Hardness Tester - are these any good?

From the description; "The piece to be checked should have a section size of 1" or more."

These type are meant for testing tools and/or equipment with thick cross sections.
 
Also, since they are not particularly accurate, and the reading that we would want would be right at the top of the range, and the accuracy diminishes rapidly at the end of the range........it would likely have a very low accuracy for knife work. I would suspect +/- 10% of scale, which would be useless for checking or adjusting a HT.
 
I've been told about hardness testers that chuck up into a drill press. Never have been able to locate such. Does anyone know anything about those?
 
what about a hardness tester file set? I think I;ve seen a set from grizzly, but I dont have a link. does anyone have any opinions/ experience on something like that for a knifemaking application?
 
I picked up my Ames Model 1 hardness tester on ebay for about $350 shipped. Although there is always a better deal out there, I think the Ames testers are consistently about the best deal on an accurate tester. I would suggest that if you are going to get one from ebay, you spend some time on the Ames website so you know exactly what you're bidding on. They make some models that are not in the correct configuration for hardened steel so you need to know what to look for.

Bob
 
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