Craigslist find - Well worth $150 and 9 hours of drive time!

I'm going to have to start a bidness selling test blocks that I HEAT TREATED. On a more
serious note these are great finds! Don, only ever checked one old pocket knife that was
over 50Rc. It was a PAL scout knife and it came in @ 61-62.
Ken.
 
kc custom said:
I'm going to have to start a bidness selling test blocks that I HEAT TREATED. On a more
serious note these are great finds! Don, only ever checked one old pocket knife that was
over 50Rc. It was a PAL scout knife and it came in @ 61-62.
Ken.
Click to expand...
Ken, I've checked a few old pocket knives, most were around 45. A few Bokers were low-med 50s'. Couple newer Case CV steel were 58-59. I have one anvil with a 3/16" dia raised flat in the middle, this seems to work good on bevels. One thing about checking bevels, they usually measure a point or two softer than they really are.
 
I took the advice here and in my other thread, and bought a used tester this morning. After searching all week in Canada and coming up with absolutely zero, I bought a used Rockwell tester with a vendor who will ship to Canada. I paid more than you guys did, but this one is reported to be fully functional and requiring no repair.
 
Good to hear Willie71. Just remember the devil is in the details and to do the proper conversion; I think 62Rc US is only like 60.1Rc Canadian these days. Ha!

Best to you.
 
That's too funny. Our IQ norms have a conversion also. (We're really not different intelligence, we just have different fund of knowledge due to the differences in our school systems.) Americans would test lower based on our standards because of the lower priority on education in the US.
 
Testing a bevel is tricky, as the indenter needs to be very close to perpendicular to the surface of the test object, and the object needs to be firmly placed against the anvil. Any variation from either of these parameters will affect the reading. You are using 150 kilograms of force to do a Rockwell C test, and it has to be rock solid for any relevant results to come from the test. Yopu can fudge the results by adding a few points, but that defeats the purpose of the test...which is accurately measuring the hardness.

You could take a spare anvil for your machine and mill an angled shelf in it with a straight back about 1/4" deep, and a sloping surface of around 20-30° ( or the angle needed for the items you test frequently). This will give you a way to firmly place a beveled object in the tester and test a beveled surface. Or, you could make several angled accessory blocks that could be attached/fitted to one of the odd shaped anvils you never use. These could have a variety of angles, to accommodate different bevel angles.

I may play with this idea, as I have three sets of accessory anvils for my tester ( lucky ebay finds). With a little milling and drilling, I can see a possible adjustable anvil that will test any blade surface and still be close to perpendicular at the test spot.

On a related note, how do you folks feel about putting a test on the ricasso ( or other non-cutting surface), and engraving the result next to it? So there would the the indenter dimple with "Rc61" next to it. Do you think this would be a true selling point or mostly hype?
 
Stacy, I've heard of that idea before about engraving, but rather than engraving I think it was to use a stencil and etch it in. I do like the idea.

So far this tester is reading about 4 points low on everything I've tested. I only have one test block at the moment that is 44.1 HRC and it reads at 40. I also have a flat piece of CPM154 that I had hardened and tested to 58 and it reads 54. Would it be safe to assume that all tests would be about 4 points low? I haven't quite figured out how to calibrate it yet. I know there is a place in Dallas that I could take it to for calibration but it would defeat the purpose of buying such a cheap tester if they charged an arm and a leg to calibrate it.
 
Stacy, I've though about having a visible Rc text point showing on blades. It'd be cool I'd think. This is how the Case 'Tested' came about and lead to the 'Dot' system.

Jason, make sure the parts in the top of the machine are all very free moving and nothing is binding. This was what was wrong with mine. Also there can be no moving or flexing in the screw, anvil or test piece. This is one reason I said to clean it all up very good, no rust between matting surfaces.

Next is how fast the weight is applied, it's adjustable at the oil pot. Then the adjustment at the top on the arm that moves the gauge. Your manual will tell how to do it.

Keep at it and you will get it figured out.
 
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