Endura ZDP-189

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ricklee4570

Joined
Aug 12, 2010
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A friend told me that the Endura with the full flat grind in ZDP-189 has become the best "edge-holder" in the Spyderco line.

What do you guys think, fact or fiction?

Also, whats a good price for one?
 
I was unaware that ZDP bladesteel was available in full flat grind on the Endura. Thought it was only flat saber grind. Where have you see full flat ground Endruas in ZDP? Link?
 
I do not know about best edge holder but it holds up great in everyday use. As for price mine was in the high $80 range and is full flat grind. Good value if you ask me. Only available in the green FRN handle I believe.
 
Thanks for the link. I have never seen these for sale anywhere. Did not even know they exsisted. I even toyed with the idea of sending a ZDP model off to Tom Krein to get it flat ground. Now I've got to pencil one of these on the "gotta have" list. :o
 
Does your friend own and use Spyderco knives with every blade steel they've ever offered? If not, what is his standard of comparison? ZDP-189 is certainly high up on the list, and I can honestly say it has the best edge holding of any steel I've used. But then, I've never used BG-42, CPM S90V, M4, D2, CTS XHP, and probably a couple others. Even then the question would become "best edge holding while doing what".

Paul
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The Deacon said:
"best edge holding while doing what?".
Click to expand...

While I agree with pretty much everything you said, this is the portion of your post that hits that nail pretty squarely on the head.

To go a bit further, there is a really good reason that companies like Spyderco offer many varieties of steel in their normal offerings. There are a lot of users and uses...not everyone will have the same preferences in steel.
 
I wouldn't really say the best in Spyderco knives. It is the best in the Endura line though. ZDP is a pain in the ass to sharpen, but it holds an edge well. VG10 is easier to sharpen, but it holds an edge well too. I've seen some used ones for $60 in the Sale section of BF.
 
You can get the Endura 4 ZDP for $78.99 plus free shipping. The ZDP steel is great. A little hard to resharpen. Once you notice it starts to loose it's edge you'll want to resharpen rather quickly otherwise it will be very difficult!
 
I've personally dealt with Poorfish. Just send them an email asking what kind of grind they have on it. Sometimes the pictures and products don't match.
 
The changeover from flat saber grind to full flat grind is fairly recent and was done with almost no fanfare. As far as it being the edgeholding champ, I'd say that is true if you are talking about current production knives only. It comes in a ways behind the S90V sprint runs of Military and Manix 2 in my use. YMMV.
 
Just to add a tidbit of info, the guy on here who does scientific-ish edge retention tests on steels ranks the zdp-189 #3 behind dozier D-2 and spyderco CTS-XHP. I believe the XHP is only in the manix 2 and maybe some smaller models? I am considering a carbon fiber stretch in ZDP-189 and have done a lot of reading on the steel and it seems to be pretty much a consensus that it is one of the super steels in terms of edge holding. But that is also almost always qualified with a comment about how it is a pain to re-sharpen, which I'm also seeing in reference to S90V. Seems to be a pretty usual give and take.
 
ZDP is hard and won't roll, but I think that's about it. Its tight grain is super impressive for "Look what I cut!" sort of pictures, but I think S90V is more wear resistant.

I'm still smitten with H1, it never chips and never rolls, even cutting SANDY ropes. I wish my camera would pick up the damage on my knife from sand. It's to the point where I have a mirror polish on Serration #1, starting from the tang.
 
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