Man vs. Machine: thoughts on knife testing.

[Crayola]

I'll try to keep this simple, as I have a tendency to be a bit wordy.

Does CATRA testing mean anything? I don't cut like a machine does, so is CATRA testing all that relevant? It is better to find a knife reviewer to is like you, and if they like a knife, reason that you'll like it too?

For example, I think Brian Jones and I are about the same body size and think a lot alike and such. So, I take his knife reviews to be indicative of what would work for me. Also, Gaucho's martial arts "style" is the same as what I do pretty much, so if he says a blade is good, I tend to think it will work for me too.

What do you think?

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Crayola :

Does CATRA testing mean anything?

Yes, it means if you take a blade of a specific profile out of a specific steel with a specific heat treatment it will make a specific number of cuts (within a specific tolerance) on a specific type of material. In general it can be taken to strongly indicate edge retention soft materials that are highly abrasive. It doesn't indicate edge retention in general as it ignores critical factors such as edge deformation (roll and impaction), fracture, corrosion etc. .

The perfect "review" (in general) would include a list of all the relevant materials properties and feedback from various users covering a wide range of enviroments, physical abilities and skill levels. The point about individual requirements is sound though, in short all that any one person is usually concerned about is how it will fare for them so you just ask someone who can give you that information. Unless you are outfitting a group of people or something similar of course.

-Cliff