Blade steel and sharpness

[pj_rage]

I recently purchased a spyderco para military knife and a spyderco sharmpaker sharpening kit. I also have a gerber AR 3.00 knife. I love the para military alot! I am very very impressed at how sharp this knife is from the factory. I haven't had THAT many knives, but it is easily the sharpest knife I have ever touched. That being said, I have been trying to sharpen my gerber to be just as razor sharp, without much success. I followed the DVD from spyderco, and believe me, the gerber has gotten MUCH sharper, and is a very sharp knife now (cuts paper pretty easily), but still, it doesn't seem as sharp as the para military with the factory sharpening. The gerber blade is made of AUS-8A, and the para military is made of S30V. Is this the reason that the gerber won't get as sharp, or is it absolutely user error?

Please note that I am not saying that the gerber isn't sharp, it is very sharp, just not as sharp as the para military. It isn't such a big deal, except I'm a little concerned that unless this problem is due to the steels, I won't ever get the para military back to the ridiculous sharpness it is now after it dulls.

How does AUS-8A steel compare to other steels like the S30V and VG-10? Can someone please outline the practical differences between these three steels?

Thanks alot!

 

[warden41272]

It's not the steel, in this situation; it's the edge geometry. The AUS-8A steel takes a fine edge (although it won't hold it nearly as long as the S30V), but having owned one of the Gerbers, they're a lot thicker at the edge than the Spyderco, and the grind isn't nearly as proficient, nor is the heat treatment. As a rule, Spydercos have superlative ht, while the Gerber is usually best described as "adequate". But the biggest problem is edge geometry...the Gerber is just thicker at the edge, so while you can get it sharp, it won't feel as "scary sharp" as the Spyderco will, nor will it cut as well for most uses.

 

[pj_rage]

That makes perfect sense, thanks!!