Why do knife edges chip?

[kbaknife]

I came across this video by Murray Carter on why edges sometime chip and it may answer a few questions some folks have.
He does a really good job describing what's going on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU3ALY8OmZk

[Kevin Evans]

Wow that was good Karl,I learned quite a bit.
A Little vidieo should be sold with every knife.

[Doug Campbell]

Very good stuff for sure...

[Montauks]

Good vid....."overtasked"..yup..don't try to use yer knife like a scewdriver

[Lamey]

Good video!

Another cause of blades chipping/cracking that wasnt covered, is forging at too low a temperature which seems to be fairly common.  You can force micro cracks that wont be readily visible or apparent until the heat treat process, and if you are unlucky later in the blades service life.

If having to choose I would opt to forge on the hot side of the line, then the lower side with "western" steels.

Murray runs his edges VERY thin which also has alot to do with chipping etc. nothing wrong with that as long as the user keeps it in mind.

[tippit]

Karl, Great video!  Thanks for sharing it.

[TheBigRedArcher]

Karl:

Thank you for posting this video. Really explains a great deal and answered a few questions for me.

TBRA

[kbaknife]

That's right, Matt. He makes a lot of chef-type knives which are very thin.
He also did not mention much about geometry overall, but his metallurgy focus is spot-on.
Guys, if you ever have something chip or break, the very first thing you do is check your grain.
You ABSOLUTELY MUST!!! learn how to control your grain and get maximum hardness from proper austenizing and appropriate quench to avoid pearlite reversion.