Proposed Mule Team Test - Abrasion Resistance

theonew

theonew

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
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Just got my Mule today and since I'm new to knife testing I thought I'd throw out my proposed plan and see what you all think.

My aim is to test the abrasion resistance of the different Mule steels. This weekend I am going to build a rig similar to the one described here. I am going to start with the factory edge and test it for sharpness. Then I am going to hold the knife blade vertically with the edge facing up and using a Spyderco ultrafine ceramic rod hanging in a sling I am going to drag it perpendicularly across the whole edge using just the weight of the rod itself. Then I will retest sharpness and continue this process till the edge gets dull. Now I know this test doesn't really take advantage of the consistent blade profile of the mules, but I find it intriguing and hope to continue the exact same process for every mule I can get my hands on and post the results here.
 
my gut says it's too much abrasion

I just tried with a cheapo Schrade sak clone; took it to a down & dirty arm hair shaving edge - 600 diamond, 2.5 micron SiC paper strop, 0.5 micron CrO paper strop. One pass on the UF rod, edge up, lifting the rod slightly. Will not cut a single air on my arm now, and can barely pushcut an index card, have to get lucky with paper right at the point of hold.

I tried the rubber bands (marked postal size, 3 1/2 x 1/4, no. 64), no jig, but the difference is drastic enough. Two cuts with the dull edge, the band stretched about 10 inches before cutting. Resharpened with the same abrasives, maybe around an inch at most.
 
hardheart said:
my gut says it's too much abrasion

I just tried with a cheapo Schrade sak clone; took it to a down & dirty arm hair shaving edge - 600 diamond, 2.5 micron SiC paper strop, 0.5 micron CrO paper strop. One pass on the UF rod, edge up, lifting the rod slightly. Will not cut a single air on my arm now, and can barely pushcut an index card, have to get lucky with paper right at the point of hold.

I tried the rubber bands (marked postal size, 3 1/2 x 1/4, no. 64), no jig, but the difference is drastic enough. Two cuts with the dull edge, the band stretched about 10 inches before cutting. Resharpened with the same abrasives, maybe around an inch at most.
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Yikes I did want it to wear fast, but yeah that is way to fast. :(
 
Yeah, also why one should not cut food on a plate if they care about the edge of the knife. At that sub-micron width of a cutting edge, the ceramic will obliterate steel with little force, the pressure is large because of the minor contact area. Same idea with the sharpmaker and using either corners or flats.
 
hardheart said:
Yeah, also why one should not cut food on a plate if they care about the edge of the knife. At that sub-micron width of a cutting edge, the ceramic will obliterate steel with little force, the pressure is large because of the minor contact area. Same idea with the sharpmaker and using either corners or flats.
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Now if only I could get my wife to understand that :mad:
 
OK I think I have it now. The Spyderco ceramic rod was just too heavy. I just tried a small piece, about 2 1/2 inches long, of a broken crock stick on some 440C and it dulls the edge but just ever so slightly. I'm guessing it will take shaving sharp and turn it into dull in about 50 strokes.
 
I don't think that the wear profile on the edge is very representative of any real use (except cutting on a plate). I think that you want a softer medium. How about something like plaster wall board.
 
Jeff Clark said:
I don't think that the wear profile on the edge is very representative of any real use (except cutting on a plate). I think that you want a softer medium. How about something like plaster wall board.
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That's a good idea. :thumbup:

Maybe put a pencil through a hole in the handle and drag the blade across a piece of sheetrock just letting it cut with the weight of the knife. I'm guessing that there shouldn't be very much difference in the weight of each mule.
 
Jeff Clark said:
I don't think that the wear profile on the edge is very representative of any real use (except cutting on a plate). I think that you want a softer medium. How about something like plaster wall board.
Click to expand...

While I think it is soft enough, I would think that it is still to abrasive. You would loose shaving with a single slice about 2 feet long. My guess is that cardboard is still the best easy available testing material for abrasion resistance....and it has some real world application.
 
I like cardboard, but its wear rate is a bit slow for some people. How about acoustic ceiling tiles?
 
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