Testing

[akaboomer]

My boss killed an eight point Sunday afternoon and called me to help bloodtrail it. After getting the deer out he offered to give me the meat if I wanted it. This gave me a chance to do some testing on the first knife I made.
 
The blade design and edge geometry was great, however the the handle had several issues. It doesn't have enough drop, its to short and its to thick.

I haven't finished any knifes lately do to testing my heat treat methods. I have been unsatisfied with the results. I have talked with Lin about the issues I have been having so I now know most likely causes. I will continue testing until I get consistant, and quality results.

So my question is what testing do you guys do. Tests from grain reduction to edge geometry to ergonomics and overall design.

I think this can be a valuable thread, especialy for newer makers like me.

Thanks in advance Chris

[tippit]

My biggest test for fit & function has been Bear Quest.  In the beginning I just threw knives on the tablet for guys to use & tell me which designs they liked.  Skinning & butchering 20+ bears each year is a Great Test     tippit

[Lin Rhea]

Testing is something that very few do enough of and is very critical to a makers development. I think the tendency is to have the attitude of "out of sight, out of mind". The things unseen in the knife are the most important, but easiest to ignore.

    In my opinion, it all boils down to dicipline. If a maker of any material object wants to set a high standard of quality and performance he has to perform his procedures with some degree of consistancy as well as insure that his procedures gives the best results possible. Most industries place a high degree of importance on testing. Any maker of bow or knife should too.

     Even though a knife is just a material object, very often you will hear that it has "life" or a "heart" or "soul". I believe this is just a way of refering to the things about these inner qualities of a knife that are mostly unseen. These "things" that are important but somewhat mysterious. It's this mystery that needs to be cleared up by the maker for him to really make good knives. The only way to do this is to test. Even then, we might not be able to "see" with our eyes, but the results become manifest.

      Now back to Chris's question. How do you test?

[Lin Rhea]

Some things can be seen with the eyes but some things have to be deduced by the way the steel acts.

Here is a visible indication of a problem.The upper one has large grain from heating above the safe level just before the quench. The steel would be brittle even after tempering. The lower one is much finer grain and would act differently. It would be tougher while fully hard, but especially after the tempering making a potentially much better blade.