Blade wear and modern blade steels

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buffalo01

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Oct 13, 2016
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I have doing a lot of sharpening lately and it made me think about all those old knives in carbon steel where the blade is whittled down. I was just wandering how long with modern steels such as s30v, d2, 154cm etc this would take. I have a rat 1 that I have wore some of the belly off with but that thing has been BEAT.
What really sparked this was when I was reprofiling my manix 2 in s30v. Being neurotic as I am, thought I was taking all the blade away. Im just curious what your you guys thoughts experiences are.

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I am thinking of getting a honing steel because too much sharpening is indeed wearing off my knife

as i am getting better with sharpening i use the knives more carelessly

in pocket knives u feel this disappearing of steel much more as belly starts seeming smaller in comparison to the handle
 
Once you become rather proficient at sharpening and come to realize that using, sharpening, and minor touch up of a knife is going to cause it to wear down and force you to buy another. It will get easier.

Do you sweat the tread on your car tires wearing down? It is the same thing, you use it and it wears down.

I have a bunch of different alloys, high carbide to "purer" alloys, stainless and non-stainless alike and I love them all for what the have to offer.
I don't worry about using, sharpening and the wear being shown. That just says I use and care for my tools.
 
I've worn down a few knives in the last 40 years or so. I'm a fan of high wear resistant steels like S30V , 3V and D2. I think the blade life span will be quite a bit longer and it will also take quite a bit of sharpening to the point where the edge line profile starts to change significantly.

I don't find it taking too much extra time to sharpen those steels either. Lower quality stainless steel knives seem to wear down the fastest ,Imo.
 
I think my blades will last decades. Once I get a good edge, all I have to do from then-on is very light touch-up's freehand. If I keep doing frequent light sharpening, my knives last much longer! Rather than waiting until they are extremely dull, then going to a belt grinder or something like coarse diamond. Just keep a good enough edge on your knife that a light touch up will fix and they will last ages! I just use a fine or extra fine diamond, then fine ceramic and black Arkansas stone for light sharpening and I have been doing that on the same EDC's for years, and not much, if any change in the blade shape. I love my modern blade steels, mostly for two traits, holds a great edge, and easy to sharpen.
 
I like my blades keen, so I've probably lost more blade form sharpening too often than in actual use. Modern steels certainly keep an edge longer. I rotate my knives, well have a few, so non get excessive use. For every full sharpen then it should be just realigned, the lightest of touches, ten times. The belt sharpeners and carbide rip systems get through excessive blade material to the point I never, well rarely, ever use them. Diamond and abrasive stones, even abrasive papers, and paste strops don't take too much material off; its what I use.

A knife has to have a heck of a lot of use to wear down to the point its annoying. 50, 100 full sharpen re-profiles? Some of my knives get maintenance once a month, others once a year. Most a light swipe before going out. The important bit is not to use them on things that they were never made to tackle.
Never been a worry of mine, and if ever was to get that warn then I've probably got enough use out of it..
 
Learn the fundamentals of sharpening--burr formation and recognition, bringing an edge to apex, burr removal, and edge finishing--and get comfortable w/ *one* of literally dozens of techniques.

Once you have this knowledge and can apply it, you'll realize that:

First-you won't need to subject your blade to frequent "full sharpenings," (say 220 up to 2k or so making a fresh burr, etc.) thus saving precious steel and

Second-you will know that frequent "touch ups" on a properly sharpened edge will keep the edge keen rather than using the blade until it's a butter knife and then doing the full routine. Once again, the result is saving your steel.
 
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