In reply to FactorXXX:
Probably. Personally this is why I don't pay much attention to equipment standards.
But the UIAA took in contributions from people like the alpine club, and no doubt others. It all seems totally obvious and basic now, but that's how they came up with stuff like the "UIAA Sharp Edge test" for climbing ropes.
It's good that there is such a thing as the "UIAA Sharp Edge test"
Without such a thing, if we over did it, any climbing equipment company would reasonably ask: OK, do I really have to design a rope to withstand 1000 factor two falls over a diamond razor edge, (in which case I'm not even sure steel cable will pass) or is it still perfectly safe to have the official standard for ropes be very stringent and safe, but something a bit less than that? Surely the rope is obviously f*cked after 50 such tests anyway?
Hopefully someone generous with insider knowledge share their insight, or even just some unknown hero with a free subscription to a standards website can do some digging into the paper trail and let us know.
Post edited at 23:48