The Buck Zipper's deep hollow grind and thin and acute edge gave relatively high cutting ability. Sharpened with a 1200 DMT hone it push cuts well through thin paper and cardboard initially however as the cardboard gets thick the blade starts to bind at the tops of the hollow grind. With a similar finish the Mirage-X Operator does not push cut paper well however it can slice paper and thin cardboard efficiently. On thick cardboard it is problematic as the blade is a quarter inch thick throughthe spine. The mini-AFCK with the same edge finish push cuts paper and cardboard. The Sorg Hunter was the thinnest blade at 3/32" thick with a full grind tapering to a thin edge and would push cut through paper, cardboard, and rope very easily.
In short, there was little difference seen in the cutting ability of the different steels due to them being sharper at the same finish, but the cross section significantly increased performance showing how cutting ability is more strongly linked to how a knife is ground rather than the type of steel.
With the high polish the Buck Zipper took three to five slices along the top to start penetrating into the sneaker. The cutting also got noticeably harder once the entire edge was in the material as the thick spine and hollow grind caused a lot of drag. After about six cuts the knife was significantly blunted and started to tear the material. The Sorg Hunter It to slipped a little though less than the Buck. It cut with about 50-75 % of the force that the Buck required. It failed to shave at that point. The Mirage-X Operator required three to five times as much force to make the cuts and on the loose parts of the material the Operator just tended to haul it around more so than cut. The edge was however uneffected significantly by cutting.
The mini-AFCK didn't slip as much as the Buck as the edge was mini-AFCK more acute, 15 degrees vs 25. However while its initial penetration was better it need more force on deep cuts as the primary grind is thicker. After six cuts there was no change in the edge. After twelve cuts including some long ones right down through the tongue the edge was still holding fine but was starting to grab a little. It could not shave, tended to catch, and its performance on paper and cardboard were a little lower, but barely noticeable. An attempt was made to cut the sneaker right in half however the heavy rubber stopped the blade and it could not get decent penetration even using the serrations. It only made about 1/3 of the way through.
The serraged Vaquero Grande made a dozen cuts were made with the knife and required less force than the Buck and did not slip at all. The recurve and aggressive serration pattern really grabbed the material and it could even slice the sneaker sole in half. After this cutting the edge was not significantly different, the performance on the final cut was about the same in feel as the first.
The Buck and Sorg Hunter were then resharpened on a more coarse a 600 grit DMT stone. The Buck now cut without slipping and needed less force. After a dozen cuts the edge started to tear again and was no longer shaving sharp. The Sorg Hunter also took a huge leap in performance in slicing ability due to the more coarse finish and sailed through the sneaker, including cutting it in half right through the thick rubber sole easier than with the Vaquero. The edge was uneffected by the cutting.
A couple of pop cans were cut up with the mini-AFCK and Vaquero Grand. Eight vertical slices into the can were made with the mini-AFCK which was then stabbed into the bottom a dozen times. The edge was still shaving sharp and the tip not distorted. This was then repeated with the Vaquero Grand which was much harder to do as the serrations prevented push cuts. However it could saw rings off while the mini-AFCK could not.
After the cutting the Vaquero Grande was noticeably dulled and would not cut as well on paper and cardboard, a noticeable difference from the mini-AFCK. The serrations on the Vaquero Grande have noticeably rounded and the teeth are no longer that grabby. The fine tip on the Vaquero was however in effected after stapping through the pop can. The serrations on the Vaquero Grande were later ground off they are very time consuming to sharpen.
A 15" Ang Khola was used to diced up the remaining sneaker bits and cans. It was significantly faster than slicing though them and no edge degradation was noted on the Ang Khola.
Update : This was one of the earliest blade comparisons
performed and even though the methods were very rough and highly subjective many
basic principles of knife performance were still revealed. Current methods of
examing cutting ability and edge retention are much
less subjective. Much of the basic ideas of cutting ability
being influenced by geometry and grit were known from reading the foundation
work of Mike
Swaim who discussed this extensively on rec.knives and Joe Talmadge expanded on
it significantly on various internet forums. Comments can be sent to : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com .
| Last updated : | Fri Jun 13 14:50:54 NDT 2003 |
| Originally written: | Wed Mar 10 10:52:04 NST 1999 |