rockwell hardness testing services?

[Scott Fulford]

My Son has taken up the hobby, He has graduated from High School but has yet to find a job, he wants to become a correctional officer like me but he cant enter the academy until he`s 19 so thats a year and a half from now, anyway I talked to him about making knives as a side job until something becomes available. I gave him the materials to make a small neck knife and guided him through the process of making it, heat treating it and making the sheath, the deal was that he would use the $$ from selling the knife to buy a couple of belts, some more steel and a sheet or two of kydex, make 2 or 3 more knives, sell them and then re-invest the money into supplies and start skimming the profits for pocket money (I allowed him to decide what portion would be pay and what portion would be put back into materials and consumables) He was so impressed (as well as I ) with his first attempt he didnt want to let it go, so he asked if he could make another to sell. I agreed and we made another to sell. I make small neck knives from 1075 in a tanto style, paracord wrapped and kydex sheath and sell them for $40 to $50 and they usually sell very quickly.
Long story short, he sold the second and posted pix of his first on a certain firearms related bulletin board, a member asked if he would sell the first, offered him $75 for it but asked that it be rockwell tested and documented and also be stamped #001. Since the blade was edge quenched I shouldnt have a problem with stamping the serial number in it near the spine but I`ve called around to the gunsmiths in the area and only one has a rockwell tester and he wants $20 for the test. Is this a fair amount? Not alot of money in the grand scheme of things but that really cuts into my sons profits, he was going to keep the blade until that $75 figure hit his head....now he`s going to get $55 for the blade minus packaging and shipping which is about $6 so he`s now thinking about keeping it again. How much should a rockwell test cost and are there services available where we could send the blade to and have it tested?
Here`s a few pix of his first two.....
Number 001:

Number 002:

Thanks in advance for any replies,
Scott

 

[65535]

Me personally, seeing there is interest in the work, I would find someone else to buy. The fact that it is edge quenched means that a rockwell of the body will be meaningless. Considering how out of your way the deal would be going I say there is certainly someone else willing to pay the money for the knife that is pictured.

 

[go mike]

If it's only edge quenched, it would be hard to test, because it is at an angle, and if you did test it, it's possible to crack the blade.

I agree with 65535 -- sell to someone else.

 

[richard j]

i use 1075 and i heat treat the same way. your blade can be rockwell tested without any danger of cracking but the angle does make it a little difficult to test. you can get a good idea as to how hard it is though.