Everybody knows that steels are classified as 420A,420B,420C and so on.
Blades are also classifed by makers itself but very odd way. For example:
-My blades are from the best state of the art steel CPM 440 V.....
-I use extensive hand forging and triple quenching
-I strictly follow the best HT sequence
-I am aiming to push the steel to it's limits
This clasiification is funny and perhaps useful to makers but useless to blade buyers.
An user likes more a high performance knife made with "a wrong" technique than low performance knife made with best procedures (by makers' opinion).
So, the high performance blade or a whole class of different performances should be defined(, perhaps divided to dimension and geometry calsses and/or material clalsses (open class, pure carbon, low alloy, high alloy).
For example:
Class A: passes ABS journeyman test
Class B: A+ something
Class C: B+ something
......
Then this something:
To be tested for B, knife passes A in perfect condition (no cracking not staying bent). Knife is sharpened again and a new chopping test calculates the number of 2x4 inch boards chopped, clalculates the number of bendings to 90 degrees (without any damage) or something like that. Minimum numbers counted are defined for the clalss B.
I do not mean exactly as this but something measurable performance figure. For sure, we know that if somebody classifies his knife performance as "his excalibur", it do not say much to a average knife buyer.
For sure suitable sensible classification would be possible to find by expertice and discussions.
The use of this kind performance classification:
-New young smiths have a possibility to prove their abilities and get more customers
-Some competition is inevitable, but fruitful for the further develompent of the balde making in general
-User has some general idea about the quality of a blade/maker(, if classified).
Risk:
Some old smiths can't accept this, because they are famous already and do not want any more competition.
pig
Blades are also classifed by makers itself but very odd way. For example:
-My blades are from the best state of the art steel CPM 440 V.....
-I use extensive hand forging and triple quenching
-I strictly follow the best HT sequence
-I am aiming to push the steel to it's limits
This clasiification is funny and perhaps useful to makers but useless to blade buyers.
An user likes more a high performance knife made with "a wrong" technique than low performance knife made with best procedures (by makers' opinion).
So, the high performance blade or a whole class of different performances should be defined(, perhaps divided to dimension and geometry calsses and/or material clalsses (open class, pure carbon, low alloy, high alloy).
For example:
Class A: passes ABS journeyman test
Class B: A+ something
Class C: B+ something
......
Then this something:
To be tested for B, knife passes A in perfect condition (no cracking not staying bent). Knife is sharpened again and a new chopping test calculates the number of 2x4 inch boards chopped, clalculates the number of bendings to 90 degrees (without any damage) or something like that. Minimum numbers counted are defined for the clalss B.
I do not mean exactly as this but something measurable performance figure. For sure, we know that if somebody classifies his knife performance as "his excalibur", it do not say much to a average knife buyer.
For sure suitable sensible classification would be possible to find by expertice and discussions.
The use of this kind performance classification:
-New young smiths have a possibility to prove their abilities and get more customers
-Some competition is inevitable, but fruitful for the further develompent of the balde making in general
-User has some general idea about the quality of a blade/maker(, if classified).
Risk:
Some old smiths can't accept this, because they are famous already and do not want any more competition.
pig