Spyderco Forums

When I first received the Serrated Pacific Salt H1 I was impressed with the nice sharp serrations.

Sadly they did not last very long after cutting up a box.

What have people found to be a good sharpening regimen to bring the serrations back to paper cutting sharp on this H1 Steel?

I know some steel does better with different methods, different grits, what have you found works best?

I use a ceramic stone. 3 passes on the ground side and one on the flat. My stone of choice is the lansky dog bone in green or blue. If an edge is really damaged sometimes I'll raise a burr to make sure i get the damage out. If i have an issue on either side I'll sometimes just focus on that area to correct it. I usually strop on bare leather after. Using the corner. H1 is fairly easy to sharpen and maintain. You can use the 3 to 1 method with the sharpmaker too. I just like the portability of the dog bones.

Hi Doeswhatever, I've done a good bit of sharpening on the serrated salts over the years and the easiest and most effective method I have found is with the Sharpmaker. I put the white rods in the 40 degree slots and, like vash hash, I take three passes on the serrated side to every one or two on the backside. I also tilt the knife when sharpening the backside until it is almost flat with the stone, so that I don't change the chisel grind over time. I have found that my edges actually last much longer after a few of these sharpenings. The factory edge is VERY acute (probably less than 20 degrees inclusive) so when you microbevel on the 40 degree side of the sharpmaker you add a lot of strength to the apex.

Thanks guys, so according to what I am reading this steel likes a fine stone I guess because of a lack of carbide like in M390 and such?

I do the same as mentioned ( 3 X 1 almost flat on the non ground side), but I do it with a 30 degrees fine grit.

Though I must say I'm surprised that the knife dulled cutting up one box. History on serrated H1 is very good edge retention.

sal

Yeah I cut a bunch of nylon straps and poly rope with my spyderhawk today and it was still chugging a long. One box shouldn't have killed it. Maybe it's just missing that fine paper slicing edge where each serration slices paper. That's how I usually test a serrated edge.

I find the serrations do best with a fine stone regardless of steel used. I put a coarse edge on my plain edge H1 knives to give them a more aggressive edge

Hi Sal thanks for "The Expert Advice"

I was surprised too but sometimes think I have gotten too spoiled with all the awesome Steels I am used to. S30V, S35VN, S110V. M390, CTS-204P, CTS-XHP, Elmax, M4, CRU-WARE- 52100. My Goodness Sal this is all your fault you turned me into a steel junkie. I should not even know all these steel types by name. :)

Yes I used it in the kitchen and was super impressed, then I carried it to work took apart a large box from Dell and could no longer cut printer paper by locking into a scallop. I am certain I did not hit a staple. Was kind of surprised to see scratches in the beautiful shiny surface but later learned it is the way of this steel.

Maybe I am just expecting too much? When I get home I will sharpen it per everyone's advice here I really, really like the knife allot and living beachside in Florida corrosion is an issue.

Sounds like there was something in the box that was hard enough to scratch the steel. I think that's what dulled it. Serrrted H1 will generally outlast all of the steels you mentioned in edge retention.

sal

*sorry, wrong thread.

sal wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 11, 2018 3:05 pm

Sounds like there was something in the box that was hard enough to scratch the steel. I think that's what dulled it. Serrrted H1 will generally outlast all of the steels you mentioned in edge retention.

sal

Wow! Outlast all of those? Holy Cow!

H1 is slowly becoming my favorite steel the more I use it, at least when serrated. I honestly feel like a fool for not giving it a chance 10 years ago.

Hi Sal and fellow members, ok followed the advice of Sal and a few others put the fine sharpmaker (White Rods at 20 degrees / 40 degrees inclusive, did the 3 to 1 Stroke and made use of the useful / awesome tip to lay the flat side nearly flat to knock off the bur yet retain the great chisel grind.

I am pleased to say the I can cut credit card receipt paper sharpness did return with little effort and did remain in effect even afte tearing down a box and a flat of soda.

I guess the Dell server boxes use allot of Silicon carbide in them for strength? Does this sound right?

Come to think of it this same box broke the very tip of an S30V Para3 PE. Hmmmmm.

Evil D wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:06 pm

H1 is slowly becoming my favorite steel the more I use it, at least when serrated. I honestly feel like a fool for not giving it a chance 10 years ago.

Hmmm had no idea H1 has been out that long then again I am only 4 years into Spyderco.

Started off with Chris Reeves stuff, Cough, cough way cough overpricedcough not as good as cough Spyderco.

Had a premium Cough S35VN FOLDER and a Paramilitary 2. Kept the Paramilitary 2 sold the knife with Titanium slabs, bought more Spyderco knives.

One bit of advice I've learned here on the forum is to alternate strokes from heel-to-tip to tip -to-heel, in order to sharpen the entire serration.

Thank you very much, I saw this also, and did this tonight apologies, forgot to mention this before. Thank you for the reminder.

Have the day off from work so spent some time on the Salt with the fine rods and the ultra fine as well. Can't say there is much of a difference going to the ultra fine. The knife is nice and sharp now.

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:19 pm

One bit of advice I've learned here on the forum is to alternate strokes from heel-to-tip to tip -to-heel, in order to sharpen the entire serration.

What exactly is this supposed to do?

I've tried it and didn't notice a difference, either visually looking at my grind marks or feeling the edge for sharpness.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 12, 2018 1:50 pm

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:19 pm

One bit of advice I've learned here on the forum is to alternate strokes from heel-to-tip to tip -to-heel, in order to sharpen the entire serration.

What exactly is this supposed to do?

I've tried it and didn't notice a difference, either visually looking at my grind marks or feeling the edge for sharpness.

When I use the Sharpmaker, my down stroke is from heel to tip. At the bottom I draw the knife back up from the tip to the heel, ending at my original starting point.

For me I've noticed that if I just do the heel to tip downstroke, it tends to sharpen the tip side of the serration more than the heel edge. By alternating the direction of the draw, I can more evenly hit the entire serration edge.

To make sure you get both sides of each scallop. That’s the difference.