Here is the FFD2 and CPM S90V modeled :
There is no statistical proof that the FF blade has superior edge retention because the blunting factors are too uncertain because of a combination of three factors :
1) lack of data in the initial region where the rate of blunting is high
2) lack of data in the tail region of S90V
3) high uncertainty in the data
In regards to the initial low cutting ability of S90V. Based on examining the actual data there is a misconception in the above. It was stated that the S90V blade does not cut as much material at the start. The first point measured is AFTER 20 CUTS. This is much too far too make such a statement as the initial rate of blunting can be very high for large carbide steels, especially if the edges are acute and/or polished. I would affirm if the cuts were measured at 2,4,8,16 then you would see a much higher initial performance from S90V.
The above data is also a very poor way to compare the blades because what it does it take two dependent variables which are highly noisy, divide them and magnify the noise and then plot essentially two dependent variables so now both the x and y axis are highly noisy. This actually reuquires very complex methods to fit properly even with simple models because this adds another element of nonlinearity into the problem. What should have been plotted is just the stroke count and amount of media cut. This would give a much smoother curve as the x axis variable is independent then and has no noise. It is also much more straightforward to rationalize as it just shows how much media is cut after a certin amount of passes.
The above graph attempt to show the sharpness after a certain amount of media is cut but as I noted it magnifies the noise and introduces an additional nonlinearity. I'll look at the other data shortly.
I find it interesting that you've never tested FFD2, but you're sure that well-treated AEB-L will be ahead of FFD2. Isn't this a biased position _against_ FFD2?
Have you tested a mild steel blade. Would you have any doubt that it would be inferior in CATRA tests? Considering that Roman has quantified edge stability based on carbide volume fraction and grain size it isn't unreasonable for him to speak of behavio on those issues.
But we did check to see that the initial sharpness was equivalent, as measured by the REST cutting force, which appears to me to be a better standard than just looking at the burr width.
As I said several times in the above, and noted in detail in the sharpness article, there is push cutting and slicing sharpness and you can be very high in one and low in another. If the slicing aggression is much lower initially, regardless of the push cutting test, it would indicate improperly formed edges which you would verify under magnification.
But I have requested a factory-heat-treated 3mm thick by 50mm wide blank of AEB-L from the factory, and plan to make a knife with which to compare edge holding of AEB-L and FFD2.
At the angle you noted FFD2 will easily outperform AEB-L because the edges are inherently stable.
Wayne, given the highly nonlinear behavior of blunting I would be really skeptical of a cutting ratio estimate within 5% by hand, especially on a scale which has a best the ability to measure sharpness several times that coarse an estimate. Just consider the following.
Lets assume your knife starts off at 5 lbs to slice through 3/8" hemp. You stop cutting once it reaches say 10 lbs. Now out of that first 5 lbs, about 1 lbs is for the sharpness. Thus you went from 1 lbs to 6 so your sharpness is 15% of the initial. Note that even a 1 lbs increase in force then corrosponds to a degredaton of 50% in sharpness.
In order to work at the 5% level you would need to be able to look at 1/10 of a lbs or so and this is just the start because that is just your measurement requirements and doesn't take into account the random variations in the steel, sharpening, cutting methods, and material.
As an example of the kind of variation seen in machine data, see Landes data where the variance is so high that steels switch places in terms of which is superior because of the influence of the random nature of how many carbides intersect the final sharpened edge line.
Have you verified your precision by some simple methods to remove any subjective bias. There are a couple of things you can do readily to ensure that you are not in any way effecting the results by personal judgement.
-Cliff