Determining factors on edge-retention?

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Sep 21, 2002
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I would like a knife that is nice and sharp, stays that way for a long time and can be re-sharpened fairly easy with a Sharpmaker (with diamond hones).

But my actual question is broader... What does determine the edge-retention on a knife... I have made a list... Please comment or complete my list.

-Use of the knife: opening letters or carving wood... the kind and amount of use.
-Blade geometry: what is the overall form of the blade (hawkbill, clippoint, wharncliff...). Wich form suits wich use?
-Grind: How is the edge itself designed? Serrated or plain? Flat grind or Chisel or...? I know serrated holds a longer edge... wich grind supports the edge best... I suppose it is hollow grind...
-Hardening of the steel/heat treatment: I understand that next to the type of steel used, it's heat treatment is also very important. What are the pro and cons of hardening very hard? What about differential heat treating, a softer center and harder edge...?
-The kind of steel used: Stainless or not (Carbonsteel should be better). S90V will probaly outperform AUS-6. I this the most imporatant factor?
-Edge-coating: does a coating on the edge itself favor the edge retention... More general, is a coating a good thing for a knife? The new high tech coatings would be very hard and such... won't they chip or crack?

Cliff Stamp states the wear resistance is not that important for edge retention but that the hardness of the edge is. Can we say as a ground rule: The sharper your edge is, the fewer it will last? Can razor-sharp and low maintenance be joined?

Lastly, if you have any knife in particular that seems to be both very sharp and having a nice edge-retention, please tell me.
 
Big question. There are many factors that make up edge-holding ability in a knife. Abrasion resistance is important, but so is impact resistance. Which is more important depends on the kind of cutting you're doing.

If most of your cutting is slicing high-abrasive materials like cardboard or manila rope, abrasion resistance is more crucial than impact resistance.

However, if the knife is a chopper, impact resistance is more important because the edge will degrade faster from micro-chipping.

The type of steel does make a difference, and the heat treat and edge geometry are all paramount. See the piece by Joe Talmadge on steel types in the FAQ area.

As for the best balaance between edge-retention and low maintenance, or ease of maintenance, 52100 hits that sweet spot for me better than anything else. No other blade steel that I have tried that is as easy to sharpen as 52100 holds an edge as well as it does.

I know that didn't really answer your question, but maybe it helped some. Happy research!:)
 
Koolstof,

If you need the diamond stones on your sharpmaker to handle your resharpening needs, then you are going way too long between sharpenings. Once you have a good edge, you should easily be able to resharpen your knife with the regular stones. The diamond stones are primarily used for reprofiling.

Mike
 
That's right, but I do reprofile some older blades... I try to keep the newer ones in good condition. Thx.
 
What kind of knife can make 3,000 cuts of 1 inch hemp rope beetween sharpenings?

Just one. Check this out.

I don't know why more people don't have these knives. These arn't like those miracle knives on TV, these are the real thing..

I have one of his earlier knives and have had a great experiance with it.
 
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