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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

#41

Post by csee »

dafelst wrote: post #15
Tistron wrote: post #7

Fun days for airport security :) How do they handle people bringing caramic knifes today? Would wooden knives display clearly on their scanners?

Getting knives past airport security seems not particularly difficult from the experience of my circle and other anecdotal sources. I've had friends and family accidentally get knives through security on many occasions, and I have also accidentally done it myself. To my knowledge none of them has ever been caught in the converse situation and had to give up a knife. I imagine if one were resourceful and deliberate ab…

This would be great for ML. A knife detection algorithm that alerts the officer when it thinks it spots one when the bags go in the scanner.

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

#43

Post by mberning »

rhplus wrote: post #38

> three times sharper than the typical stainless steel dinner table knife The video shows pretty mediocre cutting, but perhaps that's on par with a "typical table knife". There's a good reason restaurants will give you a steak knife, alongside a table knife, for red meat.

It did’t even cut the steak. It assisted in tearing it apart.

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

#44

Post by mberning »

greenail wrote: post #6

this reminds me of "圧倒的不審者の極み!" or "kiwami japan" youtube channel. I also wonder if this channel was the inspiration for "howtobasic"

They probably should have consulted that guy. He has made quite a few wooden and cardboard knives that are significantly sharper that what was shown.

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

#45

Post by neom »

I'd like to see that steak video with a serrated version of the knife.

Edit: I decided to do some research on if a serrated edge blade would in fact be better, leading me to a strange but interesting video of some Dutchmen unscientifically testing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAzrz0nC9-M (tl;dw, serrated seems it would be better for steak)

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

#46

Post by Ansil849 »

dafelst wrote: post #15
Tistron wrote: post #7

Fun days for airport security :) How do they handle people bringing caramic knifes today? Would wooden knives display clearly on their scanners?

Getting knives past airport security seems not particularly difficult from the experience of my circle and other anecdotal sources. I've had friends and family accidentally get knives through security on many occasions, and I have also accidentally done it myself. To my knowledge none of them has ever been caught in the converse situation and had to give up a knife. I imagine if one were resourceful and deliberate ab…

> Getting knives past airport security seems not particularly difficult from the experience of my circle and other anecdotal sources. I've had friends and family accidentally get knives through security on many occasions, and I have also accidentally done it myself. To my knowledge none of them has ever been caught in the converse situation and had to give up a knife.

May I ask what your race, and the race of your circle, is?

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

#47

Post by salawat »

laurent92 wrote: post #23
vegardx wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most ceramic knives have some metal in them for this reason.

Haven’t they moved from Xray, which shows the difference between atoms thanks to wavelength, to ultrasounds, which show sharp edges and thus is suitable for anything iron, plastic or wood as long as it’s sharp?

I'd imagine that would drive the chemical sniffing/bomb dogs absolutely insane.

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

#48

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #34
cogman10 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, airport security is nothing but security theater. I wish we could eliminate it.

There's a real need for security though, so while I would love to make it better (... by removing the theatre elements) that doesn't mean no security. We have lots of things that we know work but lack various wills to do so, ranging from the easy like "don't let anyone other than ticketed travellers anywhere near the terminal" to the crazy-sounding like "make flying 10x or 100x time more expensive".

> There's a real need for security though

I suspect this is overstated: preventing access to the cockpit from the passenger cabin solves a lot of the issues here: if a hijacker can’t use the plane as a cruise missile, the need for security is about equivalent to attacks on metros or passenger trains.

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

#49

Post by jackcviers3 »

pstuart wrote: post #18
excalibur wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also what chemicals are used, where do those come from, how sustainable are they, are there adverse environmental impacts in their production

If this is the same bit that's hit this page just recently, the chemicals used were sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfite (to remove the lignin) and then food grade oil to seal it.

So you can do this at home with a hydraulic press and a torch then? Would be kind of fun.

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

#50

Post by themodelplumber »

I've noticed that steel in knives can easily be described as a waste. Cutting into food and opening packages doesn't generally need to require steel, for one.

There is always going to be the emergency/contingency psychology calling for quality steel in every knife to "save your life someday" but TBH it's a relief that customers themselves get to decide exactly what that could mean to them...otherwise the raging debate would probably mean even more prepper content invading innocent hobbyist videos.

I look forward to the coming cutting-materials range expansion. I would even look at a non-metal SAK for working people, if just as a recognition of human creativity...

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