Luong La, Bluntcut Metalworks. Multiple steels, multiple hardnesses, multiple testers

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Heavyhanded, I have to ask some hard questions.

Do you believe the steels used are as tough or tougher than other knives would be at the same hardness and thickness?

Would you prefer and/or recommend Bluntcut's heat treatment based on what you saw?
 
bodog said:
Heavyhanded, I have to ask some hard questions.

Do you believe the steels used are as tough or tougher than other knives would be at the same hardness and thickness?

Would you prefer and/or recommend Bluntcut's heat treatment based on what you saw?
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I cannot honestly speak to other custom knifemaker's offerings as I only have a few customs and they are very different in terms of geometry. I will say for the use I gave them I wouldn't have been surprised to see some edge flaking, particularly when boring holes or having a thin blade flexing as it pounded through the edge of a board.

For edge retention and toughness on the 1095 (the only steel for which I can do a one-to-one with several other knives I own) I'd say very good to exceptional. That they are quite thin and high RC could be a recipe for cracking at some point but I didn't find any. Compared to my factory knives I don't believe any of my other 1095 would hold up at same geometry, let alone at the higher RC. The results of my rope cutting indicated somewhat better retention than my Bark River 12c Sandvik, a steel they do very well and also fine grained.

I set the apex angle sub 30° which wouldn't help any latent/potential problems. Sharpening and resharpening were not difficult, so a nice intersection of tough, edge retentive, and easily restored when dull - esp considering the RC values are close to or above the max in terms of what is considered wise for some of these. Yes, I'd recommend his HT for these steels, and/or feel confident using one. I believe one would have to test to deliberate destruction to find out where they sit relative to other high end HT, for normal or somewhat abusive treatment I can't imagine them failing in any way.
 
Thanks for the detailed report. This is very useful!
HH - you mentioned that the W2 could stand to be thinned out - seems that was based on the lack of damage to the edge as it is right now? Was your idea that it could tolerate being thinner, or that it would be improved in some way by being thinner? Just seeking clarification. I like the blade shape a lot on that one, btw. I do a lot of point-driven cutting during routine chores.

thanks again and hoping the reports will continue to roll in!
 
dogrunner said:
Thanks for the detailed report. This is very useful!
HH - you mentioned that the W2 could stand to be thinned out - seems that was based on the lack of damage to the edge as it is right now? Was your idea that it could tolerate being thinner, or that it would be improved in some way by being thinner? Just seeking clarification. I like the blade shape a lot on that one, btw. I do a lot of point-driven cutting during routine chores.

thanks again and hoping the reports will continue to roll in!
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My thought was that overall it could handle just as much realistic abuse if it were thinned out and it would cut the better for it on most chores. Yes, it would potentially weaken the tip and if thats a concern then the design is great as is. I like my puukkos for camping mostly because they can drill better than other patterns, so I can see why one might gravitate toward that pattern as the tip is seriously reinforced. The handle configuration is a good fit for tough work as well, felt sort of like a mini-khukri shape.

While not overbuilt compared to many, when compared to the normal BCMW fare it is a beast!
 
Did a quick sharpening test of all 5 blades and added one of my own that should be a good comparison. All 5 sharpened with little effort to treetopping sharpness on my Norton Economy stone. This was done free hand, not with my usual block guides. I also sharpened my Cold Steel Scalper in Carbon V. It's similar in composition to several of these steels, and should be a good guide as a knife I've used a lot.

A note about all these knives. The high point so far have been the handles. Very nice and comfy and the small finger grooves, while not exactly a fit to my hand, are close enough and not sharp or obtrusive.
 
Decided to rebevel the 52100 and CruForge V blades to compare to the Scalper. It was set to 12 degrees per side with a hand applied microbevel at 15 dps. I'm rebeveling the 2 comparison knives, though it will be a couple of days.

I also used the M2 knife as a steak knife tonight. It worked well, with the wharncliffe tip protecting the rest of the blade from the plate. Bluntcut, can you provide some information on how you finished the handles? I washed the M2 knife, handle and all. No issues from the water in the handle, but it didn't bead up like I expected based on the smooth finish. My wife also used the M2 knife to cut some pork roast and liked it, though it was too short to be efficient for that use (no fault of the knife, just some use of opportunity).
 
Since the M2 knife was done over a year ago, so iirc the natural Amboyna Burl handle got 3 coats of MinWax (marketing named) Tung oil and 1 coat of 100% tung oil. I think, it probably needs another couple coat of 100% tung oil or MinWax tung oil. That said, I don't think water absorption will be a problem *as it*, especially in indoor environment. I have a strong inclination toward less belly edges, more or less wharncliffe with continuous curve. Well, at least for my newer knives anyway.

Thanks for giving these PA knives a good workout and keen scrutiny on them.

Much appreciated,

==Luong

me2 said:
Decided to rebevel the 52100 and CruForge V blades to compare to the Scalper. It was set to 12 degrees per side with a hand applied microbevel at 15 dps. I'm rebeveling the 2 comparison knives, though it will be a couple of days.

I also used the M2 knife as a steak knife tonight. It worked well, with the wharncliffe tip protecting the rest of the blade from the plate. Bluntcut, can you provide some information on how you finished the handles? I washed the M2 knife, handle and all. No issues from the water in the handle, but it didn't bead up like I expected based on the smooth finish. My wife also used the M2 knife to cut some pork roast and liked it, though it was too short to be efficient for that use (no fault of the knife, just some use of opportunity).
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Still have the other Cruforge V blade in hand that I tested before to see how they compare directly, will send it back to the owner once I am done with the comparison.

Yeah Luong makes some nice handles.
 
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The 52100 SU (Slicer Utility) handle I have is most comfortable. Despite being smooth there's no chance of slippage due to the contour.
 
Still rebeveling the Scalper and 52100 BCMW knife. Cruforge V knife is done. I think I'll also do a little rope cutting with the 1095 blade, but will just use the freehand sharpened edge. Will probably start that tomorrow or Monday evening.
 
So been a while since an update. I have been rebeveling the 2 knives above, but took a break during the holidays. So, after cutting some cardboard and rope, I have some more information.

The M2 wharncliffe shaped blade was used for breaking down boxes. The knife cut through about 100 feet of cardboard with no trouble and will still slice receipt paper into fine curls. It will also shave a few hairs off my hand, though obviously not as sharp as the starting edge.

The 1095 knife was used to cut rope. I'm up to 200 cuts on 3/8" manila rope, and it still cuts paper with no trouble. It will also still shave a little bit. I'm using about 2.5 inches of the edge on a plastic cutting board.
 
me2 said:
So been a while since an update. I have been rebeveling the 2 knives above, but took a break during the holidays. So, after cutting some cardboard and rope, I have some more information.

The M2 wharncliffe shaped blade was used for breaking down boxes. The knife cut through about 100 feet of cardboard with no trouble and will still slice receipt paper into fine curls. It will also shave a few hairs off my hand, though obviously not as sharp as the starting edge.

The 1095 knife was used to cut rope. I'm up to 200 cuts on 3/8" manila rope, and it still cuts paper with no trouble. It will also still shave a little bit. I'm using about 2.5 inches of the edge on a plastic cutting board.
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Me2, email sent.
 
Bodog - I am indebted to you for conducted this PA of BCMW knives. your professionalism and conderations are stashed in my long term appreciated bin :thumbup:

Thanks to all had participated & posted-reviews in this PA thread.

Special thanks to Martin/Heavyhanded for your thorough reviews, while invented your EI3K rig!

Jim Ankerson - It's my pleasure to deal with you, a man-of-your-word gentlemen!

==Luong
 
Luong, thank you for the generous opportunity and thank you for striving to advance what we know about steels.
 
bluntcut said:
Bodog - I am indebted to you for conducted this PA of BCMW knives. your professionalism and conderations are stashed in my long term appreciated bin :thumbup:

Thanks to all had participated & posted-reviews in this PA thread.

Special thanks to Martin/Heavyhanded for your thorough reviews, while invented your EI3K rig!

Jim Ankerson - It's my pleasure to deal with you, a man-of-your-word gentlemen!

==Luong
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Luong, it was my pleasure. I needed a goad to make the edge tester and the knives are first rate. Am looking forward to seeing what else comes out of your shop.

Martin
 
Passaround thread is closed due to lack of reported testing results.

Many thanks to Martin for his thorough review. Ankerson might be able to post some results at a later time in a different thread.
 
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