Page 6 - Blade (February 2020)

READERS RESPOND |
Standard Sharpness Rating
live in Ferring, a village on the English
Channel coast, 50 miles south of Lon-
I don. I am a member of our University
of the Third Age, an academic organiza-
tion for the “retired-but-still-curious”
community. We have a science group that
meets regularly to discuss scientifi c mat-
ters in the news and of general interest.
A question was posed recently
asking how to rate the sharpness of
a blade. I have been in touch with an
organization here that tests blades to
internationally recognized standards.
A spokesperson for the organization
explained to me that there is no word
or words to rate sharpness, as every
blade differs in matters such as type and
quality of material, purpose, weight,
angle of grind, etc., which makes
absolute sense. However, I suspect it is
possible that different cultures may in
fact have a term to rate diff ering degrees
of sharpness. Are you aware of any?
John Manning, a letter via e-mail
Editor’s note: It may come as a surprise,
but the cutlery industry has no
standardized measurement system to
rate sharpness—or at least none of which
we are aware. Members of the knife
industry rely on various cutting tests to
get a sense of performance, but, to our
knowledge, there isn’t a standardized
scoring system for rating an edge.
Many knifemakers will tell you, “It’s
sharp when it’s sharp.” Others might call
a keen edge “scary sharp,” “crazy sharp,”
etc. Across cultures and history there
have been different words for that same
idea, but it’s been that way for as long as
anyone at BLADE® can recall.
At least one entity has addressed such
a rating system: the Cutlery & Allied
Trades Research Association (CATRA).
It has equipment that tests knives for
sharpness and other factors aff ecting
performance, and offers testing services
and other related products as well.
Buck Knives used CATRA (catra.org)
testing equipment a number of years
ago, though the results never seemed
to catch on as an industry standard.
Why? One school of thought is that some
6 BLADE FEBRUARY 2020
observers feared CATRA’s equipment
might be used by some to rate the entire
knife, which would not take into account
other elements that also are important
to performance, such as balance,
ergonomics, materials, blade and handle
shapes and geometries, and other critical
factors. That’s to say nothing of the
operator’s personal preferences.
The hardness of blade steel as
determined on the Rockwell hardness
scale, on the other hand, is indeed
an industry standard. For one thing,
because there are benefits to using steels
heat treated to lower or higher Rockwell
hardnesses depending on use, having
a standardized system for gauging
hardness helps identify steels best
suited for certain jobs. However, while
a steel’s hardness is related somewhat
to sharpness, there are other factors just
as important if not more so to consider,
including wear resistance, the grade of
steel and its chemistry, blade geometry,
the quality of the sharpener used to
sharpen the edge and the level of skill
applied in sharpening it, etc. As a result,
the Rockwell hardness scale is not suited
as a standardized sharpness measure.
Meanwhile, we’ll wait for the letters to
roll in to opine on the subject.
Godfather of The Guild
enjoyed the article about BLADE
Magazine Cutlery Hall-Of-Fame®
I member Frank Centofante (July
BLADE®, page 71). It brought to mind
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when I first started trying my hand
at making a folder. For some reason I
picked him to pester. After several calls,
he finally made me understand what I
needed to know.
The main thing I am thankful to him
for is when, for medical and financial
reasons, I had to leave the Guild. He
was Guild president at the time and I
called to tell him. He strongly suggested
that I write a letter explaining why I was
leaving to be put in my fi le. So, instead
of being dropped for cause, I left as a
member in good standing.
Tim (R.V.) Alverson, knifemaker, a
letter via e-mail
What Happened to Spec Sheet?
ey, I missed BLADE® fi eld editor
Kim Breed’s “Spec Sheet” last is-
Hsue. What happened?
Emory Blanchard, a letter via-email
Editor’s note: Thanks for noticing. It’s not
that Kim didn’t write one—we simply
didn’t have room for it. It appears this
time on page 71. We hope you enjoy it.
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