Rockwell C Files

B

Brad M

Joined
Jan 17, 2007
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Has anyone had any experience with "hardness testing files"? I found a set for $100 CDN that give you a hardness value to within a point or two (Rockwell C). Is there any sense in buying these or would I be more wise to buy an "indent" tester? Curious of your thoughts.

Thanks, Brad Morgan
 
Files are great for checking. But it will not tell you how hard it is. You would need a harden Tester for that. I use one in my shop all the time. --------:thumbup:
 
If they are not telling how hard a blade is, then what are they for? I have a set, and that is what they are used for in my shop. They will tell hardness within a couple of points, after one gains a bit of experience with them by testing steel samples of a known hardness.
 
Personally I would check E-Bay regularly for a portable hardness tester. The Ames model 1 and 2 are handheld portable units that are very acurate. I picked up the two #2s I have for about $250 for the pair. They retail for about 2k per unit so I saved roughly $1750 bucks.

If you are patient you can get one for just a bit more than the files and be much happier with the end result.

I checked E-bay for an Ames unit but there are none listed at the moment.

I did find this one http://cgi.ebay.com/Rockwell-hardness-tester_W0QQitemZ110116018851QQihZ001QQcategoryZ12581QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
Arthur Washburn said:
Personally I would check E-Bay regularly for a portable hardness tester. The Ames model 1 and 2 are handheld portable units that are very acurate. I picked up the two #2s I have for about $250 for the pair. They retail for about 2k per unit so I saved roughly $1750 bucks.
Click to expand...

I've got an Ames model 2 that I got that way. Unfortunately I can't figure out
how to get an accurate reading from it. Took it to a local hammer-in and no
one there could figure it out either. It may be out of calibration (how much
would that cost to fix, but it may be just my ineptness and lack of training.

I'm also thinking of getting some of the files. While less precise, they can
work on surfaces that aren't flat and parallel (e.g. edges of differentially
hardend blades) or completely uniform (e.g. damascus). Also I might be
able to under stand how to use them :foot:

I'd still like to either figure out how to use my Ames or get a real bench
mounted tester some day.
 
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