Chips in S30V blades?

L.O. Little

L.O. Little

Joined
Dec 28, 2000
Messages
760
I started seeing TINY chips/flat spots in my S30V AR blade a few weeks ago, after mild use. Now, I'm hearing from Sebenza owners having the same problem. Has anybody seen this on their Striders?

I have a very strong feeling this problem has NOTHING to do with either Strider or Chris Reeve Knives. This is NOT a cut to Mick, Duane, or anybody at Strider. I think it's just a bump in the learning curve concerning the sharpening of S30V blades. My ATS-34 DB and BG-42 Sebenza have never had this problem. It's probably just a wire edge being produced that's really hard (for me) to see.

Here are the Sebenza threads:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=224094


http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=224548

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=224889
 
Nope. No chips, my AR is fine and I have been putting it to pretty aggressively. Also, I haven't sharpened it yet. Just a few touch up strokes on the white Spyderco stone.
 
Hmmm...
This is the first i have heard of this.
I know that S30V does form tend to form a wire edge.
Can you take a close up of it?

If you like you can send it in and Ill give it the once over.

Mick
 
Mick, I'd send you pictures of the edge, but my wifes camera can't get decent close ups. I appreciate your offer for me to send my AR to you, but I don't believe it's worth sending it in. I really think it's just a wire edge that I can't see. The fact that Sebenza owners are seeing this same symptom leads me to believe it has nothing to do with the manufacturing or heat treat processes.

In other words, I need to learn the best way to sharpen S30V. Your product and customer service, as usual, are superb.
 
I've read somewhere that due to the hard nature of S30V, the wire edge can be taken off over time by using the knife to cut. So the effect will be that the blade gets sharper as you use it, since the wire edge is getting worn off. Might want to try that.

Have you tried stropping? It really works wonders on those tricky wire edges.
 
"Have you tried stropping?"

Yeah, kind of. I have an old belt I use, but there's no grinding compound or whatever on it.

"I've read somewhere that due to the hard nature of S30V, the wire edge can be taken off over time by using the knife to cut. So the effect will be that the blade gets sharper as you use it, since the wire edge is getting worn off. Might want to try that."

That's what I'm doing right now. Don't get me wrong, this is not a big deal. I really think it's just me getting used to sharpening a new steel. I LIKE sharpening knives.

What's up with the S30V Sebenza owners is beyond me. They're freaking out, yet none of them have actually contacted Chris Reeve. I'm definitely not freaking. I'm LEARNING...
 
"What's a wire edge?"

Well, it's a little ole knife enthusiast that resides in Indiana!!
 
"What is a wire edge?"

A burr is produced when you sharpen a blade. A wire edge is kind of a very small, very thin burr. The 'perfect' working edge has little or no burr, wire edge, etc.
 
Lynn,

Give me a yell sometime and I can take some closeups of the blade. Shelby convinced me to get a really great camera. :D

Zach
 
Sorry I came late to the game, but I haven't been checking in on BFC as much as I used to.

Mine had the same little flat spots on the edge when it was first delivered. These spots would reflect light if outlined with a lighted loupe. No big deal, it cut smoothly.

At first I thought these were marks from the blade hitting the assembly screws when the knife was closed, but my blade sits high. The first sharpening took these spots out, and I just checked the blade and they have not returned, however my knife sees light use.

The bigger problem was on my wife's Boa. There is a type of chip called 'concoidal fracture.' It's a round fracture like a chip out of the bottom of a beer bottle. Her CPM-440V blade had a big one right out of the box, and a devil to polish out.

My take on this is like monitoring miles-per-gallon. Nice info to know, but not much to do anything about. If my knife chips, I'll polish it to a finer degree. They do that with connecting rods on cars to keep small cracks from becoming bigger ones. Worst case, I leave it chipped and send it to Mick for inspection.
 
When you say "chips", are you absolutely sure they're chips? You've looked at them under magnification, and they're definitely not indents? I've seen indents on talonite that look like chips until you get a very close look at them. The reason I bring that up is because of all the initial predictions that S30V (at least as Reeves hardens it, don't know how hard Strider leaves it) would be extra tough, but weak enough to indent at times when BG-42/ATS-34 wouldn't. Now you're saying you see just the opposite!

Joe
 
My loupe is about 4-power. My flat spots did not look like a clean edge being folded over; for that I use a high polished steel to ease the fold back into place. My flat spots were not symmetrical, they appeared a bit ragged. Again, mine were very MINOR. For example, I have cut open a UPS box and hit a staple. That leaves a bigger mark.

I also have seen a chip on a CQC7 where metal has been lost. The chip looks like a little 'pie cut' on the edge.

I also believe that CPM-440V (now S60V) is more brittle than S30V. Of course, I have not had my AR that long.
 
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