Chipping in Spyderco S30V

Thanks DogoWar

Per hitting the laminate top, I've done it with each of the other knives at least more than once. Not one has chipped or even bent the edge. I don't use the laminate as a cutting board, sometimes the knife just goes through the fruit quickly and hits the top. It left no visible mark on the laminate. So, it ain't knife abuse and certainlly doesn't explain why the tip decided to run away :)

Per microchips happening until you remove the initial edge. Great theory, but I've never seen it in practice, nor heard a custom knifemaker say it is "normal". If the theory is correct, I believe it means the cutler let the grinder get the edge too hot. This is a production error, that I wouldn't expect an experienced cutler to do. I did have a Benchmade that had obvious discoloring on the tip from getting too hot during grinding. This was in the late 90s, I called them and they said it was rare, maybe not a problem, but replaced the blade for free. I haven't seen it on any knife since.

I have two S30V blades other than this one, Buck Mayo and Buck Hartsook. Both have the Bos heat-treat and his mark on the blade. The Mayo I bought well used (the tip was dull, but not chipped) and it had no chips and didn't get any in the year I've abused it. I've always wondered why Buck has their $25 Hartsook done by Paul Bos. Maybe its because S30V needs some special attention? In the US, does Spyderco do their own heat treat or is it subcontracted? That may explain why only the US made spdyercos seem to have a chipping problem, since other firms don't have it for s30V.

Confederate, at the discount price of 120, I looked at the Tmag and wouldn't buy it because it doesn't lock. However, for 50 it's a great buy. The magnets have some force but not much. A fellow pool player said the knife would get me arrested since you can readily flick it open it qualifies as a weapon under the gravity/centripital force part of the switchblade statue. The waiter, a police cadet, agreed. My blade got a little loose, so I had to locktite it. I did tighten the pivot a little extra, and it doesn't flick open as readily and it gives more resitance when closing. Overall it makes it a better user if you keep the pivot tighter. Once you get used to the magnet, you can easily keep it from closing on your hand, even if you don't put your finger in the choil.
 
Thee have been enough anecdotes about S30V chipping from different sources to make me think that it is indeed an occasional problem. Laminate desktops can be pretty hard, but chipping on such a surface just isn't good enough for any steel.

All that being said, my experience with two S30V Natives, one serrated, the other plain and thinned out edge, have been very good.
 
brownshoe said:
I got a TMag on Wednesday. Within one day I got two microchips in the belly of the blade. I cut an apple, some paper, callouses, thread, and a stick. Hardest thing the knife touched was the laminated top to my desk, when the sharp blade went quickly through the apple. The chips were about 0.25 to 0.5mm, visible by the naked eye. One came out easy with the 15 degree gray sharpmaker, the other was reduced, but still visible.

Within two more days, the tip chipped off. Small piece, about 0.5mm, visible by the naked eye. I did use the knife to slash through 4 sheets of newsprint. This was the hardest thing the tip touched. However, this should not and never has in the past chipped a tip. There was no abuse. I cut the same things as before, but used it in some food prep, cut paper, etc. Hardest thing the knife edge ever touched was a wooden cutting board. Took a few minutes with a diamond hone to reprofile the tip.

Other steels in new knives within the last year that have had absolutely no chipping but were much more severly used: S30V from Buck (Bose supervised heat treat), 440C from custom maker, O1 custom, ATS34 from Case, Douk-Douk, W&H VG-10. With the 440C, I dropped the blade and it hit the tip with a glancing blow on blacktop. The tip bent back about 1mm but did not chip off.

Why did it chip?

Don't know. Some will say hardness, others edge geometry, some say both. Spyderco no longer gives the hardness of their steels in the catalog, so this cannot be evaluated. Per AGRussell, spyderco s30v in the Sage is 59-61 rockwell. If correct, this should not be a problem for this steel.

The edge angle is significantly less than the 30 degrees on the sharpmaker. After the first chips, I put about 10 strokes on the gray and white stones at 30 degrees to reduce the angle a little on the whole edge in case it was an edge problem. Hasn't chipped again on the belly, but the tip did chip off.

Of course, I bought it on closeout as a $50 knife, and it still cuts, but it was designed, built and marketed as a high end $250 state of the art knife, thus chipping is not expected. My only other experience with USAmade spyderco is a Terzuola from 2000 in CPM440V. It also had a chipping problem, but the chips were deeper and more severe. It stopped with time, but some of the chips were too deep to readily remove. I gave it away, so I don't know its current status.

There are a lot of Tmags out there now, anyone else see the same problem? Does anyone know if Spyderco heat treats these themselves and if the blades are tested for hardness?
Click to expand...
That sounds exactly like my Native in S30V. The tip not only chipped, but it broke right away after falling onto my carpeted floor tip down. Also, the edge had several chips from cutting aluminum beer cans-- a pretty easy and mild task for all my other folders made of cheaper steels...
 
My S30V Military fell and hit the edge directly onto a steel bar--no chips.
It isn't inherent to the steel, guys.
 
stabman said:
My S30V Military fell and hit the edge directly onto a steel bar--no chips.
It isn't inherent to the steel, guys.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the case.

I do have a question for those that have experienced this. Have any of the knives in S30V that have chipped been made in the last three years, or are they older knives?

*shrug* here's some more reprofiled S30V fun....

[youtube]yDdk0IJYXyQ[/youtube]

Brownshoe, if I recall correctly Spyderco does the Heat treat for S30V themselves in the U.S. I could be wrong though.
 
A few years ago, on an expedition, I found myself in an abandoned diamond mine in South Africa. Shortly after walking into the entrance I came upon a 4 carrot Diamond that somehow had been missed after decades of mining. I didn't have anything but my S30V Spyderco Native. It was about 9 feet high, so I couldn't get a good shot on it to pop it out of the earth that it had been encased in growing for millions of years. Being so high, I jumped up and stabbed attempted to stab the side of the diamond so it would pop out of it's tomb of eons. As I did so, being human and capable of making a mistake, I mostly hit the diamond head on, with the edge of my Wal Mart Native. My blade got a micro chip. Spyderco's treatment of S30V sucks.
 
Silverdagger said:
A few years ago, on an expedition, I found myself in an abandoned diamond mine in South Africa. Shortly after walking into the entrance I came upon a 4 carrot Diamond that somehow had been missed after decades of mining. I didn't have anything but my S30V Spyderco Native. It was about 9 feet high, so I couldn't get a good shot on it to pop it out of the earth that it had been encased in growing for millions of years. Being so high, I jumped up and stabbed attempted to stab the side of the diamond so it would pop out of it's tomb of eons. As I did so, being human and capable of making a mistake, I mostly hit the diamond head on, with the edge of my Wal Mart Native. My blade got a micro chip. Spyderco's treatment of S30V sucks.
Click to expand...

I hope you're kidding and I'm a gullible idiot that took your post seriously on my first read. Otherwise it's surprising on your part that you do not expect micro chipping when stabbing at diamond of all things.
 
Silverdagger said:
A few years ago, on an expedition, I found myself in an abandoned diamond mine in South Africa. Shortly after walking into the entrance I came upon a 4 carrot Diamond that somehow had been missed after decades of mining. I didn't have anything but my S30V Spyderco Native. It was about 9 feet high, so I couldn't get a good shot on it to pop it out of the earth that it had been encased in growing for millions of years. Being so high, I jumped up and stabbed attempted to stab the side of the diamond so it would pop out of it's tomb of eons. As I did so, being human and capable of making a mistake, I mostly hit the diamond head on, with the edge of my Wal Mart Native. My blade got a micro chip. Spyderco's treatment of S30V sucks.
Click to expand...

:jerkit:
 
In the US, does Spyderco do their own heat treat or is it subcontracted? That may explain why only the US made spdyercos seem to have a chipping problem, since other firms don't have it for s30V.
Click to expand...

You have been around long enough to know there are reports from many companies S30 blades chipping in the forums here, not just Spyderco.

I wouldn't say Spyderco has any chipping problem. In my case one experience out of more than 30 knives in S30 from Spyderco over how many years has Spyderco had it in production?

If you have a problem, deal with it. Don't pull a brownsh..., ooops! I mean, deal with the problem, then if it's still a problem you might have something. Return the knife you paid $50 for if you can't get along with it.

Don't use it as an excuse to go on one of your anti spyderco campaigns you are notorious for.

I still recall your attempt at strong arming Spyderco out of, what was it, a Starmate? :rolleyes: A true classic if I ever saw one. You promised to not do this stuff again if Sal gave you one.

To me, that will always cloud your credibility in my mind and when you come up with what might be legitimate complaints I always question in my mind wether you are up to your old tricks or not.

I believe the best explanation for S30V's hit ( mostly) or miss ( much less often) was given by JerryHossom a long time ago. Look it up and you will have your answer to S30V's mysteries.

Regards, Joe
 
Last edited:
Silverdagger said:
A few years ago, on an expedition, I found myself in an abandoned diamond mine in South Africa. Shortly after walking into the entrance I came upon a 4 carrot Diamond that somehow had been missed after decades of mining. I didn't have anything but my S30V Spyderco Native. It was about 9 feet high, so I couldn't get a good shot on it to pop it out of the earth that it had been encased in growing for millions of years. Being so high, I jumped up and stabbed attempted to stab the side of the diamond so it would pop out of it's tomb of eons. As I did so, being human and capable of making a mistake, I mostly hit the diamond head on, with the edge of my Wal Mart Native. My blade got a micro chip. Spyderco's treatment of S30V sucks.
Click to expand...

You can't be seriously complaining about this, or are you that ignorant?
 
silverdagger said:
a Few Years Ago, On An Expedition, I Found Myself In An Abandoned Diamond Mine In South Africa. Shortly After Walking Into The Entrance I Came Upon A 4 Carrot Diamond That Somehow Had Been Missed After Decades Of Mining. I Didn't Have Anything But My S30v Spyderco Native. It Was About 9 Feet High, So I Couldn't Get A Good Shot On It To Pop It Out Of The Earth That It Had Been Encased In Growing For Millions Of Years. Being So High, I Jumped Up And Stabbed Attempted To Stab The Side Of The Diamond So It Would Pop Out Of It's Tomb Of Eons. As I Did So, Being Human And Capable Of Making A Mistake, I Mostly Hit The Diamond Head On, With The Edge Of My Wal Mart Native. My Blade Got A Micro Chip. Spyderco's Treatment Of S30v Sucks.
Click to expand...

:d :d :d :d :d
 
Vivi said:
I hope you're kidding and I'm a gullible idiot that took your post seriously on my first read. .
Click to expand...

Spyderco s30V isnothing to kid about. Microchips are no laughing matter. Let me give you another example. One of my hobbies is stabbing ants on my concrete drive. I normally pour out a tablespoon of honey. It's my ant food plot. Within hours there are thousands of targets. Did you see the movie Pycho? Remember how Norman Bates raised his knife way over his head before stabbing his victim? That is me. I raise my Native S30V over my 6'4" 300lb body and start stabbing ants madly into the contrete, point first, by the way. On a bad day, I stab 1,000 ants. One time, after stabbing 4,000 ants into the concrete, a personal best by the way, I noticed that the inferior heat treated Spdyerco S30V had a micro-chip. I saw it on my laboratory microscope. That stuff is cheap. It should have at least lasted for one more ant. I mean, steel is tougher than concrete. What's with that stuff. Somebody ought to call the Better Business Bureau :D
 
Last edited:
Vivi said:
That seems to be the case.

I do have a question for those that have experienced this. Have any of the knives in S30V that have chipped been made in the last three years, or are they older knives?

*shrug* here's some more reprofiled S30V fun....
Click to expand...
I bought my Native at Walmart about 1 1/2 yrs ago I think. The chips are small, but you can see them and easily feel them.

I like the batoning video. Funnily enough, I was just doing something similar with my Native -- splitting apart wood to make steps for a chicken coop. The blade didn't chip then. It only seems to chip on soft things. :confused: I've re-sharpened enough to get out the chips about three times, and it still keeps chipping.

For comparison, I had a beater Sebenza with an S30V blade as well. I tried to thin out the edge with some agressive sharpening. Not sure exactly what angle I ended up with, I was trying for 20 - 25 degrees. Never had chipping problems.
 
I had a walmart native that chipped but after 2 rounds of sharpening stopped. That was my only experience with it chipping. It seemed to be fairly common but Spyderco seems to have sorted it out.
 
Sure, you can sharpen the chips out, but the edge on my TMag was perfect with a great tip. In 5 days of gentle use, the edge is no longer perfect and the perfect tip is gone. For a $250 state of the art product, this was unexpected.

Big deal? For some, no, others maybe. However, the topic is worthy of discussion, particularly since Crucible has marketed S30V as the sebenza of steels, vetted by Chris Reeves himself, winner of more production knife awards than any other manufacturer. But then, a spyderco ain't CRK and spydercos are not heat treated by Bos. Every cutler I know says it's not so much the steel as the heat treat. That's why I compared my experience to the other steels/heat treatment that I've received this year and used in the same manner.

To me this thread shows that with all the S30V natives out there, that this is not a common problem, but it does happen.
 
Silverdagger said:
A few years ago, on an expedition, I found myself in an abandoned diamond mine in South Africa. Shortly after walking into the entrance I came upon a 4 carrot Diamond that somehow had been missed after decades of mining. I didn't have anything but my S30V Spyderco Native. It was about 9 feet high, so I couldn't get a good shot on it to pop it out of the earth that it had been encased in growing for millions of years. Being so high, I jumped up and stabbed attempted to stab the side of the diamond so it would pop out of it's tomb of eons. As I did so, being human and capable of making a mistake, I mostly hit the diamond head on, with the edge of my Wal Mart Native. My blade got a micro chip. Spyderco's treatment of S30V sucks.
Click to expand...
Right tool for the right job, dammit! It's a knife, not a crowbar, you, you, doggone ant murderer! :D

As DogofWar noted, I also have had problems with S30V, but not just Spyderco, all makers. I haven't noticed chipping, but lousy edge retention. Brownshoe, have you put it under a loupe? Are you sure they are chips and not edge rolling? Someone else recently posted about that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top