From time to time, I like to do a little testing. Nothing scientific, no notes or comparisons, just purely testing for the fun of it.
It also gives me confidence to prove to myself that my blades work. I use one of my own every say, and to be honest it has had more than it's fair share of abuse in the last 18 months or so, but I also like to have a little bit of fun and do stupid things from time to time as well.
Hence I made one especially for the occaision.
Here's my current user....
As you can see, it's had a fair amount of (ab)use. I'm an electrician by trade and it's used every day for stripping cables, cutting cables (with help from a hammer!), cutting draw ropes, etc. It's also dressed game, cut sticks and any other number of things a knife gets used for. Someone also borrowed it and used it to pry tiles off a wall, hence the tip is about 1/2" shorter than it was originaly.
Anyway...here's the proper test.
The knife is a Bushcraft style blade which is very popular over here thanks to a certain Mr Mears. The only reason I made this style was because it's nice and easy/quick to grind compared with full flat grind. Remember, this was done purely for fun, not as some sort of serious test. I know some of you take testing very seriously...to be honest, I struggle to take anything too seriously.
It was also done to post on a couple of forums in the UK and so I figured doing this to the nation's favourite design would be amusing. Another reason was that I can't stand this style of knife, so doing what you're about to see didn't cause me to shed any tears.:thumbup:
Right, here's the knife in question. Steel is 80CrV2, just under 4mm thick. It was edge quenched in used motor oil and tempered twice for an hour at 180c in my (kitchen) oven. I hand finished it to 240 grit, drilled and countersunk the pin holes and stamped my name (badly!) to make it a fair test regarding possible stress risers etc.
It was ground to a zero edge and was shaving sharp when my test began.
For starters, I cut a load of dowel and leather until I got bored...told you this wasn't very scientific didn't I?
Next up was cutting dowel with the help of my hammer.
Once again, I soon got bored. At this point I checked the edge again and it still shaved hair ok.
It was then time for some 1/8" brazing rod.
So far, so good and no edge damage. Next stop..copper pipe.
Thankfully the edge still held up ok...so, time to bring on the 4" nail...
To be honest, the edge wasn't too keen on this test and pushed the nail into my piece of plywood, damaging it at the same time.
Still, not to worry...I binned the plywood and hit it directly on the anvil. It cut several pieces off the nail much better, although the edge didn't seem to be having as much fun as I was...
After cutting a couple of batteries I found lying on the floor for good measure, it was time to go back to the grinder.
It also gives me confidence to prove to myself that my blades work. I use one of my own every say, and to be honest it has had more than it's fair share of abuse in the last 18 months or so, but I also like to have a little bit of fun and do stupid things from time to time as well.
Hence I made one especially for the occaision.
Here's my current user....
As you can see, it's had a fair amount of (ab)use. I'm an electrician by trade and it's used every day for stripping cables, cutting cables (with help from a hammer!), cutting draw ropes, etc. It's also dressed game, cut sticks and any other number of things a knife gets used for. Someone also borrowed it and used it to pry tiles off a wall, hence the tip is about 1/2" shorter than it was originaly.
Anyway...here's the proper test.
The knife is a Bushcraft style blade which is very popular over here thanks to a certain Mr Mears. The only reason I made this style was because it's nice and easy/quick to grind compared with full flat grind. Remember, this was done purely for fun, not as some sort of serious test. I know some of you take testing very seriously...to be honest, I struggle to take anything too seriously.
It was also done to post on a couple of forums in the UK and so I figured doing this to the nation's favourite design would be amusing. Another reason was that I can't stand this style of knife, so doing what you're about to see didn't cause me to shed any tears.:thumbup:Right, here's the knife in question. Steel is 80CrV2, just under 4mm thick. It was edge quenched in used motor oil and tempered twice for an hour at 180c in my (kitchen) oven. I hand finished it to 240 grit, drilled and countersunk the pin holes and stamped my name (badly!) to make it a fair test regarding possible stress risers etc.
It was ground to a zero edge and was shaving sharp when my test began.
For starters, I cut a load of dowel and leather until I got bored...told you this wasn't very scientific didn't I?
Next up was cutting dowel with the help of my hammer.
Once again, I soon got bored. At this point I checked the edge again and it still shaved hair ok.
It was then time for some 1/8" brazing rod.
So far, so good and no edge damage. Next stop..copper pipe.
Thankfully the edge still held up ok...so, time to bring on the 4" nail...
To be honest, the edge wasn't too keen on this test and pushed the nail into my piece of plywood, damaging it at the same time.
Still, not to worry...I binned the plywood and hit it directly on the anvil. It cut several pieces off the nail much better, although the edge didn't seem to be having as much fun as I was...
After cutting a couple of batteries I found lying on the floor for good measure, it was time to go back to the grinder.
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