Endura, ZDP-189 or VG-10 for hard use?

[Disciple]

I wish to get a Spyderco Endura, serrated, for hard use.

I am deciding between the VG-10 and ZDP-189 versions, and I turn to the Bladeforums brain trust for help.

Most of the time this knife will see moderate duty, cutting foam, rope, or anything else a serrated blade does well, but it will sometimes see hard use, and perhaps even extreme use. An example of extreme use, to my mind, is cutting a steel belted tire across the tread, as Cliff Stamp did with an Atlantic Salt.

I wish the knife to remain serviceably sharp for as long as possible under moderate use, which I believe favors the ZDP, but I do not want an instance of extreme use to destroy an $80 knife. Is the ZDP too brittle for this, or will any chipping be small enough that it can be sharpened out? Consider that I will not be sharpening the knife myself in this case, but sending it back to Spyderco.

Please advise. Thank you.

 

[spyken]

I would say go for VG10. Cheaper.

 

[yablanowitz]

I don't really use serrated blades much, but I do know that my VG-10 E4 is in a box on the shelf, and my ZDP-189 E4 goes to work with me. ZDP will hold an edge much longer in moderate use. As for chipping under heavy use, I know it can happen on the PE blades, but I have managed to chip almost every kind of steel I have used for long, except for a couple that were too soft to chip. I have seen Spyderco restore some pretty trashed edges, so I'm sure they can take the chips out if it does happen.

On a more personal opinion note, using any knife to do a job that should be reserved for a hacksaw (such as cutting through a steel belted tire) goes beyond extreme use and well into the catagory of abuse.

 

[Danbo]

VG10. It was designed for the horticulture grafting industry, and is plenty strong.

 

[Disciple]

I would say go for VG10. Cheaper.

I am not sure if that is one comment or two. If the sole reason you recommend the VG-10 is price, and if the ZDP holds an edge proportionally better without other drawbacks, ZDP wins, IMHO.

On a more personal opinion note, using any knife to do a job that should be reserved for a hacksaw (such as cutting through a steel belted tire) goes beyond extreme use and well into the catagory of abuse.

I agree that it is abuse, but there are times that one must manage with the tools one has on him. One does not plan such situations, but it is nice to be as prepared as possible, nevertheless. The hardest use I actually foresee is cutting plastic and leather.

I would not have thought it was possible to cut through a tire like that with a knife at all (I figured there was much more steel), but since Cliff Stamp did it and then cut a tomato with an Atlantic Salt, it seems like a good example of extreme, yet not totally impossible, use.

VG10. It was designed for the horticulture grafting industry, and is plenty strong.

I take this to mean that you feel the ZDP-189 is not plenty strong?

 

[yablanowitz]

I suspect he feels that the ZDP is not worth its price tag. VG-10 is excellent steel, and for the average user, it is more than adequate. I use my knives very hard, and because of that I prefer the ZDP and feel that it is worth the extra cost. Heck, my ZDP Endura has even made it through the workday without sharpening once or twice. I can't say the same for my VG-10 Endura.

Two things to note here:
1) My knife use is not typical. I work building maintenance - demolition, construction, renovation - around a lot of concrete and ceramic tile.
2) I don't use serrated blades very much, and I have never tried one in ZDP-189. All my comparisons have been PE to PE.

 

[Disciple]

yablanowitz, thank you.

Why do you choose plain-edge knives?

 

[yablanowitz]

Mostly for ease of sharpening (serrations are a pain in the rear to sharpen) and smoother, straighter cutting. Serrated works okay for demolition work, when it doesn't matter what the cuts look like, but I do a lot of finish work as well. Plus there is the small factor that 99% of the serrated blades out there are chisel ground, which means an asymmetric grind, which causes them to drift to one side unless you are REALLY diligent. I find that annoying as all get out, so I stick with PE for 95% of my cutting. I do carry a C44 Dyad, and I use the SE blade more than the PE, but overall, it doesn't get used much.