What are the attributes of a high performance knife?

golok

golok

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I have read in knife magazines where certain knives are labelled as "high performance knives."

What are the tests that these knives have to go through to earn a title like that?
 
I don't know about test but I high performance knife to me is:

A knife that has a good quality steel.
Shapens easily and holds an edge.
Has a good handle for what the knife is designed to do.
Has a steel that is appropraite for what the knife was intended to to
Have a high performance price tag(snicker)
 
I think when magazines use the phrase "high-performance" it is simply a buzzword, hyping the attributes of the blade. Let's face it; a blade that is truly high-performance (greatly exceeding the performance of some theoretical average blade), will probably be low performance in others. A high-performance skinner, with a deep hollow grind and very hard steel, will make a very low-performance chopper. A high-performance chopper with a convex-ground 12" blade of 5160 will make a lousy dive knife. And so on...there are some knives that are "high-performance" in a number of different arenas; many of R.J. Martin's excellent 3V knives come to mind, as they combine a high-strength steel with good edge geometry and excellent sharpness, making them suitable for heavy work, while still retaining the ability to perform fine work as well. The same is true of much of the Busse Combat series; knives that are strong enough to do rough stuff, while still having an edge and point geometry capable of a wide variety of tasks. Just my windy two cents.
 
golok :

I have read in knife magazines where certain knives are labelled as "high performance knives."

What are the tests that these knives have to go through to earn a title like that?
Click to expand...

If the title is not defined, and it obviously isn't because that would answer your question, then it is meaningless and simply promotional. In general, high performance simply means more than something else. You have to define that the other thing is in order to have a meaningful statement. A Cold Steel Trailmaster is a very high performance knife compared to a AISI 420 bowie, it is not compared to an ABS bowie.

It is just the same as saying that someone is "tall", that is undefined unless you know what average height is for that area. There are races where the average height well exceeds 6 feet. Thus someone of that race would be "short" if they were only 6 feet tall. Around here you would describe the same person as tall, and it is very rare to see some exceeding 6 feet by more than an inch or two.


-Cliff
 
To me a high performance knife is one with a very thin, keen edge with thin enough stock and either a high, deep hollow grind or a full hieght (to the spine) flat grind.
Basicly the test is this: How well does it seperate matter....
Chad
 
For a number of years I have steered toward Jap. oriented knives , even though I've a number of seriously forged blades . I received a knife from Bill Buxton on 12-17 that has forever changed what I measure performance against . It has 52100 steel , Goat horn handle , brass guard , 3/4" finger grove in front of guard , and 3.25" of cutting area . A performance blade should do a little bit of everything well . I have to be able to use my knife all day with comfort . The styles of Buxton , Fowler etc. are the ultimate performance blades.

Get the idea I'm a convert !!!


Regards,
Jerry

BTW: if I can get this knife picture taking down I'll post pics in the gallery
 
What Burke said;)
My EDC in 1/8" 420V with a high hollow grind and recurve that's thin behind the edge, and cuts like crazy is "high performance". So is the Busse that I have split logs, broken banding material and pried open crates with. The knives themselves have little in common other than the fact that they have a handle and a blade.
The phrase "wide open to interpretation" comes to mind.
 
Somebody ought to e-mail Ed Fowler about this thread. No one has explored the nuances of high-performance blades any more passionately than he has.
 
I agree with you coonskinner, Ed Fowler is the master when it comes to testing and getting the most out of knife steel. He is always searching to improve the blades he makes and the tests he performs are already so very impressive. I've bent some of my test blades to beyond 100 degrees and had them return to close to 30 degrees on there own with no cracks or breaks and thought I was really doing good. But Ed will bend his test blades 100 degrees and beyond several times. I believe he stated in one of his latest tests that the blade was bent beyond 110 degrees, something like 8 or 9 times before it cracked.Thats just amazing. Ed definitely is the master.

Jerry, just the mention of my name in the same sentence with Ed fowlers is very flattering, I thank you for the wonderful compliment.


Bill
 
Golok,

Well I am definatly biased but here's what a High performance knife should be able to do.

1) The knife should be able to make a minimum of two hundred and fifty slicing cuts on a lay/strand taken from a one inch or better piece of hemp rope, (keeping within reason) without needing to be sharpend stroped etc..
2) you should be able to use same to whittle a rail road tie in half without getting a blister.:D

3) the blade shoud be easy to sharpen!!

4) Has to be able to be flexed/bent 180 degrees a minimum of four and a half times without cracking or chipping. preferably with no signs of stress risers showing in the steel.

There are many many makers out there who can make an above average knife. And this might seem like a high performance blade to some!! I have raised the rail to a new height and I know of only one persone who makes a blade that can clear it!!! There may quite possibly be others. If there are let them speak now.

I could quite possibly be one.

Bill B????
 
High performance in one situation may be poor performance in another. It all depends on the knife's intended use vs. the use it is actually put to. A short, thin blade makes a poor chopper. A long thick blade doesn't work well for delicate cutting chores.
My own personal preference is for short, thin edge blades. I prefer axes, hatchets, and machetes for chopping.

Paul
 
Gentlemen, thank you for youir kind comments. I did not see this thread earlier, making that last Christmas knife. The high performance field knife that I have sought for the past 25 years is:

1 Safe to the user and those who watch.
2 Kind to the hand that holds her.
3 Cuts beyond the expectations of the user and sometimes the maker.
4 Easy to sharpen and care for
5 Backed by an unconditional lifetime guarantee
6 Comes with a scabbard that protects man and knife and is convenient.
7 Backed by comprehensive quality control.

I am worknig on a book that will hopefully fully discuss all the ramifications of the high performance field knife. We have developed the high performance to the level it now enjoys, Rex Walter, Bill Burke and I through a lot of science, elbow grease and liberal amounts of tincture of time. It is my dream that she is never captured but forever pursued by blade smiths who seek to know her.
 
Ed, I have to ask if you really meant that your dream is that the high performance knife is never attained but always aspired to? It is my firm belief that you and a few others are already giving us very high performance knives. Now if you meant the perfect knife and not the high performance knife then I fully agree with your last statement.
 
Hello Keith: Thanks for bringing up my failure to communicate: The high performance knive will continue to develop as the fields of blade smithing and the science of metals grow and unite.
that is what I wanted to say.

Also mentioned in the post was "what testing is involved in the high performance knife.

So far I have considered the following.
The knife tip should be able to engrave or scribe a line in mild steel.

The knife edge should be able to withstand 11 edge flexes without chiping.

The blade should be capable of at least 200 cuts on one lay out of a 1 inch hemp rope.
The blade should be able to cut 14 inches off of a junk yard rail road tie twice. The knife can be sharpened as many times as requried to complete the task, using a bench stone of the makers choice. The man testing can use a ball pein hammer to augment the blade's cutting ability. Any chips out of the spine of the blade will disqualify the knife. Damage to the cutting edge during this test will be highly scrutenized. (Junk yard rail road ties are well known for debris like rocks, sand, bullets etc. Mushrooming of the spine is acceptable and expected but not manditory. Any blister on the bladesmiths hand will disqualify the knife.
After the junk yard rail road tie test, the bladesmith can sand any scratches out of the sides and spine of the blade, as these will promote failure during the following stress test.

The blade will then be placed in a vice and alternately flexed 180 degrees for a total of four 1/2 180 degree flexes. the blade would be requried to return to within 40 degrees of straight on its own from each flex.

I feel the above test will accurately predict the qualities of a high performance field knife. A true survival knife if you wish to consider it as such.

These test may sound severe, but I assure you the events are possible and have been done. The tests would grow as the development of the high performance knife progresses.

The blade smith who passes the test, will be awarded the remains of the rail road tie and the title of Master of the High Performance Knife, Until the test grows beyond his ability.
 
Thanks Ed, for elaborating on the attributes of a high-performance knife.

I have noted down the details. I shall now look for a knife that meets all the exacting standards.

However, I believe quite a number in the market would fail the tests.
 
Please understand I mean no disrespect to the Master Smiths here but , damn I've better suited tools than my knife to cut cross ties with . Also if someone really used one of you alls knives for that task would you then warranty the knife . Again no disrespect intended , I have two of EDs' knives and would never think of using them like that or anyone elses for that matter. This has been a most interesting thread .

Jerry
 
Ed Fowler :

The blade should be capable of at least 200 cuts on one lay out of a 1 inch hemp rope.
Click to expand...

How dull is it allowed to get? Do you set an upper limit on the amount of force that is allowed to be used?

The blade should be able to cut 14 inches off of a junk yard rail road tie twice.
Click to expand...

I have not cut up that material specifically, but have cut up a large amount of metal and the manner in which it is cut is critical. Is there a time limit set?

The blade will then be placed in a vice and alternately flexed 180 degrees for a total of four 1/2 180 degree flexes. the blade would be requried to return to within 40 degrees of straight on its own from each flex.
Click to expand...

Any requirement for the difficulty of the bend?


-Cliff
 
Hello Jerry: thanks for the comments. It is not that the owner of one of the high performance knives would do this kind of test for the fun of it. The tests are to insure that should the time come that you had to use a knife in the worst kind of situation as a primairy survival tool, the knife would be up to it. To fully understanding the limits of the knife is the bladesmiths job. I strongly feel that it is my responsability to to fully comprehend the limits of my knives. the ony way is to deveolp tests that evaluate those limits. I absolutely agree that these kind of tests on the face sound unrealistic. The tests are the only way We have to insure that your knife will be reliable.

I just got an e mail from a client in Germany, He had to cut barbed wire with one of my knives in order to free a dog that was badly entangled. He used a rock to pound the blade of his long yearling through the wire, freed the dog. He reported no damage other than some scratches to the knife. This is the kind of situation that I hope never happens, but pray and do all I can to insure the knives I sell as high performance knives will never let their master down. The only bad knives are those that let their partner down when they are needed most.
 
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