Obsidian blades

LGMartialArts

LGMartialArts

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Aug 4, 2013
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I've been seeing a ton of people posting lately (mostly on FB in IG) about how ridiculously sharp obsidian blades are, and how they're superior over steel blades - some people even going as far as saying they want karambits/swords made from obsidian, and how the Aztecs had the right idea with their macuahuitl swords (wooden sword embedded with obsidian chunks). I had an obsidian blade (curio piece) a long time ago, and remember it breaking in half when I accidentally bumped it the wrong way... very fragile imho.
Anyway, what are your thoughts? Empirical data on it's usage?
 
Crystalline structures will be able to achieve more acute angles and edges, but you've already mentioned why they're impractical for anything but extremely light use. That crystalline structure comes at the cost of insanely high hardness, meaning it has almost no flexibility and thus no real way to distribute the force of any kind of impact aside from shattering / chipping.

They're a curiosity or a specialty tool, but certainly not the future of cutting tools.
 
No empirical data, but I'll stick with steel. Obsidian is basically naturally occurring glass and a blade made from it has all the same benefits and liabilities of a knife made of glass. Both can achieve a much, much sharper edge than steel can, but resharpening it would require knapping. Both are exceptionally hard, so abrasive resistance would be fantastic, but both are exceptionally fragile, so cutting any tough media take chips and splinters out of the blade at minimum and you couldn't drop either without having it shatter.

Sharp is fantastic, but chasing an ultimately sharp edge gets a little silly unless you need that incredibly fine apex. The only real world use of obsidian in modern cutting tools that I know of is obsidian scalpels. The edge obsidian can take is so fine that the scalpel can actually cut between cells rather than tearing them, which can promote more rapid healing with less scar tissue. That said, they're still very uncommon and not practical for many surgical applications because of their inherent fragility and the possibility of contaminating a wound with insanely sharp shards of rock in the event a break does occur.
 
The same way ceramic blades never really caught on for cutlery.

Taylor Schrade has a few folders with ceramic blades in their product lineup and they never seem to be selling (to the point where they were completely omitted from the 2016 catalog).

Most chefs I see also don't use ceramic knives even though they are "supposed" to be better than steel, what with ceramic never leaving behind metallic aftertastes in the raw food.
 
Fb and IG seem to be a place where some compete to win in the latest fad. Look at their endless pictures of thousand dollar knucks and ridiculously expensive bottle openers and such. An obsidian blade sounds cool, looks cool etc. But the chipping, breaking, inability to sharpen it many times, rarity, etc. Make it difficult to be seen as a viable replacement for knife steels.
An obsidian sword sounds terribly fragile. I'd take a steel blade capable of a little flex every day.
 
Glass blades are used for very specific purposes. Having the ability to make a blade in a survival situation could come in handy. Decades ago I used them to cut thin, frozen tissue samples for a class. So, for specific applications they are superior. The other 99.999% of the time, not so much.
 
Obsidian AKA dragon glass. Steel is better for most situations, yet keep some handy for winter is coming.

Unless you're lucky enough to have some Valyrian blades in the rotation.
 
Obsidion is by definition - a natural glass ,Therefore is not crystalline . It is one of the sharpest [minimum edge radius ] materials , sharper than steel .Used in critiacl surgery such as in the eye. It's brittle like any glass .
 
I have a couple of obsidian knives that I bought, and I recently got into knapping, myself. My very limited experience thus far seems to show that obsidian can be insanely sharp but very fragile or moderately sharp and somewhat durable. Flakes knocked of a larger piece or prismatic blades flaked off of a core can be stupidly, insanely sharp, but they are very fragile. Blades that are percussion and pressure flaked into a more traditional looking knife blade, and left at a thickness that makes them relatively durable, seem to rely more on their serrated nature (a byproduct of pressure flaking the final edge) to cut, rather than on insane sharpness. I've cut meat, cardboard, and other soft material with both types, and they work just fine in that context, but they really aren't useful for anything else. I got into knapping just because I thought it looked relaxing (which it is, until you accidentally snap a blade you've spent the last week shaping :grumpy::D) and because it's a surprisingly complex and fascinating process. In terms of actual functional cutlery, I'm REALLY glad we now have heat treated steel! :thumbup:
 
An obsidian knife would be the best knife ever made

......................To lay on a desk and open letters with :D
 
Some pics.

A flake of obsidian I knocked off of a larger piece with a "copper bopper."
0313161711_zps4abqxcqn.jpg


A proper obsidian knife by knapper Tony Stanfield:
0313161712a_zpstexnsdo6.jpg


The edge of the flake-smooth, thin, and truly disgustingly and frighteningly sharp, but very fragile:
0313161712_zpstkjrt08u.jpg


The edge of the proper knife-much thicker. Still pretty sharp, but way more durable:
0313161712b_zpsjbtw884r.jpg
 
I agree with the other posts...obsidian is extremely sharp if chipped correctly. Skinners/tanners are really into them. However I don't think I'll take one to replace any EDC knives...just too fragile for tough jobs. Cool indeed and very pretty IMHO, but they serve a pretty strict parameter of users.
 
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Be careful if you buy one. Some knappers epoxy their mistakes back together.
 
Every blade since obsidian is a marketing ploy -especially 1095!
;)

In an archaeology class in college, our professor demoed turning a raw piece of obsidian into a blade and explained the history. The impression I received was that obsidian blades not only have the finest molecular edges but can be made on the spot, when needed. Not a blade one passes down to grandchildren, rather an excellent tool of convenience.
 
jazub said:
Every blade since obsidian is a marketing ploy -especially 1095!
;)

In an archaeology class in college, our professor demoed turning a raw piece of obsidian into a blade and explained the history. The impression I received was that obsidian blades not only have the finest molecular edges but can be made on the spot, when needed. Not a blade one passes down to grandchildren, rather an excellent tool of convenience.
Click to expand...

There's one huge caveat to that. A tool of convenience if you're in an area that has obsidian lying around.
 
Or chert, or petrified wood, or quite a bit of other materials. But yes, I agree to an extent.

With an obsidian bladed tool, you can obtain a sharper edge with a Very high hrc And you can make one wherever you are. That doesn't mean that it is a more efficient cutting tool.
Skinning an animal with an Obsidian blade and you contact a bone with any force and you will have to knap a new edge (and cut out the area that contains tiny razors now since that meat is no longer edible) and then resume cleaning. Or just finish with a chipped blade and refinish your edge after.
With a steel edged knife, just keep going, touch up the roll later.

How about Any wood processing? Any cutting beyond flesh/skin will break an obsidian edged knife.

Buy steel for use, glass for looking at/through.
 
Can't imagine a scenario where a glass knife would best a steel knife aside from surgery. I think a glass/obsidian knife with a rockstead blade finish and profile would be amazing, but impractical. I'd buy it though. Closest thing would be the boker anti mc ceramic knife, looks cool but very brittle. Maybe when we get handheld laser sharpeners it could become a thing
 
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