Ankerson wrote: ↑Sun Jun 16, 2019 8:09 am
Nate wrote: ↑Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:10 am
Rockwell Hardness is the Megapixels of Knife Steel Specs
"In this article I cover some simple reasons why hardness is not as important as other factors for predicting most steel properties. And then we get into the nitty gritty with why hardness is not always the same as strength and how heat treatment can affect strength independent of hardness."
https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/11/12/ ... -hardness/
HRC hardness is only important to the said steel being used or talked about, as in one steel at a time.
Yeah, the Megapixel thing has gotten out of hand lately.
Like the old saying goes.... "Numbers are the devils playground"..... I agree with that completely.
Try and explain to someone about sensor density and watch their eyes glaze over....
Especially since their lens likely can't make use of the sensor density in the 1st place unless they are using high end glass, and the newest high end glass. Yes, it does make a difference, most ain't and don't have the glass.
I see people talking about it and ask what camera and lenses they have. Well MOST are using entry level camera bodies and cheap kit lenses so it doesn't matter at all. They think it does, but it doesn't.
Yeah man. It's all in the context.
Its nice to have the high HRC but only if the underlying microstructure that it is creating is stable.
It's easy to blast the steel to the highest value if that's all people focus on.
The skill of it is trying to create the most stable microstructures at peak hardness which isn't always mass producable and takes a lot of knowledge and not just working out of the "cookbook"
It is a great reward for folks to see the acutual values of these knives but it would be a great pity to watch folks chase purley that HRC value without understanding the context of how it applies.
It's nice to see the gear turning in peoples brains.
Next they'll have to wrap there head around that one can have 100s of variations to the microstructures
AT THE SAME HRC
with only 20 of them being good and 5 that are great at the same HRC
So HRC alone cannot rule out performance.
It's a tool used by makers to help with process control to check where your going so it's often not shared because it can be blown out of proportion or used out of context.
Lots and lots of little details that most of us working just don't have the time to share every caveat.