Is VG-1 chippy?

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Krissig12

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Sep 11, 2013
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Just ordered a CS Master Hunter, and was wondering how prone to chipping the VG-1 is. The knife should be tough because its laminated, but the edge (VG-1) might be a bit brittle under harder use. At least thats the general feeling I got from reviews and such. Does anyone have any experience with this knife or even just this steel? Anyone ever hard use their san mai III Master Hunters?

And for those into edge geometry, what would be the best angle to reprofile to in order to get greater resistance to chipping, but not be too thick to slice well?
 
I have a Cold Steel Voyager in straight VG1 (not laminated). I've not had any problems with chipping.

My feeling is that if you use it as a hunting knife you should be fine. But I would not use it to baton through wood.
 
Interesting, thanks. But Im just curious as to why batonning would chip the edge? Maybe if you were to hit a knot in the wood, but if the peice your splitting is not too messed up, I cant see how it would chip the edge :confused:

I picked the Master Hunter because I hoped it would be a good all around camp knife and smaller, "jack of all trades" survival/bushcrafting knife. I dont hunt as of right now, but I still thought the Master Hunter to be a good choice due to its thick blade, ffg, and medium-small size. I was under the impression that it could handle some light batonning (thick blade and laminated steel), but maybe I was wrong and the edge will be the part that fails under that type of use
 
It is quite durable for a stainless blade, granted it won't be as resistant to chipping as a carbon steel like 1095 or something, but you are getting a little added rust protection and the knife won't stain as much after cleaning animals. It holds an edge better then some other stainless steels.
 
I have a chefs knife in VG-1, it seems to stay sharp for a good amount of time, a friend of my mom chipped up the blade pretty bad carving a turkey last year, I'm still trying to pull the chips out. But as long as your not going around smacking the blade into bones you should b fine
 
Krissig12 said:
Interesting, thanks. But Im just curious as to why batonning would chip the edge? Maybe if you were to hit a knot in the wood, but if the peice your splitting is not too messed up, I cant see how it would chip the edge
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Batonning requires impact toughness. Impact toughness is not something that stainless alloys containing 1% carbon are famous for. Stainless steels that contain 1% carbon provide edge retention, not toughness. For batonning, I'd go for one of the Cold Steel SK 5 blades. Those are 1085 Carbon steel, much tougher than any 1% Carbon stainless.

VG1 holds an edge about as well as VG10, ATS34, or 154CM; and the compositions are similar. Based on that I would guess that they all have reasonably similar impact toughness when hardened to the same hardness, though I have not seen any specific numbers. (As I said above, I have not experienced any chipping issues with my Voyager, but then I use it for general cutting purposes, not batonning.)

But the San Mai III blades, with their outer laminations of softer steel, are designed to be tougher than the straight core alloy by itself. Maybe it could be batonned without damage.
 
Thats what I was saying! :)

I know the san mai III blade as a whole can probably stand the impact of batoning, but I was wondering if the edge itself could stand it. From your earlier post I thought you were stating it couldnt, so I replied with my question of WHY it would chip the edge. But now I think Im satisfied. I seriously doubt it will chip while batonning, but maybe chopping will be a bigger issue? (more impact force on the edge)

And thank you for the info on the edge retention. Im glad to hear that it DOES hold a decent edge, as Ive heard a some people saying it may have been a downgrade from Aus-8.... Seems that was false afterall. Good to know! :thumbup:

Cant wait till it gets here on Friday! I just know Im gonna love it. The blade shape is very simple and elegant, the steel appears to be a good choice, and I love the look of the satin after so much time spent with my coated SRK. I have the SRK in aus-8 and have been using it for over a year now with no issues. Its a great knife, but a bit to big for general utility. Hope the MH doesnt disappoint *crosses fingers*:D
 
the vg 1 core is soft, it will bend the tip or roll the edge, not snap or chip. my r1 military classic can attest.
 
I used a Trail master in SanMai for years. Chopping, battoning. No issues with the edge on that knife.
 
Thanks all, good to know. There have been many mixed reports so I just wanted clarification. And what better place than BF?:thumbup:

Derek, you said the VG-1 was soft? Isnt the point of laminating the blade so that they could run the core steel (VG-1) harder? Then why would it be soft? :confused:
 
I would've bought a magnum warcraft tanto long ago but I've had my doubts about this steel as well. Strange to me that a long blade like that, more akin to a short sword than a knife, would be constructed of a harder stainless steel instead of carbon, especially since it is only available in a coated blade.
 
crystalEyes said:
I would've bought a magnum warcraft tanto long ago but I've had my doubts about this steel as well. Strange to me that a long blade like that, more akin to a short sword than a knife, would be constructed of a harder stainless steel instead of carbon, especially since it is only available in a coated blade.
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Have the magnum Warcraft's been released yet? In what way would a large knife benefit from a stainless blade over a carbon steel one? I don't understand the context of your opinion on blade coatings?
 
Krissig12 said:
Just ordered a CS Master Hunter, and was wondering how prone to chipping the VG-1 is. The knife should be tough because its laminated, but the edge (VG-1) might be a bit brittle under harder use. At least thats the general feeling I got from reviews and such. Does anyone have any experience with this knife or even just this steel? Anyone ever hard use their san mai III Master Hunters?

And for those into edge geometry, what would be the best angle to reprofile to in order to get greater resistance to chipping, but not be too thick to slice well?
Click to expand...

Without issue, I have field dressed and butchered plenty of whitetail deer with a SanMai III master hunter plus, including splitting the pelvic bone with it before removing the sphincter. The SanMai III has not chipped or cracked on me yet.
 
That's good to know about the San Mai III blades as I had heard mixed reviews about San Mai chipping. It makes sense to me that it wouldn't though. Thanks for the backup to that question.
 
00stormbringer said:
Have the magnum Warcraft's been released yet? In what way would a large knife benefit from a stainless blade over a carbon steel one? I don't understand the context of your opinion on blade coatings?
Click to expand...

Edited: Disregard my previous post. For some reason I thought the magnum warcraft was constructed of vg-1, not carbon. I'm an idiot.
 
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Well, the knife just arrived!
Love it, but im a little surprised how small it is. And how....IDK, straight, it is? Its gonna take a little getting used to, having so many knives that have an ergonomic curve to them.
However, the knife itself is amazing. I love the look of the blade and from my early testing, the vg-1 has held up without any edge degradation or noticable loss of sharpness. No chips, rolls, etc either. I tried a bit of light chopping, batonning, push cuts through wood, and carving, and it has held up nicely. Came screamin sharp too. This blade is sweet! Cant wait to take it camping over summer :thumbup:
 
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