The MOST Unusual Question

[TAH]

Last night, I was playing around with my '75 Pathfinder and a compass. When I waved the 440C blade next to the compass, the needle, of course, gently moved back and forth. But when I waved the handle by the compass, the needle went berserk. Why is that??

 

[Vern Taylor]

I believe it is because the carbonized, therefore magnetized, particles of steel form a "crust" on the surface of the steel blank during the heat treating process. The blade was ground and polished, thereby removing those highly charged molecules; the tang (in 1975) was left pretty much the way it came out of the oven.

You may have just come up with a new way to date some knives!

 

[Joe Houser]

Now that's an interesting theory! Thanks for the answer on that one Vern. I could not even think of a good bad answer!