Knife tip penetration tests

L

Lone Hunter

Joined
Mar 2, 2000
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The tanto tip thread got me thinking about this.Bow hunters have always been seeking broadheads that penetrate better,and they have come up with tests to see which penetrate better.One is to place differant heads on some arrow shafts and use a scale to measure how much pressure is needed to penetrate an object,tanned elk hide is often used.

Well maybe someone,like Cliff could do this with knives,measure the pressure needed to go through differant things,from thick leather to layers of cardboard,cloth, maybe even Cold Steel will donate one of those car hoods;) .

How far do they go in,how much pressure,any damage ect.?

Btw the broadhead that penetrates the best is a cut on contact fixed 2 blade.Basically a flat "v" sharpened on both sides right up to the point.But thats a whole nother subject,and this ain't Bowforums.
 
Lone Hunter, that is a very good idea.

I think, though, that penetration alone shouldn't eb looked at. A thin, round and pointed rod would probably out penetrate anything else, or perhaps a thin, sharp dagger. I think, though, you are referring to ease of penetration as well as survivability. Those would be interesting to test.

I'll be making a tanto this year (yep, American style.) I think I'm gonna buy some fruit and tesh how well the "triangle of death", as Mick Strider called it, works against more curvy tips.
 
If you want to test on car hoods just go to a junk yard. Don't let anyone see you though! Also, don't do it with a knife that you really like.
 
Thanks,what I mean is use knives that are out there,assemble a bunch of blade styles and have at it.Does a tanto penetrate further and with less pressure than a f/s dagger?Test 'em.How about CS vs.Emerson tantos?No thin pointy rods,which btw may not do that well,there are broadheads with a pencil type point(thin Pointy)with the cutting blades mounted down from the point that are poor preformers next to the cut on contact heads.

Tell us what goes in with the least pressure,what goes furthest,what holds up the best.
 
You are rigtht about the 2 bladed, cut on impact broadheads penetrating the best. I am a die hard bowhunter, and those penetrate the best.
 
Razorhunter,I use a Mangus 2 blade myself.Of course there are other factors such as how well they fly(best I ever had),and you don't get the best blood trail with a 2 blade if the shot was a little off.But since they fly so good my shots have all been good,and they don't go far.(Don't need a blood trail when they fall insight of your stand):)

I wish someone would test knives like they do broadheads.
 
Or if some people would learn how to use the search function.... :rolleyes:

Doing more tests is not at all a bad idea, but you didn't really think nobody has ever done any and posted them on Bladeforums, did you?

Please do not vandalize someone else's property even if it's in a salvage yard. Go in the daytime and tell them what you want to do and ask them to point out a car that they don't mind a few holes in. In my experience they won't charge you anything and if they aren't too busy right then they'll find it very entertaining. :)

That test is somewhat academic anyway ... you'll have difficulty finding a knife that won't penetrate a car body, except thin filet and kitchen knives that flex too much and folders with locks you don't trust enough to thrust with any force.
 
The car hood test is hardly demanding on a knife, I have done it with butter knives with ground tips. Once again this is just something that Cold Steel has promoted as being far more damanding that it actually is. In regards to penetration testing in general, as of late I have been looking at how the amount of force is controlled by the depth, it is for most materials and blades not linear. I have some results coming along these lines in a few weeks.

-Cliff
 
Thanks Cliff I look forward to your info.Btw if you look at my post you will see the "wink" smile after I mention car hoods,kind of implying,well humor, is in kidding,not serious,poking fun at CS.
 
Could u shave your arm with your Kool Steel butterknife AFTER you punched the door. MY cs tanto passed that one. BTW if you find a butterknife with that quality mail me a couple of copies. I DO realize tantos are made to pierce objects (duh)--- little to no damage and shaving sharp at the tip is a little tough for moms old butter special though.....
 
It could not shave before hand and I doubt that the stabbing sharpened it. The car stabbing test is simply a test of a knife on mild steel, sheet metal. Ask anyone who works with that material how difficult it is to cut. The only reason that Cold Steel could use it as a test of toughness is that people don't actually try it and find out just how little it demands of a knife. You don't need a Tanto tip on your knife for it to be uneffected, nor does it need to be made from AUS-8, the "ultimate steel".

The only way I know for that test to be demanding is for you to torque on the knife when you are cutting through the material. Allen Blade did this awhile back cutting circular holes and did make several blades chip out. If you just cut in straight lines, or stab, it is much less stressful. It also of course is highly dependent on the method, as are most things. If you stab in a controlled manner, it is vastly different than if you are jerky and the knife twists during impact, thus you would want a few knives for comparison.

I don't recall a lot of knives however failing a simple stabbing, nor have I seen such reports. All that comes to mind would be the kinds of knives that Cougar noted.

-Cliff
 
It's all in the way you slice the bread. AUS-8A in my experince is far from ultimate and AUS-10A is worse. I like D2, "Carbon 5" (Whatever that is?) or any Carbon steel for all that goes. CS knives have passed all the "Torture TEST" on the proof video that I have put them through. I understand that we are talking about production. I haven't found ANY knife that meets "Wonder blade" specs yet(lots of LUCK!). Have you done any test on the Gurkha Kukhri from CS yet?
 
razorblade00 :

Have you done any test on the Gurkha Kukhri from CS yet?
Click to expand...

No, I discussed these blades with Will Kwan awhile back who had used them extensively, his comments can be seen on the HI forum. Basically his viewpoint was similar to what I would predict in that the blades bind heavily. For that style of knife I would prefer a convex grind with a hollow relief as is found on traditional khukuris.

-Cliff
 
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