Knife steel point of diminishing returns?

[anthony cheeseboro]

I think the point of diminishing returns was hit quite a while ago, but knife nuts love cool new steels. Personally, I love new steals, but a nice design in VG-10, N690, 154CM, Sandvik 1428c, is fine with me too, especially if the price is right. I found an old BM 710 in ATS-34 today for $15, and I am pleased as punch!

 

[ATJ999]

I live on a farm too, I know what the work is like! If you can find a CPM 3V(with a good heat treat) knife you will be set. It sharpens easy like carbon steels, gets extremely sharp, and holds an edge close to S30v(all depending on heat treat)
It also has decent corrosion resistance.

As for the hard to sharpen knives. For a quick 30 second touch up I use any fine/extra fine diamond rod/plate/stone/etc. Do a few swipes on each side with that, then a few of your preferred ceramic Rod/stone/etc. then back to work. I will admit it takes practice. Took me a while to get good at sharpening. I always keep this Lansky Medic on me that has a Diamont rod and ceramic on the side they say the ceramic is for serrated, but I like it for freehand sharpening plain edge blades. It also has two guided angle sharpening deals, but I don't use them. It is about ten bucks at your local store, or buy at a sharpening supplies online store. I carry that and a tiny black surgical Arkansas stone. Those two things sharpen every metal I have, from 420HC to Stellite 6K to 64HRC K390 blades. They do a fantastic job on all of my steels. I have better at home stones, but they work when I'm not home.
I am no expert either, that is just my on the go method. Good luck man!

 

[TLR]

I instruct at a wilderness camp every year. One of the areas I instruct is edged tools. I teach all the kids to sharpen knives. I teach them using silicon carbide sandpaper and a sharpie. The sharpie trick really helps people new to sharpening. It lets you actually see what you're doing. Many people will spend an hour trying to sharpen their knife without ever touching the actual apex of the edge.

Just run a sharpie along the edge of the blade and watch where you are actually grinding the steel off your blade. That takes a massive amount of the guesswork out of free hand sharpening. It will significantly shorten your learning curve and take away one factor as you try to figure out what you're doing right and wrong.

Look for that burr. You should be able to get it to catch on your fingernail as you run it down the height of the blade. Make sure you get that burr off your edge or you will have what feels like a sharp knife go dull very quickly.

 

[Anaries]

I love high-end knife steels, I love to whittle something for one kid, then have the other four ask for the same thing, then show them how the hair flies from Daddy's arm after they've all got a really crappy wooden item. It's good to be the King.

+1 Indeed good to be the king. Good chuckle.

As for sharpening, add one vote for the KME. Idiot proof, smallish learning curve....decently pricey. Good on all steels, lots of optional attachments.

 

[tantrik77]

I love high-end knife steels, I love to whittle something for one kid, then have the other four ask for the same thing, then show them how the hair flies from Daddy's arm after they've all got a really crappy wooden item. I hate sharpening knives, I just do. And I vastly prefer stainless steels, but I love cruforge v, 52100, 3v & some other non-stainless...but I cannot stand oil on my blades - I don't get how any man does??...but then, I'm a snob of the highest caliber...it's Ren or paste wax for me on my non-stainless. So, I've simply acquired so many handmade fixed, all in great steels (by great makers with great HTs), that I can rotate carrying them & never do anything more than a very occasional strop. It's good to be the King.

Great minds and all that... I couldn't have said it better myself. I highly dislike carbon steels except for a select few, I hate oil on my blades, and I cannot stand patinas. I am absolutely a snob of the highest caliber, with everything. I do not dislike sharpening, but I would much rather use my knife than sharpen it. Rotating and touching up is the way to go. :thumbup:

 

[22-rimfire]

Great minds and all that... I couldn't have said it better myself. I highly dislike carbon steels except for a select few, I hate oil on my blades, and I cannot stand patinas. I am absolutely a snob of the highest caliber, with everything. I do not dislike sharpening, but I would much rather use my knife than sharpen it. Rotating and touching up is the way to go. :thumbup:

I felt that way about the more common carbon steels as well. If it was made of 1075 or 1095, I simply wasn't interested unless it was a machete and for a long time, I viewed machetes as something cheap and essentially a throw away item. I have changed and love what I consider good machetes and they are mostly carbon steel or inexpensive stainless steel. Just bought another one yesterday. Need? Nope.

I don't dislike sharpening a knife, but consider it a necessary skill when owning and using knives. I don't like to spend hours sharpening knives. It is not fun for me, just a means to an end.
I also do not particularly like patinas that are somewhat popular here. I prefer my knives to look brand new all the time.

I like the super steels, but I am not particularly focused on them when considering or buying a knife. How could I be when I use Vic SAKs all the time?

 

[Fanglekai]

Most people don't differentiate between shaping and sharpening. Shaping is 95% of the work. You have to grind the bevels to the desired angle on both sides of the apex. Once you are able to reach the edge on both sides at the desired angle then the sharpening takes place, and it doesn't need to take long. Sharpening really is what happens at the edge. It can be done in under a minute. Shaping, however, can take a very long time depending on the tools used.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

I personally don't need anything more than 1095 for my uses. It holds a good edge at a higher hardness, is easy to sharpen and is reasonably tough.

I enjoy the "higher end" steels as well, but feel that most people would be just as well off with a simple carbon steel.

 

[WK ONE]

I like 1095 a lot for a straight up utility blade that gets a lot of use. The fancy side of me prefers S35VN for a relatively low-maintenance stainless blade.

1095 is easy to sharpen, and I love me a forced patina.

 

[Valle]

Most people don't differentiate between shaping and sharpening. Shaping is 95% of the work. You have to grind the bevels to the desired angle on both sides of the apex. Once you are able to reach the edge on both sides at the desired angle then the sharpening takes place, and it doesn't need to take long. Sharpening really is what happens at the edge. It can be done in under a minute. Shaping, however, can take a very long time depending on the tools used.

That is the truth right there.