Most Frustrating Thing To Cut

blgoode

blgoode

Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
7,189
I do heat treat testing with wood and cardboard, roap, leg hair....
BUT
The most frustrating thing to cut is the clear packing tape on boxes!!!
No matter how well the heat treat passes, this clear packing tape is a bugger to slick. I mean using the belly of the knife on the top of the tape, not cutting from the side.

Does anyone else find this true or is it just me?
 
Amen to that.FedEx,UPS or USPS boxes sometimes come mummified in that stuff. I quit usin' knives and open with an Exacto I have expressly for my new acquisitions. Doug :)
 
Brian,
I cut box tape at work with my EDC. It's 1/16"x5/8"x3" 1095 drop point with a belly curve. The trick seems to be light pressure and a sweeping motion along the belly curve. That @#^%$ tape is why i made the blade.
 
Mike I can cut it but not like a razor can.....was making me wonder about the hardness but I think its the edge angle and lack of paper thinness...which I DONT want for a hard user knife.
 
Man, I rrrrreeeeaallly get frustrated when I cut my finger. Happens all the time :rolleyes:

I guess there are worse things that could get cut, but I ain't gonna think about that.

VV
Clark
 
I've got a hooked blade for packing tape.... works like a charm :)

I try not to cut myself with anything though, but fingers are the most vulnerable.... it's usually the edge of a belt that get's 'em though :(
 
I don't have much trouble with tape, but that darn clear plastic vacumn boxes that they pack little stuff in, like earphones, small electrical gizmos, etc, is the hardest plastic in the universe to open. I saw a report on one of the networks about how many parents are injured each Christmas while using a butcher knife to try and open one of those dreaded plastic containers.
 
Brian, if you want to test the hardness of your edges, do the brass rod test. Put the blade in a vise edge up and tap a brass rod (I use 5/32" brass pin stock) with a hammer on the edge. Then look at it with a magnifying glass.
Scott
 
Razorback - Knives said:
Brian, if you want to test the hardness of your edges, do the brass rod test. Put the blade in a vise edge up and tap a brass rod (I use 5/32" brass pin stock) with a hammer on the edge. Then look at it with a magnifying glass.
Scott
Click to expand...
So that's how it's done. Thanks. I've been trying to find out about this.

Mike Coughlin
 
I've learned the brass rod test differently. The way I heard was to put the rod down flat, hold the blade on it so the blade is as flat as possible with only the edge touching (doesn't work so well with fat convexes) and press the blade down and pull it along the entire edge. You press hard enough that the edge ripples up slightly where the rod is and pull the blade so the entire length gets tested. If the test goes will it'll ripple and come back true as soon as that part passes the rod, if the blade is too hard it'll chip, if it's too soft it'll stay bent after it passes the rod.
 
I think the reason that razor blades cut that tape easier is that they have a relatively coarse edge. If you look at the edge of a box cutter or X-acto blade you'll notice that its not polished up nearly as well as we do the edges on our knives. A slicing motion with one of these edges will have more bite than a polished edge.
The tape is so slick that an edge that you've honed and stropped down to a mirror finish or buffed a lot just sort of wants to slide across it.


As far as the plastic blister packages, I've found that these are very easy to cut with the right technique and a sharp knife. Its just a very binding material with no give. If you hold the knife perpendicular to it its about like trying to use a splitting wedge. If you turn the knife after you start the cut so that its almost laying flat/parallel to the material, it slides through much easier.
 
mikxx1 said:
So that's how it's done. Thanks. I've been trying to find out about this.

Mike Coughlin
Click to expand...
Your welcome Mike. ;) I watched Ron Hood's video, "Primitive Knifemaking" with Tai Goo and Tim Lively and that was the way Tai Goo tests his edges.
Scott
 
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