Would this Rockwell tester work for knives?

R

Rob Simonich

Big Bear
Joined
Oct 3, 1998
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2,294
Dosent look like it tests in the C scale, and you have to have the C scale to test hardened steel. It is more for testing Brinell hardness of soft materials like brass, lead, aluminum etc.
 
Look in a Machinist's Handbook. It tells you how to convert Brinell to Rockwell C , and vise versa. It also covers ALL hardness scales, and how to convert each to another scale.
Some testers also have charts on the tester itself, or gages that show multiple scales. The one I use has Rockwell C, Brinell, and Vickers. Brinell is the oldest method, and is still used in industry to a certain extent, and can easily be converted to Rockwell C.
For example, a hardness of 235 BHN (Brinell) is the same as 22RC (Rockwell C)
The tester I use has a gage for the 3 I mentioned.

As a machinist on the side, I cannot overemphasize the importance of my Machinist's handbook. I also think all of you knifemakers would benefit greatly from this valuable resource. It covers everything from hardness to heat treat, to drilling, tapping, grinding. You name it as far as metalworking, it covers it. Look onto getting a copy. You'll wonder how you ever got along without it. The actual title is Machinery Handbook, with the 27th edition being the most recent. You can get a used copy from Powells.com, or a new copy from Barnes & Noble, or the industrial supply houses.

Mike


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[This message has been edited by CODE 3 (edited 02-09-2001).]
 
CODE 3, Right on about the Machinist handbook! Tons and Tons of usefull info. My Tester has A, B, and C scales. With the high rockwell numbers that heat treated steel goes up too, my understanding is the brinell test would be very inaccurate on something as hard as 60 Rc. I could be mistaken however.......
 
Rob,

I'm not really sure if it is inaccurate at that high of RC hardness, but just for info 60 RC is 653 BHN.
I'm thinking that for 75 bucks, he can use it, and either convert the BHN to the RC, and be fairly accurate, or maybe the tester can be converted to RC by changing to a penetrating tip, and installing a new gage.

The one I use is a manual model made by the DoAll Company, and I do know it can be converted easily to a Brinell only tester.




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DISCLAIMER:

The opinions expressed here are my own, and in no way reflect the opinion of any other person, living or dead. Of course, your opinion may vary, in which case the prevailing laws of your jurisdiction shall apply.

firedept_md_wht.gif


E Mail me anytime:
INVADR1@aol.com
 
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