Spyderco Forums

I’ve been using this knife daily at work since Monday. It has never been sharpened, or even touched up. It still shaves very clean, but I’m just curious if this is a ok looking wear pattern for S110V. Is that chipping? Should I resharpen at 15 degrees each side? Or touch up at 20 degrees each side? I’m still learning sharpening on my guided system. Don’t wanna damage anything..it’s still very sharp, I check the edge periodically during the day and I just noticed this today.

Thank you to everyone who replies. I hope my baby is ok!

What have you been cutting with it at work?

Dingo wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:04 pm

What have you been cutting with it at work?

Cardboard, and zip ties, the small plastic shipping straps that hold boxes together, A few bags, A little paper and tape. Nothing serious. No frivolous play cutting has been done whatsoever.

tps3443 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:07 pm

Dingo wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:04 pm

What have you been cutting with it at work?

Cardboard, and zip ties, the small plastic shipping straps that hold boxes together, A few bags, A little paper and tape. Nothing serious. No frivolous play cutting has been done whatsoever.

I would sharpen it out, probably the factory edge, pretty common and panicked me a time or two

It almost looks more like a burr that's been left on and is breaking off. I would see if the 30 setting will hit the very edge or not, and if not just go with the 40.

That looks like chipping.

I experienced chipping on my S110V Military's factory edge, as well. It isn't anything too serious, and the chips will come out in time with sharpening. For me, I have always found chips to be more aesthetically annoying than actually detrimental to everyday cutting performance.

It doesn't sound like you're cutting anything you shouldn't be, but just remember to be careful about twisting the knife when cutting through hard stuff like plastic or hardwood. Lateral pressure on the edge, when cutting hard, dense materials, is not good for your edge. (I know this by experience. Still got some nasty chips in my N5 Maxamet)

FWIW I've heard that the factory edge sometimes is a little brittle like that, but once you sharpen past the factory edge you are good to go.


EDIT: David beat me to the post. It could be a burr. Didn't think about that.

Good advice above. It is hard for me to tell in the pic if it is chipping, rolling, blunting or a bur breaking off. Either way, while not major, it is more than I usually experience in my uses.

Microbeveling it at 40 degrees will remove whatever it is and should prevent it from happening again. You will be giving it a sturdier edge and removing the factory edge by doing that.

Also, I second the advice to be careful with zip ties and strapping. It can be tempting to put the knife under the zip tie and twist. Zip ties are already surprisingly hard on edges and adding all that lateral force on the edge is an easy way to chip or roll an edge.

Knife steels like S110V and S90V are not sharpened with Diamond or CBN abrasives at the factory. I experienced the same thing with my S90V para3 and saw it dull at the end of the week. My knives go through about as much work as you put your knives through. These steels have to be sharpened with Diamond or CBN abrasives, from Coarse, Fine, to Extra Fine. Anything less than those, you will see this chipping happen more often. Make sure your getting that burr all the way across the edge, transfer to the other side, rinse and repeat as you progress. Finish it off with leather strops coated with either Diamond or CBN compound. Go from 5 microns down to 3 microns and no lower as the type of work being done with the knife warrants those levels. You can if you want, just strop with the 5 micron on leather. Hope this helps

Thanks for all the help everyone. I haven’t cut anything hard, And no wood either. When I cut zip ties, it just slices clean right through them! No prying, or popping.

There were some metal fittings inside a box that I had cut. The tip could have touched the metal contents in the box. There’s not even a single scratch on the knife, so you can see I’m not batoning stuff, or cutting random things, I take care of it, and use it strictly for cutting priorities, or taking a box clean in half like its butter. I use my Tenacious as the dirt digger lol

Alright I’m gonna clamp it on the Wicked Edge WE52, I will use Diamond 600 grit, start to finish. And I will go for 15 degrees each side. I really don’t wanna do a microbevel. Do I have to? I’d rather keep factory angles. I’m new to all of this.

I’m not F’ing this up! Light pressure, really slowly.

tps3443 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:51 pm

....My PM2 S110V does not have a single scratch,you could look for several minutes not a mark on it. I dunno how, considering I’ve gone through staples, dirt packed cardboard....

When I read the part about the staples in your other thread I kind of wondered what the edge looked like.

tps3443 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 5:24 pm

Thanks for all the help everyone. I haven’t cut anything hard, And no wood either. When I cut zip ties, it just slices clean right through them! No prying, or popping.

There were some metal fittings inside a box that I had cut. The tip could have touched the metal contents in the box. There’s not even a single scratch on the knife, so you can see I’m not batoning stuff, or cutting random things, I take care of it, and use it strictly for cutting priorities, or taking a box clean in half like its butter. I use my Tenacious as the dirt digger lol

That's probably it. Lots of boxes, especially ones for large or heavy objects, have staples on the edges. Some even have thin steel rods on the corners for support. Always check for stappes before slicing down big, thick boxes.

I have an S60V Military on me when I do doing product demonstrations over a decade ago. There was one time I sliced into a box and hit one of those steel rods. Sliced the entire edge across it. No chipping like yours, but it took the edge off. It's easier to chip the edge on staples.

tps3443 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:42 pm

Alright I’m gonna clamp it on the Wicked Edge WE52, I will use Diamond 600 grit, start to finish. And I will go for 15 degrees each side. I really don’t wanna do a microbevel. Do I have to? I’d rather keep factory angles. I’m new to all of this.

I’m not F’ing this up! Light pressure, really slowly.

Microbevels are the best kept secret in knife sharpening. It can let you touch up your knife in under 60 seconds vs however long it takes you.

Think about it this way. The only part of the knife that needs to be sharp is the very, very edge. The apex. nothing behind that needs to be polished.

You grind your 15 degree bevel with your coarsest stone. Then you hit the edge at a slightly higher angle and go through whatever grit progression you want. It takes so much less time polishing a <1mm strip of steel than the entire bevel, especially with a steel like S110V.

Also, quit cutting staples lol. That's why your edge looks like that.

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 7:35 pm

tps3443 wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:51 pm

....My PM2 S110V does not have a single scratch,you could look for several minutes not a mark on it. I dunno how, considering I’ve gone through staples, dirt packed cardboard....

When I read the part about the staples in your other thread I kind of wondered what the edge looked like.

It was fine around lunch time today, looking just like factory with no shiny spots, or any imperfections whatsoever. But around 3PM after cutting about 5 boxes, I had went to wipe some tape residue from the blade, and noticed it right away you gotta look really hard to see it. I’m just ocd about stuff.

I’m about 98% certain it was from cutting down the center of the box, and the upper edge was cutting at metal fittings inside the box too.

Looks like some chipping and some burr. I recommend a full sharpening at 15dps. Remove the edge left by the factory and you may see an increase in apex stability and edge retention. If not the first time, definitely the 2nd or 3rd time. Edges on high carbide steels are often overheated in sharpening at the factory. It can be hard to avoid.

Yea those copper colored packaging staples are brutal when discovered unexpectedly under packaging tape. Took a lot of work to get a chip out of my M390.

Vivi wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 8:08 pm

tps3443 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:42 pm

Alright I’m gonna clamp it on the Wicked Edge WE52, I will use Diamond 600 grit, start to finish. And I will go for 15 degrees each side. I really don’t wanna do a microbevel. Do I have to? I’d rather keep factory angles. I’m new to all of this.

I’m not F’ing this up! Light pressure, really slowly.

Microbevels are the best kept secret in knife sharpening. It can let you touch up your knife in under 60 seconds vs however long it takes you.

Think about it this way. The only part of the knife that needs to be sharp is the very, very edge. The apex. nothing behind that needs to be polished.

You grind your 15 degree bevel with your coarsest stone. Then you hit the edge at a slightly higher angle and go through whatever grit progression you want. It takes so much less time polishing a <1mm strip of steel than the entire bevel, especially with a steel like S110V.

Also, quit cutting staples lol. That's why your edge looks like that.

Thank you very much! I feel a little better about it now.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I’m gonna get this thing right. I feel pretty confident now about using these Diamond stones, on my guided setup. I will really destroy a knife edge freehand, besides ceramic plate touching up with soft steels, I’m no good!

Anyways, maybe it’ll make it a little stronger too.

Some people advocate that using abrasives softer than VC you can't have a good edge on high Vanadium steels.
This isn't true. I thought the same thing before trying it.
I sharpen all my knives on Alox sandpaper or on Alox/SiC stones and i can attain a better edge than that with diamond plates; there's an extreme example of that in the video where Cliff sharpen a 64rc K390 knife with a soft arkansas stone; now i'm not saying that arkansas stones are an optimal choice for sharpening high Vanadium steels, but you haven't to spend a bunch of money in diamond/cbn stones.

I had a similar experience with S110V. I ended up selling the knife. Yes its normal.