RC hardness files???

rustyrazor

rustyrazor

Joined
Oct 13, 2011
Messages
1,774
I am in the market for an Rockwell hardness tester, but as of yet, my finances aren't. That being the case, i have been wondering if anyone knows where to get quality RC hardness files to test my blades while i'm playing with heat treating? I will be taking them to one of my maker friend's shops to compare the results on occasion, but i wan't to document everything while i'm doing it all and for now this is the cheapest way i can think of to keep records.

Thanks in advance.

Royce
 
I'm looking for some as well. I will post a reply with a link (Is that is allowed?) if I manage to find what looks like a good deal.
 
i bought some about a week ago. from what i found there is a set you can buy from Grizlly, or you can buy some off ebay or amzon. the ones from ebay are made in japan so im not sure about the quality, but grizlly ones are also probably made in china. the big thing is that if you buy from grizlly they are about a third the price. I bout the ones off ebay but havent used both so i cant compare them.
 
Like Jack said, the grizzly files look like the best option for the price. I think I'll buy some as well in the next couple of days.
 
I think Jantz has them on their site, but I have no idea about the quality or the price/value.
 
yeah, that's what i was wondering about if anyone had any recommendations on the quality of a particular brand that i can rely on. is "grizzly" a knifemaking supply company?
 
I am of the thought that they are good if you have the experience to use them, and close to useless if you don't. Someone who isn't well versed on HT and hardness testing won't know if he is getting a real result or not. Somewhere I have a set, but never use them, and don't think they are really all that good. I seriously doubt any new maker could get a reliable reading with them on a home HTed blade.

Used to check something that is supposed to be a certain hardness, like testing blades when returned from HT to see if they are all around Rc58, OK.
Used to test unknown hardness knives after a home HT - NO.
 
And is there a reason to retest them if they were done by a reputable shop? I don't think so.
Frank
 
Just potting this out there, I personally own a hardness tester. It's a shore rebound tester the measures is shore hardness. Which is fine as there are charts to convert to RC. But what I'm getting at is any of you guy need a sample tested I would not mind testing it for you. But just send a sample chunk that you don't want shipped back. Does not need to be real big or very thick but surface finish needs to be good. The finer the finish the more accurate the result. Also the sides need to be parallel, no weard shaped chunks. So just a flat sample that's finish sanded and everything should be good to go.
 
I have a set of grizzly hardness files they aren't going to tell you exactly what you blade hardness is exactly, they will give you a 5 point range. The one thing I learned early on with them is your results will vary greatly from post heat treated to finish sanding, if you do get a set be prepared to refinish your blade if you want the accurate reading you can get. The reason I say this is even after I removed the decarb my 65 file still wouldn't bite enough to say the steal was less then that the more I cleaned it up the more the file would bite then at around 400 grit the 60 fine started to leave it's mark but the 55 wouldn't. From there it's your best judgment as to how far under 60 it is.
 
I am planning on testing the blades with the RC tester first to see where they set at, then see how the files work against the reading... as a ballpark only, but it seems as though they might not even be good enough for that purpose. 5 points is a fairly big spread on hardness and i'd like something that was a bit more accurate. looks like I'll keep saving up and wait for the big fella when i can afford it.
 
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