Cutting Coins

J

Josh Feltman

Joined
Feb 12, 2001
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Inspired byFerrous Wheel's post from a while back, I decided to try to cut some coins with my BAS just to see how it would hold up. My methods were similar to those outlined in Ferrous Wheel's post-- coins were placed flat on a large walnut stump and I started swinging. Sure enough, the BAS cut through both pennies and nickels no problem. The blade suffered no damage that I could see or feel, and the region of the blade that cut the coins still shaved afterward. I don't know if this is something that most big knives can do, but I was pretty impressed. If anybody tries this, be careful because the coin pieces have a tendency to fly. I finally had to tape a coin to the stump on which I was cutting them to actually see the end result--the first few flew away and I couldn't find them.
--Josh
 
I approve, Josh! I've since then cut thicker bars and cables of metal, no Hi carbon steel cables, but mostly copper, brass and nickel, mild steel. I'm stilll eyeing the cutting of a cheap stainless knife, but I think I'll warm up by cutting some cheap stainless silverware first.

Then after that, I've been eyeing some chain mail I have laying around the shop. I made it from 16ga. electric fence wire (mild steel coated with zinc). I've tested everything from bows, to shuriken to spears and axes on the stuff, now fer the khuk. should have rings-a-poppin!

Keith
 
Before you go too hogwild, you should remember they market Cutco by cutting pennies in half....and I must remind both of you it is against the law to deface US currency....

but I might try it someday.

munk
 
Yeah, but they use a pair of shears, not a knife. My nephew sell cutco. I hadta buy a few fer the wife, to offset khuk purchases.

Keith
 
You know, a speeding locomotive does a real number on coins too. I don't know if they use that to sell trains.



munk
 
What a sales pitch for HI khuks-- as tough on coins as a speeding locomotive.

"tough on coins, easy on the pocketbook"

"HI khuks--Tough as rails"

"HI khuks and locomotives--both cut cross-country"

Keith
 
...that's for when you look the clerk in the eye and say, " I wouldn't give you a half cent for that."


Trains squish coins flat, like tiny frisbees.


munk
 
If you wouldn't give a half cent then you don't need it.

I squished a penny or two via local freight trains when I was a kid but not many. A penny would buy a candy cane or piece of bubble gum and five of them would buy a Hershey bar or bottle of Pepsi but not when squished. A penny meant a lot more then when a lot of guys were working for 20 or 30 bucks per month.
 
cutting coins is also useful when you're trying to pay only that 9/10s of a cent per gallon when you get gas. There has to be a scam in there somewhere.

Keith
 
Josh Feltman :

[coin cutting]

I don't know if this is something that most big knives can do ...
Click to expand...

It doesn take much from the steel to resist getting damaged as coins are not very hard, so you can pound a knfie through with a hammer pretty easily, however it takes a decent amount of chopping ability for a knife to be able to do it on its own. You also need a very hard piece of wood to chop on or the coin just gets smashed down into it. Heavy plastic is decent as well for a backing, or simple mild steel plate.

As for using it to make change, try it with a dollar or two dollar coin, or even a fifty cent piece. I would be real curious to see the expression on the salespersons face when you say "I'll be back in a minute", walk out side, whack the coin in half (in their view for best results), then come back in and give them half of the coin. All done with a straight face of course.

-Cliff
 
Interesting topic.

I tried putting a quarter on a 2x4 with my Trailmaster, and put such large indentations in the edge, I quit after 2 strikes. Since I am reducing the bevel on the knife anyway, the dings are almost gone, but they were quite large.

Then I went to beer bottle caps. Very interesting. The re-beveled Trailmaster still dinged up a little, but am able to sharpen it out. My Busse Steelheart had just the hint of waviness, but was able to polish/steel that out. My Recon Scout at the factory edge angle (obtuse) was similar to the Busse, and my BAS had a little less waviness than all of the rest, and I could steel it out. I also tried my Becker CU/7, and had similar results with the Recon Scout, and this is with the CU/7 reprofiled to around 35 deg. total edge angle. It appears that the steel/heat treatment in the Becker is much better than CS. I am going to take the Becker down further, and see what happens.

I am interested in seeing the effects of geometry on this test with the same blade.

After seeing the TM dent on a coin, I'm hesitant to try my BAS, I'll let you all test for me... :D
 
Fnny, Cliff!

"quarter on a 2x4 with my Trailmaster, and put such large indentations in the edge, I quit after 2 strikes." Yow! I cut a quarted inn half edgewise and laying flat with an 18" Sher AK, no visible marks. I was sure to hit in the hardened area of the cutting edge of course. I don't expect that many of the pieces I own wwould stand up to this test....well, my 8lb bardiche would. You can really carve up a dumpster or oild drum with that thang. Most of my axes would stand up tot he test, but i dunno if they'd cut so well that the inside of the coin is polished...like the Ak
Keith
 
I guess I am in Uncle Bills neighborhood when it comes to taking a chance on damaging my own property. I remember a weekly allowance being a quarter if we went to town on Saturday night. Things that I like and paid hard to come by money for. I give my knives a pretty good workout so I know that I can rely on them when needed so some of the experiments you folks are talking about tell me next to nothing. Electric fence wire? Armor? Stainless steel knives cut in half? What the hell is the point in that? Please don't think about doing such things to one of mine. I have a tomahawk and a battle axe that can do all those things and, I still don't treat them like that.

Every man to his own poison I guess.
 
extreme cutting may be required:

Your car goes off road, into deep water, electric windows rolled up. You have a khuk. You cut your seatbelt (if needed) and can bash out a window and swim away.

A tree/aluminum lightpole/cement pylon, etc pins someone in their house/car/etc. The khuk goes to work. The back of the khuk makes an excellent hammer/smasher!

You are in a storm on a sailboat and your mast will snap unless you can cut the cables/rigging that are jammed and preventing the sail from coming down.

Your friend, wife, child, is in a burning vehicle/house, trapped behind chain link fence,jammed door from a car wreck, etc. If chopping won't help in these situations, the AK makes a wonderful prybar.

I recall reading an article on the HI website about a guy who used his khuk to cut thru a lath wall (actually a couple apartment walls in succession) to escape a fire.

Once again, these are extreme situations, and they call for extreme blades. I only treat one of my five HI blades in this way. The one I'd stake my life on. 18" Sher AK.

I'm an axe fan. An axe could do some of these jobs, but not all of them, and certainly not within spatially constrained areas.

Keith
 
Dents from a quarter? Sounds like too soft of a knife to me. A stronger bevel can help, but getting that kinda damage from a quarter. However for most knives Ive heard (and done) the whole stab through a quarter thing. That way I can use the quarter afterwards. However Im not big on extreme knife testing. There are a whole lotta stresses that can be introduced in some extreme testing that have little to do with actual knife quality.
 
As a general rule, neither am I. But after reading some HI khuk field testing from folks (notably Cliff Stamp's rigorous tests), I thought it only fair to put my beefiest user khuk thru its paces. I don't test any of my other knives this way, especially my nice hollow ground stainless slicers. They just weren't designed for this stuff.

But the HI khuk's rep preceeded my receiving the first. after my second HI khuk, though, I decided that Number One was gonna hafta show and prove, which it did. Starting with wood, leather, and rawhide, the 18" Sher AK did me proud.

Then I read abouut the abuses that these khuks should be able to take in stride, stuff that most knife testers would balk at. So, confident in my skills in sharpeninng and reprofiling blades, I got to work on the tougher stuff, like soft metals.

"Electric fence wire? Armor? Stainless steel knives cut in half? What the hell is the point in that?" The point is in the doing, like climbers of Mt. Everest.
As for the armor cutting, what can I say. I'm an applied historian, and I have put a fair number of swords, axes, arrows, and spears to the test against various armors. I thought the khuk showed vast potential, and there are sword-length khuk variants throughout history, starting as early as 1500 B.C.E. And I'm here to tell ya, these khuks would cut thru most modern vehicles and storm/security doors if necessary. Hel, you could cut the hinges off of a door you couldn't cut thru.

Once again, I don't advocate the use of khuks on the targets I test. I've been doing this sort of weirdness for a while, and with all test cuttings you could seriously damage the weapon or yourself. And I think I'm a lightweight when it comes to extreme testing.

Next time I post an extreme cutting test, I'll label the thread "Khuk Abuse-don't be this dumb" or somesuch.

Havamal verse 81 gives us this bit about praising untested things:
For these things give thanks at nightfall:
The day gone, a guttered torch,
A sword tested, the troth of a maid,
Ice crossed, ale drunk.

Keith
 
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