My first real destructive test

[Mark Van Loon]

Well ive fully completed 2 knives so far, but have heat treated 10-12 so called knife like objects. I'm now doing destructive testing on some of these blades. I kinda got caught up in trying to finish a few knives before doing any real serious tests. I have done various tests on some of these like the brass rod test and some minor bending but fianlly decided to trash this one and a few others. This was the 2nd blade i ever attempted and heat treated, the blade was made via stock removal, it is 1084 steel clay coated and water quenched

the before picture
I didnt have any rope to cut so i got it sharp enough to shave hair then chopped through a 2x4 then i checked the edge for flat spots and chips, it came through pretty well, no flat spots no chips, no bending or rolling of the edge. it semed to dull just a bit but still shaved hair from my arm pretty easily. i then decided to take the plunge and bend it 90 degrees.

after the flex test

It came through pretty well, it didnt crack or chip at all under magnification. Im somewhat happy overall but i didnt like the way it came back from the flex test. i beleive ive read somewhere that they should come back to 15-20 degrees after bending, but this one only came back to around 35-40 degrees after flexing. im planning on bending it back straight then the other direction 90 degrees. if you have any suggestions for further testing i would love to hear them. i am planning to destructive test my 4th and 7th blades to see how my heat treating is coming along before trying to complete any more knives. please post any comments or suggestions you have. im really starting to enjoy making knives and would like to progress in this craft...err addiction.

 

[Bruce Bump]

Mark Thats a nice knife and it passed the test too! You didnt say how long the blade was but the ABS standard is no longer than 10" It doesnt matter if it sprung back any nuber of degrees but if the blade has a good distal taper it will not kink where it was clamped in the vice. Keep it up and show us again on the next one.

Have you joined the ABS yet?

 

[ddavelarsen]

Thanks Bruce, I did not know that. I'm not a smith so am only now beginning to grind in a distal taper. If one is to include that on each blade, the idea of forging rapidly becomes more seductive! Gotta get rid o' them pesky neighbors!

Dave

 

[Mark Van Loon]

Bruce, the blade is 7 inches on that one, it does have some distal taper to it , yes i just joined the abs, i just mailed my check in the other day.

 

[misque]

That's a really nice hardening line you got there. It looks to me like your test was a success. BTW, that's a fine looking second knife!


All the best,
Mike U.

 

[Ed Fowler]

Nice Job: Stick with it, sounds like you have the bug! You will find the testing is addictive, but testing like you are doing will lead you to better blades.