Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Breathalyzer for Fine Steel
Christopher Schwarz
>Last night I was reading an old hardware store catalog reprint from M-WTCA and came across an interesting item. In the section extolling the virtues of their saw steel, the catalog goes to great lengths to dismiss the old wives' tale that you can tell a quality steel by breathing on it.
I've never heard this old saw about saws.
Is anyone here familiar with this concept?
Chris
Re: Breathalyzer for Fine Steel
Andrew F in Australia
>My first trade is metallurgy/materials engineering, and I used to work in a steelworks working mainly in cold rolling.
I've never heard of this one either
Andrew
Re: Breathalyzer for Fine Steel
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>I seem to recall some nonsense about that years ago. Thicker saw blades would fog up and thinner ones wouldn't.
Re: Breathalyzer for Fine Steel
David Miller from Iowa
>My take is that the breathing thing (of which I had not heard either) would test only the surface polish on the metal and have nothing to do with the quality of the steel. Maybe the inference is that if the saw is mirror polished, it obviously came from a quality shop. Obviously not reliable.
Re: Breathalyzer for Fine Steel
Christopher Schwarz
>Thanks for the responses. This stuff drives me nuts. It's like knowing the punchline to a joke without hearing the first part.
I'll keep digging and report back if I find anything.
Chris
And the question was...
Vic P
>Don't drink and saw or you will be faced with what? ;>)
The answer is
Todd O. Cronkhite Native of Maine
>unable to saw a straight line.
What a minute, I can't do that sober either. ;~)
Todd O.