BF2020 Viper Swayback Discuss Thread

knarfeng said:
As has been said, a very stainless powder metallurgy steel. Extremely resistant to abrasive wear, yet takes a fine edge if sharpened correctly, as the sharpness of the delivered blades attests.
One comment to add is that, because M390 has a significant amount of Vanadium Carbide, diamond sharpening stones are highly recommended.
You can do an OK job with aluminum oxide stoes, but vanadium carbide is harder than aluminum oxide, So you don't get all the way there with alumina.
Don't use natural stones. The carbides will will win that contest if you do.

Carbon 1.90
Silicon 0.70
Manganese 0.30
Chromium 20.00
Molybdenum 1.00
Vanadium 4.00
Tungsten 0.60
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Will a strop loaded with cubic boron nitride work to polish the edge after the diamond hones, or should I be looking for some diamond paste to load my strop?

P.S. I think the horn on your knife is my favorite so far...

Edit for spelling.
 
craytab said:
I'm betting it is still on the way. Mine left the 14th, was supposed to be here today, but is now arriving late with no delivery date. I just took delivery of another knife that left Portland Oregon on the 3rd, had no scans until it was delivered today. Most of my other packages have been late. USPS is super slow right now and their tracking is less than helpful.
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Hope you're right. Haven't really had any issues getting stuff here so far. Sometimes a day or two late, which is understandable, but the tracking has been pretty good. This is a first for me, so probably overreacting.
 
jlauffer said:
Hope you're right. Haven't really had any issues getting stuff here so far. Sometimes a day or two late, which is understandable, but the tracking has been pretty good. This is a first for me, so probably overreacting.
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If it makes you feel any better I had a package go missing for a week with no update. It contained a couple of things from Baryonyx knife... I waited the week before I emailed Ben, and lo and behold it shows up the next day (no tracking update until it was at my door). So I hope it's a similar situation for you.
 
I had a hankerin' for some caramel apple - so we got some of the caramel and some peanuts and I cut up a nice tart apple with the Swayback. It worked great for cutting up the apple - nice slicing and not cleaving like a thicker blade.

20201118_182309.jpg


I also used the knife to trim flash off of a set of factory Ruger single action grips - worked well and had no problem doing the trimming.

I have been a fan of M390, and this seems to perform well so far.

best

mqqn
 
My beautiful little Italian paisan showed up this afternoon and I am delighted. I was hoping for darker scales, but these lighter ones are just the bee's knees. Screaming sharp, too! Thank you so much Mike for making this happen.
XL1pVTI.jpg

Sjk1hpA.jpg
 
Wild Willie said:
Will a strop loaded with cubic boron nitride work to polish the edge after the diamond hones, or should I be looking for some diamond paste to load my strop?

P.S. I think the horn on your knife is my favorite so far...

Edit for spelling.
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You should be alright with CBN.

Also, if you go with diamond, I'd recommend spray and not paste. You get better coverage, more sizing consistency, and it won't harden your strop like pastes and emulsions sometimes do. I would also recommend starting with a virgin strop.
 
Eli Chaps said:
You should be alright with CBN.

Also, if you go with diamond, I'd recommend spray and not paste. You get better coverage, more sizing consistency, and it won't harden your strop like pastes and emulsions sometimes do. I would also recommend starting with a virgin strop.
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Guess I'm gonna have to shop for a strop... Mine is an old bullhide belt that held my pants up under a climbing saddle for several years. I've been pretty happy with the cbn emulsion from ksf since I got it, but wanted to be sure before I exasperated myself trying to use it on something it isn't suitable for. Where do you recommend getting diamond compound from?
 
Wild Willie said:
Guess I'm gonna have to shop for a strop... Mine is an old bullhide belt that held my pants up under a climbing saddle for several years. I've been pretty happy with the cbn emulsion from ksf since I got it, but wanted to be sure before I exasperated myself trying to use it on something it isn't suitable for. Where do you recommend getting diamond compound from?
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Unless you just want to get a new strop, you might want to just try what you got. Should work well. That said, for vanadium-rich steels like the M390, a hard backed strop is generally more preferred. You can actually use the spray on paint sticks or balsa wood. It has enough rigidity to not crush too much under the hard steel but a little give too.

I would stick with 1um but that's personal preference.

So as to stay in keeping with site vendor rules, I'll send you a PM.
 
Wild Willie said:
I appreciate it, I was hoping to see a supporting vendor offering it, and that's kind of where I stopped shopping around.
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Well, the first link I sent you isn't to a formal supporting vendor, but that gentleman is a BF treasure and has contributed a ton to this site. Especially in the MTE forum. He's a professional sharpener, blade smith, innovator, runs a small business, and is an all-around good guy. :)
 
Wild Willie said:
Guess I'm gonna have to shop for a strop... Mine is an old bullhide belt that held my pants up under a climbing saddle for several years. I've been pretty happy with the cbn emulsion from ksf since I got it, but wanted to be sure before I exasperated myself trying to use it on something it isn't suitable for. Where do you recommend getting diamond compound from?
Click to expand...
I normally use the black compound on a leather block strop and seems to work perfect on every blade steel I’ve ever owned. It’ll bring it back to hair popping sharp and push cut receipt paper. But keep in mind I normally don’t let mine get very dull. I enjoy stropping my knives almost as much as using them. Love a nice quiet room as I’m stropping so I can hear the amount of contact it’s making and I can fine tune my angle by feel and how it sounds dragging across the strop block.It’s like music to my ears :)
Consistent angle with Light pressure and not rolling it up at the end of the stroke and I’m good to go:thumbsup:
 
TheFactor said:
I normally use the black compound on a leather block strop and seems to work perfect on every blade steel I’ve ever owned. It’ll bring it back to hair popping sharp and push cut receipt paper. But keep in mind I normally don’t let mine get very dull. I enjoy stropping my knives almost as much as using them. Love a nice quiet room as I’m stropping so I can hear the amount of contact it’s making and I can fine tune my angle by feel and how it sounds dragging across the strop block.It’s like music to my ears :)
Consistent angle with Light pressure and not rolling it up at the end of the stroke and I’m good to go:thumbsup:
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It's hard for me to have an absolutely quiet area with two little ones ramming around, but sharpening my knives is about as close to zen as I get...

Edited for spelling
 
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Eli Chaps said:
Unless you just want to get a new strop, you might want to just try what you got. Should work well. That said, for vanadium-rich steels like the M390, a hard backed strop is generally more preferred. You can actually use the spray on paint sticks or balsa wood. It has enough rigidity to not crush too much under the hard steel but a little give too.

I would stick with 1um but that's personal preference.

So as to stay in keeping with site vendor rules, I'll send you a PM.
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Thanks, this is helpful advice.
I had given up on stropping because I got so frustrated with it. I can freehand sharpen rather well, but then I use a strop, and the blade gets duller. :mad:
After reading your post about using balsa wood, I dug out the tube of diamond paste I bought years ago, smeared some on a paint stirrer, and held it against the Sharpmaker rods so I could keep a consistent angle. Slow strokes with edge trailing.
WhooHoo this Viper is sharp! Looking through a jeweler's loupe, I can still see some of the factory grind lines on the edge, so I know I haven't removed an excessive amount of steel, but they are starting to polish out. :cool::thumbsup:
 
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