Cts-xhp. Not impressed.

[singularity35]

Awesome pics and info everyone, thanks! So tomorrow I'm dropping my Techno off at a local sharpening company. I called and the lady who answered said they use water stones and have same-day turn around!
They are a decent size looking place and website appears they do mostly commercial sharpening. She was however familiar with the "spider" knives that often come through. Said mirror finish, specify angles etc on work order and they'll do whatever.
I am going to ask for 15dpi? Then I can touch up easily on the 40 setting of my sharpmaker? I still don't understand why I wouldn't use the 30 since it's the same angle? At any rate I'll post pics tomorrow night see how this comes out. Thanks all!

There's another thread concurrent with this one. One guy had a local sharpener do his knives and was extremely dissatisfied. It's not the tools they use, it's how they use it.

I suggest looking at the work they had done and only then decide. Once metal has been removed, there's no putting it back on.

 

[bleedingfinger]

There's another thread concurrent with this one. One guy had a local sharpener do his knives and was extremely dissatisfied. It's not the tools they use, it's how they use it.

I suggest looking at the work they had done and only then decide. Once metal has been removed, there's no putting it back on.

I found the thread thanks. Wow, that guys really mad! Lol I wouldn't be too happy, but man.. Anyway.
This isn't some guy. It's a big company with a showroom, and I'm in Las Vegas. From the looks of their new location they are doing resorts and such. However... It's all kitchen.
When I go in tomorrow I'm going to see if these are knife guys.
If Noone can produce an edc of their own, with an impressive mirrored edge.. I'm out of there.
But I will definitely want to see some work on knives like this, not just kitchen.
Too bad your in the Philippines, I saw your work on the other thread, I'd just send it to you.
But seriously I did contact a sharpener on here and the mirrored edge on this small blade was pricy in my opinion ($50)... And I'm not so happy to be without my edc. Although I did order a Kershaw 1/2 and a 3/4 ton to use while it's gone, that was before I found this place.
I'll let yall know what I find out tomorrow.

 

[singularity35]

Yah, I sharpen a lot of knives for friends. Too bad we're not near.

 

[bleedingfinger]

So I went to the local sharpener. It was an assemble line of grinding machines like 5 guys grinding away like mad. I left lol...
The great news is when I got home there was a message from our very own Cynic offering to put a mirror polish and razor edge on my techno for me!!
After seeing his work on the waterstones on this thread and others I AM VERY EXCITED. Cynic did this to help a blade brother out and contribute to this fantastic community! He does not sharpen other people's knives, and I appreciate him helping me out like this, Thanks Cynic!
So looks like he's going to take me down to a 12.5dpi and mirror polish the bevel. All by hand on Japanese waterstones... The knife will be in his hands tomorrow. This thread will get pics of the finished result!.. Woo hoo

 

[singularity35]

So I went to the local sharpener. It was an assemble line of grinding machines like 5 guys grinding away like mad. I left lol...
The great news is when I got home there was a message from our very own Cynic offering to put a mirror polish and razor edge on my techno for me!!
After seeing his work on the waterstones on this thread and others I AM VERY EXCITED. Cynic did this to help a blade brother out and contribute to this fantastic community! He does not sharpen other people's knives, and I appreciate him helping me out like this, Thanks Cynic!
So looks like he's going to take me down to a 12.5dpi and mirror polish the bevel. All by hand on Japanese waterstones... The knife will be in his hands tomorrow. This thread will get pics of the finished result!.. Woo hoo

Awesome!. Your knife will be a freakin' laser at that angle and polish.

 

[TheGearGuy]

I put a dual bevel on my Techno as soon as I got it, like I do with all of my knives. I gave it a mirror polished 50 degree inclusive secondary bevel and a 60 degree inclusive primary bevel. I chose a rather obtuse bevel because the blade is so thick and I wanted to use it for utility purposes, so I went for durability.
After 5 weeks of daily use it was still perfect until I had to cut the front and back covers off of 30 hardcover books for a work project on Monday. I did this on a table that was covered with an HDPE sheet so that I was not cutting on a metal surface. This finally rolled a 1/2" of my edge over near the tip and wore a tiny low spot in the belly.
It took about 5 minutes to clean it up with an 800 grit stone and 5-10 minutes of polishing with a 2000 grit stone to bring it back. Luckily the low spot was not deep enough to require a total re-profile.
All in all, I have to say I'm satisfied with the steel performance.

 

[Cynic2701]

I offered to put a mirror edge on bleedingfinger's Techno, and he mailed it out to me this weekend. Since I hadn't really had much interest in the Techno - I'm left handed and have a few left handed framelocks already - I was surprised at how small it was. Spyderco did a good job with the primary grind on this--much better than what Strider does. In fact, I will say that the fit and finish on the Techno is objectively better than that of an SNG. If you are looking for something PT sized, the Techno would be my recommendation over the PT.

Heres' the mirror edge:



And here it is in comparison to a few other framelocks:

 

[bleedingfinger]

Wow. That's awesome! I have never had a real sharpening done on a knife . I can not wait to cut with it! Thanks Cynic and bladeforums.
I will be having a giveaway of the inexpensive Kershaw I carried for the few days my techno was gone,in appreciation of Cynics helping me out.
Now we'll see about this Cts-xhp! I have a feeling it's going to be just fine!
So cynic what where the factory bevels set at?
Earlier in this thread people mentioned factory sharpening issues and getting down to the "good steel" so I'll update this thread after an equal amount of use on this new edge.

 

[Cynic2701]

I'm not sure what the factory bevels were, but they were much more obtuse than what I put on there. I'd guess around 17-19 degrees per side.

 

[calc]

Well, with factory edge even PM2 S30V was worse than PM2 S30V with new edge made by me.

I appreciate the video. Yes, factory edges are rarely ideal. Sharpening your knife is like breaking in raw denim jeans; some things just have to be done yourself, otherwise what's the point?

I'm carrying an XHP military at the moment and for the past week. I have used this knife a lot and I have the bevel angle at 15 Dps with a micro bevel of around 17 dps done with fine sharpmaker rods. I like it quite well. I do think that XHP does better with a polished edge.

I agree, a polished edge is where XHP shines. It's not going to outlast S30V with a toothy edge.

Btw, how do you like the Millie? I've been holding out on one because the Para 2's about as big a handle as I'm willing to go, but something about the Millie keeps calling my name.

CTS-XHP does very well with thin bevels and a highly refined edge. You might try lowering your edge angles a bit.

This has been my experience. It benefits from things that other PM steels don't, yet retains some of the benefits. It's an interesting steel, to be sure.

I am going to ask for 15dpi? Then I can touch up easily on the 40 setting of my sharpmaker? I still don't understand why I wouldn't use the 30 since it's the same angle? At any rate I'll post pics tomorrow night see how this comes out. Thanks all!

When you sharpen using the 40 setting on a 30, you're doing this (excuse the rough drawing, obviously the angles aren't to scale):

Whether that's a positive or a negative depends on what you're trying to do.

EDIT: I obviously missed some posts today while working on the drawings, sorry guys!

 

[singularity35]

Btw, how do you like the Millie? I've been holding out on one because the Para 2's about as big a handle as I'm willing to go, but something about the Millie keeps calling my name.

G10/CF millies are my favorite knives. I really can't decide which one among my militaries is my favorite, cruwear, XHP, S30V, or M390. They're all equally desirable to me as work knives.

 

[calc]

G10/CF millies are my favorite knives. I really can't decide which one among my militaries is my favorite, cruwear, XHP, S30V, or M390. They're all equally desirable to me as work knives.

How do they compare to the Para 2 or Bradley? The Para 2 is the most comfortable handle to be, whereas the Bradley has the most functional blade shape. Basically, I'm looking for an excuse to grab a Millie.

 

[Cynic2701]

How do they compare to the Para 2 or Bradley? The Para 2 is the most comfortable handle to be, whereas the Bradley has the most functional blade shape. Basically, I'm looking for an excuse to grab a Millie.

Although I find the Para 2 to be very comfortable to hold, I find that the Military causes less fatigue when I use it hard--I never use the choil, though.

 

[3rdGenRigger]

Although I find the Para 2 to be very comfortable to hold, I find that the Military causes less fatigue when I use it hard--I never use the choil, though.

I also prefer the Military (By a small margin) to the PM2 while doing heavy work for one reason. If I'm wearing gloves the PM2 is cramped, and when I'm wearing gloves the Millie is absolutely perfect for deployment or closing, but is also good without gloves. The PM2 is perfect until I'm wearing gloves. I still prefer the PM2 overall, but when I'm at work I'm wearing gloves half the time and as such the Millie is a better fit as far as ergonomics and lock actuation. That and I find CPM CruWear to be a phenomenal steel for general tasks on a construction site, and there is no CruWear PM2 (Yet I hope), though I do find 204P to be exceptionally capable.

 

[Peroni1973]

I wish you well. For whatever reason I have struggled to get XHP as sharp as all my other knives. I have tried and tried. Now I avoid it.

 

[singularity35]

How do they compare to the Para 2 or Bradley? The Para 2 is the most comfortable handle to be, whereas the Bradley has the most functional blade shape. Basically, I'm looking for an excuse to grab a Millie.

My preference is my own obviously, but I like the FFG of the military more than I like the HHG of the GB. I'm just more comfortable bearing down with or doing fine work with the grip options of the military than the para. My grip tension on the military feels more natural when cutting harder materials. I find I have to consciously grip harder with the para which fatigues me faster.

 

[uofaengr]

How do they compare to the Para 2 or Bradley? The Para 2 is the most comfortable handle to be, whereas the Bradley has the most functional blade shape. Basically, I'm looking for an excuse to grab a Millie.

You won't be disappointed with a Military. I was a Para 2 guy, then a GB guy, and then I got a Millie. No it's not as smooth and doesn't flip as easy and all that, but let's just say when it comes to Spydercos I'm a Military guy now. Para 2 is still a great knife, but when it comes time to do some work, I find myself reaching for the Millie instead.

 

[RIPtastic]

So I went to the local sharpener. It was an assemble line of grinding machines like 5 guys grinding away like mad. I left lol...
The great news is when I got home there was a message from our very own Cynic offering to put a mirror polish and razor edge on my techno for me!!
After seeing his work on the waterstones on this thread and others I AM VERY EXCITED. Cynic did this to help a blade brother out and contribute to this fantastic community! He does not sharpen other people's knives, and I appreciate him helping me out like this, Thanks Cynic!
So looks like he's going to take me down to a 12.5dpi and mirror polish the bevel. All by hand on Japanese waterstones... The knife will be in his hands tomorrow. This thread will get pics of the finished result!.. Woo hoo

I'm glad you decided to hightail it out of there before they hacked up your blade. Definitley never let a sharpening service like that that churns out hundreds of blades an hour with little to no care of the details a knife nut would sharpen their knives with. Your in good hands now but I would urge you to keep practicing and find a method of sharpening that your comfortable with. W ether its with bench stones or a system like the edge pro you'll find a big sense of pride once you start producing your own wicked sharp edges. Sharpening is almost a whole other hobby on its own. A lot to learn.

 

[@LeathermanGX]

I've never used a sharpening system, so I can't comment on their results. I use a Spyderco ceramic bench stone. My Native sharpens up quick and hair poppin'.
Spydercos s30v is really close in performance. I can't see going out of my way for XHP again. Spyderco just does s30v so well.

 

[bleedingfinger]

Well alright, update time! I received my techno back from cynic a few days ago. The sharpening job dropped my jaw. Wow!
I press it against something and that something slices open.. lol laser like!
I know the mirrored bevel isn't the cutting edge but man it also LOOKS sharp... And gorgeous!
Like liquid metal. Unreal.
So as luck would have it I've had more than average number of cutting jobs pop up last few days and a couple that where similar to what I believe quickly dulled the factory edge.
There is no noticeable dulling.. I am convinced the factory sharpening was the culprit not the steel. I'll continue to test and take note however. So far excellent performance.
Now when I'm not playing with my knife, I'm polishing smudges off the bevels... Lol its a sickness.
Knives are great and hobbies are fun. People are what really makes anything in this life worthwhile. Cynic went out of his way to hook me up and give me the knife experience that people like us want.
Once again, thank you.. . Cynic is a class act, and a great asset to this community.
Here's some pics...