible.


YMMV. :thumbup:
 
Daniel Koster said:
Not, could you do battle with the sword...clanging up against another sword, and still split falling silk....to that question I would say absolutely not.

YMMV. :thumbup:
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Arent these types of swords used to cut flesh rather than block another sword, edge to edge especially, anyhow?

Kevin
 
Cut falling silk-N0!! Cut thru a machine gun barrel-No! Non still in existence? Yes there are. Wootz by the way, is in the mid to high 40's Rc range. and it wasn't from japan, but from near Pakistan. Wrongly thought to have been Damascus. Hence the name. Damascus. Carbide wasn't put into the oven, but rather carbon. Such as burnt wood. This was a Japanese Technique. Wootz on the other hand was an or smelted in a crucible, with the natural minerals found in the ore causing the effect. It wasn't that the technique was lost, but rather the the ore was depleted. That caused it's fading away. We are mixing our myths here. Mike
 
The Asian chick is Benny Hana's daughter from the restaurant chain, and she is Hot, Hot, Hot....She was in Sin City and killed a whole load of guys at one time......and the blonde is without question smokin.....both good enough to waste a few brain cells on.......

To the question...I have an A.G. Russell Trout and Bird knife with a very thin blade and supreme cutting edge and is scary Mary sharp....It is so sharp that the hairs on your arm jump out of the way as the blade comes near them.....It WILL cut silk and paper by gravity only if you hold them tight and let the blade FALL ON THEM, BUT I TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO LET SILK OR PAPER FALL ON THE BLADE AND IT JUST LAID THERE. Of course I didn't have several yards of purple silk fall on it either.

By the way, you guys that split hairs send the extras my way...My hair is getting wavy, some hairs are waving goodbye to the others.
 
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