If they're going to retire 15V, Maxamet, and Rex 121, what are they going to replace them with?

katguy said:
IMO, these are niche steels that don't have any reasonable real-world use cases and they don't need replacing. Sort of like having a special Corvette that only comes out of the garage for an occasional Sunday drive around town. It's not really useful (other than for collecting).

S90V, S110V have great edge retention and decent toughness and there's lots of models to select from. If you think you really need a knife with better edge retention than S90V, I would suggest you buy a utility knife with switchable blades.

These steels are too hard to machine and process, too hard to sharpen, too brittle for many tasks, too expensive... good riddance IMO.
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Maybe so on rex-121, I can't say cause I'm hesitant to test one. However, 15v in real world use is the most "bad to the bone" steel ive had the chance to use. Very practical steel. Pry on zipties, bump into rocks, etc. Kudos to DeadboxHero DeadboxHero and Sal Glesser Sal Glesser for creating my favorite work knife. Millie 2 in 15v.
 
P2P said:
Maybe so on rex-121, I can't say cause I'm hesitant to test one. However, 15v in real world use is the most "bad to the bone" steel ive had the chance to use. Very practical steel. Pry on zipties, bump into rocks, etc. Kudos to DeadboxHero DeadboxHero and Sal Glesser Sal Glesser for creating my favorite work knife. Millie 2 in 15v.
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BTW Sal Glesser Sal Glesser if you guys have any proto military 1's in 15v hanging around. I'll use it well, I promise I won't tell anyone about it lol.
 
Danke42 said:
This green's pretty dark and it's open.

IxBX5aC.jpg
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Isn’t that the same green as used on the KnifeWorks exclusives?
 
Just got to playing with my PM2 in 15V. It's an interesting steel. Now, mind you, I was breaking down a cardboard box that I got an Ebike shipped in, so really double thick, heavy filthy stuff. Not at all easy on any knife.

But I will say, the 15V edge was thrashed, it was folded over all over the belly, and I ended up using mostly the tip of the knife and score the box down rather than make exceedingly hard push cuts. I should have taken some photos, but I figured its not really a big deal. What was nice - the 15V was REALLY easy to sharpen and bring back up to a fine edge.

I run the older version of the Ken Onion worksharp grinder attachment to sharpen knives. A few passes on the coarse belt removed the folds, and using a few passes on the heavy, medium, and fine belts brought it back to sharp with no indication there was ever damage. It really reminded me of sharpening a budget knife, like something in 14c28n, or even an 8cr13Mov. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, but thought I would share my experience.

Attached photo is from well before the cutting, obviously.
 

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I have a Spyderco Lil’ Native in 15v as well as a regular one in S30v. My Lil’ Native 15v holds an edge MUCH longer than the one in S30v, not much of a surprise there. I am surprised that I can sharpen the 15v on my Spyderco ceramic stones. I have been told that I need diamond plates and I do indeed have three different plates with differing grits from DMT. They do a great job but I am surprised at the ease of sharpening that steel with ceramic.
To be honest, being an office worker, I could get be by very happily with Spyderco’s S30v steel. I must also admit that I am really happy with the 15v blade steel. Sorry to hear that it is out of production for now.
 
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DavidABQ said:
I am surprised that I can sharpen the 15v on my Spyderco ceramic stones. I have been told that I need diamond plates and I do indeed have three different plates with differing grits from DMT. They do a great job but I am surprised at the ease of sharpening that steel with ceramic.
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I'm surprised to read this...but happy if that's the case.

Has anyone else had the same result with ceramic and 15V?
 
Blues said:
I'm surprised to read this...but happy if that's the case.

Has anyone else had the same result with ceramic and 15V?
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im surprised also.....I dont understand how it would work? need some blade scientists back in here to explain...... asap
 
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Have to say I would assume 15V on ceramic would be more talk of the ceramic wearing the steel and tearing out the carbides which isn't the same thing as sharpening the edge.

Same thing I was told why I used to have such a hairy with D2 sharpening on my old Lansky sharpener with the aluminum oxide and ceramic stones.

Went diamonds and I would quit pocket knives before I would give them up. Total game changer.
 
SharpBits said:
Stones work on some, ceramics work on some, diamond works on all. I don't understand the reluctance to use diamonds.
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Highest of high fives

A friend asked me to sharpen an little Old Timer 30T. It's probably 7cr or similar so it's steel you could sharpen on the bottom edge of your coffee mug. It took longer to lock in the Work Sharp clamp than it did to sharpen it.

Diamonds sharpen all.
 
I don't use diamonds on basic stainless steels like found on my wife's Victorinox paring knives, as well as Boker / Tramontina 440 series kitchen knives.
Diamonds can be used on them, but I don't, as a rule.

I do use diamonds on my higher end tool and stainless steels.
 
Blues said:
I don't use diamonds on basic stainless steels like found on my wife's Victorinox paring knives, as well as Boker / Tramontina 440 series kitchen knives.
Diamonds can be used on them, but I don't, as a rule.

I do use diamonds on my higher end tool and stainless steels.
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Oh you for sure don't need to, they just make everything so easy. Even simple to sharpen steels cut that much better. When I first started to use the Work Sharp I tried it out on some cheap chinese knives to risk them over anything good. I was shocked how quick they chewed through 8cr, 440, and similar. My Tenacious had never had such a crazy sharp edge. It really taught me you do not need a heavy hand and to just let the diamonds do their thing.

I'm also forgetting the fact that the diamond plates don't dish out. Stones and ceramics wear that bar of soap scoop into them that need to be flattened. Not plates.

Sorry, I swear I'm not getting paid to sell diamond plates. Would be pretty rad if I was. If I convinced anyone. Am I an influencer? I doubt it.
 
SharpBits said:
Stones work on some, ceramics work on some, diamond works on all. I don't understand the reluctance to use diamonds.
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I use diamonds to re-profile and to fix deeper chips and rolls. I do not use diamonds for 'normal' sharpening (no major damage). Diamonds are very aggressive and remove a lot of material. There's no need to do that for normal sharpening. Spyderco ceramics or Shapton Kuromaku stones work fine on K390, 15V, etc. for 'normal' sharpening.

Edit: The guy on youtube complaining about the tip being exposed on his SpyderCo Rex-121 Sage... he had re-profiled that knife (with diamonds) several times. Shocking, I know. And then he complains about how much material had been removed so much material, in fact, that the tip is now exposed and it's a defect, etc. He must not be too bright.
 
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Not that anyone cares, but meanwhile I’m still here with my stoneage 1095 knives. If they discontinue 1095, time to yell at the clouds.

Jokes aside, that’s a bummer.
 
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