Short Version: H1 is great stuff. It is corrosion PROOF, it grinds easily for sharpening and reprofiling, it will take a beautiful polished hair whittling sharp edge and is quite tough. The SE H1 folder I have also shows edge holding around the level of S30V.
Long Version:
If there's one thing I've come to think of as under hyped in the knife world, it's H1 blade steel.
My first experience with H1 did not impress me. I traded for a beat up Pacific Salt with mediocre edge on it. I touched it up with a ceramic, leaving a usable edge on a thick secondary bevel. Used the knife a few times, was unimpressed with the cutting ability and edge retention, then put the knife in the back of my knife drawer and forgot about it.
As Winter started giving way to Spring, I thought about how much I sweat during the summer and how I didn't want to always have my usual EDC on me (BG42 Military) due to corrosion concerns. As good as S30v, BG42, VG10 etc. are at corrosion resistance, I mean it when I say I sweat a lot. So I thought, it would be nice to have an H1 Spyderco to keep IWB for times when I know I'm going to be very active, or doing very messy things (Like belly crawling through mud to get into a cave).
Recently I acquired two more pieces of H1. An Aqua Salt from Sal and a Tasman Salt I purchased from another member on the forums. The Aqua Salt is PE and the Tasman Salt is SE.
First, the Tasman Salt.
I got it for my summer EDC, for times when I knew I was going to be particularly active or doing messier activities. I picked the hawkbill blade because it compliments the blade shape of my Military well, and went for SE because I heard serrated H1 ends up becoming much harder than PE H1 from the factory. Based on sharpening the knife and using it, I'd have to say this is true. It feels harder when sharpening, but still grinds more easily than S30V, and much more easily than ZDP189. The edge retention has been very good too. I'd place to around or just under S30V based on casual observations from daily use, comparing it to my experiences with an S30V Dodo in SE. I haven't done anything to really push the durability of this particular knife, so no comments on toughness. It has remained completely corrosion free, despite being completely soaked in sweat numerous times without getting rinsed off. This is the same thing that would spot up some VG10 in a day, and that's a very corrosion resistant steel in my opinion. So this is a big thing for me. This means no more stopping to check my folders blade for sweat moisture, and keeping it wiped down. No more polishing pivots that have developed light surface rust from sweat creeping in there. No worries at all. Just keep it clipped and touch up the edge as needed. I like that.
Then I remembered my Pacific Salt. Let me first say, pulling this knife back out makes me feel dumb. I've spent many hours looking at pictures and many hundreds of dollars trying out different Spyderco models. My favorites are the Police 3, CF Military, Stretch 2 and Manix. But the knife in my pocket right now is my Pacific Salt.
I recently owned a ZDP189 Endura, and I thought it to be the perfect EDC except for the ergonomics. The Pacific Salt's Endura 3 based handle works for me better than the Endura 4 handle, plus it's thinner, lighter and made of H1. I like the blade shape and length of the Millie better, I like the clip of the Police 3 better, I like the edge holding of the ZDP189 in the Stretch 2 and the Manix is still a little more ergonomic to me. But the Pacific Salt seems like the perfect EDC for me the more I think about it. *shrug* I digress.
I reprofiled the Pacific Salt free hand somewhere in between 15 and 20 degrees inclusive, no microbevel. I took the edge up to a 2000 grit polish, then tried carving some wood. It cut very deep and with little resistance. I spent less than an hour with the edge, which is much better than what it took to get my old ZDP189 Endura to the angle I wanted. The hollow saber grind means there is much less metal to remove than the flat saber grind of the FRN Endura 4. The H1 is also much easier to grind. I tried the new edge out on a variety of materials, including cardboard, thick plastics, food, more wood carving and opening blister packages. I noticed very light edge damage, just barely deep enough to be felt by my fingernail. This sharpened out in literally 2 swipes per side of 2000 grit sandpaper, but if it keeps up I might go with a 12 degree per side microbevel. This is the one draw back I've seen to H1, is that it doesn't like the ultra thin edges as much as ZDP189 and S30V seem to in my experience.
Since putting the new edge on my Pacific Salt I've lost interest in carrying my Millie, Police, Para, Manix etc. and have been sticking with it. It's so light and slim, and corrosion is no concern. It's less noticeable in the pocket than either the Police or my tip up Military (And the manix
). At it's pricepoint, I don't feel bad being tough on it, and if it gets dirty I can just take it in the shower with me. No concerns with water getting trapped between a G10 scale and steel liner and possibly causing rust or similar. A very worry free EDC. Did I mention how it sharpens very quickly, and takes a wonderful edge? Push cutting thin paper two or three inches from the point of hold after a sloppy sharpening? I've been cutting everything I can with it for the past few days, and I'm happy with the edge holding. This is always the case; that is after I reprofile and polish up any factory edge, the edge holding seems to improve. It's close to VG10. Not up to my super thinned out ZDP189 Caly Jr., but it takes and equally good edge in a fraction of the time. I have the SE Tasman Salt or sometimes the ZDP Caly clipless in my pocket for when I want something more abrasion resistant.
The Aqua Salt was a real eye opener for me. I remember thinking H1 seemed like an odd choice for a larger fixed blade like the Rock Salt. Then I read that it's actually a pretty touch steel. Then I got to work with that toughness.
First thing I did with the Aqua Salt was to EDC it for a few days and use it for typical knife tasks like breaking down cardboard boxes and prepping food for cooking. The knife handled all this well, but again the edge holding left a little to be desired and the cutting ability could be better. So I took the edge down to a similar profile as the Pacific Salt (About 8 degrees per side) but also applied a microbevel a few degrees more obtuse (Roughly 10 degrees per side) as I planned to use this knife harder. Here's an excerpt from my review I'm working on, from when I tested the new edge:
The Aqua Salt was used to hack frozen bark off wood and then section it by hammering the blade through the wood using another piece to strike it through. The Salt broke apart multiple frozen chunks of wood about 3-4.5 inches in diameter into quarters. The baton and knife were also used to fell young trees and section them into poles to construct a shelter. The dropped tip of the knife worked well in conjunction with the baton, and the swedge grind retained enough thickness that it didn't eat up the baton like other knives I have with swedges that come to an unsharpened edge. The knife was also used to cut ventilation holes in the tarp for my shelter, cut rope for lashing the tarp down to the frame I constructed and slice some meat I cooked over the fire. While waiting for my food to cook I also worked on carving a walking stick. The thinner edge worked well for this task, which is one of the specific cutting applications that makes me favor thin edges.
After this work the edge looked fine to the naked eye and felt smooth when I ran my fingernail down the edge. Light was being reflected a little on the very edge and under 100x magnification some extremely light rolling was visible in three spots on the edge. The knife was still utility sharp but had lost all shaving ability. It could slice paper effectively. I feel comfortable with the edge on it after seeing it hardly sustain any damage being pounded through a few frozen knots of wood. Over time I plan to convex the edge and reduce the back bevel slightly but keep the edge about how thick it is now.
Here's a picture of the Aqua Salt's current edge, which is similar to the edge it had during the work above but more polished and the top of the secondary bevel is more convexed into the primary grind now:
Here's a video of the edge sharpness:
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2wf8sqc&s=5
Please note that this type of edge isn't difficult to obtain at all. After using the knife and dulling it, all I have to do is swipe it across some 1000 grit sandpaper on a mousepad a few times, then once the edge is biting good I'll polish it on the 2000 grit for a few passes per side, then strop. I spend maybe a minute touching up the knife, including setting up my equipment. This isn't me sitting down with a strop for ten minutes, this is the type of edge my H1 knives will easily take during a routine touch up.
Since the initial testing I've done more of the same with the Aqua Salt. More wood carving, campside food prep, rope cutting and a little trail clearing when I didn't have my Spyderco Forester with me. Speaking of the Forester, that would of been a cool knife to see in H1.
I'm very happy with all three knives. The Aqua Salt is a great smaller fixed blade for the woods in my opinion, with it's versatile sheath, secure grip and H1 blade steel. It's a good blade shape for food prep too. The Pacific Salt is going to be one of my most EDC'd knives this summer, I can already tell. The Tasman Salt has shown great edge retention and the hawkbill blade is great for slicing open packages, bags, boxes etc, cutting out newspaper and magazine articles, being used as a fork etc.
If you haven't tried out H1, I suggest you do. Great stuff!
Long Version:
If there's one thing I've come to think of as under hyped in the knife world, it's H1 blade steel.
My first experience with H1 did not impress me. I traded for a beat up Pacific Salt with mediocre edge on it. I touched it up with a ceramic, leaving a usable edge on a thick secondary bevel. Used the knife a few times, was unimpressed with the cutting ability and edge retention, then put the knife in the back of my knife drawer and forgot about it.
As Winter started giving way to Spring, I thought about how much I sweat during the summer and how I didn't want to always have my usual EDC on me (BG42 Military) due to corrosion concerns. As good as S30v, BG42, VG10 etc. are at corrosion resistance, I mean it when I say I sweat a lot. So I thought, it would be nice to have an H1 Spyderco to keep IWB for times when I know I'm going to be very active, or doing very messy things (Like belly crawling through mud to get into a cave).
Recently I acquired two more pieces of H1. An Aqua Salt from Sal and a Tasman Salt I purchased from another member on the forums. The Aqua Salt is PE and the Tasman Salt is SE.
First, the Tasman Salt.
I got it for my summer EDC, for times when I knew I was going to be particularly active or doing messier activities. I picked the hawkbill blade because it compliments the blade shape of my Military well, and went for SE because I heard serrated H1 ends up becoming much harder than PE H1 from the factory. Based on sharpening the knife and using it, I'd have to say this is true. It feels harder when sharpening, but still grinds more easily than S30V, and much more easily than ZDP189. The edge retention has been very good too. I'd place to around or just under S30V based on casual observations from daily use, comparing it to my experiences with an S30V Dodo in SE. I haven't done anything to really push the durability of this particular knife, so no comments on toughness. It has remained completely corrosion free, despite being completely soaked in sweat numerous times without getting rinsed off. This is the same thing that would spot up some VG10 in a day, and that's a very corrosion resistant steel in my opinion. So this is a big thing for me. This means no more stopping to check my folders blade for sweat moisture, and keeping it wiped down. No more polishing pivots that have developed light surface rust from sweat creeping in there. No worries at all. Just keep it clipped and touch up the edge as needed. I like that.
Then I remembered my Pacific Salt. Let me first say, pulling this knife back out makes me feel dumb. I've spent many hours looking at pictures and many hundreds of dollars trying out different Spyderco models. My favorites are the Police 3, CF Military, Stretch 2 and Manix. But the knife in my pocket right now is my Pacific Salt.
I recently owned a ZDP189 Endura, and I thought it to be the perfect EDC except for the ergonomics. The Pacific Salt's Endura 3 based handle works for me better than the Endura 4 handle, plus it's thinner, lighter and made of H1. I like the blade shape and length of the Millie better, I like the clip of the Police 3 better, I like the edge holding of the ZDP189 in the Stretch 2 and the Manix is still a little more ergonomic to me. But the Pacific Salt seems like the perfect EDC for me the more I think about it. *shrug* I digress.
I reprofiled the Pacific Salt free hand somewhere in between 15 and 20 degrees inclusive, no microbevel. I took the edge up to a 2000 grit polish, then tried carving some wood. It cut very deep and with little resistance. I spent less than an hour with the edge, which is much better than what it took to get my old ZDP189 Endura to the angle I wanted. The hollow saber grind means there is much less metal to remove than the flat saber grind of the FRN Endura 4. The H1 is also much easier to grind. I tried the new edge out on a variety of materials, including cardboard, thick plastics, food, more wood carving and opening blister packages. I noticed very light edge damage, just barely deep enough to be felt by my fingernail. This sharpened out in literally 2 swipes per side of 2000 grit sandpaper, but if it keeps up I might go with a 12 degree per side microbevel. This is the one draw back I've seen to H1, is that it doesn't like the ultra thin edges as much as ZDP189 and S30V seem to in my experience.
Since putting the new edge on my Pacific Salt I've lost interest in carrying my Millie, Police, Para, Manix etc. and have been sticking with it. It's so light and slim, and corrosion is no concern. It's less noticeable in the pocket than either the Police or my tip up Military (And the manix
). At it's pricepoint, I don't feel bad being tough on it, and if it gets dirty I can just take it in the shower with me. No concerns with water getting trapped between a G10 scale and steel liner and possibly causing rust or similar. A very worry free EDC. Did I mention how it sharpens very quickly, and takes a wonderful edge? Push cutting thin paper two or three inches from the point of hold after a sloppy sharpening? I've been cutting everything I can with it for the past few days, and I'm happy with the edge holding. This is always the case; that is after I reprofile and polish up any factory edge, the edge holding seems to improve. It's close to VG10. Not up to my super thinned out ZDP189 Caly Jr., but it takes and equally good edge in a fraction of the time. I have the SE Tasman Salt or sometimes the ZDP Caly clipless in my pocket for when I want something more abrasion resistant.The Aqua Salt was a real eye opener for me. I remember thinking H1 seemed like an odd choice for a larger fixed blade like the Rock Salt. Then I read that it's actually a pretty touch steel. Then I got to work with that toughness.
First thing I did with the Aqua Salt was to EDC it for a few days and use it for typical knife tasks like breaking down cardboard boxes and prepping food for cooking. The knife handled all this well, but again the edge holding left a little to be desired and the cutting ability could be better. So I took the edge down to a similar profile as the Pacific Salt (About 8 degrees per side) but also applied a microbevel a few degrees more obtuse (Roughly 10 degrees per side) as I planned to use this knife harder. Here's an excerpt from my review I'm working on, from when I tested the new edge:
The Aqua Salt was used to hack frozen bark off wood and then section it by hammering the blade through the wood using another piece to strike it through. The Salt broke apart multiple frozen chunks of wood about 3-4.5 inches in diameter into quarters. The baton and knife were also used to fell young trees and section them into poles to construct a shelter. The dropped tip of the knife worked well in conjunction with the baton, and the swedge grind retained enough thickness that it didn't eat up the baton like other knives I have with swedges that come to an unsharpened edge. The knife was also used to cut ventilation holes in the tarp for my shelter, cut rope for lashing the tarp down to the frame I constructed and slice some meat I cooked over the fire. While waiting for my food to cook I also worked on carving a walking stick. The thinner edge worked well for this task, which is one of the specific cutting applications that makes me favor thin edges.
After this work the edge looked fine to the naked eye and felt smooth when I ran my fingernail down the edge. Light was being reflected a little on the very edge and under 100x magnification some extremely light rolling was visible in three spots on the edge. The knife was still utility sharp but had lost all shaving ability. It could slice paper effectively. I feel comfortable with the edge on it after seeing it hardly sustain any damage being pounded through a few frozen knots of wood. Over time I plan to convex the edge and reduce the back bevel slightly but keep the edge about how thick it is now.
Here's a picture of the Aqua Salt's current edge, which is similar to the edge it had during the work above but more polished and the top of the secondary bevel is more convexed into the primary grind now:
Here's a video of the edge sharpness:
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2wf8sqc&s=5
Please note that this type of edge isn't difficult to obtain at all. After using the knife and dulling it, all I have to do is swipe it across some 1000 grit sandpaper on a mousepad a few times, then once the edge is biting good I'll polish it on the 2000 grit for a few passes per side, then strop. I spend maybe a minute touching up the knife, including setting up my equipment. This isn't me sitting down with a strop for ten minutes, this is the type of edge my H1 knives will easily take during a routine touch up.
Since the initial testing I've done more of the same with the Aqua Salt. More wood carving, campside food prep, rope cutting and a little trail clearing when I didn't have my Spyderco Forester with me. Speaking of the Forester, that would of been a cool knife to see in H1.
I'm very happy with all three knives. The Aqua Salt is a great smaller fixed blade for the woods in my opinion, with it's versatile sheath, secure grip and H1 blade steel. It's a good blade shape for food prep too. The Pacific Salt is going to be one of my most EDC'd knives this summer, I can already tell. The Tasman Salt has shown great edge retention and the hawkbill blade is great for slicing open packages, bags, boxes etc, cutting out newspaper and magazine articles, being used as a fork etc.
If you haven't tried out H1, I suggest you do. Great stuff!
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