That table can be seen in more readable form in the Twistmaster review :
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/twistmaster_dp.html
It represents the cutting ability and edge retention of the knife after it was reprofiled to enhance both aspects and sharpened on a 600 grit DMT rod.
The first column (0,2,6,...126) is the number of hemp cuts, each cut is a two inch draw, cut on a cutting board (plastic), with the cutting board on a 4x4 which is on a scale. The amount of force required to make the last cut is what is in the last column which is read off the scale as the blade passes through the bottom of the cord on a complete cut.
So after two cuts the knife required 14 +/- 2 lbs (or 12-16 pounds), after 6 cuts it was up to 16 +/- 1 lbs, after 14 cuts it was 19 +/- 1 lbs, and so on. The increase in force required shows how the knife blunts, its extent and overall pattern. However as the rope cutting is very macroscopic, and thus is influenced by geometry to a great deal, it offers at best a hazy viewpoint of sharpness.
The second and third column are the performance of the knife push cutting light thread (recorded on a spring scale), and cutting through 1/4" poly on a slice (with the poly held under tension, 1000 g usually, and the blade length measured off of increments made on the knife). The thread and poly are both needed for a complete perspective as one measures edge alignment and crispness and the other pure aggression.
Initially, with no hemp cuts made, the knife was cutting the thread with 210 +/- 6 g (or 204-216 g), and was 0.75 +/- 0.05 cm on the poly. After the 126 cuts, the thread force requirement was up to 415 +/- 20 g, and the poly 4.60 +/- 0.27 cm. The poly shows a blade slipping badly, and the now double force requirement of the thread shows the edge has been vastly knocked out of alignment.
Note the much larger change of the poly as compared to the hemp rope. No measurement would actually need to be taken to notice a change of this magniture on the poly. You could just cut the poly in hand and note by feel that it had lost a massive amount of aggression. It was now taking about 5 times as much edge length.
In regards to the ranges listed such as 14 +/- 2 (from 12-16 lbs), they come from averages (medians specifically) of multiple trials. At least three runs are taken, with full sharpenings between each runs. The cutting on each run is taken on a different roll of 3/8" hemp.
-Cliff
