What is your Bess? Unboxing of the Edge-on-up Sharpness Tester - Never a Dull Moment

[@NotGlen]

Some good results I highly suggest picking up the ebook by knife grinders called knife deburring. Its under $5 but it opened my eyes to even sharper edges. That hit 120 below on the bess. It has great pictures of edges and burrs. I will note its for use on a tormek but also has useful tests to gauge your edge other than using a bess test which some cant afford. Anywho long story short I've had a knife professionally sharpened to 80 bess score test. They used various belts, and felt wheels and stropping but edge formation and longevity was amazing normally with heavy use of knife work at my sushi job I sharpen my knives average every 2 weeks. When it was professionally sharpened I didn't have to sharpen for a month. The sharpener explained you have to know the limits of the knives steel which angle it can handle etc etc. And suggested reading this book and going down the rabbit hole.

[@nadm]

I have the book. I love them. The point to show out the box score of knife. I will be doing tutorials on demurring later.I am only going for 1 to 2 movies a week. I have a list made of about 95 movies to show. Please subscribe and stay tuned. Thank you!

[@nadm]

For you a discount at Perfectedgecutlery.com Code to enter “NDM20” 20% off everything One use per customer Active now -12/31/2020

[@gorodph]

SABOL BROTHERS did 8 on a BESS tester. Just watch the latest video from burrfection.

[@darrenricks8372]

Awesome video!thanks

[@nadm]

Thank you for watching!

[@NIGHTOWL-jf9zt]

I can do this with my cheap Harbor Freight scale that's not just for weighing out weed anymore! For "ME", a knife is sharp enough if I don't squeeze a room temperature tomato to death. I always use a stroke when cutting, not straight down anyway. I'm also not looking to split atoms either. Please don't take this comment negative, but think, what did we do before this expensive scale was around?

[@nadm]

First of all, I wanna apologize for not finding this comment sooner. I do try to keep on top of it and there's no excuse for letting it slip. Please accept my apology. I'm with you, if you can slice through a tomato and not have any juice on your board and that's OK with me. I agree that the tester is a tool but it's not the standard. It gives us an inkling but it only measures one part of the knife. Different people live by different scores. This is just one of the many ways that we can find out some type of uniform truth.

[@MrMZaccone]

As Mom used to say: "Both hands for beginners". Seriously, it helps, even when using the fulcrum.

[@nadm]

Thanks for looking out!. You do feel like you have to put your finger on the tip of the knife. Even though you're using the fulcrum, it just feels like you have to keep the pressure on that end or you lift up..

[@MrMZaccone]

@@nadm The advantage of the fulcrum is that you don't "slice" at all when using it. Without it, any lateral movement you impart to the blade can drastically change the reading. I use two hands to measure whenever possible, one to stabilize the portion of the knife that is on the fulcrum and the other to lower it onto the test media.

[@samkobasic]

What's the capacity of this scale? Because your applying a lot of force when changing the hairs? Have you ever used any measurement equipment?

[@nadm]

I don’t have the money to get other equipment to test this. I know that I spent the most amount of money on the best version of this model to have the best version of this model. I also know that if you do it too fast your score will be a fake score. You see that all the time. You need to press slowly. It’s a tool but it’s not the standard

[@GlennInLaguna]

Hey Greg, do you think everything you say here still holds true with another 3 years under your belt?

[@nadm]

Three years later I think that people can fake their scores. They push too fast. We try to push really slow. I don’t think that this machine is the standard. I think it’s a tool. I also think you need different sharpness for different materials.

[@petereriksson4115]

Make sure the filament holder is centered and not touches the edges of the plate sround it. That gives different results for me. And to place the egg in center of the filament each time.

[@nadm]

Thank you! We try to be accurate. I appreciate your comment. Since you own one, you know it's a touchy thing. That's why I always tell people that it's a tool and not the standard

[@petereriksson4115]

@@nadm Exactly, a very useful tool. Learnt me alot from it.

[@nordmende73]

Thanks!

[@nadm]

Thank you!

[@nadm]

For you a discount at Perfectedgecutlery.com Code to enter “NDM20” 20% off everything One use per customer Active now -12/31/2020

[@Ripper7620]

@Never a Dull Moment, Thank you for creating a channel where we are all able to learn together, regardless of our current knowledge & level of technique. I believe everyone who sharpens, and wishes to progress in their technique, regardless of where they're currently at, will be able to benefit from the material you're putting out, and with what you've done so far. In other words, this, from my point of view is not a channel strictly for experienced sharpeners, nor strictly for those of us just beginning the art of sharpening knives. I have a question about the machine used in this video: It appears that you received the PT50A Industrial model, is this correct? I'm curious not because it is of critical importance, but rather because on the page where they're sold, it states that the PT50A is warranted for commercial/industrial use, for three years, as opposed to the other two choices which are not. In an effort to have a greater consistency with other users of the same line of devices, I plan on eventually getting the PT50A, as opposed to the slightly less expensive models. And quite honestly, I believe most of us are tired of watching people cut paper items, which tell us nothing very specific in regards to how sharp a knife actually is, where as a Bess testing apparatus gives us very specific information on the specific sharpness level of any given knife.

[@nadm]

So you are correct that I’m using model A. It came with the most options. The spindle is the cheaper route but it is nice to have the pieces already pre-done. They are much more expensive. It saves time in the videos. Because the machine only test the sharpness at A central point. You would have to do the test on multiple points of the same blade to see if you did it evenly. The paper test is important for consistency and the other vegetable tests are good to understand the knife feel as well as the consistency of Edge. You’ll notice that you can buy one as sheep is $179! I felt like I had to go with the warranty and all of the options. I don’t necessarily think it’s necessary now that I own one. I believe I’ll get use out of it in other test that I will be doing. I don’t think it’s necessary for a knife sharpener to have this device. It is a tool and it is not the standard. A person can thin their knife to such a point that they get it to a really low number. I hope people aren’t chasing low numbers and then they destroy the knife. That being said, it’s your night if you can do what you want to with it. We are all in this together. No matter where you are in your journey we’re all headed towards the same place. Nice work in your video by the way.

[@simonhamilton500]

Except it doesnt. I blew a lot on this and it went back. Its as accurate as a rubber band tape measure

[@MrMZaccone]

The pre-loaded test media are not BESS certified.

[@nadm]

One of the problems with the spindle is that you can actually pull the Monofilament pretty tight. You can actually over tighten it and cheat a little bit. When you buy the ones that look like floss picks, Then you know that the tensile strength is consistent. I will use the self-feeding monofilament when I'm doing test on my own Knives.

[@MrMZaccone]

@@nadm Pull it as tight as you want, as long as it's tight enough not to sag, it's not going to change the reading appreciably. Ask Mike Brubacher. The test clips are also considerably more expensive.

[@nadm]

@@MrMZaccone I agree with you that they are more expensive. It's just at least a level of consistency. They actually set some of Each to you when you buy it. I do it so that way I don't have to worry about one knife to the next. After talking to several other manufacturers, they like using them so they know it's consistent. I like doing the other and pulling it very tight. It's easy to almost pull it so tight that it snaps. You and I both know that it's a tool but it's not the standard. I also see people cheating. People will push too fast on purpose. They have a saying, "you can't do it too slow, but you can do it too fast!" It's not my favorite test but at least everybody understands it. I like slicing blueberries!

[@MrMZaccone]

@@nadm Except, as I said, the manufacturer themselves will tell you that the clips aren't certified to their standard. What does that tell you?

[@MrMZaccone]

@@nadm As for blueberries, that's pretty subjective. The Edge On Up is objective ... period.

[@simonhamilton500]

I basically found this unit to be inconsistent to such a degree that I returned their highest spec machine to the distributor who - after trying themselves - agreed with my results. I sought advice from the manufacturer. The machines scale measured correctly on dead weight but when the media was used - the results could vary by 30 G and this was meant to measure to an accuracy of 1g +- There are to many variables. Even the speed that you bring the edge down will give a very different result. Low bess marks often happen when speed is used i.e. false readings. The tension of the media is a variable as is the media itself. The clips give even a wider different reading to the media. I found it next to useless and no help in giving a real or indeed consistent measure of edge sharpness to either myself or the customers I was sharpening for. Very disappointed from a manufacturer like sharp.

[@nadm]

You were correct. I am very familiar with that. You always hear us saying every video, "it is a tool but it is not the standard!" Also, you will note that the company has its own saying, "you can do it too fast, but you can't do it too slow." It's just a helpful tool. No one should really read into it too much. You have to do multiple test and you also have to make sure your speed is correct and you have to do different points on the blade. It's a lot of work. It just will help you while you're trying to get better!