Our boys have hit the big time! Congrats to u/Skylark427 and u/679696: Metal Complex just released a nearly 40 minute video going over their knife steel hardness testing project and website: https://steelhardnesslab.com/.
The significance of this can’t be understated. Whether you like Metal Complex or not isn’t relative to the potential impact. MC has a huge audience and a lot of pull within the knife community. Having him behind this project will only help enlighten the buying public by increasing awareness and knowledge, get more testing results done with increased collaboration, and hopefully make knife companies more accountable.
The video is worth a watch, especially if you aren’t familiar with their work. Better yet, check the website, their posts/comments, and support their work if you can by sending them knives to test.
by Greek_Heat
9 Comments
I should have also emphasized that this should matter to you even if hardness testing and HRC are not personally that important to you. I’m mainly an enthusiast/collector and casual user. But it still helps the entire community if we can hold knife companies to a high standard of quality, which includes HRC ranges (and a good overall heat treat, fit/finish, qc, cs, etc.). The more we can empirically test their products and hold them accountable, the better their products will be.
Lets gooo ive been hoping this was coming. Glad hes spreading the good word.
NGL I don’t like the idea of companies sending in samples to be tested because they have the ability to cherrypick and make sure their best product for review makes it to the testing. Unless they can verify a model was made within a large production batch where dozens of hundreds should roughly match the sample submitted, I think it would be far more genuine for continued user submissions.
Edited a couple typos
I like what these guys are doing, unfortunately I cannot stand metal complex. I can certainly set that aside for the fact that these guys will effectively make companies scared to death to put some sub par heat treated steels out there and I love that. Thank you OP and u/Skylark427 both you guys are solid and cool AF.
u/679696 and u/Skylark427 , You the kings! Huge Congratulations!
So… I started watching the vid just from it being in my feed and immediately came here lol.
I watch MC, not every video but if he unboxes anything I’m interested in I’ll watch. I have found him to be very conscious of his own fallibility and he’s stated many times he’s a casual user that focuses on design, and his content comes from that foundation. He’s quick to point out anything he’s guessing on or to correct something he’s wrong about.
With that out of the way, I was worried he would push away this opportunity… but I’m super stoked that that’s not the case. He just confirmed my impression of his character and that’s a net positive for the community.
Congrats Taylor and Skylark, y’all have kicked some doors and rattled some cages, and there is a chance that some of these companies with questionable HRCs will actually change and make quality more important than quantity. (Ahem… Kizer… ahem)
I hope they DO take notice, and that we can soon find something new to complain about!
Big congrats to these guys for getting some major recognition. This is good for the community and the industry.
Worries me because I think eventually manufacturers will end up sending cease and desist letters.
I’M YELLING