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My first exposure to Edge on Up testing and BESS was when Steve Bottorff very generously sent me a KN-100 with instructions to "use it until I got bored with it". Little did either of us know that after several years and two more EoU testers, I am still not bored with it. Sadly, in the marketplace, it seems to have been eclipsed by the quicker to use PT 50 models. They are very nice and quick to use, however, for accurate work, the KN-100 is still very comfortable and very accurate. The old standby still works as well as it ever did, and that was pretty damn good!
Ken
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"The old standby still works as well as it ever did, and that was pretty damn good!"
And it always will. Especially for us old dudes, MTBF for the KN-100 is probably an non-issue. Electronics can/will eventually fail. But gravity, unless something really weird happens in the space-time continuum and we become inhabitants of a bizarro world will hopefully remain constant.
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+1 for the KN100, but I can easily see the PT50 being more popular. I guess the price and simplicity trump more scientific accuracy.
I'm already on my second battery powered scale, which really messes with the KN100's MTBF. Seems like good scales are awfully expensive.
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Mark,
For many years I owned an Ohaus Triple Beam Scale for measuring photographic chemicals. It had a tare adjustment (to zero out the weight of a container). Why not use the KN-100 on a table and weigh the BB container on a triple beam scale? ('Bet you can't wear out an Ohaus Triple Beam!....No batteries, ever!)
Ken
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Mark,
"110v Ohaus" gave me a good laugh!
I think the easiest way to use a triple beam would be to weigh the weighing container for the BBs. Add this gram weight to the inherent 50 gram weight of the KN-100. With my only occasionally stellar, I would make a label with this combined gram weight for the Ohaus and/or KN-100.
Then, use the KN-100 and set the BB container on the triple beam scale. From that gram weight subtract the combined label weight in your head (assuming you are old enough to have a non electronic brain
)
Presto, simple and no batteries. Use the direct BESS scale.
Ken
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Just a curious question Ken. I've been reading through some of the older posts and ran across this one. I have a PT50, the original one before there were 3 different models to pick from. You seem to have experience with both electronic and the old KN100. The KN100 has a certain appeal to me mainly because it doesn't use batteries. It seems to me like it will last forever. Could you tell me how you feel about KN100 against the PT50? I'm actually thinking about getting one just because it was the first and looks like something that my great grand kids might use.
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Interesting post, Bud.
Like you, I have the original PT-50, as well ss the KN100. I must confess that I have become lazy in my old age and have not used the KN100 since I purchased the PT-50. However..........
I believe the KN100 may be more accurate, or at least easier to read. With the newer models, unless I am doing something wrong, I have to read the results quickly on the scale. With the KN100, when the BB is added which causes the test filament to be severed, the BB weight remains constant. Also, with the KN100, the knife is held in the jig instead of having to rely on Mister Fumblefingers.
Mike, please let me know if I am not reading my PT-50 properly.
I concede that the newer PT-50 is faster. The older KN100 suits my temperment: simple and dependable.
Ken
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We would never entertain even the idea that you have done something wrong Ken. Either we have failed in our attempt to transmit operating information to you in a sufficient and coherent manner or we have provided you with a faulty piece of equipment. Our error(s) may fall in one of two possible arenas. One possibility is this:
Pictured above is the keypad of the original PT50 and below the keypad of the newer PT50B. Keypad operation of the two is different in that with the older PT50 one must first power the unit on and then
after power-up, press the Sharp Check key to enter Sharp Check mode. In Sharp Check mode the display backlight comes on and stays on. In Sharp Check mode the highest force measured during the measurement cycle is locked on the display. If the Sharp Check key is not pressed after the unit is powered up, the unit
does not lock the greatest value on the display. Press the "tare" or "on/off key" to reset.
With the PT50A-B and C there is no "Sharp Check" key. The unit automatically comes up in Sharp Check mode on power-up and to backlight or not backlight the display is optional.
The other possibility is that your PT50 is not switching into Sharp Check mode when the key is pressed. If that is the case please let us know.
Hope this helps to identify the problem.
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We forgot about Bud's comments. There is a certain appeal attached to the KN100 and part of that appeal is it's raw analog output. Ken is correct, we have yet to manufacture a tester that exceeds the accuracy of our original edge tester product and it is a product that will last for generations. That being said, you already own a very practical and useful electronic tester. While the KN100 may be more accurate than your PT50 one must ask the question of the value of this added accuracy for the typical knife sharpener. You can take three measurements with your PT50 in the time it takes to take one with the KN100 and your PT50 is a self contained system.
It is an interesting phenomena though we admit. Original KN100 users will not give them up in favor of faster, easier and more compact electronic units. Don't worry about the availability of KN100's should you decide to put one in your museum. They'll be around for some time yet.
