Steeltoez83 testing log

[Larrin]

Those are somewhat surprising results. If I were to have guessed, my pick would have been 15v. But in my (very) casual testing, Cruwear really impressed me.

My testing isn't exactly scientific. I find similar size fir tree branches, chop of the ends, then whittle all the knots and bark off. I feel like it represents fairly hard use. The three steels that stood out were Cruwear, MagnaCut, and Spy27.

I've recently started following your Youtube channel. Great work! Very informative

The CruWear didn’t outcut the 15V. He set an arbitrary number of cuts that the CruWear needed to make to “win” over the 15V. The 15V cut for longer.

[Pacu0420]

Those are somewhat surprising results. If I were to have guessed, my pick would have been 15v. But in my (very) casual testing, Cruwear really impressed me.

My testing isn't exactly scientific. I find similar size fir tree branches, chop of the ends, then whittle all the knots and bark off. I feel like it represents fairly hard use. The three steels that stood out were Cruwear, MagnaCut, and Spy27.

I've recently started following your Youtube channel. Great work! Very informative

The CruWear didn’t outcut the 15V. He set an arbitrary number of cuts that the CruWear needed to make to “win” over the 15V. The 15V cut for longer.

I see your point. And you know waaaaay more about this than I do. I just casually test different steel types. It's more like playing compared to what others do. I just do it for fun. Still learning

[Steeltoez83]

A project charter was established before testing started. Previous results on finished and available to the general public products were used to calculate what numbers or percentages would be used. Both of them paramilitary 2s in their representative steel. All knives purchased came from reputable dealerships to ensure authenticity. At 800 units of work with scheduled predetermined touchups, the cruwear is slightly less dangerous to the user. Sabotaging test results serves no purpose.

[Larrin]

A project charter was established before testing started. Previous results on finished and available to the general public products were used to calculate what numbers or percentages would be used. Both of them paramilitary 2s in their representative steel. All knives purchased came from reputable dealerships to ensure authenticity. At 800 units of work with scheduled predetermined touchups, the cruwear is slightly less dangerous to the user. Sabotaging test results serves no purpose.

I did not say anything about “sabotaging results.” You said in your posts that you performed fewer cuts with the CruWear than the 15V.

[Steeltoez83]

A project charter was established before testing started. Previous results on finished and available to the general public products were used to calculate what numbers or percentages would be used. Both of them paramilitary 2s in their representative steel. All knives purchased came from reputable dealerships to ensure authenticity. At 800 units of work with scheduled predetermined touchups, the cruwear is slightly less dangerous to the user. Sabotaging test results serves no purpose.

I did not say anything about “sabotaging results.” You said in your posts that you performed fewer cuts with the CruWear than the 15V.

The last test both steels performed 800 slices each. The first four tests did not have matching cut numbers which was established before I started. If I provided insufficient transparency to you Dr Thomas or any readers of this thread- I apologize. Cruwear had a harder workload for those first 4 tests, which is why I provided guidelines on what goalpost it needed to reach in order to win those rounds.

[Steeltoez83]

Before I start testing my serrated LJ, I need to test a few things first in case adjustments need to be made. First I dont have established criteria on when to stop. The edge on this endela has been used quite a bit, and I can reach test failure quick. For cutting- a rotation between twisted sisal and polypropylene rope at 1/4 inch diameter. I will also test a plain edge with a 400 grit edge to see how it compares to my sanding rolls in terms of blunting speed. I will provide more details later on depending how satisfied I feel this style of testing represents serrations.

[Steeltoez83]

Yesterday I did an experiment with some rope cutting. I used 1/4 inch twisted sisal rope and polypropylene rope on a 400 grit magnamax mule. The intended purpose was to identify where the edge was degrading the most. Since the sisal is synonymous with Pete those slices were discarded, but the poly-p was kept. I create more waste by matching the cutting style I use for the sanding roll, however consistency is key. What I noticed was that the heel area wasn't blunting as fast as the belly area. Whether thats based on my technique or just the nature of cutting the cylindrical rope. The opposite normally happens with the sanding roll, usually the heel degrades faster. I feel like the best way to test serrations would be to use both methods. And as the knife degrades in testing, the serrations will begin to dig less and less into the rope. In order to finish the cut, the tip area needs to begin taking on some of the workload. This area is where I will be evaluating for pass/fail on my serration testing. Im still working out a few details but this is where im at right now.

[RyanY]

A project charter was established before testing started. Previous results on finished and available to the general public products were used to calculate what numbers or percentages would be used. Both of them paramilitary 2s in their representative steel. All knives purchased came from reputable dealerships to ensure authenticity. At 800 units of work with scheduled predetermined touchups, the cruwear is slightly less dangerous to the user. Sabotaging test results serves no purpose.

I did not say anything about “sabotaging results.” You said in your posts that you performed fewer cuts with the CruWear than the 15V.

I'm actually genuinely confused here. Was the idea to give Cruwear a handicap so that it could potentially compete with 15V? As in to make it less predictable who would win the competition rather than really test which steel performed better? Or am I missing something?

[Steeltoez83]

I have previously done testing on a 15V pm2 along with a crucarta pm2. The lightweight manix was available and I decided to take a different approach because these steels were already tested in fact multiple times just not all listed here. 15V has better wear resistance over cruwear- nobody here is denying that. However, Cruwear from my own observations has better strength and stability and its on a model readily available. For my own entertainment which is where the heart and soul extend from my own personal testing. I set guidelines before doing any of the testing. The 15V had an easier path than the cruwear did for the first four rounds. Longevity testing 15V lost fair and square. The average of previous recorded performance was 410 which translated into the cruwear receiving more impacts (harder work) than the 15V. Imagine showing up to a basketball game and there are 9 participants. The team with 4 players might have a certain point lead, or acquire the best of the bunch from the pool of players, Handicaps are established before the game starts, but all parties agree that whatever is chosen balances out. Translate this concept into 2 steels that are both admired for their qualities and proven track records. For me it was a detour from the usual monotony until I could perform my longevity testing.

I set the handicaps before testing began in what I thought was fair. I used angle guides to ensure both steels received no special treatments. And I executed exactly how I articulated in my post on August 16. If anyone disagrees with my testing methodology they can just ignore this thread if they desire. When it comes to performance, the only loser is the one who doesn’t use the knife they paid for.

I started doing my testing years before I started this thread. I will from time to time mention some of my preferences. Or when I find something unusual. My latest crusade is serrations in which I have more to articulate on. I am trying to identify the best approach, bcuz I think the showdown between the spyder edge vs the cold steel serrations is something the knife world needed years ago. In terms of the crucarta vs lightweight manix 15V- I say they are both winners. I get hotspots when I use the lightweight-however I have the g10 version. I could carry the crucarta but I prefer the g10 which I have spy27 in now. After testing, my goal is to put enough workload on the knife for 10 more edges to ensure I extracted enough value to justify my purchase. This has nothing to do with testing, but transparency is the best policy. If I missed anything feel free to message me.

[cabfrank]

Sounds very comprehensive to me, and it's not just a little work to perform and catalog these tests. It is certainly appreciated, including by sal, which carries some weight for sure. As you said, anyone who disagrees with the methodology can ignore it, or devise their own if they prefer.

[Steeltoez83]

Im still dialing down specific criteria for the serration testing. Didn't make the progress I'd hope for today, but its a WIP- work in progress

Here's the difference between 1/4 and the 3/8 sized polypropylene rope im using now. Finalizing when the serrated platform becomes what I feel is dangerous to the user is still being explored.

[Steeltoez83]

Factory edge did 194 units of work. I want to run another edge to verify that the method i used to evaluate the edge can be repeated.

[Steeltoez83]

I sharpened up my serrated leafjumper this morning. However I did 2 tests with my plain edge k390 version. The edge im assuming was a 1k edge did a horrible job. After 10 slices on sanding roll and 10 on the polypropylene rope the edge according to my standard was done. I then applied a 400 grit diamond edge in which that doubled what the im assuming 1k edge did.

[Steeltoez83]

The serrated vg10 leaf jumper showcased a 30% increase in edge retention today reaching a score of 252.

When I do my sanding roll cutting tests, I envision a warehouse environment with the vast majority of edge wear from corrugated waste products. This newer testing seems to make serrations shine with a 50/50 mix with sanding rolls and the polypropylene rope. Unlike twisted sisal this rope is more dense, technically its a thermoplastic. I think it represents dense plastic products an average user would come across in the work place.

[Steeltoez83]

Some pictures from yesterday's testing.

[vivi]

Screenshot_20250910_125512_Gallery.jpg

I sharpened up my serrated leafjumper this morning. However I did 2 tests with my plain edge k390 version. The edge im assuming was a 1k edge did a horrible job. After 10 slices on sanding roll and 10 on the polypropylene rope the edge according to my standard was done. I then applied a 400 grit diamond edge in which that doubled what the im assuming 1k edge did.

pretty similar to my results. comparing a factory edge pacific salt to a 200 grit, thinner angle edge on poly rope, I saw around a 4-5x jump in edge retention with the coarse edge.

same thing works with serrated edges..

[Steeltoez83]

Screenshot_20250910_125512_Gallery.jpg

I sharpened up my serrated leafjumper this morning. However I did 2 tests with my plain edge k390 version. The edge im assuming was a 1k edge did a horrible job. After 10 slices on sanding roll and 10 on the polypropylene rope the edge according to my standard was done. I then applied a 400 grit diamond edge in which that doubled what the im assuming 1k edge did.

pretty similar to my results. comparing a factory edge pacific salt to a 200 grit, thinner angle edge on poly rope, I saw around a 4-5x jump in edge retention with the coarse edge.

same thing works with serrated edges..

I use 400 grit as my coarse stone on some of my tests. It matches the cbn/diamond sharpmaker rods/benchstone products spyderco produces. On the sanding roll cutting I havent seen any difference between a 400 or a 1k edge. With the rope- clearly a noticeable difference.

[vivi]

Screenshot_20250910_125512_Gallery.jpg

I sharpened up my serrated leafjumper this morning. However I did 2 tests with my plain edge k390 version. The edge im assuming was a 1k edge did a horrible job. After 10 slices on sanding roll and 10 on the polypropylene rope the edge according to my standard was done. I then applied a 400 grit diamond edge in which that doubled what the im assuming 1k edge did.

pretty similar to my results. comparing a factory edge pacific salt to a 200 grit, thinner angle edge on poly rope, I saw around a 4-5x jump in edge retention with the coarse edge.

same thing works with serrated edges..

I use 400 grit as my coarse stone on some of my tests. It matches the cbn/diamond sharpmaker rods/benchstone products spyderco produces. On the sanding roll cutting I havent seen any difference between a 400 or a 1k edge. With the rope- clearly a noticeable difference.

sanding rolls sound similar to the skateboard griptape I cut with my knives when I put together a fresh board. It's one of the hardest things I've cut on knife edges, so no big surprise there.

[Jeb]

One of the hardest things on cutting utensils I have had to cut is this Kevlar woven roven that you glass in areas.
I was using it in the Transom of boats to better buildup the area where the engine is bolted to the boat. That stuff is really thick and hard to cut.

Funny thing is the first couple pieces you cut out, you never thing anything about it. Then the rest of the woven roven mat you literally chew out with every single thing you own just trying to get all the mat cut in to fit the area, so you can glass it in with resin.

Now the other thing here, I get the how and why you guys get more cuts from the more coarse grit hone jobs, I really do... but I am the weird messed up guy from the desert of Texas...

I just flat out like my bevels honed to a polished finish. I want to be able to see myself in them. Yes, I know that is really messed up too. Knowing full well I can cut more from the knife with a more coarse grit hone job.

[Steeltoez83]

One of the hardest things on cutting utensils I have had to cut is this Kevlar woven roven that you glass in areas.
I was using it in the Transom of boats to better buildup the area where the engine is bolted to the boat. That stuff is really thick and hard to cut.

Funny thing is the first couple pieces you cut out, you never thing anything about it. Then the rest of the woven roven mat you literally chew out with every single thing you own just trying to get all the mat cut in to fit the area, so you can glass it in with resin.

Now the other thing here, I get the how and why you guys get more cuts from the more coarse grit hone jobs, I really do... but I am the weird messed up guy from the desert of Texas...

I just flat out like my bevels honed to a polished finish. I want to be able to see myself in them. Yes, I know that is really messed up too. Knowing full well I can cut more from the knife with a more coarse grit hone job.

I dont think thats wierd at all. Just your way of extracting value from your purchase. Leave the armchair quarterbacks in the rear view mirror where they belong. I feel like i get my money's worth after my knives have seen atleast 15 edges- usually 9 or more outside of my controlled cut testing.