- Joined
- Sep 19, 2001
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a few different threads from this board and the Toolshed got me to try this out. Using a $9.99 60-100X magnifier bought from Radio Shack, and my 4MP Kodak digital camera, I took photos (bad ones) of the edges of some knives after making 100 cuts in cardboard. The cardboard comes from the trays that six-packs of sodas are shipped in 4 at a time. Here's a pic of some of the cuts.
So far, I've used a Spyderco Paramilitary (S30V), Benchmade model 46 (D2), custom neck knife (CPM154), Byrd Cara Cara (8Cr13MoV), Sorsakoski balisong style folder (12C27???), BM 42S(yet unknown, possibly 440C), CRKT S2 (ATS34), and BM Ritter Griptilian (M2) All were sharpened with Spyderco fine ceramic (white rods on the Sharpmaker) and then stropped with chromium oxide loaded leather. All but the Cara Cara and Rittergrip were given a 20 degree per side microbevel. The Ritter wa set at 15, and the Cara Cara has a chisel edge, which was honed with the Sharpmaker rod held in hand. All could clean shave before cutting the cardboard. Here's the photos of the edges, knives in the same order as listed above.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hardheart_7/album?.dir=/ffd0re2&.src=ph
The first 5 photos are of the Paramilitary, but only the fifth is at all clear. I added some red dots in the first 4 to try and help show the chips the S30V had suffered from the cutting. so, the only decent photos are in the second and third rows. The para, along with all others, could still shave after the 100 cardboard slices, despite having 6 chips of roughly the same size and shape as the photo. It cut through the cardboard well, it just came out with some scars.
The 46 did not chip, but as can be seen, the edge was uneven, somewhat 'wavy' after the fresh sharpening and before the cutting. I do not cut much with either balisong, I just enjoy flipping them from time to time. You can see in the pic the rough factory edge finish just above the narrow area of the micro I applied. This knife was very hard to use in this test, requiring what I considered an unsafe level of force for simple slices through cardboard. The recurve helped in starting the cuts, but the saber grind in general made this difficult in comparison to most of the other knives.
Next is the CPM154, made by BF member butcher_block. There is unfortunately some debris on the edge, but there was no chipping beyond one I was unable to focus on with my crude setup. It was just that small (or I'm just that bad at this
) Slices were fairly easy, although my funky technique coupled with the healthy curve of the blade had the tip slipping through without much cutting. Just an issue with technique.
Next was the Cara Cara. This was just as difficult to slice with as the 46. This is a combo edge model, and the edge bevel is ground on only one side, while the blade is double hollow ground. This knife was very sharp oob, and the stropping sure didn't hurt it at all, I am not entirely sure why this one required so much force from the very first cut. No chipping at all, but it was slightly more abrasive than some of the others when shaving arm hair after the 100 cuts. Probably blunted more than the others.
The Sorsakoski came next, and it was one of the easier slicers, by a good margin. The blade passed through the cardboard with much ease. Also, when I began looking at the edge through the magnifier, I was not surprised to see that the edge was still essentially pristine at this magnification. That is, until I got to the belly and found what you see in the photo. A jagged break in the edge, which I couldn't hope to explain.
Next up is the 42S (combo edge) The edge is double ground, unlike the Cara, but this was very nearly as hard to use as it and the other bali. you can see the edge of this knife is also wavy and uneven (something about BM's balis?) What I couldn't get good shots of was the chipping. It chipped in 9 places, they were just smaller than the Para chips. There is one in the photo, just a little to the right. If no one can see it, I'll add a circle around it in MS paint. This was probably the worst performance of this group, as it was difficult to use, and showed some of the greatest damage after.
Next photo is the S2. It sliced well, and came out with no chips. Very good performance for this particular test from a discontinued knife made by a lower-budget company (in knife knut terms). I really can't say much more about it, there were no problems.
Last pic is the M2 of my Ritter Griptilian. This, like the CPM154, had one spot of edge damage that I just couldn't photograph. This was due to placement this time. It was very close to the edge, and I couldn't position it behind the magnifier the way I have things attached. Sorry I couldn't get a photo, and the best description I can offer is to just look at the uneven edge of the 46. Now just imagine a portion of the M2 looking like that, about 1/5th the length in the photo. Not bad, considering it was about the thinnest behind the edge (~0.018") and the micro was 5 degrees narrower. It was also one of the smoothest slicers.
I have a few more to do yet, but I need more trays.
So far, I've used a Spyderco Paramilitary (S30V), Benchmade model 46 (D2), custom neck knife (CPM154), Byrd Cara Cara (8Cr13MoV), Sorsakoski balisong style folder (12C27???), BM 42S(yet unknown, possibly 440C), CRKT S2 (ATS34), and BM Ritter Griptilian (M2) All were sharpened with Spyderco fine ceramic (white rods on the Sharpmaker) and then stropped with chromium oxide loaded leather. All but the Cara Cara and Rittergrip were given a 20 degree per side microbevel. The Ritter wa set at 15, and the Cara Cara has a chisel edge, which was honed with the Sharpmaker rod held in hand. All could clean shave before cutting the cardboard. Here's the photos of the edges, knives in the same order as listed above.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hardheart_7/album?.dir=/ffd0re2&.src=ph
The first 5 photos are of the Paramilitary, but only the fifth is at all clear. I added some red dots in the first 4 to try and help show the chips the S30V had suffered from the cutting. so, the only decent photos are in the second and third rows. The para, along with all others, could still shave after the 100 cardboard slices, despite having 6 chips of roughly the same size and shape as the photo. It cut through the cardboard well, it just came out with some scars.
The 46 did not chip, but as can be seen, the edge was uneven, somewhat 'wavy' after the fresh sharpening and before the cutting. I do not cut much with either balisong, I just enjoy flipping them from time to time. You can see in the pic the rough factory edge finish just above the narrow area of the micro I applied. This knife was very hard to use in this test, requiring what I considered an unsafe level of force for simple slices through cardboard. The recurve helped in starting the cuts, but the saber grind in general made this difficult in comparison to most of the other knives.
Next is the CPM154, made by BF member butcher_block. There is unfortunately some debris on the edge, but there was no chipping beyond one I was unable to focus on with my crude setup. It was just that small (or I'm just that bad at this
) Slices were fairly easy, although my funky technique coupled with the healthy curve of the blade had the tip slipping through without much cutting. Just an issue with technique.Next was the Cara Cara. This was just as difficult to slice with as the 46. This is a combo edge model, and the edge bevel is ground on only one side, while the blade is double hollow ground. This knife was very sharp oob, and the stropping sure didn't hurt it at all, I am not entirely sure why this one required so much force from the very first cut. No chipping at all, but it was slightly more abrasive than some of the others when shaving arm hair after the 100 cuts. Probably blunted more than the others.
The Sorsakoski came next, and it was one of the easier slicers, by a good margin. The blade passed through the cardboard with much ease. Also, when I began looking at the edge through the magnifier, I was not surprised to see that the edge was still essentially pristine at this magnification. That is, until I got to the belly and found what you see in the photo. A jagged break in the edge, which I couldn't hope to explain.
Next up is the 42S (combo edge) The edge is double ground, unlike the Cara, but this was very nearly as hard to use as it and the other bali. you can see the edge of this knife is also wavy and uneven (something about BM's balis?) What I couldn't get good shots of was the chipping. It chipped in 9 places, they were just smaller than the Para chips. There is one in the photo, just a little to the right. If no one can see it, I'll add a circle around it in MS paint. This was probably the worst performance of this group, as it was difficult to use, and showed some of the greatest damage after.
Next photo is the S2. It sliced well, and came out with no chips. Very good performance for this particular test from a discontinued knife made by a lower-budget company (in knife knut terms). I really can't say much more about it, there were no problems.
Last pic is the M2 of my Ritter Griptilian. This, like the CPM154, had one spot of edge damage that I just couldn't photograph. This was due to placement this time. It was very close to the edge, and I couldn't position it behind the magnifier the way I have things attached. Sorry I couldn't get a photo, and the best description I can offer is to just look at the uneven edge of the 46. Now just imagine a portion of the M2 looking like that, about 1/5th the length in the photo. Not bad, considering it was about the thinnest behind the edge (~0.018") and the micro was 5 degrees narrower. It was also one of the smoothest slicers.
I have a few more to do yet, but I need more trays.
