This was a long and interesting thread to say the least, although as a newbie and a steel/metallurgical moron I did learned plenty, both from "ELU's" and "those in the know".
What did I learn? I'd like to take 2 quotes from Mr. Martin on post #110 -
1. As with ALL steels, it's the HT which he says: "if the HT is done correctly".
2. "from an engineering and materials perspective, this stuff is awesome."
Personally, I'd like to compare it with another yet ubiquitous product: the cellular phone (nowadays it's more like "who hasn't got one?" rather than the other way around). Arguably, the Finnish "Nokia" brand is the most well known and forerunner among it's kind and every year it comes out with another top-of-line, state-of-the-art, all-in-one feature-laden model phone that it markets to a willing consumer. Then a little later when some of the "hype" subsides, we also hear reports of how this latest model suddenly conks out in the middle of call, or the built-in video's resolution adjustment isn't what it's cracked up to be or just how cumbersome it is (because of all the features crammed in it!), etc. Was the product/model SUPPOSED to be a good one? Definitely. When the reports or second-hand info started coming in about it's flaws or shortcomings, does this mean the product/model was awful? Not really. Did it have a couple of "bugs" in it that needed to be straightened out and improved upon for later models? I suppose so.
This is why the informed consumers adopt a "wait and see" upon the introduction of a new product. Rarely do we have things "perfect" on the first go.
BTW, my experience stems from having a 2-month old Spyderco SWICK. I bought it initially for SD purposes but the because of it's handly design, I thought it'd be a good general purpose cutter. All this time the only "hard" material I remember subjecting it was on small fallen branches on the farm (softwood, some even green). I'd also used it in cutting CD wrappings, an old sofa cushion with leatherette and some folded newspaper. In short, I've been "spoiling" it when you compare to what I've subjected my Endura to! The micro-sized chipping is evident even to the naked eye. This is what has led me to my conclusions above.
What did I learn? I'd like to take 2 quotes from Mr. Martin on post #110 -
1. As with ALL steels, it's the HT which he says: "if the HT is done correctly".
2. "from an engineering and materials perspective, this stuff is awesome."
Personally, I'd like to compare it with another yet ubiquitous product: the cellular phone (nowadays it's more like "who hasn't got one?" rather than the other way around). Arguably, the Finnish "Nokia" brand is the most well known and forerunner among it's kind and every year it comes out with another top-of-line, state-of-the-art, all-in-one feature-laden model phone that it markets to a willing consumer. Then a little later when some of the "hype" subsides, we also hear reports of how this latest model suddenly conks out in the middle of call, or the built-in video's resolution adjustment isn't what it's cracked up to be or just how cumbersome it is (because of all the features crammed in it!), etc. Was the product/model SUPPOSED to be a good one? Definitely. When the reports or second-hand info started coming in about it's flaws or shortcomings, does this mean the product/model was awful? Not really. Did it have a couple of "bugs" in it that needed to be straightened out and improved upon for later models? I suppose so.
This is why the informed consumers adopt a "wait and see" upon the introduction of a new product. Rarely do we have things "perfect" on the first go.
BTW, my experience stems from having a 2-month old Spyderco SWICK. I bought it initially for SD purposes but the because of it's handly design, I thought it'd be a good general purpose cutter. All this time the only "hard" material I remember subjecting it was on small fallen branches on the farm (softwood, some even green). I'd also used it in cutting CD wrappings, an old sofa cushion with leatherette and some folded newspaper. In short, I've been "spoiling" it when you compare to what I've subjected my Endura to! The micro-sized chipping is evident even to the naked eye. This is what has led me to my conclusions above.
