Welcome BESS Visitor!
Thank you for taking the time to learn about BESS. BESS is an acronym for the Brubacher Edge Sharpness Scale. The scale was first envisioned by Mike Brubacher in 2012 once he realized that no simple means of quantifying sharpness data existed in the world. That's when BESSU entered the picture as well. For the scale to work well and have meaning world-wide a test media with certain qualities had to be developed. The test media had to exhibit reproducible and consistent shear qualities, be environmentally resistant with long shelf life and be economical in use. That development stretched on for two years before a suitable blend of materials and manufacturing techniques was discovered. Pictured at right are a few examples of how BESS test media is packaged for use both in the domestic US and abroad by our licensees. All BESS certified test media must prominently display the BESS logo. If the test media does not display the BESS logo then it is not BESS certified.
As background, the story behind the formation of BESSU is somewhat akin to the "chicken or the egg" conundrum. Once the premise for the scale was envisaged, a suitable test media had to be developed and if a test media were to be developed then a suitable instrument had to be constructed in order to test the new test media. Initially, and by necessity, this work was all very hand-in-glove with all participating parties having input into each others primary domains. Once the development work was completed however a new set of challenges presented themselves, dominant among them being "how best to let the world know that this new edge sharpness scale exists." In an effort to facillitate the assimilation and exposure rate to the many Mr. Brubacher elected to make the newly developed BESS test media available to any and all qualified instrumentation manufacturers with Mr. Brubacher forming one of those instrumentation companies in his own interest. With those decisions BESSU was born. BESSU is now the contact point for all third party manufacturers and integraters interested in utilizing BESS test media and impartiality in these dealings is thereby achieved.
With regard to our educational efforts at BESSU we are fond of invoking an old saying " a tree begins with a seed". During our short history we have made a lot of headway with regard to both educational and product awareness . Thousands worldwide use the BESS scale actively in their work or at home and tens of thousands have an awareness of the BESS. BESSU and our licensees continue to editorialize through writings and speeches but the best and most successful education method we possess today is via everyday users. Their writings in forums, blogs and various publications in support of the BESS have exposed the scale to hundreds of thousands and those numbers just keep growing. To our best educators, BESS users, we cannot thank you enough!
BESSU establishes standards for third party manufacturers of instrumentation as well as integraters. These standards are available to potential manufacturers once it has been established that the applicant and application meet feasibility standards. Interested parties can contact us at bessu@gmail.com.
BESS test media is manufactured off premise in bulk and is available only to licensees by BESSU. Test media is then packaged in plastic hermetically sealed spools for repackaging by licensees who, in turn, distribute test media to purchasers of instrumentation. The repackaging methodology utilized by licensees is one area that BESSU has both input in and oversight of. Test media oversight and quality control is a key responsibility of BESSU.
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People seem prone to speculation about things if those things are not made clear to them so we apologize for not publishing pictures of our test media for the benefit of those who do not own instrumentation yet. At left is a digitally magnified side view of our standard test media. BESS test media is .0085" in diameter exclusive of it's final protective coating. It is composed of a single blended strand of polymers and other compounds. At right is a magnified picture of the severed end of this same test media and after a test sequence has been completed. BESS test media is very inexpensive on a per test basis (average about 5 cents per test) and BESSU insures that end user prices established by licensees remain low.