Ran into this BK9 torture test.

I think it's less of a review than a "let's see if we can break this thing" demonstration. It really only shows that Noss et al are willing and able to do whatever it takes to break a good knife.

Not my idea of entertainment nor is it very informative.
 
rkmoore said:
I think it's less of a review than a "let's see if we can break this thing" demonstration. It really only shows that Noss et al are willing and able to do whatever it takes to break a good knife.

Not my idea of entertainment nor is it very informative.
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The videos are much more useful when compared to others. The point is not that the knife breaks, but when and how, particularly compared to other knives. Going from memory, the BK9 did pretty well, certainly above average. It interesting the videos are showing back up. I thought they were all gone.
 
waste of time.
of course cutting rocks with your knife ruins it. we use rocks to MAKE knives because they are harder than the steel.
and unsurprisingly, the 'knives' made to 'cut' rocks (chisels, hammer drill bits, jackhammer bits) are absolutely useless for any knife-appropriate cutting task.
 
just shows that if you're persistant enough you can and will break you're toys!!
 
daizee said:
waste of time.
of course cutting rocks with your knife ruins it. we use rocks to MAKE knives because they are harder than the steel.
and unsurprisingly, the 'knives' made to 'cut' rocks (chisels, hammer drill bits, jackhammer bits) are absolutely useless for any knife-appropriate cutting task.
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That part isnt meant to show knives will chop rock without damage. On a knife meant for rough use, its meant to show incidental impacts with rocks wont immediately break the blade. If the edge takes damage, no problem. If the blade shatters, thats the kind of thing you want to know about.
 
I have a boxcutter, splitting maul, hammer drill, and lots of other tools that suffice in the usual modes. The knife is quite another tool.
Frankly, I may not have what it takes to sit through more than 4:56 of this playlist.
Metallurgy class was way more fun! The riddle of steel. :D
 
me2 said:
That part isnt meant to show knives will chop rock without damage. On a knife meant for rough use, its meant to show incidental impacts with rocks wont immediately break the blade. If the edge takes damage, no problem. If the blade shatters, thats the kind of thing you want to know about.
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If that were the case, he would only need to hit the cinderblock once. Right?
If I had some incidental contact with a rock, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't keep smashing it over and over again. Lol :D
 
Jonny1280 said:
If that were the case, he would only need to hit the cinderblock once. Right?
If I had some incidental contact with a rock, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't keep smashing it over and over again. Lol :D
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Yup. Test invalid. Of course, after seeing a few of the Camillus era 9's break, there is no love lost here at all. Good riddance.
 
Nope. Sometimes incidental impacts are repeated. I've been chopping lumber with nails in it and hit them over and over, only to find them after the cut was made. This was new lumber from a fresh pile on a pallet, but it came with nails hidden in it. The origins of the concrete block chop came from a maker who requested it. Also, any one knows the edge will dent or chip on concrete, but other material can cause it, and repeated dents can cause a failure. I've seen edges dent on pin knots and dead limbs while removing braches from a larger piece. No one stops to remove each dent or chip as they appear.
 
Geez guys... it's not like he stole your knife and broke it. Everyone needs a hobby :D


daizee said:
of course cutting rocks with your knife ruins it. we use rocks to MAKE knives because they are harder than the steel.
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Off to the quote thread with you! :thumbup:

me2 said:
The point is not that the knife breaks, but when and how, particularly compared to other knives.
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That's a good point, one that's nearly always missed when this cat's name comes up. He compared a boatload of different knives over the years, ranging from very cheap to pretty dang expensive. The results were often surprising, especially when viewed in comparison.

There is indeed a certain validity to destruction testing... I know very few professional makers who don't occasionally abuse and destroy their own blades just to be sure they're confident in what will happen under the worst possible conditions. If I remember correctly, Moose demolished a car with a BK-2 a couple years back, the same way auto manufacturers drive brand new vehicles straight into a brick wall from time to time... no one mocks them for that.

I just always wondered what he did for a living, that he had that much time and money to destroy so many perfectly good knives.
 
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The car demolishing is one of the most common comparisons. The argument then often becomes the car makers gain much more information by monitoring everything they can, from speed to impact energy/force, effects on dummies, etc. Noss' tests were much less specific, but they were still valuable/informative. Could the knife cut? Yes, he usually did some webbing or fruit cutting to show it came sharp, and repeated it at various time. Could it be batoned? Could it punch holes in sheet metal? Could it dig through a 2x4, cut through bar stock or scaffold support, etc. All these things were constrained by what could an above average size person do, in the extremes with a hammer and vice. To me, the variability of human use is a positive, not a negative of these tests. That the knife would break was a given goal. The question then became how/when. Having watched the videos when there were many more up for comparison's sake, the BK9 faired pretty well, certainly something you could count on to not shatter or chip if a rock was hit a time or 2 cutting roots or near ground brush, and should do fine with a wood baton.
 
Eero said:
funny that it's a cam 9
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I noticed that too.


james terrio said:
There is indeed a certain validity to destruction testing... I know very few professional makers who don't occasionally abuse and destroy their own blades just to be sure they're confident in what will happen under the worst possible conditions. If I remember correctly, Moose demolished a car with a BK-2 a couple years back, the same way auto manufacturers drive brand new vehicles straight into a brick wall from time to time... no one mocks them for that.
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Actually it was a BK3 vs a doge omni. And it was the local fire dept that did it, he was just there. Although he did use an 11 to break out a window. It took two firemen giving it everything they had prying against the latch pin on the car's door to break the BK3 at the notch on the back.


As was mentioned, this video is a lot more useful when viewed in the context of a series of tests. Watching one video tells you that a knife can take some serious abuse. Watching a lot of them helps you decide where to spend you money. "Well if knife X cost twice as much as knife Y but it didn't take much more to break it than maybe knife Y is the better value for my use. Since I'm not going to chop cinder blocks with it."
 
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