How To Reproduction knife steel hardness

R

RidingDutchman

Joined
Nov 9, 2018
Messages
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Hey all,
Greetings from the Netherlands. My first topic here after long lurking.

A friend of mine has requested me to sharpen his replica ww2 German stiefelmesser. The edge is currently fully rounded and has been so from factory.
He does not know if the steel is hardened and I do not really have the experience to tell it. Are there ways I can tell if the blade is hardened without damaging the finish too much?
If I decide to try and sharpen it and it turns out to be soft steel, it will just not hold an edge right? Or are there other reasons why I should leave it alone?

Thanks for the help!
 
Welcome.

That is a great question.

I guess, to me, it all depends on what your friend wants to do with it.

If he wants it just as an object that looks cool, it doesn't really matter how sharp it is or how long the edge holds.

If he wants to use it for it's intended purpose (stabbing people), then "sharp" matters and edge retention really doesn't (unless you are like me and am an international spy type who gets into hand to hand knife fight combat with evil villians on a daily basis...)

If he wants to use it for something other than its intended purpose, he probably needs top get another knife entirely. That thing is a purpose-built from the ground up stabber. Not really good for, say, camping. Unless its "spy camping." :D
 
The fact that it came rounded from the factory is indicative of a soft blade. You can use a regular file to test hardness. A file will bite more easily and aggressively into soft steel. Hardened steel will be more resistant to filing.
 
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