I decided to test all the folders I kept/bought after the big clean out a few months ago. Using a bathroom scale, I compared the penetration into a phone book under 50 lbs, and the force needed to make a 3 inch cut into some cardboard. The knives tested were a CRKT Kasper Fighter, a Benchmade Ares, a Benchmade 806, a Spyderco Delica, and 2 chef's knives from the kitchen, one Faberware and one Camillus. I didnt count the pages of penetration, as I was just interested in a relative comparison. I got rid of most of my other knives and bought an 806, and wanted to see how it compared to the others, especially the Delica I bought last weekend.
Penetration Test
Number 1 was the Delica, followed by the Ares, the 806, the Camillus Chef's, the CRKT and finally the Faberware. All the knives penetrated past the 200 page mark, and the Delica passed the 300 mark. However, on the second round of tests, I could see the differences between the knives was no more than 0.02" - 0.03", or a few dozen pages. The difference between the high and low probably approached 0.1".
Cutting Test
Number 1 was the Camillus Chef's knife, followed by the Ares, the Spyderco and 806 at about the same, then the CRKT, and finally the Faberware Chef's knife. Here is a list of the recorded forces needed to make the cut.
Camillus - 2.5 lbs
Ares - 3.5 lbs
Delica and 806 - 4 lbs
CRKT - 5 lbs
Faberware - 7 lbs
All knives would shave before the test. The Delica still had its factory edge. All the other knives have been sharpened using a sharpmaker to put the final edge on. The 806 was a surprise, as was the Ares, both cutting better than expected and much better than Benchmade's thick edged reputation would indicate. The edge of the 806 is probably twice as thick as the Delica, measuring where the edge bevels start. The Camillus has a full flat grind down to a very thin edge. The blade is less than 1/8" thick and about 2.5" wide.
I've been thinking lately that maybe an 805 would have been a better choice over the 806. If the blade is ground like the Ares, then I will definately have the 806 blade replaced with an 805 one when I scratch off the 806's coating. I've been of town for a while and have not been able to do this experiment until now.
Penetration Test
Number 1 was the Delica, followed by the Ares, the 806, the Camillus Chef's, the CRKT and finally the Faberware. All the knives penetrated past the 200 page mark, and the Delica passed the 300 mark. However, on the second round of tests, I could see the differences between the knives was no more than 0.02" - 0.03", or a few dozen pages. The difference between the high and low probably approached 0.1".
Cutting Test
Number 1 was the Camillus Chef's knife, followed by the Ares, the Spyderco and 806 at about the same, then the CRKT, and finally the Faberware Chef's knife. Here is a list of the recorded forces needed to make the cut.
Camillus - 2.5 lbs
Ares - 3.5 lbs
Delica and 806 - 4 lbs
CRKT - 5 lbs
Faberware - 7 lbs
All knives would shave before the test. The Delica still had its factory edge. All the other knives have been sharpened using a sharpmaker to put the final edge on. The 806 was a surprise, as was the Ares, both cutting better than expected and much better than Benchmade's thick edged reputation would indicate. The edge of the 806 is probably twice as thick as the Delica, measuring where the edge bevels start. The Camillus has a full flat grind down to a very thin edge. The blade is less than 1/8" thick and about 2.5" wide.
I've been thinking lately that maybe an 805 would have been a better choice over the 806. If the blade is ground like the Ares, then I will definately have the 806 blade replaced with an 805 one when I scratch off the 806's coating. I've been of town for a while and have not been able to do this experiment until now.