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Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

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Re: Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

#161

Post by burnished »

SamBam wrote: post #130
whyenot wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also created hardened wooden nails and hammered them into wooden planks. That seems like a better example.

Kind of. It took nearly two minutes to drive that skinny main though three skinny boards. A metal brad of the same size would go through that would in 3, maybe 4 whacks. The way they were hitting it looked either like they had never hammered before, or that they were afraid of shattering the nail.

I thought you were being mean or exaggerating or something, because after eight or so whacks I thought they had driven it through. Nope. Very delicately handled.

Re: Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

#162

Post by WalterBright »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #132
pivo wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading something similar for the pins in an MG (or Triumph? not sure anymore) manual transmission. In this case the suggestion was to use peanut butter to hold the pins in.

Using grease to hold loose needle or ball bearings in place is a very old trick. You'll find it in lots of old manuals.

Evidently not in trans manuals!

Re: Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

#165

Post by baremetal »

agumonkey wrote: post #87
BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #80

Cutting cooked meat seems like about the worst possible demonstration they could have come up with because we already have disposable wood cutlery able to easily cut meat that you can readily buy by the hundreds at Target/Walmart/Amazon. The standard food demonstration for sharpness is slicing ripe tomatoes, and demonstrating toughness needs an uncooked winter squash. > "Surprisingly, our wooden knife is actually thr…

Just reminds me that paper moved fast enough can probably already cut meat

you can cut wood with paper.

replace the blade on your tablesaw with a bit of paper and try it :)

Re: Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

#166

Post by Freestyler_3 »

baremetal wrote: post #165
agumonkey wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just reminds me that paper moved fast enough can probably already cut meat

you can cut wood with paper. replace the blade on your tablesaw with a bit of paper and try it :)

This is why you don't wipe glass(es) with paper cloths, micro scratches will eventually make it look like sanded glass.

Re: Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

#167

Post by Cyril_HN »

joe_guy wrote: post #146
BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #80

Cutting cooked meat seems like about the worst possible demonstration they could have come up with because we already have disposable wood cutlery able to easily cut meat that you can readily buy by the hundreds at Target/Walmart/Amazon. The standard food demonstration for sharpness is slicing ripe tomatoes, and demonstrating toughness needs an uncooked winter squash. > "Surprisingly, our wooden knife is actually thr…

This article was frustrating because it seemed to not understand the value of why we use what materials we do. I could make a knife from wood now and it would be sharp enough to cut steak. It, just like cheaper steel knives, wouldn't remain sharp as long as it's higher value counterparts. They mention wooden nails but don't mention if they'll fill an important role nails do -- their success isn't only that they're ha…

I have never, ever considered that the use of nails is their ability to bend slightly. Very interesting idea.

Re: Scientists have found a way to harden wood to make a knife that rivals steel

#168

Post by varelse »

WalterBright wrote: post #118
pivo wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading something similar for the pins in an MG (or Triumph? not sure anymore) manual transmission. In this case the suggestion was to use peanut butter to hold the pins in.

One trick I discovered myself. When working on the car, your hands get very greasy dirty. It's impossible to wash it all off, it just has to wear off after a couple days. The trick is to rub your hands with Vaseline Lotion beforehand. Then the car dirt will wash right off.

The other thing that works magic (and especially for Poison Oak/Poison Ivy) is a washcloth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oyoDRHpQK0

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