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)

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.

Werkstoffe und Gegenstände in Kontakt mit Lebensmitteln - Schneidwaren und Tafelgeräte - Teil 5: Festlegung der Schneidfähigkeit und Prüfung der Kantenbeständigkeit (ISO 8442-5:2004)

Diese Europäische Norm legt die Schneidfähigkeit und Schneidhaltigkeit von Messern fest, die für den beruflichen Gebrauch sowie für den Gebrauch im Haushalt zur Zubereitung von Nahrungsmitteln aller Art hergestellt werden und besonders für den Gebrauch mit der Hand bestimmt sind.
Geräte mit motorisch angetriebener Klinge jeglicher Art sind ausgeschlossen.
Im allgemeinen werden diese Messertypen mit Klingen, die eine glatte Schneide oder Schneiden, die besondere Merkmale zur Verbesserung oder Optimierung der Schneidleistung aufweisen, hergestellt.
Die folgenden zwei Typen von Messerklingen sind für die Schnittprüfung geeignet:
   -   Schneide-Typ A:   Schneiden, die durch den Verwender nachgeschärft werden können und Schneiden, deren Zahnabstand größer als 1 mm ist.
   -   Schneide-Typ B:   Schneiden, die nicht zum Nachschärfen mit einem Wetzstahl vorgesehen sind.
Während diese Messer vorwiegend mit Klingen aus verschiedenen wärmebehandelten Stahlgüten hergestellt werden, wird die Prüfung von Messern einer anderen Bauart oder aus anderem Klingenmaterial nicht ausgeschlossen, vorausgesetzt die Prüfkriterien werden erfüllt.
Der Grundsatz der Prüfung besteht darin, durch Vorwärts- und Rückwärtsbewegungen gegen einen Stapel eines synthetischen Prüfmittels unter kontrollierten Prüfbedingungen, einen Schneidvorgang durch eine Messerklinge zu reproduzieren

Matériaux et objets en contact avec les denrées alimentaires - Coutellerie et orfèvrerie de table - Partie 5: Spécification du tranchant et essai de conservation du tranchant (ISO 8442-5:2004)

L'ISO 8442:2004 spécifie le tranchant et la conservation du tranchant des couteaux à usage professionnel et domestique, plus précisément les couteaux à usage manuel, destinés à la préparation des denrées alimentaires de toutes sortes.
Tous les types d'instruments électriques à lame sont exclus.
D'une manière générale, ces types de couteaux sont fabriqués avec des lames à tranchants lisses ou à tranchants présentant des faciès particuliers permettant d'augmenter ou d'optimiser certains aspects du pouvoir tranchant.
Les deux types de lame suivants conviennent pour l'essai de coupe:
tranchants de type A: tranchants pouvant être raffûtés par l'utilisateur et tranchants ayant un pas de denture supérieur à 1 mm;
tranchants de type B: tranchants qu'il n'est pas prévu de raffûter sur un affiloir.
Ces couteaux sont principalement fabriqués avec des lames réalisées dans diverses nuances d'aciers traités thermiquement; les essais des couteaux dont la fabrication ou le matériau des lames est différent ne sont toutefois pas exclus à condition de satisfaire aux critères d'essai.
Le principe de l'essai est de reproduire une action de coupe par des allers-retours sur une pile d'échantillon de matière synthétique pour essai dans des conditions contrôlées.

Materiali in predmeti v stiku z živili – Jedilni pribor in namizna posoda - 5. del: Specifikacija za ostrino in preskus obstojnosti roba jedilnega pribora (ISO 8442-5:2004)

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 14-Dec-2004
• Withdrawal Date: 29-Jun-2005
• ICS: 67.250 - Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs
• 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: 6060 - Definitive text made available (DAV) - Publishing
• Start Date: 15-Dec-2004
• Completion Date: 15-Dec-2004
• Ref Project: SIST EN ISO 8442-5:2005 - 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)

Overview

EN ISO 8442-5:2004 (CEN) specifies a reproducible test method for sharpness and edge retention of hand knives used in food preparation. The standard applies to domestic and professional cutlery (plain or profiled edges) and excludes powered blade instruments. The test reproduces a cutting action using forward and reverse strokes against a synthetic test medium under controlled conditions to quantify initial cutting performance (ICP) and cutting edge retention (CER).

Key topics and requirements

• Scope: Hand-use knives for all food types; both re-sharpenable (Type A) and non–re-sharpenable or fine-pitched edges (Type B).
• Test principle: Repeated forward + reverse strokes of the blade against a packed strip of synthetic abrasive card; depth of cut per cycle is measured and accumulated.
• Test medium: Chemical soda pulp card containing (5 ± 0.5) % silica (quartz) abrasive, cut into 10 mm strips, conditioned at (20 ± 2) °C and (55 ± 5) % RH before use.
• Apparatus essentials: card strip holder (10 mm aperture, clamped at 130 ± 2.5 N), transverse and longitudinal frictionless slides, blade fixture (edge uppermost), displacement transducer (resolution 0.1 mm), and a drive producing a nominal 50 mm/s cutting speed.
• Test parameters: nominal test load 50 N; stroke length 40 mm; Type A - 60 cutting cycles; Type B - 200 cutting cycles.
• Performance indicators:
  • ICP = cumulative depth cut after first 3 cycles (minimum 50 mm required)
  • CER / TCC = total card cut over full test (minimums: Type A ≥ 150 mm; Type B ≥ 1 500 mm)
• Calibration: Annex A covers calibration of force, speed, position and verification using a standard blade to ensure consistent results.

Applications

• Product development and material selection for cutlery blades (steel grades, coatings, edge geometries).
• Quality control and manufacturing acceptance testing to validate sharpness claims.
• Comparative benchmarking between knife designs or suppliers.
• Supporting marketing claims and conformity documentation for cutlery intended for food contact.
• Test laboratories and certification bodies assessing cutlery performance.

Who should use this standard

• Cutlery manufacturers and R&D teams
• Quality assurance and compliance departments
• Third‑party testing laboratories and certification bodies
• Procurement specialists specifying performance requirements for commercial kitchens and retail products
• Regulatory or standards professionals working on food contact materials

Related standards

• EN ISO 8442 series (Parts 1–8) covering broader requirements for cutlery and table hollowware, material-specific requirements and plating specifications.

Keywords: EN ISO 8442-5:2004, ISO 8442-5, cutlery sharpness test, edge retention test, knife sharpness, cutlery testing, food contact standards.

Standards Content (Sample)

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.Materiali in predmeti v stiku z živili – Jedilni pribor in namizna posoda - 5. del: Specifikacija za ostrino in preskus obstojnosti roba jedilnega pribora (ISO 8442-5:2004)Werkstoffe und Gegenstände in Kontakt mit Lebensmitteln - Schneidwaren und Tafelgeräte - Teil 5: Festlegung der Schneidfähigkeit und Prüfung der Kantenbeständigkeit (ISO 8442-5:2004)Matériaux et objets en contact avec les denrées alimentaires - Coutellerie et orfevrerie de table - Partie 5: Spécification du tranchant et essai de conservation du tranchant (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)97.040.60Kuhinjska posoda, jedilni servisi in jedilni priborCookware, cutlery and flatware67.250Materiali in predmeti v stiku z živiliMaterials and articles in contact with foodstuffsICS:Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z:EN ISO 8442-5:2004SIST EN ISO 8442-5:2005en,fr,de01-marec-2005SIST EN ISO 8442-5:2005SLOVENSKI
STANDARD
EUROPEAN STANDARDNORME EUROPÉENNEEUROPÄISCHE NORMEN ISO 8442-5December 2004ICS 67.250; 97.040.60English versionMaterials and articles in contact with foodstuffs - Cutlery andtable holloware - Part 5: Specification for sharpness and edgeretention test of cutlery (ISO 8442-5:2004)Matériaux et objets en contact avec les denréesalimentaires - Coutellerie et orfèvrerie de table - Partie 5:Spécification du tranchant et essai de conservation dutranchant (ISO 8442-5:2004)Werkstoffe und Gegenstände in Kontakt mit Lebensmitteln- Schneidwaren und Tafelgeräte - Teil 5: Festlegung derSchneidfähigkeit und Prüfung der Kantenbeständigkeit(ISO 8442-5:2004)This European Standard was approved by CEN on 10 October 2002.CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this EuropeanStandard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such nationalstandards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translationunder the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the officialversions.CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATIONCOMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATIONEUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNGManagement Centre: rue de Stassart, 36
B-1050 Brussels© 2004 CENAll rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reservedworldwide for CEN national Members.Ref. No. EN ISO 8442-5:2004: ESIST EN ISO 8442-5:2005

Calibration of cutting test apparatus.13
Figure 1 — Centreline 2.3 initial cutting performance (ICP) cutting ability to be expected by the user from a knife when supplied “as new” from the factory or point of sale 2.4 cutting edge retention (CER) ability of the knife blade’s edge to resist wear throughout its useful life 2.5 total card cut (TCC) cumulative amount of card cut (measured in millimetres) by the test knife over the duration of a full test 2.6 cutting cycle one forward plus one reverse stroke of the designated length of the blade against the medium 3 Testing 3.1 General When tested in accordance with the test method of clause 7 each type of knife shall conform to 3.2 to 3.4. This test shall be carried out before any other physical or mechanical test so that edge performances are assessed in the “as received” condition. 3.2 Test length The portion of the cutting edge of the blade to be tested (see 3.3) shall be straight except for a maximum deviation (positive or negative, not both) of 1 mm. In the case of type “ B “ edges the shape of the blade is considered to be the underlying profile on which the detail is superimposed (see Figure 2). SIST EN ISO 8442-5:2005

Key A Max. deviation from straight (shown positive) B Stroke length Figure 2 — Blade to be tested 3.3 Test conditions The same test is applied to both types of knives but the duration for the purpose of establishing cutting edge retention is determined by the type of edge. Test parameters are given in Table 1. Table 1 — Cutting test parameters Blade edge Type Test load
N Stroke Length
(mm) Nominal cutting speed (mm/s) Total no. Cutting cycles (F) A 50 40 50 60 B 50 40 50 200 3.4 Cutting performance When tested in accordance with clause 7 the minimum initial cutting performance (ICP) and cutting edge retention (CER) shall conform to the performance levels specified in Table 2. Table 2 — Performance levels Blade edge type Minimum ICP mm Minimum CER (TCC) mm A 50 150 B 50 1 500 4 Principle Performance of the blade in terms of distance cut through the medium on each cycle is measured throughout the duration of the test, which is designed to accelerate wear of the knife blade over a short period. Blades shall cut an adequate amount of medium to complete the test and the two cutting performance indicators ICP and CER are calculated in accordance with clause 8 from the accumulated data. SIST EN ISO 8442-5:2005
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