It is with a heavy heart I say that Mike Brubacher passed away last night, 2025/01/30, about 11:00 pm.

For those of you who don’t know, Mike invented our edge sharpness testing instruments, the PT50 series, Edge Lab, the BESS (Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale), was the founder of Edge On Up and changed the world of edge sharpness testing.  A truly amazing man.  Thank you Mike!

Temperature used to be described with words like “chilly” or “freezing” or whatever.  In the 1600’s European physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit gave the world a way to measure temperature and describe it to others in numerical degrees.  Now we can say it’s 34° F.  
 
Before Mike, sharpness was described as “scary sharp”, “razor sharp”, etc.  Mike gave the world the ability to share exactly how sharp an edge is and affordable equipment to test it.  Instead of “shaving sharp”, thanks to Mike, now we can say the edge is BESS 134 and everyone world wide can know exactly what that means.

The ability to communicate edge sharpness is revolutionary, changed the sharpening world, and we all have Mike Brubacher to thank for it.  He was an amazing man.

On a personal note, Mike and I were close friends.  I already miss being able to share life moments and thoughts with him.  I feel so lucky our life paths crossed.

Hello All, perhaps a strange thread on a sharpening and sharpness forum, but it seems I may need an arguable measurable definition of 'blunt'.

In the BESS scale, it is defined up to 2000 where there is an unsharpened DE blank quoted (assuming this is an unsharpened razor blade blank), also compared to a butter knife.

Can I safely say that an edge measured at 2000 BESS or above is 'blunt'?
If the answer is yes, does this have an equivalent, directly measurable, edge apex width?

Has anyone else needed to define when an edge is officially blunt?

Addition:
Might there be a cutting test that a 'blunt' blade will demonstratably fail as a proof?

A friend of my wife left her hand clippers out in her garden over the last Michigan winter.  The clippers didn’t fare well and were heavily rusted.  While the resulting “patina” was from one perspective attractive, they were trashed as a useful tool.   They would still open/close, but not smoothly and needed a lot of help.  I had to use an impact wrench to get the screw out so I could take them apart. 
 
My wife’s friend knew that I sharpened stuff and gave her the clippers for me to “sharpen” them.
 
Now…  Um…  Every so often I get a tool in really bad condition for “sharpening”.   People just don’t understand.  Of course I could comply and just sharpen them, call it good and return them.  Of course there is no way in hell I could just sharpen them and call it good.  The old tool deserved more, and I wouldn’t be happy with the job I did if I simply sharpened the rusted tool.
 
So, I decided to restore the clippers.  I put them in the trusty electrolysis tank to remove the rust, cleaned, sharpened, lubricated and reassembled them.  Now they work great with a new lease on life and with any normal maintenance will last for generations.
 
I think saving old tools from the trash is fun and rewarding.  The results are always amazing.  So much so I thought I should pay my wife’s friend for the opportunity.  Instead I charged her $4.00 and called it good.
 
Here I detail my electrolysis tank and how to make one and use it.  Hey kids!  Cheap, super easy and a lot of fun:
http://bessex.com/forum/showthread.php?t...587#pid587
 
Here’s another example of what electrolysis can do:
http://bessex.com/forum/showthread.php?t...576#pid576
 
Anyway, here’s the before and after pics of the clippers:

What’s a decent score for the average cheap kitchen knife like a Henckles or Wusthof chef knife?

I’ve been sharpening lots of these knives for neighbors and trying to find the balance between a quick sharpen on the belt sander (~5 min) and a decent keen edge. I am scoring around 150-175 while sharpening at 20 dps. 

These are very soft stainless steel and I worry that if I try to go sharper or a steeper angle the edge will roll almost immediately. The steel is so soft that I can usually push a new burr just with strong finger pressure.

For any measurement method, it is important to apply an established measurement protocol. 

For example, for outdoor temperature measurements, it was once agreed that this is done at 1.5 meters above the ground, in a cabin painted white, where the wind can blow through and the sun cannot penetrate, etc.

Is there also such a protocol for BESS measurements? 

I ask about this because I saw a video on FB that a BESS device is a waste of money. If you press the wire quickly you get a lower reading, than if you press the wire very slowly.

Would like your response.

A knife sharpening outfit called Burrbenders has several videos out showing a BESS score of ZERO, and others with scores <5g.  Is this even possible, assuming the test media is real and the test is being done correctly?  In the video the guy doing the test isn't using the fulcrum, and he's moving too quickly, but even then, a 0 score is mind boggling.

Link: Burrbenders Sharpening (@burrbenders) • Instagram photos and videos

Good morning,


I am a new member of this group and recently got the BESS sharpness tester (Edge-On-Up PT50A). 
I notice something strange with the BESS sharpness tester

If I put a block of wood on a digital accurate scale, it weighs (for example) 46.5 grams. If I press tara and weigh that same block again, it again weighs 46.5 grams. That's the way it's supposed to be.

But with my BESS sharpness tester (Edge-On-Up PT50A), I measure a much higher value for the same block of wood: 57 grams.

If I repeat the same measurement as described above on the BESS scale, the results vary: 57 grams, 60 grams, 58 grams 74 grams, and so on.

That there is a difference between scales, I can understand, but the difference is substantial. But that the same cube on the BESS scale gives different measurement results, I find strange.

I do have an idea that difference occurs with putting the block of wood on it. If I put it on more forcefully, I get a higher value than if I put it on more subtly.
Maybe I shouldn't think of my BESS sharpness tester as a "scale.
Who can tell me a little more about this?

Thanks in advance for the responses!


Wim

   
   

150BESS with clip

After opening Edge Lab A and some accessories.
Seems Rapid Edge's blade handled it's own works well.

   


I finally got my complete set of EDGE LAB A today.

I'm happy with my
KFL10R Knife Fulcrum, SLCF20  Slice Test Fixture with strong magnet
ATF10G Test Fixture with quite stable rubber bottom
CNC10 SLICE GLIDE, SLCP10 Slice Plate are even more tighter with screws

But, DCB10 Test Clip Base has slippy untreated bottom.
I'm pretty sure even with bare bottom of DCB10 Test Clip Base do not influence accuracy of the BESS test, but why not add more stability?

Always the more, stable the merrier.



p.s. I just realised I forgot about add EdgeOnUp ATF10C Test Fixture