Testing a knife after heat treating

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bluerain

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I heat treated and tempered a 1095 steel blade. It is 9 inches overall. The blade 4 inches, 3/16. I've tested it with shaving sticks, mild battoning, and point shaving. I'm worried about the tip. Is there anyway I can test the tip without exerting too much lateral pressure. I imagine most tips are prone to chipping if misused. Thoughts? TY B
 
What have you been using for the battoning? There may be someone who comes along with a more accurate test for points, but I usually test the edges and tips of my blades on an annealed stainless pipe. If the pipe recieves a nick or dent, but not the blade it lets me know that all is well. Granted I don't strike it with all I've got, but just a semi-forceful blow. For the tip I dont necessarily strike the pipe, but gradually apply pressure until I'm using about 1/2 my strength. I hope this answers your question; and if not then I apologize.
 
I've watched Tai Goo baton through mild steel bars (in one or two of his videos) with his camp knives and the edge only burnishes, I suppose this is about the same as annealed stainless. For the tip I can't say.
 
mgysgthath said:
I've watched Tai Goo baton through mild steel bars (in one or two of his videos) with his camp knives and the edge only burnishes, I suppose this is about the same as annealed stainless. For the tip I can't say.
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Annealed steel- wow
 
I test a knife on things similar to what it is made to cut and with strokes/cuts like it will be used for. Fillet knives slice up lots of cardboard. Camp knives cut rope and chop through 2X4s, kitchen knives cut rope and cardboard and then cotton balls ( try this, it isn't as easy as it sounds).

Chopping through/on iron and pipe is what you would do to test a crash axe...not a knife.


Every knife ever made will fail if abused doing things it was not designed to do. Such a test proves little
 
bladsmth said:
Chopping through/on iron and pipe is what you would do to test a crash axe...not a knife.
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Totally agree.. I think it is just a good demonstration for new people to see the difference between hardened steel and softer steel. But practical tests are much more useful and telling. As you say cutting a cotton ball for example, paper, cardboard and wood etc. Tasks the knife was intended for. The cotton ball one I haven't tried.. but I can imagine; and I'm definitely going to try it.
 
I think the OP was referring more to a test of hardness/HT success rather than a torture test. If this is the case, run that file over it! If it skates, success!
 
Is the tip on the thin side?

Has it been overheated after temper? that will ruin a tip

Try lightly twisting the tip into a fresh 2x4, (the side not the cut end) just about any knife should handle this. Be careful, no need to try to ruin it.
 
bluerain, it sounds like you've designed it to perform bushcraft-type tasks, and I think you're testing it right.

I test that type of knife by first seeing if I can get it to shave hair off my leg (my arms have been bald for years :o) and cut a piece of paper cleanly. Then I continue by whittling and batonning on wood (not metal) as described earlier. If it holds up to that and still shaves and cuts paper, you're definitely on the right track.

Now let's take it a step further and challenge the toughness...
Daniel Fairly Knives said:
Try lightly twisting the tip into a fresh 2x4, (the side not the cut end) just about any knife should handle this. Be careful, no need to try to ruin it.
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Exactly! No need to flail away, just thump the tip into the pine and pop/twist out a few fibers. You can sort of feel if the knife does it cleanly and without bending too much. If the knife has passed the previous tests but snaps during this one, it may simply be too thin. Grind the tip back a little less acute on the edge.

Now dig a hole completely through the 2x4 with the tip. It's not a race, take your time; as you get deeper into the board you'll naturally be forced to take bigger chunks out. If the knife can do that without snapping, it's plenty tough and the geometry is good.

Now! Take that 2x4 and cut it in half across the grain. No batonning. Chop and whittle. It's not a race, but work steadily without switching hands until you're done or give up. This isn't a performance test of the blade itself; if we've gotten this far we already have a pretty good idea it will stand up to hard work. But if you can hack through a 2x4 with a 4-5" blade without getting hot-spots or blisters or cramping up, it means your handle design is good. That's important for a working knife, too :)
 
Chopping through/on iron and pipe is what you would do to test a crash axe...not a knife.


Every knife ever made will fail if abused doing things it was not designed to do. Such a test proves little[/QUOTE]

no offense, but who says what a particular knife was "designed to do" if someone designs a knife to take abuse, then its up to them which way to abuse it in testing. you wouldn't use a scalpel to hack up fire wood or a ka-bar to do delicate eye surgury, so we cant hold them to the same standards of testing
 
rustyrazor said:
no offense, but who says what a particular knife was "designed to do" if someone designs a knife to take abuse, then its up to them which way to abuse it in testing. you wouldn't use a scalpel to hack up fire wood or a ka-bar to do delicate eye surgury, so we cant hold them to the same standards of testing
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Exactly. Wait... what? Contradictory much?
 
All I am saying is that every knife has a purpose. If you made the knife, you know what that purpose is. Test it for that function.

Will a chef knife ever be used to pry a stuck door open - Yes.
Should they be designed and tested to do that - No.
 
Dang it James got me spittin' coffee around again, that's funny. Stacy I'd like to hear some elaboration on the cotton ball deal too. On slicers I like to see if I can make pieces out of a styrofoam peanut I can see through, without squishing the peanut.
 
Take a cotton ball and set it on a cutting board. Try and cut it in half without pushing down hard......you will see why I said it isn't as easy as it sounds.

Cutting one without pressing down takes a really sharp knife. Even with pressure, it takes a rather sharp blade.

If the blade has micro burrs or any wire left, you will feel/see that, too.

I would compare it to passing a sharp knife slowly along your arm about 1/4" above the skin ... not many hairs get cut off. ( when pressed flat against the skin, the blade shears off the hair)
It takes a scary sharp and polished edge to pop a hair mid stalk.
 
I've sliced many a packing peanut, but never tried cutting cotton balls as Stacy describes. That would require a very crisp, clean edge :thumbup:
 
I split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen.


I agree, test a knife for it's intended purpose.

With a big chopper I'll really go all out on some wood, pine then maybe oak. For a chef's knife I like to cut some food, making a stew is a good test.

Hair popping sharp is where it's at, like Stacy said if it cuts hair at mid length it is sharp. Free hanging paper cuts, popping through paper with the tip both tell a bit about sharpness and geometry. A good test on a toothy edge is rope or paper, it should cut either with ease.
 
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