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I believe this really should be one of the first items a knife maker should purchase. And I think many pros would agree with that.

However it seems to ends up being much further down the road. Mostly because of the expense I suppose. Even on e-bay they're pricey.

I still don't have one.
 
I’ve been looking for one for quite some time. A fabrication shop went out of business and was able to pick this one up for a good price and only a 2 hour drive.
 
Nice! I believe as a beginner/intermediate maker you can get by without one as long as you do plenty of testing with your knives. As you advance, a hardness tester is a must to really fine tune your heat treatment. Since getting mine, I have tested every knife. It is nice knowing your heat treating process is where it should be and consistent.
 
As Gene says, a good knifemaker can get by without a Hardness Tester, but they sure are nice. I've fully enjoyed the HR-150 Clone I have.
 
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Investing in a tool like this and being able to provide this data to your customer shows dedication to the craft. I look forward to getting one some day. Congratulations on the new addition opaul!
 
Gene Kimmi said:
Nice! I believe as a beginner/intermediate maker you can get by without one as long as you do plenty of testing with your knives. As you advance, a hardness tester is a must to really fine tune your heat treatment. Since getting mine, I have tested every knife. It is nice knowing your heat treating process is where it should be and consistent.
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KenH said:
As Gene says, a good knifemaker can get by without a Hardness Tester, but they sure are nice. I've fully enjoyed have the HR-150 Clone.
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I’ve always had confidence in my heat treat. I took several blades to a testing facility near me and the results were spot on for the hardness I was targeting. I also used those blades as standard blocks with the tester after I got it home.
 
Nice addition! I love mine although it's wrong scale I just use the conversion chart to cross it over! I couldn't argue with the price! $100!!
 
I picked up a old Wilson 1JR this winter for $325, just needed a new indenter and some tuning! So nice to have it to verify my HT results! I had several blades in Blue #2 come in way low and I found out my oil was too hot. They were 50 out of the quench instead of mid to high 60's! Wouldn't have caught it without the tester!
 
Taz575 said:
I picked up an old Wilson 1JR this winter for $325, just needed a new indenter and some tuning! So nice to have it to verify my HT results! I had several blades in Blue #2 come in way low and I found out my oil was too hot. They were 50 out of the quench instead of mid to high 60's! Wouldn't have caught it without the tester!
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Great example.
 
I have a friend that works at Water Vliet Arsenal they do a lot of Rockwell testing there. I asked him about who they used to calibrate their machines (of course they have new hi-tech ones) he told me it cost them $2300 to get one of their old ones done!!! So much for calibrating!! LOL!! I bought a test block and calibrated it to that LOL!!
 
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