420HC Sharpening Edge?

[Metal Man 007]

I see that buck recommends their knives be sharpened to 13-16 degrees per side. I am also reading other useful threads on here but wondering is there is a method to the madness or just bad QC. I got a very sharp 420hc knife from buck and have others but figure I should stick with what the manufactured recommends and sells. The issue is that when measuring the angle I get 14 degrees on one side of the blade and 8 degrees on the other. I measured this with a black sharpy and wedges cut to find the angle on a stone, measuring from the center line of the blade. I assume its just a QC issue and nothing more but as much as I have looked into sharpening I have seen all kinds of blade angles being cut. I know its a budget material and was wondering whats the sharpest angle I could push for cutting soft material , 13 dps?

 

[David Martin]

Who made the wedges?
13 dps should be fine. What are you cutting? Cheese? DM

 

[115Italian]

I’ve used Kershaw 420hc Sharpened at 15 dps with no issue. It’s 420 hc so it’s not going to hold a extremely sharp edge super long at any angle. But I feel it’s tough enough to be usable at that angle.

 

[Metal Man 007]

Who made the wedges?
13 dps should be fine. What are you cutting? Cheese? DM

I cut the wedges on a new dewalt chop saw and checked with a angle finder. Cheese and paper sound about right. Really though its a new hobby even though have been "sharpening" for years , just now getting into the nitty gritty. Im learning and want to push the limits to find the sweet spot for me .

I’ve used Kershaw 420hc Sharpened at 15 dps with no issue. It’s 420 hc so it’s not going to hold a extremely sharp edge super long at any angle. But I feel it’s tough enough to be usable at that angle.

Thanks for your help will definitely look at that

 

[David Martin]

Factor in the blade width. DM

 

[HeavyHanded]

Buck's 420hc is good stuff, a bit tougher than most would believe. I prefer it to Aus8 and is right up there with Sandvik 12c27 IMHO.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/edge-wear-micrographs.1203862/#post-13792769

 

[Alberta Ed]

420HC as Buck does it is a tough, highly stain resistant steel that will take a very fine edge with little effort. Good stuff.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I've found that any decent 420HC or equivalent steel can sharpen up nicely at edge angles down to 25° inclusive (12.5° per side) at least, and still be durable enough to handle normal, non-abusive tasks at that geometry. I use & carry 420HC knives regularly, including those from Buck and Case.

The main difference I see with Buck's slightly harder 420HC, is that it'll tend to shed it's very fine teeth a bit sooner at thin geometries. The very small teeth in the edge will tend to break away sooner, than with a similar edge in 420HC at slightly lower hardness. I even notice the quick loss of toothy bite after doing something as simple as stropping on bare leather, with the Buck blades. I repeatedly see this in comparing my Case 420HC blades (55-57 HRC) to the Buck blades (57-59 HRC), since I use and sharpen them up regularly. At a higher finish of ~600+ grit, the Buck's 420HC holds up very well. But for edges I like with some toothy bite at around 320-400 grit finish, I tend to prefer the Case blades, because the steel is more ductile at slightly lower hardness and the teeth tend not to break away as quickly. They'll more likely bend or roll a little bit with use, but can be realigned easily on a bare leather strop, or on something like a smooth kitchen steel.

Both are good, in different ways. And the differences are more about the finished character (toothy or more polished) of the edge, and not the quality of the edge. In other words, for edges with a higher finish, the Bucks do well. And for edges with a little more toothy bite that hangs around for a while, I like the Case blades.

 

[Metal Man 007]

Factor in the blade width. DM

I believe I did , unless I am looking at this wrong? I placed the wedge on the FLAT part of the blade that is parallel with the center line of the blade. The blade apex edge and the center of the top of the blade were parallel to the wedge angle .

Thanks to all for the help, I will read up on all points made.

 

[Ben Dover]

I'm not a fan of 420hc, but the knives that I have owned have done fairly well at 15 degrees/side.

And 15 allows me to "touch up" quickly on the Crock Sticks.

 

[lonestar1979]

Nothing wrong with 420hc,but i like 12c27 or 14c28 sandvik better over all,somehow takes better edge...all depends on heat treat too,buck does it well.

 

[Ben Dover]

Nothing wrong with 420hc,but i like 12c27 or 14c28 sandvik better over all,somehow takes better edge...all depends on heat treat too,buck does it well.

Nothing at all wrong with 420hc. I'm just not a fan because I think there are many far better steels available.

 

[lonestar1979]

Sandvik and Aebl steels,when heat treated optimally ,give excellent performance,toughness and edge holding,and ease of sharpening,they all take scary sharp edge without much effort.They are stainless,but perform like carbon steel without rust.Id take any sandvik blade over supersteels any time,if geometry and ht is properly done.Sandvik 12c27 and 14c28,hold better edge than 420hc at same rc,in my opinion,and i like the agressive toothy edge,these steels take,they bite into soft materials even when polished....