Hardness: A pictoral and informational thread.

[SpydieFan]

:D

I'm currently going to school for welding, and this quarter we had a metallurgy class that we did some hardness testing in. I offered up two of the Spydie's I was carrying that day (Yes, we're allowed to carry knives).

I'll let the pictures do the talking (These hardness numbers are +/- 1.0 as per the calibration block we used) :spyder: :

#21 is the Kiwi, & #22 is the H1.

[austinguy23]

Your headline can be misleading :p

[SpydieFan]

That's half the point :P It lures people in...

[phillipsted]

To paraphrase Mae West: "A hard knife is good to find"

:cool:

TedP

[Benny90]

Cool :cool:

Where on the knife did you test them?

Ed. Nevermind, just saw the dots, just needed a closer look..

[Cheddarnut]

Hmm, maybe this is the thread the pink manixes were made for...

[sal]

Hi SpydieFan,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

sal

[Blerv]

Where on the blade did you test the hardness? Thx for your results.

[chuck_roxas45]

Wouldn't testing a knife at three points and getting the average yield a more "reasonable" result?

[kbuzbee]

Your headline can be misleading :p

Exactly. I was expecting an edge comparison after exhaustive cutting showing the same steel rolling at soft and chipping at hard, or some such thing.

Still, testing and photos are fun to do.

Ken

[SpydieFan]

Cool :cool:

Where on the knife did you test them?

Ed. Nevermind, just saw the dots, just needed a closer look..

Yep, its easier to see on the Kiwi than the H1...

Hi SpydieFan,

Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

sal

Thanks for the welcome! :cool:

Where on the blade did you test the hardness? Thx for your results.

You can see the small dots around the area to the right of the Spyder hole, it's easier to spot on the Kiwi than the H1.

Wouldn't testing a knife at three points and getting the average yield a more "reasonable" result?

Yes, it would have, however this was just a quick test as we were wrapping up for the day, so they're ballpark figures, but I'm going to guess they're fairly close. That's why I added the +/- 1.0. Thanks. :D

[chuck_roxas45]

Yep, its easier to see on the Kiwi than the H1...


Thanks for the welcome! :cool:


You can see the small dots around the area to the right of the Spyder hole, it's easier to spot on the Kiwi than the H1.


Yes, it would have, however this was just a quick test as we were wrapping up for the day, so they're ballpark figures, but I'm going to guess they're fairly close. That's why I added the +/- 1.0. Thanks. :D

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. :D

[The Deacon]

Interesting. However, if my understanding of how hardness is achieved in H-1 is correct, testing anywhere on the blade except the grind will yield a relatively meaningless result.

[kbuzbee]

Interesting. However, if my understanding of how hardness is achieved in H-1 is correct, testing anywhere on the blade except the grind will yield a relatively meaningless result.

My understanding as well, Paul. H1 is work hardened. That used to be the case with all steels. Edges were always harder that the rest of the blade, leaving the rest "tougher". Though I've not seen this said specifically, my current understanding is modern alloy steels are pretty much uniformly hard throughout, allowing the blade shape to be ground away, rather than forged into shape (which work hardened them). I would love to read an evolution of knife production that spells out how things were and how they are now. If anyone has a reference.....

Cheers,

Ken

[Blerv]

To further agree with everyone ( ) I concur. H1 has been described in laymens terms as very similar to differentially treated iron. The non-grind areas should be quite soft based on the process it's machined and H1's properties. This also gives it incredible toughness for the category.

Again, thanks for the results! Most have fixated on edge RC and this helps paint a comprehensive image.

[SpydieFan]

At the time of testing I didn't know the H1 was work hardened :P But After I was reading another forum about a H1 hawkbill, I found that out.

Thanks for the comments, folks!

[mikeo]

Definitely, good info, but, in my experience, from years of metalworking and heat treating, the first test can be pressing down any deformities on the opposite side. And testing, on the edge, would be rather futile, even though the H-1 is a work hardened steel.