Tested a knife by cutting rope until I could not keep going

[6thsense]

I set up a simple test with rope and a few different knives and tracked how long each one held its edge and the results surprised me. Price did not line up with performance the way I expected. A couple of mid range knives held up better than both cheaper and more expensive options...it showed me how much steel type and grind really matter.

 

[O'over]

Rope tests are useful, but they can also exaggerate differences if pressure, angle or stroke consistency isn’t tightly controlled.

 

[Alan]

Simple tests like that cut through marketing fast, performance doesn’t always follow the price tag.

 

[teflonhunter]

I put a few knives together. I don't make the blades just put handles on them. I always try them out for awhile and see how they work. I find some of the cheaper blades do better in all regards. I think the heat treating of the blade has a lot to do with the performance even with the higher dollar steels. I've taken a liking to 80CRV2 steel.

 

[Alan]

I put a few knives together. I don't make the blades just put handles on them. I always try them out for awhile and see how they work. I find some of the cheaper blades do better in all regards. I think the heat treating of the blade has a lot to do with the performance even with the higher dollar steels. I've taken a liking to 80CRV2 steel.

That makes sense. Heat treat usually matters more than the steel name on paper especially in real use. A well-done 80CrV2 blade can outperform pricier steels if the edge is set and treated right. It’s a good choice for hard use knives.

 

[RegalB]

Steel type and grind geometry matter far more than price. People always get surprised when they actually test something instead of just going by the brand name.