Q&A on Benchmade Griptilian

[StretchNM]

....... It uses VG-10 steel, which takes a sharper edge than 154 CM, and has similar edge retention. ..........

Gunmike,
I AM NOT an expert sharpener, in fact, I'm a relative beginner. BUT I truly cannot imagine a steel that can be sharpened "more sharp" than I have my Nimravus in 154CM. I can believe wholeheartedly that a knife IS sharper than my Nimravus (i.e. that there are better sharpeners out there who can do much better than I), but I cannot believe it would be because the steel itself can be made sharper. In other words, NOT because it's VG-10, or S30V, or D2, or whatever is it sharper.

You may have information that would convince me otherwise....maybe

 

[gunmike1]

Gunmike,
I AM NOT an expert sharpener, in fact, I'm a relative beginner. BUT I truly cannot imagine a steel that can be sharpened "more sharp" than I have my Nimravus in 154CM. I can believe wholeheartedly that a knife IS sharper than my Nimravus (i.e. that there are better sharpeners out there who can do much better than I), but I cannot believe it would be because the steel itself can be made sharper. In other words, NOT because it's VG-10, or S30V, or D2, or whatever is it sharper.

You may have information that would convince me otherwise....maybe

Well, in my pushcutting tests with newsprint and the yellow pages I am able to get VG-10, at the same geometry (15 per side with a 20 degree microbevel) geometries, sharper than my wife's grandfather's Gerber Applegate, which is in 154CM. Many forum members have reported similar results with those steels. If you follow this link, Cliff Stamp provides a very good description of the properties of both steels, that basically says that both steels are in the same class, but VG-10 has a little better edge stability: http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/blade_materials.html#S_154CM
Check out his references, as the work of Verhoeven and Landes, from the parts of them that I have read, are very interesting. The bottom line is that both 154CM & VG-10 are very similar, so your sharpening skills and edge geometry would probably be the main factor in how sharp your knife gets. There is a lot of good info on that page, and if you are into sharpness check out 13C26, which is a razor blade steel that is starting to be used in more knives, and that a lot of the "cheap" steels, if properly heat treated to reach maximum hardness, would also have more edge stability and sharness potential than the high carbide steels like 154CM & S30V.

Mike