New shop tool

[taz575]

Found this on FB Marketplace yesterday and grabbed it once I saw it was complete and tested accurate! Wilson Model 1R Rockwell hardness tester. This will let me test every blade I make to determine it's rockwell hardness! It came with all of the weights, some manuals, different anvils, penetrators, test blocks, etc. It's an old one, but works very nicely despite it's age!

[Kekoa]

Neato! That is a nice find!

[taz575]

I found a smidge of grease between the vertical screw column and the anvil that the knife rests on, so I cleaned those surfaces. I also adjusted the dashpot oil settings so the weights fall in about 5 seconds inatead of the 3.5 seconds they were doing before without a test sample in place. Now it reads dead on to 1 low, depending on the sample. My 63.6 test block is dimpled on both sides, which may cause an inaccurate reading.

[Kalaeb]

Great find.

[XexoX]

Great find.

The grease?

[taz575]

Read the manuals again and saw that moving it could mess up the dial, so I went through the steps to check that and it was off. Went through the steps to correct and got it dialed in! Test block now shows around 63.5 (or a touch high or low, within .5). 62 hrc Nitro V blade shows right around 62, 60 cruwear blade showd 60. I cleaned up 2 of the 80crv2 blades I just heat treated last week and they both showed 61 consistently!

[XexoX]

Read the manuals again and saw that moving it could mess up the dial, so I went through the steps to check that and it was off. Went through the steps to correct and got it dialed in! Test block now shows around 63.5 (or a touch high or low, within .5). 62 hrc Nitro V blade shows right around 62, 60 cruwear blade showd 60. I cleaned up 2 of the 80crv2 blades I just heat treated last week and they both showed 61 consistently!

Woo-hoo! Now everyone here can send you their knives to get a reading. For a nominal fee, I'm sure.

[taz575]

The blade surfaces need to be parallel, so it's usually harder to test blades that are already made since the bevel is already on the blade itself. It won't work as well on san mai blades, because the diamond presses into the blade itself, so it would test the hardness of the cladding, not the core steel.

[shreejisteel]

That sounds like a fantastic find, taz575! Having a Wilson Model 1R Rockwell hardness tester in your shop is a great addition, especially with all the accessories included. It's excellent for ensuring the quality and consistency of your blades by accurately measuring their hardness. The fact that it's an older model but still functioning well just adds to the charm. Happy testing, and may it serve you well in producing top-notch blades!