Chippy S30V RESURRECTION

[spydutch]

Greetings you all

Last week I gathered all my courage and decided to try if I could do something about my badly chipped Dodo.

First I removed all the chips and rolling with the brown stones. By now the scallops were dull to the point they couldn't even cut paper.

Next I carefully put on a 30 degree back bevel, one scallop at the time .I just went on with strokes untill a burr than remove the burr. I did this a few times until the Dodo was able to cut paper again.

Then I did the same with the browns at a 40 degree angle.

Last I sharpened the whole blade at one time at the whites at 40 degree until shaving sharp.

Yesterday evening I tried the knife out at work. I did the same cutting as before and then some.

I looked at the edge with my loupe and low and behold, not a single chip or rolling. Furthermore the knife was still able to shave a bit.

So I guess the chipping and rolling was due to my wrong sharpening and not so much the S30V itself.

I know by now that whenever I get a new serrated S30V knife and want to use it hard, I will put on a 40 degree working edge right away regardless of how sharp the knife came out of the factory.

Just wanted to share this with you all

[Pete1977]

I was cutting rope with my military the other day and before that the toughest thing it had cut was some cardboard. When I got home I saw numerous tiny chips inside the scallops of the serrations. The straight part of the blade was still scary sharp, and with a few passes on the white sharpmaker corners, the serrated part sharpened right up.

it might be a good idea with S30V blades to "break in" the edge with some cardboard, rope, or whittling, then sharpen it to get rid of the burr from the factory sharpening. So far, with my native, Boxer93's dodo, and my new military, I've had good results with the edge retention of S30V and I haven't let any of them get dull enough to need a full sharpening job, just touch ups from time to time.

pete

[Chris_H]

Good to hear the S30V came back for you, and that's also sounds pretty consistent with other anecdotes of S30V chipping initially on a factory edge.

S30V remains a top steel for me (I'm positive I don't push its limits anywhere near what you do).

[JD Spydo]

What really blows me away about this is that back in 2001/2002 when Crucible first launched S-30V it was the high talk of all the knife magazines. It was also the water-cooler chat among some very well known knife makers.

Back at the 2002 BLADE show in Atlanta Georgia USA I got to attend a seminar that Crucible presented on their new "wonder steel" S-30V. It was a 2 hour seminar and in attendance were some of the very well known knife makers like the late Rob Simonich, Chris Reeve and 2 other well known knife makers.

Crucible has stated that it had been years of research and testing that brought them to this super alloy that would more or less cure all the ills of the cutlery community. I heard that Chris Reeve had even dropped his BG-42 line of knives to go with the new S-30V .

I guess what I am trying to say is this: For a steel that was touted to be what it portrayed as and for a blade steel that was to be the ultimate Users steel they seemed to have overlooked some basics for sure. At the very least they need to either figure out what the fundamental problem is. Is it in the heat treating? I do know that some steels require a very delicate and troublesome heat treating. Yes I do think that Crucible not only owes the knife makers, production manufacturers, and end line users an explanation and/or a remedy to these problems.

As brother Thombrogan has stated>> you can get virtually any blade steel to chip under the right conditions. But let's look at the big picture here: S-30V comes up way too much in conversation to just blow it off and say that this happens to all steels. The point was that S-30V was supposed to be head and shoulders above many previously marketed steels. I truly think that Crucible should address this problem for everyone involved.

[The Mastiff]

I truly think that Crucible should address this problem for everyone involved.

I'd bet they have already to the companies that sent in samples to be tested. I read a post from a guy from crucible on blade forums talking about how they were doing tests on some knives.

We as end users aren't really in the loop for that kind of info. If you were a knife manufacturer having trouble they would help you figure out what was going on though.

Either the amount of instances is going down or people just aren't posting about it as much lately as say, a year ago. IMO, some of the problems have been resolved. With these powder steel alloys just stuffed full of what used to be impossible amounts of elements perhaps the heat treats just aren't as forgiving as they are for the more simple steels. It's fortunate Quality control is as good as it is now or there would be many more problems. I've only had one bad S30V knife with chipping out of the 15 knives I own in that steel. That was bought when that model was new. I've have another that is not having any trouble at all. Joe

[Jerry Hossom]

In my experience with S30V, the issue of chipping is directly related to edge finish more than anything else. That's the reason you hear some people rave about it and others talk of chipping. There have been a great many posts of people experiencing initial problems with the steel which disappeared when it was resharpened.

I've never experienced chipping with my S30V chipping but I polish the edges when I sharpen my knives. Fact is I would welcome an excuse NOT to use the steel because it is miserable to finish, taking me twice as long as any other steel, but it's really worth the time to have a steel that is as tough as A2, as wear resistant as D2, and as stainless as 440C. Nice combination.

If you're having a problem trying using the finest sharpening stone or rod to finish the edge. Hope that all makes some sense. Just don't give up on it.

[The Mastiff]

Jerry, I understand what you are saying but my knife edge began chipping more, almost falling apart as I was sharpening it the first time. It isn't a lack of sharpening practice or equipment. I have been sharpening my knives for well over 30 years and use good equipment. Most telling IMO is that never repeated itself with my other S30V knives. For awhile I lost confidence in S30V, but have regained it now obviously.

Like JD I look foreward to trying M4, 9V, etc. Thanks, Joe

[JD Spydo]

I talked to a knife maker at last year's BLADE show and he told me that there were some steels that were so much trouble to heat treat that he wouldn't even consider using them. One of the steels he really complained about was D-2.

I have heard that was one of the reasons that Bob Dozier has such a following with his great knives is because he is a master at heat treating D-2. I am wondering if the S-30V problem isn't solely in the heat treating. Or maybe it's like the comparison of a lot of other steels in that most have trade off performance aspects. Some are simply better is some areas than others.

S-30V relatively speaking is still a new steel in comparison. It has only been available since the early 2000s. Maybe there is just more to learn about it.

[cobrajoe]

I don't know exactly what's up with this steel, but I have heard that the edge holds up better after sharpening.

I'm glad to hear that it's working for you, the dodo is one knife that I'd hate to see just sitting in a drawer because of fear of use. I've actually been carrying my dodo more recently than any other blade.

[LJK]

Jerry: Have you found S30v to be close to A2 in toughness?