Some Surpise Chopping Testing

M

me2

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Oct 11, 2003
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Out of morbid curiosity, I decided to see if a couple of my knives would hold thier edges through some wood chopping. To start, I tried an Old Hickory 8" butcher knife (OHBK). This knife had been freshly sharpened a couple of weeks ago and has seen little if any use since. I tried chopping a 4x4 and about 1/4 of the way through the edge stopped shaving hair. It appears to have rolled, though I didn't look at it w/ magnification or anything.

Next was a Cold Steel Panga machete (CSPM). Here is where the surpise started. It made it completely through the 4x4 with barely any dulling, and still shaves hair off my arm like it did before I started. It has a ~15 degree edge applied with a worn 180 grit belt followed by a leather belt on an HF sander. It took some work, but I'm very impressed my $10 machete made it through with no edge rolling, chipping, or detectable dulling.

Next on the list is my new Barong Machete, followed by my old Kukri Machete. If they all make it, I'll be very impressed and set for life on machetes, though I doubt it will stop me from getting more.

Crap, wrong forum. BFC Moving Service?
 
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My 8" Old Hickory isn't the most durable chopper either. If I whack it hard enough the edge ends up looking like it chopped through nails. The edge dented slightly on rabbit and suckling pig bones aswell.

The good thing about the old hickory butchers is they don't need hard swings to bite deep. 4 light swings is enough for a 1x2"

The 12" CS Bowie is incredible. I've dug holes with it, cut through rocks, steel drums, destroyed washing machines, aluminum bars, and even cut wood. The worst damage it has sufferd is minor flat spots.
 
Is the CS 1050 or 1055, or their version of it? Interesting.

I've also had most of my Old Hickories dull pretty quickly, but they are easy to reset the edge on, and they make some of the best boning knives for Thanksgiving...
 
Whatever their standard line made in South Africa uses. I assume its 1055 as advertised on their dvds. I know I can't drill through it either. I tried to drill a hole to hang the blade on a nail in the garage. CS owes me a 3/16 bit. Other machetes were drilled easily.
 
I've got the Panga as well, just ordered a Bolo for something a little more evenly balanced for FMA practice. The Panga is a brute, and the steel really does hold up well. Until recently all I ever did to it was a file followed by a coarse steel and it'd hold good for a fair amount of abuse. Not too long ago I put it to my belt grinder and was surprised at the edge it took. It was good enough that I finally removed the last stubborn shreds of the label off the blade. Note: acetone based solvents (I used methyl ethyl ketone) will remove the horrid black paintlike outer coating and leaves behind a matte black, with a very slight brownish-tinge, surface that I find more appealing than the original. I have no bad to say of the one I've owned for the last four years - it saw some hard use at my last house. I've just moved back to suburbia, so it'll get considerably less face time now along with all my other big cutters.
 
When I first bought it, I sharpened it up and took it to a 1.25" oak dowel. It went through that with no edge rolling, but I didn't really pay attention to how sharp it was afterward. I suspect it was still sharp enough to shave hair after that as well.
 
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