Testing the Tools

[Shorttime]

When you buy a knife, is there some kind of cutting exercise you put it through to get an idea of what it can do?

As an example, a lot of people will break down some boxes.

What else is there?

 

[Khromo]

Cutting rope, maybe thick sisal rope.

Whittling soft wood.

Cutting regular printer paper.

Cutting fine paper from a magazine or advert.

Push cutting through those things.

Cutting cigarette paper.

Shaving arm or leg hair.

Popping arm or leg hair.

Biting into fine paper held in a roll shape.

I'm out of arm and leg hair. I'm thinking of buying one of those devices that measures the force necessary to cut a piece of wire.

 

[Kettleman]

I put it in my pocket and when I need a knife to cut something I use it.

 

[Dav1]

I work with wood so notches, carving, chopping etc...

I don't cut up boxes or cut sissal rope so most of the modern steels do nothing for me. I've tested various "super steels" against more basic steels and there's no real world difference in my settings and useage other than the extra time the former take to sharpen, ie s35vn faired no better than more basic steels and for woodwork faired worse.

Most of the edge retention tests are done using materials I don't cut.

 

[Screebo]

All great answers in my opinion! Mostly incoming cardboard boxes get first action outside of a sheet of copy paper for warm up.

 

[OrangeJoe]

Carry it, use it as your only knife for a few days.

Cooking? Cut the vegetables with it. Break down that whole chicken that is on the fridge for a nice soup.

Cut that hanging thread from the new pair of paints.

Open your mail.

Cut up an apple.

Cut up your steak at the dinner table. It doesn’t have to be some weird test, using for menial tasks also fives you to compare the performance to the specialty blade you might have otherwise used.

 

[knarfeng]

I put it in my pocket and when I need a knife to cut something I use it.

This.
I need to see how well it uses.
>How handy the blade shape is for the chores I do.
>How well balanced it is.
>How comfortable the handle is day-in and day-out while I'm doing those chores.
>How well it accepts different hand grips as I perform different types of everyday cutting.
>How well it carries in the pocket.

I got a couple of knives I don't carry because the blades are just too big and wide. It makes them unwieldy.
Got a couple I don't carry because the thumb stud is ill positioned, making the knife awkward to open and close.
Got one knife that even after sanding the handle and adjusting the clip shape, it still is a chore to withdraw from my pocket.

Once I get a knife figured out. It's likely time to go buy another.

 

[Chronovore]

I usually disassemble new knives to get familiar with them. I clean them up, take care of any obvious ergonomic modifications, and apply my favorite non-toxic oils. Then I just carry and use them as needed.

Note that factory edges are often not the best indicators of performance. Factory grinding can get hot and it's not uncommon to see performance improve once you sharpen down to fresh steel. You might also want a different edge angle.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

Don't tell your wife (girlfriend) how much you paid for the knife.

 

[K.O.D.]

Depends on the knife and how much I like it out of the box. Example, my Pro-Tech Malibu. It flips amazingly, but the clip is a major hot spot, so I've never used it. I've carried it a couple of times but have been on the fence about selling it or trying to bend the pocket clip to be flatter.

On the other hand, my Demko ad20.5 3V I purchased last some it was love at first flick. Quickly became a user and I ordered customized aftermarket scales.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I almost immediately sharpen most new knives I get. Gets me familiar with it, and gets the edge right. The it goes into the pocket.

I’ve used so many knives that I generally have a good idea for how the knife is going to perform.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

I usually find the build quality and reputation of the brands I buy to be fair indicators of what I can expect from a knife. I usually check the action, make sure the edge is keen, shove it in my pocket and just cut what needs to be cut. We're talking about the second or third tool humankind created, so I don't expect too many surprises

I may give the edge a good stropping, but that's about it. Reprofiling is usually done when the first sharpening is needed. Case in point, I like the edge Benchmade puts on their Cruwear knives, but after I ding the thinner edge, I'll usually take it to full convex, but I'm perfectly happy with it out of the box.

 

[pholder]

Take it out of the box, imagine using it, wipe it down, put it back in the box. Order a new one

 

[BTTLBRN]

I usually have a good idea of what a particular knife's strong points are going to be prior to purchase - will it be a slicer, is it thick behind the edge, will it be more of a bruiser knife as opposed to a finesse blade. I can't say that I have ever sharpened a blade direct upon purchase, though I have had a few knives that have come a little duller than I would have liked. I typically can determine where an edge is with a quick test on receipt paper (push cuts tend to be a good gauge for me), newsprint (thanks for all the junk mailers I get in the mail), a grape or tomato slice, or a quick run through various cardboard widths.

 

[OrangeJoe]

Take it out of the box, imagine using it, wipe it down, put it back in the box. Order a new one

Both funny and true. Once in a while, when cutting the day-one boxes you realize "this will do" and then you don't buy for a few years, so please do use your knives. It may result in lots of savings.

 

[Ratatoskr]

woods knife: 3 things - try stick, netting shuttle, and spoon.
edc whatever: basically how it sits in my hand. I don't use an everyday pocket knife for more than, say, five minutes at a time, and I've got seven gazillion of them, so not as important as a woods knife.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I whittle a stick of firewood in a highly scientific manner to see how it cuts.

 

[EngrSorenson]

I whittle a stick of firewood in a highly scientific manner to see how it cuts.

The dimensions of the wood shall be no larger or smaller than 2x2x8.25 inches
The wood shall be beech, sourced from Ontario and cut with a herring.
The knife shall not be in excess of 21.2 degrees deflected from the wood

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

 

[Peregrin]

I put it in my pocket and when I need a knife to cut something I use it.

Pretty close to this. If it doesn't seem to be working out after awhile, it'll get put aside for something else. I do like a very sharp blade though, so after a few weeks I'll put my own edge on it.

Once I get a knife figured out. It's likely time to go buy another.

Seems to be how it works, a fact that my accumulation supports.