need suggestions for cutting contest

[fisk]

The ABS hammer-in will be hosting another cutting contest.
I am looking for suggestions for a cutting contest using normal 5 inch hunting knives. Any suggestions will be considered. If we use your idea we will give you credit after the event is over. If you have more than one suggestion let'er rip. [insert knife joke here]
I will post up the events and the winners up on this site. Contest will be this weekend.
Thanks guys.

 

[Gus Kalanzis]

Chamois, suede or leather come to mind as a test material if consistantcy can be obtained.

hum .. how about the hide of of nauga's so that consistancy of the material could be close.


Have a great time this weekend Jerry, I wish I could be there. Heard the Museum pre-opening went well and that there were some fantastic pieces already in place donated by some makers and collectors.

 

[Doug Mondt]

I've seen one of my customers cutting a free hanging 1/2 manilla rope. This is kind of the same thing as for the big boys only scaled down I guess. Not real original but it is challenging.

The business card cut would be fun to see with the smaller blades.

Just my 2 cents.

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Mondt Custom Knives
For the Word of God is...sharper than any two edged sword.

 

[Will York]

Jerry--

At the risk of offering the most obvious and least dramatic idea possible, I really like using 1/2" sisal rope, for a couple of reasons:

1. Sisal is hard and durable, but the individual fibers are flat and wiry. So you have to use an edge with both good polish that won't bind, and good grab to slice on through--not an easy combination to find.

2. Rope is consistent. You can get a 300 foot spool on the cheap, and you know you're not comparing apples and oranges when doing long test runs or comparing a bunch of blades.

The two tests I like best are:

1) How many slicing strokes does it take to go through the rope when it is clamped at one end, the other end held with one hand, and the cutting is performed against a wood backing, such as a solid plank. A good edge will cut cleanly through with one stroke, leaving no strands pinned against the plank--practically a push-cut, with a minimum of slicing action applied.

And 2) After taping off a 2" length of blade for consistency's sake, and starting with the maker's best edge, how many cuts through the rope does it take before the blade will no longer shave. If you actually try to take each blade from shaving to "skating" dull, you'll be there a long time. I've seen test reports on some blades from David Boye and Rick Dunkerley that will keep on chugging through the rope after 1,000 passes. I've never had that kind of patience, personally.

I'm sure you already have something planned on this order anyway, but just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

By the way, please say "Howdy" to Clyde Fischer for me.

-w

 

[raker]

How about using 1" rope and 4 strands of the thread instead of 2?

Cutting 1/8" stranded guy wire cable with a small weight on the end to hold it still and keeping it from wrapping around the blade like the silk ties did on some?

Chopping at a straight pencil mark or a dot on a board to see how accurate you can cut. You could place a string at a certain height to be cut first to make sure everyone swung at least a certain distance.

Cut an empty pop can in half from the top to the bottom.

I am sure there are some more but I got to go to work and I'll be back later.



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Ray Kirk
http://www.tah-usa.net/raker

 

[Will Kwan]

Unless the cut is made from an edge kevlar sheets are tough to cut. Some knives will cut through flat kevlar. I have not tested it yet but they are supposte to dull a knife quickly too,

The extra point on the Americanized Tanto has an unfair advantage as the point penetrates readily.

Will

 

[Paracelsus]

Some thoughts:

As an initial demonstration of sharpness, cut through a standard gift wrapping ribbon hanging from a helium ballon resting on the ceiling. The lower half of the ribbon should fall away without moving the balloon. It is hard to do and does Not require great speed. An idle swipe should be sufficient

Edge holding while cutting rope as suggested above would be reasonably objective.

Actual skinning with the knife (beef carcass?) would be interesting. Perhaps a subjective score for overall ergonomics given by at least 5 testers would be good since it would be impossible to require enough actual skinning to allow comparison of edge holding in a reasonable time frame.

Wood cutting tasks might include making a few hundred slicing cuts through hard pine and testing for sharpness. Edge folding and small nicks can be easily seen in the surface of the wood after making the cut.

The can test is fun, and would be hard to do with a five inch blade. Empty styrofoam cups are also challenging. Cutting through high density polyethylene plastic bottles or a similar hard dense material is a good edge holding test.

In general, I would like to see the knives put through a number of tasks, some subjective, some more objective. The more objective tests (e.g. rope cutting against a board) should be done towards the end of the testing so that edge holding is not the only criteria.

Having a panel of expert testers giving their subjective impressions of ergonomics and slicing efficiency would be interesting but very hard to properly control since presumably the testers would know who made the knife unless some way could be found to hide the makers identity.

Paracelsus



[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 05-01-2001).]

 

[m l williams]

1. Open 5 soup or potted meat cans. 2. Cut 10 weinie roaster sticks. 3. Pry open side vent window on pickup, the keys are in the ignition. These are truely the things that hunters are used mostly for anyway. Or for those folks who have nice hunting camps, you can flay the leather garments off of lusty nubian wenches. No nicks of course.

 

[L6steel]

I got one for ya. Instead of using rope, do a free hanging chop on some string or heavy thread. Since the string is so light wieght it pushes away easily. I guess the contest would be how many whacks does it take to cut thru it. I tried it with a new knife and it took 3-4 tries each time. Oh yeah, do you guys give any awards to the contestants that end up bleeding???

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Take care!! Michael

Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
I currently don't have a web site but am working on one.
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