Best steel for box / tape cutting?

[Evil D]

I wish i had found out what the blade steel was for the knives that cut the cardboard on the corrugator (machine that makes the stuff). It would run literally miles and miles of board and cut them to various lengths...all day long...but we didn't change the blades even on a daily basis.

[JB3]

Serrations will take a lot longer to dull than anything with a plain edge (almost) regardless of steel.

:confused:
I'd bet this would be a good thread topic!
Sorry Joshua ... I had to rise to the bait on that one! :D

Back on topic though ... A steel with a harder heat treat, say, Rc62 as opposed to Rc59, would make a big difference IMO. A higher Rc (Rockwell Hardness) will tend to make a knife more brittle, but the edge much harder.
Many makers argue that the heat treat makes the biggest difference in edge retention in a wide spread of common, to exotic, knife steels.
Of course this can all be debated ad infinitum! :D

[Ankerson]

I wish i had found out what the blade steel was for the knives that cut the cardboard on the corrugator (machine that makes the stuff). It would run literally miles and miles of board and cut them to various lengths...all day long...but we didn't change the blades even on a daily basis.

They are usually straight carbide from what I have read.

[Cliff Stamp]

What steel have you guys found to hold up best to cutting the heavier tape on boxes? I don't cut the boxes themselves hardly ever, but I do cut a bit of tape. ZDP holds up, but dulls like anything else, H1 didn't last as long, so what are your opinions?

To increase the edge life on cardboard :

- radically reduce the edge angle, this will dramatically increase the cutting ability and lower the stress on the blade (add a micro-bevel if the edge micro-chips)

-reduce the edge finish (lower the grit), you can go all the way down to XX coarse DMT

-if possible (this takes a lot of work) reduce the edge thickness by deepening the primary grind

-reduce your cutting speed (the higher the speed the greater the energy of impact and the faster the dulling- this is DRAMATIC)

-use more of a draw and less of a push (this distributes the force along the blade and greatly reduces side loading which ripples the very edge which is only half a micron thick when fully sharpened)

-clean the blade when necessary (this prevents binding, wedging and the side torques to free it which are very stressful on the edge)

If all of these are done, then compared to not doing them you can see an increase in performance of a factor of a thousand to one easily as some of them themselves can be an order of magnitude (ten to one).

In regards to steels if you just want to retain the ability to slice cardboard and tape then just pick a steel which has the highest carbide volume however you are not going to significantly improve on the wear resistance of ZDP-189 unless you go to the carbide replacements.

In regards to industry, most industrial cardboard cutting blades are made out of high speed steel because they run very hot. A lot of the blades coming out of China use W6mo5cr4v2 which is just a really complicated way to write M2.

[blackboar]

Box cutter for cardboard. The folder box cutters are much more efficient and carry just like a folder. If you must use a knife for cardboard cutting, just swipe the blade every night or strop it nightly to keep it sharp.

[NYRich]

I find that the steel is almost immaterial when cutting tape. Point being that the edge does not get dull, but rather fouled with sticky residue that causes it to behave as if very dull.

Various solvents will remove this residue and restore the sharpness (obviously the solvent is not actually sharpening the knife in the conventional sense, but it has the effect of making a seemingly dull knife sharp again).

YMMV

I think you've essentially come to the most logical conclusion.

A Stanley utility knife with retractable disposable blades is what I use. I keep one at home and one in the office. I much prefer changing (or reversing) ten cent blades to messing with toxic solvents.

Granted, it's a good excuse to use our knives, but some things are more trouble than they're worth.

[agent clark]

Wow fellas, great replies. The glue has always been a pain in the butt, but I never thought about how it can actually affect cutting performance. The brown heavy tape is the worst of both worlds, heavy paper with string, and glue.

[Evil D]

This is why when it comes to just opening boxes, i stick with a plain old razor box knife. It sucks, i'd rather use my knife all the time, but it's hard to beat for being so fast and maintenance free.

[Ankerson]

This is why when it comes to just opening boxes, i stick with a plain old razor box knife. It sucks, i'd rather use my knife all the time, but it's hard to beat for being so fast and maintenance free.

I use both. :)

When using the box cutter is a PITA I use the knife instead.

[Evil D]

Yeah i tend to use the box cutter for opening/breaking down and then the knife for cutting up if i need to.

[Jazz]

This thing works great - that's all I use it for. I work in a kitchen and there are boxes galore. Serrated H1 is no joke. Veggie oil works pretty good for getting the gunk off, too.



I love this knife and highly recommend it.

- best wishes, Jazz.

[Evil D]

Someday i'll master sharpening serrations...that's the biggest thing holding me back from owning more H1 knives.

[Slash]

I would use a razor knife. If you have a portable belt sander and a minute to spare you could easily resharpen the blades or make them even sharpen than factory...Buy the Irwin bi-metal ones. They work good.

Just find a good razor knife that best suits your needs/likes. Home depot and Lowe's sells all different types.

[datoudaw]

To increase the edge life on cardboard :



-reduce the edge finish (lower the grit), you can go all the way down to XX coarse DMT

Wouldn't it be the other way around? Wouldn't a smoother finishing with better lubricity making the cutting of cardboard easier; therefore, last longer?

[JD Spydo]

I know of few of you might laugh at me but for hard use in a warehouse and other job related cutting chores I've personally had great luck with Crucibles older 440V ( S60V) blade steel. I've always liked 440V better than it's successor S30V for many reasons. The only problem I have with 440V is that it is a monster to sharpen .>>> For people who aren't given to using curse words and foul language you will definitely use words you haven't used in years sharpening 440V. It will test your patience and your sharpening skills as well.

Another steel I found that was great in that area was when I used to have a stainless handled Spyderco Native which had AUS-10 blade steel. It seemed to take a lot of punishment as well as 440V did.

I can also see how tool steels would be great for everyday workshop usage.

[Cliff Stamp]

Wouldn't a smoother finishing with better lubricity making the cutting of cardboard easier; therefore, last longer?

If you are doing a straight push cut yes, however you will get much better edge life on a slice with a more coarse finish. Note as well that you can slice cardboard at a much lower level of sharpness than you can do a straight push cut as well which will also magnify the edge life, this isn't a small amount either it would be more than 10:1 easily. I believe Mike Swaim was the first person to write about this on the internets in detailed comparisons on rec.knives in 1996. He would take edges and reset them with files and examine the increase in edge retention but more so cutting ability and found that the more draw you used the better both would be with a coarse edge. He did later move on to coarse stones. Joe Talmadge wrote up a very well known article on the Benchmade Axis (recurve) illustrating how dramatic an effect it can make on cutting ability if the edge is thinned and the edge finish made more coarse, again we are taking about draw cuts. Like you noted, if you are doing push cuts you will want that very high polish to both cut well and last long.

[jossta]

Haven't seen you post in a while :) . I think I'm too old to say I grew up on Cutlery Science, but that is the earliest stuff I remember reading that got me into knives. Still want a Camp Tramp :D .

[salimoneus]

If you're talking about a normal production steel, I'd go with ZDP or S30V. VG10 loses it's edge much faster than either of those two. Then of course you've got the super exotics and limited run steels, which IMO are going to be a bit overkill for a box cutter, unless you have cash burning a hole...