#1 in Surface & hardness testing tools
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Reddit mentions of Hardness Testing File Set
Sentiment score: 3
Reddit mentions: 7
We found 7 Reddit mentions of Hardness Testing File Set. Here are the top ones.
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- Detects leaking gas in closed piping systems
- Semiconductor sensor detects methane and propane .Response time: less than 10 seconds Warm up time: less than 60 seconds
- Flexible stainless steel probe provides access to hard-to-reach areas
- Audible buzzer and a display panel with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) indicate presence and concentration of detected gas
- Automatic calibration at start-up helps ensure accuracy
Features:
Specs:
That's my thought too. Might be either to soft, or to hard (if it's to hard it takes a lot more effort to sharpen). What kind of stones are you using? Natural or diamond?
I know of a way to test hardness, there's special rockwell files. But sjeesh, $110...
You can get some clues from knowing the hardness of the material, using a hardness file set:
https://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Hardness-Testing-File-Set/dp/B001CTI7TE
>When I took the blade out of the kiln it did have some carbon on it and it was not cherry red
What color was it?
Were you outside? had bright lighting on?
Color is not particularly reliable unless you have the experience to associate those colors with temperature. 'cherry red' in particular is just too vague. its not even consistent fruit to fruit, cherry red is just too subjective.
and if it hardened satisfactorily then the color isnt really relevent.
get yourself some hardness testing files, find out the facts, not what you think a blade should look like
I think you misunderstood my original statement - I only said that if the OP decided to have it polished that they should be on the lookout for any sort of hamon or evidence of differential hardening. That said, there are more smiths outside of Japan that have traditional polishing skills than you might realize. I can think of two off the top of my head that are in my state (Oregon) and have apprenticed under Japanese swordsmiths and become recognized master swordsmiths themselves, and one of them I know personally. I'm not sure what they would charge for polishing a wakizashi blade as shown above, but last I asked it was around $1000 per job.
That said, I'm still 95% certain that the tsuba is some form of sand cast iron as wrought iron would not exhibit that surface texture before or after corrosion from rusting. Wrought produces a banded structure as it rusts, not a pitted structure as was indicated in the photos.
It wouldn't take much in terms of specialized instrumentation to determine differential hardening due to a hamon. Either a RHC tester or a set of calibration files would give that answer readily. A good set of sampling files usually runs around $100.
As for monosteel vs tamahagane steel, I agree that it's hard to tell from the photos and the condition of the blade. I am inclined to think it is monosteel as the rusting patterns don't seem to follow any sort of grain structure that would be naturally present in forgewelded steel construction.
It's very likely that he used a hardness testing file to decide if the piece had been hardened.
The files have different hardnesses so you start with the hardest one and go until the file no longer makes a mark which tells you how hard the piece is.
Why do you care?
But to answer your question, this kit can indicate the material hardness; ceramic is way harder than metal.
You could also test it's reactivity with acids, ceramic is pretty much inert.
> Tl;dr: Worried my knife's steel tempering might have been messed up. Any way to test for sure?
Yes. Hardness testing file. E.g., https://www.amazon.com/Flexbar-Hardness-Testing-File-Set/dp/B001CTI7TE If the 50HRC file bites into the steel at the edge, the edge is softer than 50HRC, etc. Not very precise, but easy and, as far as hardness testing equipment goes, cheap.