The placements do not pertain to the soil material at the field water state. The blocklike specimen should be 25-30 mm on edge. Direction of stress relative to the in-place axis of the specimen is not defined unless otherwise indicated. The specimen is compressed between extended thumb and forefinger, between both hands, or between the foot and a nonresilent flat surface. If the specimen resists rupture by compression, a weight is dropped onto it from increasingly greater heights until rupture.
Failure is at the initial detection of deformation or rupture.
Stress applied in the hand should be over a 1-second period. The tactile sense of the class limits may be learned by applying force to top loading scales and sensing the pressure through the tips of the fingers or through the ball of the foot. Postal scales may be used for the resistance range that is testable with the fingers. A bathroom scale may be used for the higher rupture resistance. Specimens of standard size and shape are not always available.