Native

[cmott69]

Is anyone else having a problem with the native with the cpms30v blade holding an edge?

 

[xdshooter]

hope not, i just bought one yesterday.

 

[knarfeng]

At the risk of having my hands chopped off I will offer that I have read of some folks having problems. Here is one guy. Think he fussed for about 6 months:

Native sharp grrr

S30V Native... I quit!

I happened to remember his handle. Seem to remember a couple of others but cannot find them.

 

[smegs]

My Native in S30v holds it's edge better than any knife I've used. Mind you, I have a couple of ZDP's waitin in the wings but I haven't put them to any sustained work yet. I have to date extensively used:

420HC
440C
Aus8
154CM
1095
A2
D2
M2
ATS34
BG42

and My Native outlasts them all. M2 and BG42 come close but the Native holds a shaving edge a tad longer. I was quite surprised considering what I've read here. Maybe I've got a mutant Native.

 

[CombatGrappler]

My Native was running along like a buzzsaw for weeks at my job, cutting plastic bands, rope, twine, carpet runner, etc with the greatest of ease. Then I cut some cardboard (straight cuts, no twisting, no staples in the material) and it became really hard to cut. I looked at the edge and it was so chipped that it looked like I had been banging it on a rock.

It was just weird to me, because most knives that I have had would have choked on the carpet, not the cardboard. Anyways, I sent it in and Spyderco resharpened it, but now I don't want to use it for fear that it will happen again. I don't have the diamond stones for my Sharpmaker so it will take forever to fix the edge if it happens again.

 

[A.P.F.]

I just do regular 'touch ups' on a fine Arkansas stone and have never had a problem with the S30V Native.

 

[Kaizen1]

My Native was running along like a buzzsaw for weeks at my job, cutting plastic bands, rope, twine, carpet runner, etc with the greatest of ease. Then I cut some cardboard (straight cuts, no twisting, no staples in the material) and it became really hard to cut. I looked at the edge and it was so chipped that it looked like I had been banging it on a rock.

It was just weird to me, because most knives that I have had would have choked on the carpet, not the cardboard. Anyways, I sent it in and Spyderco resharpened it, but now I don't want to use it for fear that it will happen again. I don't have the diamond stones for my Sharpmaker so it will take forever to fix the edge if it happens again.

I say try it again. I've read from people who've had initial chipping issues with S30V that after they sharpened it the chipping stopped completely. You can always send it back to Spyderco to get it sharpened if it chips again. What good can it do you locked up in the drawer anyway?

 

[CombatGrappler]

Well, it has to tussle with my Dyad, Jess Horn ZDP, Dodo and Delica 3/SE for "work knife" pocket time, so it isn't going to get carried much, anyways

 

[cmott69]

Is the Native III really that much better?

 

[SamuraiDave]

A lot of steels do wierd things during their heat treat. I have found that on my users they seem to get better with each consecutive sharpening. The ones I have made from 440C I have recognized doing this and that is a relatively old steel whose properties are well known. (BTW everything I make is heat treated by Paul Bos.)

I think all the hooplah about S30v is just a bunch of knife nuts getting their panties in a wad.

Then again I could being optimistic as that I have a batch of S30v going out once I finish up what steel I have laying around.
... and yes it is a bear to sharpen, just don't let it get that dull.

 

[batosai117]

The native has a very thin edge, what more do you want? I realize that it is S30V, but you still have to look at the thickness of the poor knife, not to meniton it is shaped like a spear for a reason. Now I know that S30V is supposed to be really high end stuff (only stainless steel material specifically designed for a knife), but that just means that by cutting the average stuff, lets just say rope, or cardboard, the blade will last significantly longer than the conventional stuff such as the common 440A and B family, and only a little bit longer than 154 CM (ATS-34 for some of you). But, and there is a big BUT, that is assuming they are all the same thickness and hold the same angle. The Native has a great edge seeing as how thin the cut on the angle is, but this also means that it will wear down very quickly because whatever it is that you are cutting doesn't have much blade to rub up against to cut. Therefore, the native is a good knife and blade steel for the money, averaging around 40 to 50 bucks at some places, and shouldn't be used for hard tasks unless used in a thicker stock of S30V steel.
ps. If you want to get that factory edge without sending your knife in, just get a pen sized diamond sharpener which can be found at places like wal mart or some kind of camping or outdoor store. it looks like a pen and has a flat and rounded side. Use the flat side against the original blade angle (lay it flat on one edge of your knife) and do a 1 to 1 stroke. Meaning one stroke on one side and one stroke on the back side. Now the partially serrated natives will be cut differently, so for these you need to do a 2 to 1 stroke, the 2 goes on the side that looks like a half "V". Good luck sharpening

 

[carrot]

I believe that with S30V you have to be especially careful to remove the wire edge when sharpening. It is not too easily noticeable but will "dull" when you try to cut something soft like cardboard because it will fold over.