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kershaw blade hardness??
- Thread starter Donna V
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They do it just right
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I can only speak for the only Kershaw I've had Rockwell tested, and it's the CPM-154 blade on my CF Blur. It's at 60.2. That's fine for me, it's not too soft to not take advantage of the powdered metal toughness, still easy to sharpen. The catalog and website give the 58-60 rating for their 14C28N blades, so it's in there. S30V I'm not entirely sure, so I won't hazard a guess. However the S30V that I've used that comes out of Kershaw and ZT is usually pretty robust in terms of long-term edge retention without maintenance. I'd imagine it's right at 60 in the knives I have, but unless I get the blades tested, I can't say with any real certainty.
For regular use, it kind of depends on your abilities as a sharpener, the time you have, and your maintenance practices. Personally, I try to strop my knife every couple of nights, sometimes each night if I'd done some real cutting or wire stripping/deshielding with it. After I reprofiled the edge down to 16.5 degrees per side, I was able to maintain it at a phone book paper slicing sharpness with that for about two months. Last month, I did a few swipes per side on a Sharpmaker's fine stones and it was razor sharp again.
So, if you are the type to maintain, then the 14C28N will be great. It sharpens very very easily, and takes a fine edge with little work or fine grit polishing. S30V is a little (and I do mean a little) bit more involved to get the same sharpness. S30V will shine if you don't really do that kind of maintenance, and you want to keep cutting after it loses the razor sharp edge. It'll develop a toothy edge that still cuts very well despite it not feeling like it can pop hairs.
For regular use, it kind of depends on your abilities as a sharpener, the time you have, and your maintenance practices. Personally, I try to strop my knife every couple of nights, sometimes each night if I'd done some real cutting or wire stripping/deshielding with it. After I reprofiled the edge down to 16.5 degrees per side, I was able to maintain it at a phone book paper slicing sharpness with that for about two months. Last month, I did a few swipes per side on a Sharpmaker's fine stones and it was razor sharp again.
So, if you are the type to maintain, then the 14C28N will be great. It sharpens very very easily, and takes a fine edge with little work or fine grit polishing. S30V is a little (and I do mean a little) bit more involved to get the same sharpness. S30V will shine if you don't really do that kind of maintenance, and you want to keep cutting after it loses the razor sharp edge. It'll develop a toothy edge that still cuts very well despite it not feeling like it can pop hairs.
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Im going to throw you for a loop and say the composite blade leek with d2 wins for me.
And on the blurs as stick said I personally prefer the cpm154 over s30v.
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I know that they all (14C28N, S30V, 154CM, and CPM-154) are harder than my CRK's S35VN.
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Its in the back of the new catalogue!
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My CRKs lose their edge faster than any other knife I have.
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CRK runs S30V a bit softer than Kershaw does.
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No problem buddy...
Yeah the CRK's I've had have lost there edge faster, but they do grind it thinner then any other S35VN knife I've had.. A friend of mine had BOS do a heat treat on his Sebenza and its a monster now...
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I just had Richard J put a fantastic convex edge on a couple of my knives, including my 'Zaan. Much beefier than CRK's stock edge. Very, very sharp. I started cutting up some cardboard I had laying around, and within a couple dozen cuts it was noticeably duller. The same number of cuts in the same cardboard didn't even phase my S30V Rukus (similarly thick blade). I intend on sending it to Bos to get fixed up, as I very much enjoy the knife, but can't stand how soft it is. Will probably send it to So-Lo for a dark acid/stonewash finish after I do, should look nice.