FprEN ISO 8442-5

• Abstract:

  ISO 8442-5:2004 specifies the sharpness and edge retention of knives which are produced for professional and domestic use in the preparation of food of all kinds, specifically those knives intended for hand use.; Powered blade instruments of any kind are excluded.; Generally these types of knife are manufactured with blades of either plain edge design or with edges incorporating particular features to enhance or optimize aspects of cutting ability.; The following two types of knife blade are suitable for the cutting test.; Type A edges: cutting edges which can be resharpened by the user and edges with a pitch greater than 1mm;; Type B edges: cutting edges which are not intended to be resharpened on a steel.; Whilst these knives are predominantly manufactured with blades made from various grades of heat treated steels, the testing of knives of any construction or blade material is not precluded providing that the test criteria are met.; The principle of the testing is to reproduce a cutting action, by forward and reverse strokes, against a pack of synthetic test medium under controlled parameters.

• Status: Not Published
• Publication Date: 07-Mar-2027
• ICS: 97.040.60 - Cookware, cutlery and flatware
• Technical Committee: CEN/TC 194 - Utensils in contact with food
• Drafting Committee: CEN/TC 194/WG 4 - Cutlery and related items
• Current Stage: 5020 - Submission to Vote - Formal Approval
• Start Date: 29-Oct-2026
• Completion Date: 29-Oct-2026
• Ref Project: kSIST FprEN ISO 8442-5:2026 - Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs - Cutlery and table holloware - Part 5: Specification for sharpness and cutting wear resistance test of cutlery (ISO/FDIS 8442-5:2026)

• Consolidated By: ISO/FDIS 8442-5 - Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs — Cutlery and table holloware — Part 5: Specification for sharpness and cutting wear resistance test of cutlery
• Effective Date: 12-Feb-2026
• Revises: EN ISO 8442-5:2004 - Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs - Cutlery and table holloware - Part 5: Specification for sharpness and edge retention test of cutlery (ISO 8442-5:2004)
• Effective Date: 19-Feb-2025

FprEN ISO 8442-5 is a draft CEN/ISO standard for knives used with food. It specifies how to measure knife sharpness and cutting wear resistance for hand-held knives used in professional and domestic food preparation.

What does FprEN ISO 8442-5 specify?

FprEN ISO 8442-5 covers the sharpness and wear resistance of knives intended for preparing food by hand. It is written for knives used with foods of all kinds, and it gives test methods for measuring sharpness and evaluating edge wear.

The document is organized into a short main body and two normative annexes:

Part	What it covers
Clause 1	Scope and application to hand-held food knives
Clause 2	Normative references
Clause 3	Terms and definitions
Clause 4	Sharpness testing
Clause 5	Wear resistance testing, procedure, results and calibration
Annex A	Sharpness testing apparatus and methods
Annex B	Wear resistance testing apparatus and test medium

The scope excludes hunting knives, pocket knives, razors, and tool or utility knives such as carpet-cutting knives. Knives with special shapes, such as herb chopping knives or highly curved boning knives, may be tested only in the style of this document, because not every method fits every blade shape.

What are the key requirements of FprEN ISO 8442-5?

The document is built around two test themes: sharpness and edge wear. In practice, that means a lab or manufacturer has to control the test movement, the test medium, the loading, and the way results are reported.

• Clause 4 defines sharpness as the force needed at the first moment of material separation during a defined cutting movement. This matters because the test is meant to measure the cutting edge, not general blade friction.
• Annex A gives two sharpness methods: a foil pressure cutting test and a foil pull cutting test. The first looks at pressure cutting capability; the second also shows pull cutting capability and the force profile, which can be used to judge grinding uniformity.
• Clause 5.1 requires wear resistance testing before other physical or mechanical tests. That keeps the edge in the “as received” condition, so later handling does not affect the result.
• Clause 5.2 limits the blade section used for wear testing to a straight portion with only a small allowed deviation over a 40 mm stroke. This makes the result comparable from knife to knife.
• Clause 5.5 sets the test cycle: the blade is mounted edge uppermost, leveled, loaded to the specified force, and moved in forward and reverse strokes while depth of cut is recorded each cycle. In practice, the test reports how the edge performance changes over repeated use.
• Clause 5.6 defines the reporting metrics, including decay factor, starting value, ideal curve, expected lifetime factor (ELF), theoretical total cutting performance (TTCP), initial cutting performance (ICP), and total cut card (TCC). These values turn raw cut-depth readings into comparable performance measures.
• Annex B fixes the apparatus and test medium for wear resistance testing, including the card holder, slide system, force application, measuring resolution, and conditioning of the abrasive card. This is what makes the method reproducible between laboratories.

What terms does FprEN ISO 8442-5 define?

• Knife - Cutlery intended for manual food preparation, usually with a cutting edge that may include serration or micro serration.
• Sharpness - A parameter that reflects the force needed to cut into a defined test material with a defined cutting movement.
• Wear resistance - The resistance of the cutting edge to wear, assessed by cutting into an abrasive test material.
• Cutting cycle - One forward stroke plus one reverse stroke of the designated blade length against the test material.
• Expected lifetime factor (ELF) - A calculated value used to express the cutting wear resistance result over the test sequence.
• Initial cutting performance (ICP) - A calculated result that represents the starting cutting performance of the blade.
• Total cut card (TCC) - A calculated result based on the total cutting performance through the test card.

Who uses FprEN ISO 8442-5?

FprEN ISO 8442-5 is used by cutlery manufacturers, test laboratories, quality managers, and buyers who need a repeatable way to compare knife sharpness and edge retention. It is relevant to professional and domestic cutlery, especially where food-contact performance and consistent cutting behavior are important.

What changed in FprEN ISO 8442-5 from the previous edition?

FprEN ISO 8442-5 replaces ISO 8442-5:2004. The foreword says the revision introduces the term sharpness, describes the foil pressure cutting test and foil pull cutting test, adds a new evaluation method for the wear resistance test, and revises the wear resistance test medium.

Which standards are used with FprEN ISO 8442-5?

The document points to ISO 8442-1 in the definitions section for the broader meaning of sharpness and wear resistance. No other normative references are named in the document text provided.

What does the FprEN ISO 8442-5 document contain?

FprEN ISO 8442-5 includes a worked structure for testing and reporting knife performance. Clause 5.6 gives formulas for the main wear-resistance metrics, and Table 1 gives an example of how to record depth of cut by cycle and cumulative cut.

Annex A contains the principles and set-up of the sharpness methods, with a figure showing the two foil test principles. Annex B contains the wear resistance apparatus layout and the detailed requirements for the card holder, blade fixture, slide units, transducer, and abrasive card medium.

The annex on wear testing also gives conditioning requirements for the test medium, so the same card condition is used before testing. That supports repeatable test results in design work, product verification, and laboratory testing.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
01-marec-2026
Materiali in predmeti v stiku z živili - Pribor in namizna posoda - 5. del:
Specifikacija za ostrino in preskus obstojnosti roba jedilnega pribora (ISO/DIS
8442-5:2026)
Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs - Cutlery and table holloware - Part 5:
Specification for sharpness and cutting wear resistance test of cutlery (ISO/DIS 8442-
5:2026)
Werkstoffe und Gegenstände in Kontakt mit Lebensmitteln - Schneidwaren und
Tafelgeräte - Teil 5: Festlegung der Schärfe- und Schnittfestigkeitsprüfung für
Schneidwaren (ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026)
Matériaux et objets en contact avec les denrées alimentaires - Coutellerie et orfèvrerie
de table - Partie 5: Spécification du tranchant et essai de résistance à l'usure de coupe
des articles de coutellerie (ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN ISO 8442-5
ICS:
67.250 Materiali in predmeti v stiku z Materials and articles in
živili contact with foodstuffs
97.040.60 Kuhinjska posoda, jedilni Cookware, cutlery and
servisi in jedilni pribor flatware
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
DRAFT
International
Standard
ISO/DIS 8442-5
ISO/TC 186
Materials and articles in contact
Secretariat: SAC
with foodstuffs — Cutlery and table
Voting begins on:
holloware —
2026-01-05
Part 5:
Voting terminates on:
2026-03-30
Specification for sharpness and
cutting wear resistance test of
cutlery
ICS: 97.040.60; 67.250
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
FOR COMMENTS AND APPROVAL. IT
IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
AND MAY NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD UNTIL
PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.
Reference number
ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026(en)
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
DRAFT
ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026(en)
International
Standard
ISO/DIS 8442-5
ISO/TC 186
Materials and articles in contact
Secretariat: SAC
with foodstuffs — Cutlery and table
Voting begins on:
holloware —
Part 5:
Voting terminates on:
Specification for sharpness and
cutting wear resistance test of
cutlery
ICS: 97.040.60; 67.250
THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED
FOR COMMENTS AND APPROVAL. IT
IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
AND MAY NOT BE REFERRED TO AS AN
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD UNTIL
PUBLISHED AS SUCH.
This document is circulated as received from the committee secretariat.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL,
© ISO 2026
TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND
USER PURPOSES, DRAFT INTERNATIONAL
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO
ISO/CEN PARALLEL PROCESSING
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO
WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
ISO copyright office
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
TO SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS,
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
NOTIFICATION OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT
Phone: [phone]
RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION.
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland Reference number
ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026(en)
ii
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026(en)
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Sharpness testing . 2
5 Wear resistance testing . 2
5.1 General .2
5.2 Test length .2
5.3 Apparatus .2
5.4 Test medium .2
5.5 Test procedure .2
5.6 Evaluation / Expression of results .3
5.7 Calibration method .4
Annex A (normative) Sharpness testing . 5
Annex B (normative) Apparatus for wear resistance testing . 8

iii
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026(en)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through
ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee
has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations,
governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely
with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the different types
of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the
ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent
rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of
patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment,
as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 186, Cutlery and table and decorative metal
hollow-ware, in collaboration with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) Technical Committee
CEN/TC 194, Utensils in contact with food, in accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation
between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 8442-5:2004), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— Introduction of the term sharpness
— description of the foil pressure cutting test and foil pull cutting test
— introduction of a new evaluation method for cutting wear resistance test
— revision of the wear resistence test medium
A list of all parts in the ISO 8442 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found atwww.iso.org/members.html.

iv
oSIST prEN ISO 8442-5:2026
DRAFT International Standard ISO/DIS 8442-5:2026(en)
Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs — Cutlery
and table holloware —
Part 5:
Specification for sharpness and cutting wear resistance test
of cutlery
1 Scope
This document specifies the sharpness and wear resistance of knives, which are designed for professional
and domestic use in the preparation of food of all kinds, specifically of those knives intended for hand use.
This document describes test methods for sharpness measurement and for the evaluation of wear resistance
of the cutting edge.
This document does not apply for hunting knives, pocket knives, razors or tool or utility knives (with
trapezoidal blade for cutting carpets etc.). Knives with special shapes, e.g. herb chopping knives or highly
curved boning knives, can only be tested in the style of this document since not all properties and test
methods are applicable in a meaningful manner.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http:// www .iso .org/ obp
3.1
knife
cutlery intended to be used for the preparation of food, manually guided and in general having a
...