Case CV or Queen D2

[knifetester]

Hi Knifetester;

Do you have an opinion on Case's current stainless steel (420)?


I have enjoyed reading yours (and everyone else's) comments...

Thanks for the kind words!

I have never used Case Stainless though.

I ams ure others here can answer that question. . .

 

[JD Mandrell]

To me, Case stainless steel is not as bad as some make it out to be, I find it to work just fine for general everyday cutting task. It won't hold an edge as long as their CV, but I can't really think of a time when it didn't get-r-done.

 

[rev_jch]

hmmmmmm...no Cliff still dont agree with that. D2 still takes more effort.

However I would be interested in your "sub-micron" grit diamond sharpener?

 

[Cliff Stamp]

D2 still takes more effort.

It takes more effort to machine sure, but you should not be removing large amounts of metal when sharpening. With use of proper micro-beveling, you can restore a blade blunted to ~5% of optimal sharpness in under a minute, regardless of the steel.

Plus D2 when properly tempered forms a very crisp edge. It takes me longer to get an optimal edge on AUS-6A than D2 because of the burr removal procedure on AUS-6A. Sharpening very hard and high alloy steels is very efficient assuming a proper primary and edge grind.

As a wood whittler I would just put the folder on a belt sander and do a full flat grind, optimally would be a high hollow but I don't have a wheel. Baring that, take a 220 SiC waterstone and some 80 grit SiC and blast the edge with a heavy relief in ~10 minutes.

This only has to be done once in the lifetime of the knife, with this profile the edge will sharpen rapidly with just a few passes on a stone to set the microbevel. The relief grind can be recut periodically in just a few minutes with an x-coarse hone.

However I would be interested in your "sub-micron" grit diamond sharpener?

DMT sells sub micron paste, and very fine sandpaper can be found at various sources.

-Cliff

 

[Bastid]

Queen D2's come with a very obuse angle. You have to have actually seen one to understand that it is overly obtuse. (at least all 7 of the ones I have had at one time or another did exhibited the same profile.)

I have reprofiled the edge on 3. One was a 4 blade congress, one a stockman and the other a Dr knife.

It does take a while to get it down to a decent profile unless you are using a grinder. Once you get a more acute edge profile they are not hard to maintain at all as long as you get to them before they get too dull.

I am with knifetester on the comparison. I use and carry both antiques in carbon and Queen D2's.

Today I am carrying a Utica equal end from the 20's. For carving I would perfer the carbon against any other steel hands down. For general utility pertaining to multiblades, the Queen D2's are tough to beat in edge holding compared to the carbon bladed knives I use.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Queen D2's come with a very obuse angle. You have to have actually seen one to understand that it is overly obtuse.

My folders are typically ran at ~5 degrees per side, and thus I see almost everything as obtuse, I am familiar with reprofiling an edge. I have done it on many D2 blades, both customs and productions, and on steels which are far worse to machine, including ceramics and on blades which are far thicker and more obtuse than and Queen folder.

Reprofiling a small D2 blade would not take very much time if efficient stones were used. It would be a few passes on a belt sander, but not much more than a few minutes on really aggressive hones were used, either a decent SiC+lapping compound or a pseudo-file made from a 80 grit sanding belt. Clamp the blade or benchstone and use heavy pressure and the steel will fly off.

Reprofiling is only really an issue time wise on very large blades with very thick edges (as in 1/16" thick) which thus require massive amounts of steel to be removed. I doubt the edges on the Queens are much more than 0.025" thick, thus even if they are obtuse the cross-section is small.Of course if you try to reprofile on a v-rod it takes hours, but wrong tool.

But again this isn't a steel issue, it is a profile issue. The blade is hard to sharpen because of the way it is ground, not the steel. D2 sharpens easily to a crisp edge when the knife is ground so as to optomize its performance for D2. A well ground D2 blade would be easier to sharpen than a CV blade with a horrible profile. If both are ground optimally, it is inconsequential with either assuming efficient use of abrasive grits and micro-bevels.

-Cliff

 

[nelsonmc]

To me, Case stainless steel is not as bad as some make it out to be, I find it to work just fine for general everyday cutting task. It won't hold an edge as long as their CV, but I can't really think of a time when it didn't get-r-done.

Agreed, I really like Case steel, especially CV. :thumbup:

 

[klattman]

There's no question that the CASE Tru-sharp stainless is much softer and less wear resistant than the CV. It was chosen to be high-polish, very stainless and look good.
Properly sharpened, it still gets just as sharp and does the job just as well, but not as long. If you don't mind sharpening more often, it's a fine choice.
(No doubt some of us spend more time sharpening than using )

On the other hand, if you take a Queen D2 large Congress with its 7" of edge, and spend the time to really thin the blades and sharpen it properly, you can cut just about forever...(and if you did a good job reprofiling, shouldn't take long to touch up)

I think CV and D2 are both great steels and how the knife fits your hand (design) may ultimately be more important than the difference between them.

 

[rev_jch]

hmmmmm.... I own 6 queen knives in the carved stag bone and did not have any problems with the blade edge geometry.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I own 6 queen knives in the carved stag bone and did not have any problems with the blade edge geometry.

Personal preferences play a large part (what angle do you want to cut with) as well as means of sharpening. People who v-rod for example will find a 22 degree edge insanely difficult to sharpen while a 18 degree one is very fast to hone. If you freehand they are pretty much near idential.

-Cliff

 

[Ryan8]

hmmmmm.... I own 6 queen knives in the carved stag bone and did not have any problems with the blade edge geometry.

I have 2 from the cocobolo series. I'd say that they run the edge at a larger angle than what is necessary or optimal for a knife like that. It isn't the end of the world because of course you can always reprofile if you so desire.

 

[rev_jch]

I use a strop and stones. Mine came about a 25 degree angle, works fine for me.

 

[kamagong]

I stopped by Lowe's yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to see some Case Amber Bone models in their knife display. I didn't buy a knife, but I'm glad that I now have a local source for their CV models so I can try them out before I buy.

 

[rev_jch]

I like the case CV. It was cases original blade steel to begin with!

 

[cliff355]

This may sound dumb, but is Case CV carbon steel which is plated with chrome, or is chrome part of the alloy? Just wondering.

 

[rev_jch]

Plated cliff (as far as my understanding and experience with it). After a while the plating tends to wear off and then the "good ole" tarnished colors start showing through.

 

[mnblade]

Hey, kamagong, be careful before buying. Case has amber bone models in both CV and SS. So don't assume just because it has amber bone handles that you're getting CV. Verify first.

 

[Sword and Shield]

Plated cliff (as far as my understanding and experience with it). After a while the plating tends to wear off and then the "good ole" tarnished colors start showing through.

Not that I've seen. Stab your CV in an apple, and you'll see it's just an alloying element. There is no plating.

 

[knifeaholic]

No, CV is NOT plated....just high polished.

In the past, Case some made kitchen knives and hunting knives with chrome plated carbon steel blades. But this was before stainless steel was widely accepted..it ended for kitchen knives in the mid 60's and for hunting knives in the late 70's. Never was done for pocket knife blades.

You can tell the plated blades pretty easily if used, because the blade develops a patina only at the edge and wherever else the chrome plating flakes off.

 

[Ryan8]

A chrome vanadium steel is a carbon steel with chromium and vanadium added. At least that's the way I understand it.

Regular 1095 doesn't have vanadium so CV must be different - assuming that this isn't just a proprietary name for 1095 or something along those lines.

I think the "chrome" part is what causes the confusion about these knives being plated. That and maybe a lot of people are more familiar with a brushed finish on modern slipjoints. At least I am.