Grindability

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.
Robishere
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Grindability

#1

Post by Robishere »

After 30 years of owning so called legendary names like “buck” etc and chasing names I graduated to chasing models and brands and then to chasing steels. I had to have the latest.
I chased vg-10 and s30v and others always believing the hype of a knife that would cut forever with 4 brushes on ceramic and it is good to go again.
Well, thus far my findings are that I adore 2 steels.
Maxamet
S35vn
My maxamet native and para 2 and 3 will easily make a burr and take it off. They stick to the skin or electrical tape or plastic and peel better than any razor.
My s35vn takes a sticky sharp edge but foes not snap tips or break 3/8” chips out like s30v does.
Both Maxamet and s35vn sharpen easily. Hence the grindability that I used to scoff at. I had 3 soyderco knives in s110v and s90v that I threw the blades out and kept the scales and screws. Great for use on a cutting board or as a hacksaw but junk to slice paper or rubber or plastic unsupported. They would work pushing down on something solid but could they snip a shoelace or open a letter without shredding the edge? No.
Hours and hours with dmt stones and ceramic and a sharpmaker and I got a half assed edge like a hacksaw.
S35vn and maxamet.... a few swipes and they burr ever so nicely and do not chip inless used as a prybar.
I am less enchanted with the so called “edge retention “ now than I am with “grindability” as I can take a simple carry stone if I am out for weeks with maxamet or s35vn and tough it up. Can the same be said with s110v? No.
Nobody seems to want the legendary sunholyv any more. Unless you have power wherever you are.
I hope the Maxamet and s35vn come stronger.
The funny thing is..... Maxamet is now rare and the s35vn para whatever is a sprint and the native is being phased out.
The s35vn and maxamet are priced far higher than s110v. Is this due to the fact that they are easy to sharpen on top of cutting longer?
If we are facinated with alloys or steel how about a solid cobalt or solif tungsten knife? Screw the s110v? Because no human hould get it sticky sharp in a reasonable time with reasonable equipment.
I think I will let other people jump on the blue whatever and rex whatever and cts whatever. I will get my Maxamet and s35vn that doesn’t chip and I can sharpen.
“Putting fancy thoughts in a woman’s head is like putting lace on a bowling ball.....no good can come of it.” - Archie Bunker.
Dingo
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Re: Grindability

#2

Post by Dingo »

Sheesh
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sal
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Re: Grindability

#3

Post by sal »

Hi Rob,

Glad you like Maximet and S35VN, though I can't say I agree with your conclusions on the other steels.

sal
vivi
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Re: Grindability

#4

Post by vivi »

I'd have to agree with Sal.

This post inspired me to bring my Manix XL in S30V camping with me tonight. I filmed myself batoning & chopping wood, and slicing a can with it. I'll post the video sometime soon.
:unicorn
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TkoK83Spy
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Re: Grindability

#5

Post by TkoK83Spy »

Get your popcorn ready for this thread ladies and gents. Sounds as if the OP hasn't had enough time with the wide variety of steels available.
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
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awa54
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Re: Grindability

#6

Post by awa54 »

Hey Rob, if you still have an S110V blade in your possession, try putting a clean 15 dps bevel on it and then applying a light 20 dps micro-bevel with the Sharpmaker medium (brown) rods. It may not be a polished edge (I too like S35VN for that!), but it slices for a *long* time between touch-ups and with diamond stones to set the initial bevel the process is surprisingly easy. S110V might not become your favorite steel, but it's a real workhorse, that you just might come to appreciate in the right applications.

Another you'd probably love is CruWear, it'll give you fantastic edges with less effort than S35VN (though it's not as stain resistant).

P.S. I hope that sig line comes with a snark/sarcasm tag.
Last edited by awa54 on Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-David

still more knives than sharpening stones...
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jpm2
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Re: Grindability

#7

Post by jpm2 »

Rob, I don't consider maxamet very grindable. Have you had to reset the bevels yet?
As for finishing the edge, it gets high marks for resisting big burrs and wire edges. It is one of the easiest blade steels for me to finish.

s35vn is in the same ballpark as s30v. Maxamet is on a different planet than both. My rex45 blade is closer to maxamet than anything else I have.

I'll hold my thoughts on s110v until I acquire a more recent specimen, as the one I had is older stock and reports are the HT has been recently adjusted for the better.
Bill1170
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Re: Grindability

#8

Post by Bill1170 »

I wonder how the OP (Rob) was sharpening his high vanadium powder steels, to have such a negative experience. My own adventures with S110V have included using the 204 Sharpmaker for maintenance and diamond benchstones for reprofiling. Both worked very well. I haven’t had chipping, either.
Robishere
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Re: Grindability

#9

Post by Robishere »

Well, when I got into knives in the late 80’s, aus 6 and aus 8 were good, as was 420 stainless. A lot of brands like Katz were proprietary and would not say what they were.
D2 and others were out there but not common in a lot of shops. The issue was that sure with a couple swipes on anything they were razors, but sharpen a stick of poplar and most of them were dull. Easy to sharpen and easy to dull.
My old buck stockman would get razor sharp on any stone, and it seemed that pocket lint would dull it.
I jumped on the wagon of “edge retention” like many others, and got into ceramic blades, s110v, and others. When in the field my friends would chip a blade or need a touch up and they would whip out a stone and do a wuick touch up. Did I have a $700 sharpening rig? No. I missed my VG-10 and similar knives.
I do not carry a wicked edge or DMT 10 inch stones in the field or at work.
The problem is if a guy slips and bangs the blade on a truck frame or bolt or rock, there is no quick touch up.
I find the s30v and s35vn identical in cutting, but the s35 is far less chippy and easier to sharpen. The s30v has chipped simply from cutting zip ties and cripples the knife where the s35 is far more tolerant in my experience.
I heard the native 5 with steel liners and s35 was being phased out so I ran out and bought 4 more. It is a treat to have in the pocket.
I find both thise steels raise a burr nicely, as do a lot of tool steels. M4 is also a dream to use compared to a lot of the stainless.
For myself, all the edge retention in the world does not help if sharpening takes a paycheque of equipment and booking the weekend. I am looking at m390 in the near future however to experiment with that though.
“Putting fancy thoughts in a woman’s head is like putting lace on a bowling ball.....no good can come of it.” - Archie Bunker.
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TkoK83Spy
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Re: Grindability

#10

Post by TkoK83Spy »

M4 AND M390 are excellent choices in steels to try. If you worry about sharpening, are you able to do touch ups after each use, or every few days?? I hear you on that, it's exhausting to sharpen a knife from dull, especially a super steel if you don't have a nice guided system. But if you stay disciplined on touching up, it shouldn't be that big of an issue. Or try to carry multiple knives if possible, on a day you know you will be cutting a lot. That way you can rotate and make sharpening/touching up a bit less painful.
15 :bug-red 's in 10 different steels
1 - Bradford Guardian 3 / Vanadis 4E Wharnie
1 - Monterey Bay Knives Slayback Flipper / ZDP 189
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31/Macassar Ebony Inlays
1 - CRK Large Inkosi Insingo/ Black Micarta Inlays
1 - CRK Small Sebenza 31 Insingo/Magnacut

-Rick
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razorsharp
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Re: Grindability

#11

Post by razorsharp »

OP hsnt had to reprofile maxamet yet ;). Though diamond will chew through anything no sweat.
Robishere
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Re: Grindability

#12

Post by Robishere »

I have a pm 2 and 3 and native in Maxamet and noticed huge differences in the factory bevel, but the maxamet on a dmt or the spyderco ceramic brown or white stones grinds so nicely and makes a burr that reprofiling is no issue. Using the sharpmaker for a bevel os a dream.
I can let gravity alone swipe the blade and move it and yet the edge lasts forever.
The s35vn is the same, it is a dream to sharpen but dulls at the same rate as s30v however chips do not come out of it.
It used to be in Canada that s110v was a 300 dollar knife. Now s110v is 210 and s30v is 200 but s35vn is limited and 250.
It seems like the crowds have spoken and the s110v works great as a hacksaw but for daily users it is just too much maintenance. I now have an m390 ordered. For most of my favorite models like the native and pm2 and pm3 I would love to order M4 tool steel but spyderco decided to eliminate the liners and use booger green. I will order them and scrap the scales and use titanium scales and the m4 steel, and the parts from the s110v knives I threw the blades away from.
I still think the sexiest knife I have from Spyderco are the 5 natives with black scales and s35vn blades lined. They are ground perfectly and lined with class and have a heft and exude classs.
Everyone that borrows my natives say “holy **** this looks expensive!..... wow, this is beyond a razor...that is class!” But now I hear it is unlined and frn. So sad. At least I have my five!
“Putting fancy thoughts in a woman’s head is like putting lace on a bowling ball.....no good can come of it.” - Archie Bunker.
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sal
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Re: Grindability

#13

Post by sal »

Hey Rob,

You are certainly in the right place! We've got lot of crazy steel junky's here with all kinds of experience and we all like to share. That's how we learn....from each other. :D

sal
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Bloke
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Re: Grindability

#14

Post by Bloke »

Robishere wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 1:58 am
I had 3 soyderco knives in s110v and s90v that I threw the blades out and kept the scales and screws. Great for use on a cutting board or as a hacksaw but junk to slice paper or rubber or plastic unsupported. They would work pushing down on something solid but could they snip a shoelace or open a letter without shredding the edge? No.
Throwing blades out and keeping hardware may be a little drastic. Ah, hahaha!

Anyhow, in my experience steels like S90V and S110V don’t lend themselves too well to highly refined push cutting edges so I don’t sharpen that way.

I find these high carbide steel excel at slicing even when they may feel a little “blunt”. I feel if you were to sharpen your S90V and S110V to say 600grit and micro bevel with a medium (brown) Spyderco ceramic you may be surprised as to how well they’ll slice and how well they hold that edge.

Personally, I don’t want to touch up a knife half way through doing anything so I love knives like my Sprig (S90V) which doesn’t whittle hair but it’ll cleanly fillet 40 odd fish, cutting through rib bones and often slamming onto cutting boards in the process before it needs a touch up. :)

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jpm2
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Re: Grindability

#15

Post by jpm2 »

Rob, I think the linerless booger green scales you're talking about with m4 blades are the BladeHq exclusives?
If so, they're like a blank canvas, you can dye them any color, or combination of colors you want.
The sXXv steels seem to be a little picky about taking a very fine, and stable edge, but with the right abrasives and technique it can be done.
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