There are various ways to scientificaly examine blades. In repeatable methods, that are commonly used around the world.
Place a cold blade, after heat treatment in a vice, and see how far it can be bent over before failure, most quality blades will go over 90 degrees with little cracking. The point where a blade fails is measurable in degrees to compare to different methods and materials.
a Rockwell tester: impacts the blade with a known item at a known pressure to compare hardness.
A round bar (5/8 inch is fine) placed in a vice, cutting edge is pressed sideways into the bar until we see a deformation of the cutting edge, then released. hopefully the deformed steel will return to place. showing resiliency.
The problem with Hitting a rock, is not all rocks are the same, and How much force was used? a human arm can swing with varying degrees of force.
The idea of testing, is to have a test that can be repeated over and over again, by most anyone, and getting the exact same results with the exact same item, therefore being able to Honestly compare non-exact items in a meaningful way.