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I have a Rams Rockford bench-top Rockwell tester, but for the reasons alluded to earlier (parallel surfaces) I find it hard to test most of my knives--especially since I do mostly clay quenching which means the ricasso is no good for testing anyway.
Typically, it is only used on stainless blades coming out of the Paragon which are homogenously HTd.
I file test most of my carbon knives and that's about as good as I can get with any regularity.
Tip: Before file testing, be sure to wipe, scrape, and even sand away any black gunk at the testing point. You want clean and bare steel only. The file will bite the gunk on top of hard steel and make you think its soft.
Another tip: Before using a bench top tester, be sure to finish the surface to be tested to 400 or even 600 grit. Coarser grits will give softer readings as the penetrator presses down into a rough grit scratch line.
I could probably be talked out of my hardness tester--for the right price.
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