poll: edge retention or ease of sharpening.?

Well, I like to have both, and usually do. S30V as in my Mini-Rukus both holds an edge extremely well and is almost as easy to sharpen as any good high carbon steel.
 
Edgeholding...the more you sharpen an edge, the faster you're wearing the knife away.

But that said, choose the right knife for the right cutting task and you'll end up with better edge retention anyway, as different steels hold their edge better in different uses. I'm doing a bunch of work on the old-ish house I live in and this has recently involved replacing the floor in a bathroom, and a little custom warncliff I have in BG-42 just cuts vinyl forever. But, when I had to do some removal of 30+ year old caulking around the base of the bathtub and knew it wasn't going to slice worth beans, out came the good ol' Buck 110 and a little brass hammer, and I was able to tap it through the whole length of the caulking bead without worrying about snapping my edge while hitting the spine at an odd angle. When it was all said and done, the warncliff was back to hair popping sharp with a few strops on a white water stone, and only about 3/16" right in the middle of the Buck's belly needed any stone work; the rest of the deformation around it was pulled straight with a kitchen steel. Suiting the steel to the task, the edge degradation in either case was limited.

Had I flopped them around (leaving aside the fact that the blade shapes would have been far less useful on each other's tasks), that much vinyl would have dulled down the 420HC to the point that the whole knife needed sharpening, and I think I'd have seen chips in the BG42 as my reward for trying to chisel it through that nasty old caulking (and occasionally running into the tub itself--laying on one's side and trying to fit two arms into small spaces doesn't make for great precision work ;) ).

To put it another way---a Dozier hunter will make it through cleaning/skinning a whole lot more deer than a Scrap Yard Dumpster Mutt, but if the task at hand is clearing a campsite, guess which one will hold its edge better. True, geometries are very different and that pays a large part, but you don't see Scrap Yard putting out a lot of D2 choppers, nor have I ever seen an S7 knife from Dozier. Their knives are built for specific types of use, and they suit the steel to it.
 
Edgeholding is a quality issue - sharpening is maintenance.

A knife with poor edge holding is a poor knife. They are meant to cut, and a steel that is chosen for ease of manufacture - i.e., easy to grind an edge, is a steel that quickly stops doing what you buy a knife to do.

Buy the best steel you can afford, just like you should buy the vehicle with the best combination of features for you. But I hardly expect to see people buy cars that need more maintenance than others just because they like doing tuneups. Which is why I don't understand the "easy to sharpen" argument, unless it's like the guys who will tear down a running engine to freshen it up. They are more commonly using inexpensive motors - and they need the extra maintenance, because they're not designed for hard use.

Better steels may require a little more work, but the reward - long term durability and edge retention - is what we appreciate.
 
Edge holding. Sharpening has never been a problem as long as the knife was made properly in the first place. And I generally don't buy knives that weren't made properly in the first place.
 
Edge holding. I like to be able to use my knives more before having to resharpen.
 
What influences my buying decision more? Edge holding!

What do I actually appreciate more once I own the knife? Ease of sharpening!

My buying experience usually goes like this:

Shopping online: "Woah, for a few more bucks I can get that Queen 10 blade congress in D2 steel! That will be awesome!"

Receiving said knife: "Hmmm, some of these blades aren't super sharp . . and that one needs to be reprofiled . . . where's my sharpener?"

Sharpening said knife: "Goddamn D2 . . should have gone with 420HC . . %&$*$&^%^$"

Strangely enough, my 420HC, 440A and AUS8 blades always seem to be razor sharp when I need them. The D2 and S30 always are sharp - but a thorough sharpening always seems to be on my To-do list.
 
Edge holding for me too. I can put an edge on my knives and I like them to stay that way. And when it comes time to tune them up, I don't take a lot of steel to get them back where they belong.
 
The 2 qualities are not mutually exclusive. The hardest to sharpen knife I've ever had was a Cold Steel SafeKeeper in AUS 8. Nearly 2 hours on a motorized water cooled sharpening stone, turning relatively slowly. The next longest was a Camillus Pilots knife, in 1095. I dont remember ever getting that thing to shave, but the saw back worked ok. 3rd would have been a Smith&Wesson hunting knife, in 440C. Spent nearly 30 minutes on the same water cooled stone, without getting much more than a paper slicing edge. The issue with all 3 was a relatively thick edge. There was just so much metal to remove for sharpening. My easiest to sharpen now is my Shrade peanut, but the grinds of the blade have been altered to make it easier.

Oh, and if I must choose, edgeholding. I can sharpen nearly anything now in about 10 minutes (a dull Atlanta Cutlery Kukri) or less using my trusty Harbor Freight sander with leather honing belt.
 
I guess I really should explain why I asked the question in the first place.

Everyday here, I see threads about "which steel is better."

It seems to be divided between those who like very easy to sharpen steels like 400 series, AUS series, 1095, etc, on one side, and D-2, M-2, S30V etc on the other side.

I realize that there are many factors in choosing a knife, and the blade steel is only one of them.

So I started wondering if most other folks are like me, and give the edge to whatever their sharpening preference is. Personally, I like a knife that will hold an edge almost forever even if it takes me an hour to sharpen it. Hence my love of steels like D2 and M2. Apparently, many other folks want a steel that is easily and quickly sharpened, even if it must be sharpened more often.

Thanks to all of you for your replies. The opinions expressed have been very interesting and informative to read!:)

Ben
 
Ben, probably, like everything else, moderation is good. Get a mid range steel.

That said, and I like them all, probably the best post I've seen on the subject was one jacknife made. He said sooner or later, any knife will get dull on you in the field and it is his preference to sharpen one up easily and quickly to finish the job at hand. His preference was carbon or a low end stainless.

Take a Buck 110 in 420HC. You could clean a deer easily with one that began the day sharp. You might could clean two or three from what I have read here. Who really needs more than that? Nobody but us knife nerds. I bet almost everyone here, after cleaning a few deer would be on the shrarpmaker or ceramics rods. It kind of is a moot point, unless someone really does not know how to sharpen, and then they should not get any regular low or high end steel, they should go to ceramic. It will last for years and when dull, they can send it back for resharpening.
 
Ben Dover said:
I guess I really should explain why I asked the question in the first place.

Everyday here, I see threads about "which steel is better."

It seems to be divided between those who like very easy to sharpen steels like 400 series, AUS series, 1095, etc, on one side, and D-2, M-2, S30V etc on the other side.

I realize that there are many factors in choosing a knife, and the blade steel is only one of them.

So I started wondering if most other folks are like me, and give the edge to whatever their sharpening preference is. Personally, I like a knife that will hold an edge almost forever even if it takes me an hour to sharpen it. Hence my love of steels like D2 and M2. Apparently, many other folks want a steel that is easily and quickly sharpened, even if it must be sharpened more often.
Ben
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Ben you are making an assumption there that is not warranted. Remember, you rigged the question by limiting our answers to only two factors. As you mentioned, there are other trade-offs aside from sharpening ease vs. edge retention. There are factors of price, usage, corrosion resistance and more. So you cannot assume that our answers prove that the two factors you chose are the only two significant factors in choosing a knife or a steel.

I take many factors into account when buying a knife. Ease of sharpening is way low on the list. Price point is high on the list. All my knives are users and I don't want to be out $100+ bucks if something untoward happens. I buy knives for EDC. I cut thick plastic, cardboard, odds & ends with my EDC. That means I buy folders with blade steels that have pretty fair corrosion resistance, reasonable toughness, and the best edge retension I can afford. That usually puts me in the 440C, VG10, AUS8 steel range, though I have scored some ATS34/154CM and AUS10 blades.

One cannot draw valid conclusions based on limited data. You miss things.

But I liked reading all the responses. The one from t1mpani was 4-star.
 
It depends.
How much time do you want to spend sharpening?

My old carbon steel cooks knife, I can sharpen with a couple of passes on an extra fine diamond.
So at the end of a cooking session or even in the middle, I can bring back the blade to super sharp very easily.
I do not want a cooks knife that I would need to maintain more.

My AUS 8s will give me a lot of service, and when it gets less than sharp, again to bring it back to sharp is very easy.
And it only take a minute.

'Better' steels, I need much more time and concentration to sharpen.
So if my s30v looses its edge, I will need to spend time on it.

I have found VG10 to both be relatively easy to sharp, and hold better than my AUS8s.
 
I say go for edge retention, as long as you've got power tools.

After trying quite a few sharpening systems, I (finally) got a cheap 1x30 belt sander, along with an assortment of 3M's mylar-backed grinding belts and Surgi-Sharp's leather stropping belts charged with fine-grit pastes. What a change from waterstones! Blade profiling is easy (just don't burn the edges), and maintenance is a snap. The biggest hassle now is carrying the knives downstairs to the shop.
 
knarfeng said:
Ben you are making an assumption there that is not warranted. Remember, you rigged the question by limiting our answers to only two factors. As you mentioned, there are other trade-offs aside from sharpening ease vs. edge retention. There are factors of price, usage, corrosion resistance and more. So you cannot assume that our answers prove that the two factors you chose are the only two significant factors in choosing a knife or a steel.
QUOTE]

Sorry that I didn't do a better job of phrasing the original question. You are absolutely correct, of course, that there are many factors involved in knife selection. And we all tend to "weight" the factors in different ways.:p

Perhaps, over the years I have become a "steel snob." (I hope not, but the "weight" that I give to steel seems to be greater than many other folks:rolleyes: )

But to me, at least, the steel in the blade, and the edge retention, are indeed major factors, although not necessarily determining factors.

At any rate, IMHO at least, there is no "right" answer. Every individual must decide for him/her self what they want in a knife, what they're willing to pay for it, whether or not aesthetics matter, etc. And I find it interesting to hear what other folks think, and learn how they make their choices.:D

Thank goodness there enough choices out there that virtually every one of us can find a blade that meets out own personal criteria.:)
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Count me as "ease of sharpening", please.

Ain't it nice that we have so little to worry about? Seriously. :thumbup:

right on
 
powernoodle said:
.

Ain't it nice that we have so little to worry about? Seriously. :thumbup:
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:D :D Ya know, sometimes I think we lose sight of just how lucky and blessed we are in this country when we can find time to argue about which steel to buy in a knife blade! :D :D
 
for me, its always ease of sharpening. any decent steel will hold somewhat of an edge, but dulling is a constant. You'll never change that, so ya mind as well have something you can actually sharpen up quickly. For me, my old
440c lifeknife trailmaster would hold an edge, but it still dulled. when it was sharpening time, i grieved lol. It became soo much of a pain, I quit using it. On the other hand my AUS6 all stainless endura took quite an edge very quickly, so to me, this was one of the most useful knives I carried. till one my bags came up missing on the way home from iraq.
 
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