Of the Wall: RC Hardness of Predator animal claws and teeth?

F

finchatton

Joined
Mar 25, 2001
Messages
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Wondering about the RC Hardness of Griz Bear and Lion claws and teeth! Seems like we as humans evolved our weapons to mimic these God-given self generating traits of the best predators in nature. Can't be anywhere near to approacing the hardness of modern blades, but yet they have performed admirably for eons. This came to me as a realization atfer holding a short-sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Totally two Fists of Fury! Felt like a modern-day Raptor! But in actuality nothing more than supped-up claws. Anyone out there have any similar realizations?
 
I once had 2 bearclaws which I modified so I could take'm in one hand.. Now that felt like a claw !
Or with a two bladed viking axe and a double edged sword ! wow!

But to answer your question : regular claws and fangs aren't that hard, they don't fit on a HRC scale... the C from HRC indicates a diamond tip is used to measure penetration. For fangs and claws I thing you need another tip (like the HRB scale or something).
If you let me guess : about HRC 20?

But they did it so well because they grow.. they can break off, but they will be back. same with theeth..the white hard coat continously adds up.
Imagine your sword break off in the middle of combat
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???

And theeth or fangs are always placed in such a way that whatever has them can use them too as natural. A human stength are his hands, but with something in them, they are more effective, but the natural feeling leaves. This is where training comes in.

Greetz, Bart.


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You can E-mail me at bart.weijs@student.kuleuven.ac.be any
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Good post as usual, Bart student.

Another approach, since teeth are calcium salts, would be to use the Mohs scale, which is used to determine the hardness of minerals.

Walt
 
Definitely don't forget to factor in strength, speed, and dauntless predatory instinct...

These are harder to mimic.

-edited for grammarial mistakes
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[This message has been edited by Elvislives (edited 06-08-2001).]
 
Another thought, animals have multiple teeth and multiple claws. Always carry a couple spares.
 
I have seen measurements of the hardness of human teeth around 125-325 HV, which is a hardness measurement, Vickers scale. This is a max of around 33 or so HRC. I have chopped up a number of teeth and they are hard enough to readily damage fine edges. Claws on the other hand are very soft (compared to cutlery steel).

-Cliff
 
This is an interesting thread - let it go back to the top...

Many designers are getting their inspiration from the wild - see the Bear-claw designs for instance.

I know CRKT are doing it - but I forgot the original designer -
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Many oriental arms have their design roots in animals - and are also aptly named.

Also - in oriental MA - the system of using the blade is derived from various animals - so eventually we are using the animalistic approach...
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As always - Cliff is there with the right answer - and the tests conducted to prove it...
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TOUCHE! Too funny! I know my beard just might take the mane off of some adult male lion if he gets frisky!
 
A claw is in the hardness range of Mohs 2.
By definition, Mohs 1 (talcum, e.g.) may be scratched by a fingernail (same stuff as a claw...)
As Cliff indicated, teeth are quite hard, definitely harder than "soft iron" but less hard than a good knife blade.
Do not forget: just the "enamel layer" of the teeth is hard, the inner stuff is much softer.
Happy sharpening
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Ted
 
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