sneaker cutting: edge chipping test

J

jimnolimit

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Oct 28, 2009
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*disclaimer: i went into this test willing to except responsibility for ruining/damaging my knives and/or myself. if anyone tries to recreate this test they must also except that responsibility.*

*this is in no way a scientific test or 100% accurate. all tests were real world and as is, using sneakers taken directly from my hallway. im not perfect, but i tried my best to keep everything as close as possible. this is just one specific type of test and in no way should it be used to "try" and disprove or discredit other well done tests. this is just another small piece in a very large steel puzzle.*




i decided to take a few different knives/steels i have and cut up some of my old, size-12 new balance's (US made).
i cut each sneaker into approximately 26-28 pieces, to keep the test as fair as possible
all blades tested so far are between 3"-4" long and less than 4mm at the thickest part of the spine.
all edges are about 18-20 degrees per side (i hand sharpen but i'm pretty accurate).
all knives were beveled, sharpened and finished on the same stones.
all high powered pics are taken at about 375x magnification. after each test, i inspected the blade's edge and i took the high powered pic showing the worst area of the edge.
before i started the tests, each knife was able to easily push cut newspaper against the grain

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first up was a spyderco endura 4 ZDP-189 FFG:

zdpnbshoecutting.jpg



ZDP
zdpnbshoecut2.jpg



after the test, ZDP wouldn't cut the newspaper either with or against the grain, but it still cut cardboard pretty easily.



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next up was my spyderco para 2 with S30V.

s30vpara2shoecutafter.jpg




S30V
s30vshoecutafter2.jpg



after the test, S30V wouldn't cut newspaper either with or against the grain. S30V also wouldn't cut cardboard.
 
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knife #3 was a spyderco 52100 mule.

52100muleshoecutaftertest.jpg




52100
52100muleshoecutafter1.jpg



after the test, the 52100 wouldn't cut newspaper either with or against the grain, but it was able to cut cardboard pretty easily.



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knife #4 was a buck vantage select large (420HC steel)

vantage420hcshoecutaftertets.jpg





420HC

vantageselect420hcshoecutafter.jpg




after the test, the 420HC wouldn't cut newspaper either with or against the grain, but it would still cut cardboard pretty easily.

p.s. out of the four knives tested so far (the 3 spyderco's were full flat grinds) the vantage select had a little less resistance while cutting. it was probably the fact that the buck has a very deep hollow grind.
 
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sneakers, cans, sisal, tire sidewalls. carpet & cardboard--- i love it. the guys are wringing out our knives. a hearty thanks to jimnolimit.///dennis
 
thanks for the kind words everyone.

just to give an update, i resharpened all four knives earlier on today. all are back to "better than new".
 
Thanks for the info this has to be one of the most useful and informative test I've seen in a while.
 
hahaha...does the test-result also include that im not the only idiot who cut's his shoes into lil peaces?!? ;)
 
Thanks for the comparison - pictures of the edge are difficult to quantify, and hard to argue with. I like the edge picture comparison (or visual observation) more than most other hand test methods.
 
Hey jimnolimit as soon as you wear out another pair of shoes can you do the same test with M4 steel? Like a Spyderco Gail Bradley? Or maybe a Benchmade with M390? And thanks for the info you have already posted! :thumbup:
 
thanks for all of the kind words everyone.




vwb563 said:
Hey jimnolimit as soon as you wear out another pair of shoes can you do the same test with M4 steel? Like a Spyderco Gail Bradley? Or maybe a Benchmade with M390? And thanks for the info you have already posted! :thumbup:
Click to expand...

i have pair of new balances that im retiring this week, my M4 manix 2 will be waiting for one of the sneakers.
 
I'm from PETS (People for the Ethical Treatment of Shoes). I will be filing an injunction against your sneaker abuse later today, and calling 60 Minutes as well. I hope they make a special out of you. :)

Good test! I like it. Gotta try it myself. Thanks
 
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