The knives of Frank J. Richtig as featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R)

Unusual claims, resulting from "secret" heat treatment methods, surround th e toughness and sharpness of the knives manufactured during the 20th centur y by a cutler named Frank J. Richtig. Richtig became famous because of his dramatic demonstrations of the toughness of his: blades by hammering them t hrough iron and steel objects and then illustrating their subsequent sharpn ess. Two of Richtig's blades have been examined and their microstructure an d mechanical behavior determined. Comparisons with contemporary steels of s imilar composition, which are themselves related to ancient Damascus steels , have been made. As a result, proposals regarding Richtig's "secret" heat treatments are given. Some comments are made regarding historical methods o f testing blades and thereby provide a context regarding the degree of diff iculty in mimicking the remarkable toughness and cutting properties describ ed by Richtig. Finally, some observations are made regarding the contempora ry specialty knifemaking industry in the U.S. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc . All rights reserved.