Scotch-Brite test for blade quality

R

Rüdemann

Joined
Aug 13, 2011
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Looked around but didn't see this topic. So, I needed to cut one of those Scotch-Brite/sponge backing pads for a particular use, and used a cheap EDC fixed-blade - one I have been testing to see if it (420) holds and edge as good as better knives. Anyway, trimming this Scotch-Brite/sponge took the edge clean off this cheapo knife. My bright idea is to do this "test" on my better knives, but I am not anxious to re-sharpen 6 or so rotating EDC fixed-blades. Anybody ever test their blade quality on Scotch-Brite?
 
Yes they will dull the edge. It may show which steel has better wear resistance but would be the same as trying to cut sandpaper.

Why not just use the knives for real life tasks? Cutting cardboard, rope, or wood are common ones.
 
Scotch Brite pads are impregnated with aluminum oxide (synthetic corundum) abrasive particles that will damage the edge of any steel knife. This is abuse best limited to utility knives with disposable blades.
 
Hahaha; well I thought cutting a sponge with a little Scotch-Brite on the back WAS a real life task, but Bill1170 set me straight.
 
Bill, thanks for the information on what is in those Scotch-Brite pads. But let's look at this a little closer.

So, guys are testing knives (yes it's abuse) by putting them in a vise and bending them, plunging them through car hoods, etc. to see which knife(s) to have with you when "what if" happens. What do I want with a super-steel knife what caint cut some sponge with a little Scotch-Brite on the back?!;) hahaha.

I mean guys are a diggin fire holes with their "camp" knives, then slicin maters. How come, S30V or 154CM ain't no good at slicin this here sponge? Well maybe they are, but folks like me are askeered to try it cause ifin you got you one o them INFI blades you don't want to be disappointed. Abuse, caboose, let's have a steel that can dig in the dirt, cut the steel roof of a car so you can get out when you drive in the lake, baton through an oak knot, and cut a little wossie sponge.
 
Those destruction tests you are referring to have zero validity and hold no water around these parts. I test my knives by going out to the woods and doing what I do with them, cutting wood, carving, fire starting and food prep is all I need it to do. If I drive in to a lake, I doubt ill have time to cut through the roof unless its a soft top of course. A good edge test is trying realistic daily cutting tasks, cutting abrasive sponges is a waste of energy. Ill save you the trouble, it will dull your knife, you will have to resharpen.
 
Rüdemann;11175204 said:
Bill, thanks for the information on what is in those Scotch-Brite pads. But let's look at this a little closer.

So, guys are testing knives (yes it's abuse) by putting them in a vise and bending them, plunging them through car hoods, etc. to see which knife(s) to have with you when "what if" happens. What do I want with a super-steel knife what caint cut some sponge with a little Scotch-Brite on the back?!;) hahaha.

I mean guys are a diggin fire holes with their "camp" knives, then slicin maters. How come, S30V or 154CM ain't no good at slicin this here sponge? Well maybe they are, but folks like me are askeered to try it cause ifin you got you one o them INFI blades you don't want to be disappointed. Abuse, caboose, let's have a steel that can dig in the dirt, cut the steel roof of a car so you can get out when you drive in the lake, baton through an oak knot, and cut a little wossie sponge.
Click to expand...

In the real world this isn't like to happen. A good cutting edge is extremely fine, alu oxide is extremely abrasive, and the design of the pads means that a knife is exposed to an awful lot of it while cutting a pad. If you do have to cut very abrasive materials, there is a reasonably good answer - serrated blades:

http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/reviews/alantic_salt.html
 
HardTripper said:
Those destruction tests you are referring to have zero validity and hold no water around these parts. I test my knives by going out to the woods and doing what I do with them, cutting wood, carving, fire starting and food prep is all I need it to do. If I drive in to a lake, I doubt ill have time to cut through the roof unless its a soft top of course. A good edge test is trying realistic daily cutting tasks, cutting abrasive sponges is a waste of energy. Ill save you the trouble, it will dull your knife, you will have to resharpen.
Click to expand...

...Which completely misses the point. If you mis-chop and your knife goes point first and full steam ahead into a rock full of quartz, then a d-test with a concrete block is pretty relevant.

Also: you are not the only person in the universe and some people may need different things from their knives to you. Irrelevant to you is not the same as invalid.
 
I put a nice Scotchbrite finish on a Western W-49 Bowie (good steel) and on a cheapo katana (shoddyy steel). In both cases the edged were erased and I was rubbing lengthwise to avoid cuts but the edges were still taken off. You could use them as trainers. :eek:

Not a big deal - I just sharpened them up after I was finished! :thumbup:
 
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Cutting Scotchbrite pads with a knife is an excellent test of knife performance if you want to know how well a knife will cut Scotchbrite pads.

Considering how some people use their knives, I don't think it's abuse to cut Scotchbrite pads. Actually, I don't believe that one person can tell another person what constitutes knife abuse. After all, if it's your knife you can do whatever you want with it. Of course, expecting a knife to withstand or survive extreme use that it may not have been designed for is another matter entirely.
 
At my job(restaurant) we get scotch brite pads in packs of 20. They come 6in x 9in, so I cut them in half so they don't go to waste so quickly. They're most definitely a good edge retention test imo.
 
meanwhile said:
...Which completely misses the point. If you mis-chop and your knife goes point first and full steam ahead into a rock full of quartz, then a d-test with a concrete block is pretty relevant.

Also: you are not the only person in the universe and some people may need different things from their knives to you. Irrelevant to you is not the same as invalid.
Click to expand...

If I were to chop the tip full steam into a rock and break it off, should I turn around and say what the hell! The Jason mask guys knife didnt chip! Its a pointless test (no pun intended), and you should just be careful instead of hoping some stupid brick chopping video will educate you on blade toughness.
 
If you wanna know how well your knife can cut a scotchbright pad, or sand paper or such, then go ahead and do it. I've used my knives to do the same, and I just put a new edge on them, no big deal. I'm not carrying a second knife because I don't want to dull my "good" one when wet sanding a car. No big deal. Do what you want or need with your knife and test it how your goon to use it.
 
Well, perhaps it's abuse and not necessary for everybody, but jk has these Scotch-Brite pads in his restaurant and he has to cut 'em apart. So I suspect he'd be really interested in the results of several blade-steels doing just that.
Cutting things is what knives are all about.
Sonny
 
meanwhile said:
...Which completely misses the point. If you mis-chop and your knife goes point first and full steam ahead into a rock full of quartz, then a d-test with a concrete block is pretty relevant.

Also: you are not the only person in the universe and some people may need different things from their knives to you. Irrelevant to you is not the same as invalid.
Click to expand...

I love this guys attitude, makes me laugh, all his takes so far are pure Google translations, once a clueless clown, always a clueless clown
 
A good test for your edge are the real life things you will use your knife for.
In JK's case - he cuts scotch-brite pads as a part of his job, so for him, it's a good test.
In my case - Packages, cardboard boxes, envelopes, wood, etc. are all good tests.

Any real life situation you would apply your knife usage to, is a good test. This however does not include cutting through car doors and other ridiculous things people test their knives on.
 
Scotch brite pads are a bad general test because the abrasion is too harsh. If you have to do such a task, then get the most abrasion resistant steel you can find, but no edge is going to survive it. Aluminum oxide is used to grind steel, and a sharp edge is going to be under a micron, so everything is going to get pretty dull pretty quickly.
 
Thank you for your comments folks. Some of you think the "survival" tests are silly and some think that even the Scotch-Brite test is reasonable - if that is part of your day. On the other hand, if you love knives as I would assume everybody here does, then even if you think bending a blade and stabbing a car hood or digging dirt to make a fire hole is on the outer edge of what you consider reasonable; a knife that could do these things would be of some interest.

Not everybody will spend $300+ for a user (EDC). As with what they say about 4WD, lots of people buy em, but few ever get off road, few expensive "survival" or "camp" knives will ever see anything but a display case. But, if I watched all the videos of survival tests and destructive tests, even though I don't want to slice through a car hood or baton through a brick, I sure would admire a blade that could do this stuff and survive with a keen edge. It says to me that it will do all the daily string and box cutting and if I'm desperate it will do a lot more. What are all the newer fancy steels about? Edge retention, durability over hard use?

Surely AUS-8, S30V, S40V, 154 CFM, etc. isn't being made for guys in slaughter houses, or folks who butcher beef or game every day. For that matter, it would seem that the common 440C would do well and be all you would need skinning and slicing meat as well as cutting some cardboard, string, and packing tape. These expensive, fancy knives are advertised as being "hard use" knives.

Maybe that's it. A $40. 440C is all anybody needs - for any task. So it gets dull slicing Scotch-Brite; just whack it on a stone (bench stone) a few times and it is a good as new, and what the hell, it was reasonably inexpensive and most folks wouldn't expect it to cut aluminum oxide pads. So, what is the fascination we knife lovers have about a blade that promises to do anything? Certainly in our daily lives we don't need a $400.+ super steel knife to do the lowly tasks we ask of a knife, but if I were going to put a knife in my ALICE pack for "disaster prep" or whatever term you like for life altering events that send you off into the woods with what you can carry on your back, I would want a knife that passed the tests of hard, hard use.

Just the simple matter of opening a can of peaches, beans, soup, etc. (without those tabbed lids), and you have no can opener. Here's where the ole trusty P-38 C-rats can opener comes in handy, but if it's just you, the can, and a knife, wouldn't you want the knife that could do this and keep an edge - so you can kill, skin and quarter the bear that came into your camp smelling freshly opened canned peaches? Not an everyday task, but a very simple one that could reasonably happen (the opening a can part).

For me, it comes down to trying to figure out why I desperately want/need a great big D-2 or a Busse or a Cold Steel San Mai III, etc. if all I need is my old Western R-16 or W.R. Case or Buck hunter?
 
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True enough, manowar669. The problem isn't what you have/own, it's what is on your belt or in your pocket at the time. I have plenty of handy stuff like SAK Champion and real scissors, but what I have on me every day is a 3.5"-4" fixed blade for whatever comes to hand. Somebody famous (or should be) said something like: "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail". Therefore, since I have a fixed-blade on my belt every day, everything looks like a knife will do the trick - like cutting a Scotch-Brite sponge/pad.
 
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