ATS-55 or VG10

joe90

joe90

Joined
Aug 17, 2001
Messages
346
I am currently looking at getting the Spyderco Delica. I have read some forum comments on ATS-55 which appear to be mixed and it would appear that the "rust" factor seems to be inter-related to the production run. Some knives in ATS-55 from the same production run appear to be more prone to "rust" than an earlier or later production run. So I've read.

Anyway, if you had to choose between an ATS-55 non-coated blade or a black Ti coated VG-10 blade, regardless of manufacturer which would you go for?

I can't say I've ever been too keen on the coating of blades myself, as I kinda like a knife to look, well, like a knife ;) ... but by all the information that I've read up on, VG10 is a better utility steel. By utility I mean the sort of general cutting that you might do at home (food, paper, cardboard) as opposed to the kind that you might get up to outdoors.

Any comments or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks :)
 
VG10. ATS-55 isn't a bad steel and I've never had any problems with any of my Spydies with ATS-55 rusting, but it just isn't in the same league as VG10.
 
I sold all the ats-55 I had. It was not conducive to easily being sharpened. I spent 3 hours attempting to get a police model in that steel resharpened for a gentleman and gave up.

Just to clarify, I sharpen knives for others every Sunday at the gun club, have sharpened my share over the last 12 years and will not touch that steel again.

I'm not sure, but I don't believe Spyderco is even making knives in that steel anymore. You'll hear all kinds of reasons why, the above has to be one of them whether it's stated or not.

The vg-10 endura and delicas take a great edge, are easily resharpened and just seem to be a better steel than others you could choose from in that price range.

No ats-55 in my household ever again. You have to ask yourself why the maker has stopped using it. If it was good stuff, they wouldn't have switched to something else readily.

JMO,

Brownie
 
Hey thanks guys ... I was kinda swaying towards VG10 to be honest (given the amount of research reading I've been doing) .. but thought I'd just post a quickie to stabalise my decision.

Off to make the order as soon as this is posted. :D

Thanks again.
 
I picked up an Endura recently with ATS55 blade, and it is scary sharp. Seems to be fairly easy to maintain the edge too. However, VG10 is on another level. Go with the VG10.
 
depends. if it's ATS55 vs coated VG10, I would pick ATS55 if I had a diamond hone to sharpen it, or, if I used a belt grinder to do my sharpening. coated blades don't do it for me.

however, if you're comparing performance, VG10 wins hands down. however, it is not that easy to profile either. you may need diamonds to thin the edge down to just a mite under 30 degrees. thereafter, touch ups on the sharpmaker are a breeze.
 
ATS-55 was done specifically for spyderco, so the only comparison you can make fairly has the same ppl doing HT. spydie ats-55 vs spydie vg-10.

I personally love ats-55. Takes a nice working edge(and shaves if you want to work a little bit) and is very easy to touch up. I sharpen my Endura(ats-55/frn/se, 98 model) about every 3 months, and thats only 3-4 strokes to align the edge again.
My beater for 2 yrs so far(aug 20, 01-present) is a ss dragonfly pe... last time I hit a sharpening surface was june 30th. Superthin edge(I use sandpaper right on the flats and then strop and hit the 1200 paper for a 30 inclusive edge). I abuse this little sucker. It didn't shave for a while now(Convexed the edge back in spring 02), but had it scraping hair when I thinned it out in June. Edge hasn't changed in 4 months now, still cuts the same.

Best longterm example of vg-10 I have is the calypso jr lt, 01 model PE... Oct 26, 01 to now. I have a 20deg inclusive base to work off, and then doublegrind the edge at 30deg inclusive(5-6 strokes each side total) with an 800grit alumina oxide stone. Shaves, and the edge lasts about 3-4 weeks before I have to strop and touch the 30deg up.
 
I've had both and for me there is no real comparison. VG-10 is the hands down winner for me.
 
I have used both steels and I honestly think that in real everyday use, there's no noticeable difference.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
The first one was ATS-55. The second one was VG10. I have brought both
down to the pool with me. They have gooten wet in pool water, and have been allowed to air dry.

I have noticed no rust whatsoever.
 
Just to clarify, there is currently a coated blade VG-10 Delica w/ Olive Drab handles, but I'm sure you realize that most VG-10 Delica's by Spyderco are made in uncoated VG-10.

VG-10 is touted to have quite good rust resistant properties, and excellent all around "other" user related properties. I am very happy with all of the knives I own in VG-10 - It's definitely a real winner! I don't think I have ever heard a complaint about it, and that's REALLY saying something, don't you think?

I also like ATS-55 just fine. I once did see a few tiny spots of surface rust appear on my s/s Police (which cleaned off easily) after it had been left uncleaned for quite awhile (w/ food on it - whoops!) but otherwise no problems at all. I haven't had any trouble keeping a super sharp edge on ATS-55 blades on at least a dozen Spyderco knives.

If you are looking at buying a Delica now, you may have some trouble even locating a new one in ATS-55, as Spyderco replaced ATS-55 w/ VG-10 in all of their products (that used ATS-55 before) as I understand it. Of course, you may find a Delica in ATS-55 in a store from earlier stock.

Something no-one has mentioned here is that the version of Delica produced before VG-10 replaced ATS-55 in their blades had a slightly different grind. It went from a "hollow saber" gring in ATS-55, to a "hollow flat" grind in VG-10. I recall hearing some folks explain that this made the edge a bit thicker on the new VG-10 models. They are wonderful of course, (I have two) but apparently the ATS-55 versions could sometimes be sharper out of the box, and after subsequent resharpening than the VG-10 models; assuming the VG-10 model in question had not had it's edge "thinned" by the owner.

I always meant to pick up an ATS-55 Delica for this reason, just to see for myself...I think it would be fun to compare the two.

Jeff/1911.
 
ATS-55 is a fine steel, but VG-10 is in another class, IMO. If I had the choice between ATS-55 and coated VG-10, I'd get uncoated VG-10 (or, in other words, since uncoated VG-10 is easy to get, why not choose that instead?).



Joe
 
I ordered a Herbst on sale from SFO and made sure to verify that it was VG10 before I gave the dude my CC number. Heck, that's why I made sure to call instead of ordering online. Well, needless to say it turned out to be ATS-55. :mad:

Anyways, I'm very interested in hearing more of these opinions. Thanks.
 
I've EDC'ed my Spyderco Howard Viele VG-10 for two years before I recently "retired" it to the collection safe.

The way I treated it could be called abuse by my fellow knife lovers.

Sliced all sorts of things with only a cursory wipe-down on a paper-towel or my jeans. Stored clipped to my pants with only quarter-yearly cleanings.

No rust, no pitting, no stains.

:)

Allen
aka DumboRAT
 
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