para2 edge retention

ssblood

ssblood

BANNED
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
1,421
I sharpen my para2 on my sharpmaker every other day or so. It loses the hair popping edge by the end of a work day. I've looked at it thru a 30x light tasco scope and can see no signs of a burr at all. If I sharpen all the way thru the UF rods it might last two or three days. WTH is going on here?

It will still slice paper pretty decent but is pretty much a no go for cutting cloth and such. I'm not cutting cardboard with it when it's losing the edge either. Is this just a characteristic of s30v?
 
Oh yeh, S30V quickly loses that fine edge but keeps a working edge for a long time. That is the nature of the steel.

You may not be able to push cut cloth when it loses that fine edge but you can still slice it.
 
I would definitely suggest polishing the edge as much as possible (UF rods, stropping). I've found that when I spend a long time getting an S30V edge nice and smooth, it tends to keep the razor edge significantly longer.
 
personally i like to keep my S30V around 1000-2000 grit. IMO, S30V likes a slightly "toothy" edge.
 
I don't have anything to strop with but will definitely go back to taking it to the UF rods everytime instead of just the brown. Once I receive my WEPS I will strop it too.

I'm very happy I've stuck with the sharpmaker to get to this point though. So simple and fast. I'm a tip murderer though. Fixed and broke the tip off this knife twice since I got it :-)

What spyderco would make for a good mechanics utility knife? Wharncliffe blades do best in my experience. Need one with G10 and a 3" blade or so.
 
ssblood said:
I'm a tip murderer though. Fixed and broke the tip off this knife twice since I got it :-)

What spyderco would make for a good mechanics utility knife? Wharncliffe blades do best in my experience. Need one with G10 and a 3" blade or so.
Click to expand...

what are you doing with the knife that caused you to snap the tip off twice?

for a more heavy duty knife, you might want to take a look at a manix2.

what's your price range?
 
If you are snapping tips off you neeed to get a tanto tipped knife or wait for the Spyderco Tuff when it comes out in CPM 3V.

Blades with Distal tapers aren't ment for prying.
 
Last edited:
No problems with the Para 2's S30V. I had major problems with the Spyderco Pro Grip VG-10 steel.
 
Last edited:
Splitting wiring harness', zip ties, rubber hose, anything that needs cutting. Ankerson, I think you're dead on with the tanto suggestion, I was carrying a M16 and never had tip issues. Don't really have a budget, if I like I'll save
 
mentaculus said:
I would definitely suggest polishing the edge as much as possible (UF rods, stropping). I've found that when I spend a long time getting an S30V edge nice and smooth, it tends to keep the razor edge significantly longer.
Click to expand...
I've had good results maintaining it in this manner as well. It also makes a big difference in "fine" edge retention if the bevels are really profiled properly.
 
I got a VG-10 delica sharper than I've managed to get s30v. It got "cut me real easy" sharp where my para2 just gets "cutting sharp". IMO the blade steel kershaw uses in the OD-1 takes alot sharper edge than s30v with the sharpening systems I currently have available. I cut myself pretty decent with the od-1 just cleaning sharpie off the blade. Went straight thru the rag and into my finger. VG-10 is just like that :)
 
ssblood said:
I got a VG-10 delica sharper than I've managed to get s30v. It got "cut me real easy" sharp where my para2 just gets "cutting sharp". IMO the blade steel kershaw uses in the OD-1 takes alot sharper edge than s30v with the sharpening systems I currently have available. I cut myself pretty decent with the od-1 just cleaning sharpie off the blade. Went straight thru the rag and into my finger. VG-10 is just like that :)
Click to expand...

what grit are you finishing the s30v with?
 
UF rods on the sharpmaker. Not taking anything away from it just that the shaving is gone in a day or three but will still slice paper.
 
ssblood said:
UF rods on the sharpmaker. Not taking anything away from it just that the shaving is gone in a day or three but will still slice paper.
Click to expand...

that seems to be the general consensus about s30v (and also my opinion). it loses it's shaving edge fairly quickly but holds a working edge for a while.
 
On the paper wheels I get all my S30v blades sharp to where they will cleanly push cut paper. My EDC rotation is usually the Para2 or Manix2 and S30V will lose that hair popping edge after a day or two of carry with light to moderate use (slicing an orange or two, opening a few letters, cutting open a box etc..) but what Ive found is that as long as you arent chipping your edge out you can give it a quick strop and get that razor edge back very quickly. I only do an actual full sharpening every 3-4 weeks. I like my knives to be blistering sharp and I've come to realize that S30V simply isnt the best steel for that. Im looking at trying some ZDP and M4. I have an M4 manix but can't bring myself to use it :(
 
I use the WEPS as my primary sharpening system - after many years of semi-proficient hand sharpening and using an original Sharpmaker. My S30v blades also lose this hair popping sharpness fairly quickly, but as others have noted, they keep a working edge for quite a while. Lately, I have taken to putting a double bevel on my S30v Para2. Back bevel is 30 degrees, with the primary edge at 40 degrees. This geometry seems to help keep the edge from rolling off or chipping as quickly - at the cost of some acute shaving capability.

TedP
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top