New on here, spyderco g2 questions

S

S-3 ranch

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Mar 20, 2021
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Hello, brand new to the site
I was referred over by a buddy, I recently bought a replacement for a knife I lost years ago, a spyderco delica in G2 steel, I don’t seem to remember if g2 is hard to sharpen, the knife edge is full serrated and I am having fits trying to sharpen to my own standards ( sharp , scary sharp) . Almost thinking I probably should have just bought a new vg10 one , but but I am waiting on my other purchase a cruwear blade delica, and didn’t want to drop $ around.
Any tips on getting this thing sharp or if G2 is worth fixing?
S-3 ranch
 
It's OK steel, nothing crazy amazing about it. Holds an ok to decent edge and fairly easy to sharpen. Just FYI, there is a somewhat robust Spyderco subforum and your question may gain more traction there.
 
Doesn't look like Spyderco has used that steel in years. (I had to look up what it is.) Seems that it's not bad but better choices are available now.
 
S-3 ranch said:
Hello, brand new to the site
I was referred over by a buddy, I recently bought a replacement for a knife I lost years ago, a spyderco delica in G2 steel, I don’t seem to remember if g2 is hard to sharpen, the knife edge is full serrated and I am having fits trying to sharpen to my own standards ( sharp , scary sharp) . Almost thinking I probably should have just bought a new vg10 one , but but I am waiting on my other purchase a cruwear blade delica, and didn’t want to drop $ around.
Any tips on getting this thing sharp or if G2 is worth fixing?
S-3 ranch
Click to expand...

Not sure if you will get a scary sharp edge on a serrated blade.
G2 does have some chromium carbides in it. So it wants a synthetic stone. Aluminum oxide or diamond. It does take a very fine edge. You might try using a Sharpmaker sharpening rod to get into the serrations.

And yes, it is worth fussing with.
Personally, I like Hitachi Gingami 1, AKA "Gin 1" AKA "G2". It takes a very fine edge and holds it well if heat treated to a high enough Rockwell. I would trust the Japanese blade house with which Spyderco contracted the manufacturing to do that. I have a ~1980 Gerber Silver Knight with the same blade steel. It's one of my favorite knives. Gin 1 has a bare tad more carbon than AUS8, but like AUS8 it only forms small carbides because there is not enough carbon to form large ones. So, fine edge, yes. Holds the fine edge well. Does not give outstanding performance in cutting abrasive media.

It was the Silver Knight usage of that steel which prevented Spyderco from using the name Gingami 1. G Takei had an agreement with Hitachi.
Here's a comment by Sal.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/spyderco-g2-steel.496931/#post-19566109
 
Hi S-3ranch.,

Welcome to our forum. Your knife is Gingami 1 which we called G2, because of the explanation that Karfeng's link showed. It's actually a very good steel. Since your knife is fully serrated, my first question is what are you using to try to sharpen the edge? In my opinion, the best to use is the Sharpmaker which does a very good job on Gingami 1 and you should be able to get it "scary sharp" if you want to using our sharpmaker. You really need to follow the directions outlined in the video to get the best results, in my opinion.

Some history: Gingami 1, made by Hitachi was the basis for Carpenter's CTS-BD1 which was then refined to become CTS-BD1N, so the steel has very good roots. VG-10 has a bit more carbon and cobalt so it is a more refined and more modern steel, but the Gingami 1 should serve you well until you decide to go more modern.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi S-3ranch.,

Welcome to our forum. Your knife is Gingami 1 which we called G2, because of the explanation that Karfeng's link showed. It's actually a very good steel. Since your knife is fully serrated, my first question is what are you using to try to sharpen the edge? In my opinion, the best to use is the Sharpmaker which does a very good job on Gingami 1 and you should be able to get it "scary sharp" if you want to using our sharpmaker. You really need to follow the directions outlined in the video to get the best results, in my opinion.

Some history: Gingami 1, made by Hitachi was the basis for Carpenter's CTS-BD1 which was then refined to become CTS-BD1N, so the steel has very good roots. VG-10 has a bit more carbon and cobalt so it is a more refined and more modern steel, but the Gingami 1 should serve you well until you decide to go more modern.

sal
Click to expand...
Thanks!
Spyderco just sent me a email that I can send it to Colorado and they will sharpen and clean up the blade if I pay for shipping
When I send it off I will order a sharp maker, as this will help with my other partial serrated delica
Thanks for y’all’s advice
S-3
 
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I will agree you can get serrated edges scare sharp on a SE knife. Super easy to on something even small like a ladybug.
 
Danke42 said:
I will agree you can get serrated edges scare sharp on a SE knife. Super easy to on something even small like a ladybug.
Click to expand...

my uncle and I got drunk on the ranch and went and shot a big hog one night
And my SE delica zipped through the breast bone so fast I couldn’t get my thumb out of the way and dang near cut it off , so I know the factory followed by some maintenance will get things scary again
 
Last edited:
Well that was hard ( emotionally) to box up a knife and send off to the factory for a spa treatment, but I guess spyderco will have her cleaned up and ready for edc work;(
 
knarfeng said:
Not sure if you will get a scary sharp edge on a serrated blade.
G2 does have some chromium carbides in it. So it wants a synthetic stone. Aluminum oxide or diamond. It does take a very fine edge. You might try using a Sharpmaker sharpening rod to get into the serrations.

And yes, it is worth fussing with.
Personally, I like Hitachi Gingami 1, AKA "Gin 1" AKA "G2". It takes a very fine edge and holds it well if heat treated to a high enough Rockwell. I would trust the Japanese blade house with which Spyderco contracted the manufacturing to do that. I have a ~1980 Gerber Silver Knight with the same blade steel. It's one of my favorite knives. Gin 1 has a bare tad more carbon than AUS8, but like AUS8 it only forms small carbides because there is not enough carbon to form large ones. So, fine edge, yes. Holds the fine edge well. Does not give outstanding performance in cutting abrasive media.

It was the Silver Knight usage of that steel which prevented Spyderco from using the name Gingami 1. G Takei had an agreement with Hitachi.
Here's a comment by Sal.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/spyderco-g2-steel.496931/#post-19566109
Click to expand...
I notice you said alum oxide or diamond. CBN also applicable?
 
Based on my own experience, yes. I used a progression of diamond to CBN to brown, white and ultra-fine ceramic on my SharpMaker to restore my first generation Police after a trip through a running snow blower, and I'm still using it.
 
yablanowitz said:
Based on my own experience, yes. I used a progression of diamond to CBN to brown, white and ultra-fine ceramic on my SharpMaker to restore my first generation Police after a trip through a running snow blower, and I'm still using it.
Click to expand...
Huh, okay, cool! Thanks for the info. Just got my first G-2 knife, a serrated Snap-It, and it just seems like a great lil knife, want to give it some use. I am very curious as to what this steel will resemble.
 
It resembles CTS BD-1.😉

I like it a lot. More aggressive and better edge retention than AUS8 or 8Cr13MoV, I find it less prone to chipping than VG-10 in serrations. Old steel, but still good stuff.
 
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