salt 1 se poor edge holding/stability

J

jfox7575

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Dec 1, 2015
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Hey all, new to the forums, but not to blades, lol. I have a question for those of you with h1 spyderedge blades;
Do you get edge rolling fairly easily? What about edge retention? I ask because on my salt 1, i get edge rolling on anything harder than light plastic strapping. Also, I keep hearing about serrated h1's fantastic edge retention, but I'm just not seeing it in everyday use (warehouse-cardboard, shrink wrap, tape, plastic strapping, ECT.). I would love some input from other salt owners. Thanks!
 
I use mine at work sometimes and it rolled. Not thrilled with the retention either. Had the rolled damaged blade factory sharpened again and it quickly dulled after a few pieces of rope and fire blanket.
 
I have a Pacific Salt and a few other Spyderco H1 knives but they are all plain edged. What I have seen is that the edge retention is acceptable - about the same as say 440C - so I touch up the edge very often.

I have never seen an edge rolled on one of my H1 knives. I remember cutting open a few ripe coconuts (picked from a tree so husk and all) with a Rock Salt. It didn't stay shaving sharp for long but it still had a good edge after I was done.

H1 is not a supersteel with respect to edge retention but I regularly get rust spots on S30V that has been oiled and pocket carried. Never a problem with anything in H1 for me.
 
I used a Tasman SE for two years while taking care of a house in probate. I used it for opening boxes, breaking them down, opening manure bags, cutting rope and cutting some bushes etc. Never had an issue with rolling and it held up great. Just a few passes on my Sharpmaker now and again.
 
On my Salt 1 SE the edge has been very durable and long lasting, though I find it does need regular touching up on the Sharpmaker to keep that original razor sharpness.
 
Hi jfox, I use and sharpen serrated H1 a LOT. Edge retention is much better than its plain edged counterpart but it's not magic or anything. As far as the rolling, you have to remember that the factory edge is EXTREMELY thin. With the chisel grind it is sharpened at around 15 degrees on one side (maybe even less) and on the flat side it is whatever the main bevel is which is less than 5 degrees. This results in an edge that is less than 20 degrees inclusive. It will cut like a demon but is going to be much less stable than a more obtuse edge, especially on harder media. I sharpen my serrated salts by micro beveling with sharpmaker at 40 degrees. A few sharpenings will establish a small micro bevel and will make your edge MUCH more stable.

edit: The micro beveling will likely help with edge retention too as the early dulling you are seeing is likely more a result of plastic deformation than abrasive wear.
 
Landscaped a bit this summer, used a SE Tasman most of the time without issue. Did everything from cutting lots of small tree branches, trimming bushes and cutting down dead stuff in the fall. It even goes in the dishwasher from time to time. It won't stay sharp forever, but it takes about a minute to get it sharp again. It's sort of a crude type of sharp, where it won't necessarily shave paper, but it will eat through just about anything I put in front of it. Love it, actually.

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I actually did use my sharpmaker to sharpen to 40 inclusive in hopes that it would stabilize the edge. It did to a certain extent, but I guess ill just have to not use my salt on harder media, lol. It does eat softer stuff like crazy though, and sharpens easily. I can push cut paper with each serration with minimal work. Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input. I guess maybe I need to save the harder stuff for my PE blades.
 
I've used an SE tasman for years now for lots of stuff including using it to saw through some 3/8" PTFE type dock tabs and its never rolled. The tip chipped once when cutting through some FG and CF hull when cleaning up a broken bow, but thats to be expected. I do remember the edge retention wasn't anything great when I first got it but after lots of sharpening it got much better. I wonder if the factory sharpening doesn't work too well with H1.
 
Yes, I have noticed it rolls easily on my warrior, but that kind of makes sense because I haven't used it much and if I'm not mistaken, H1 is a work hardening steel, so it does not achieve final hardness until it's compressed by work.
 
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jfox7575 said:
I actually did use my sharpmaker to sharpen to 40 inclusive in hopes that it would stabilize the edge. It did to a certain extent, but I guess ill just have to not use my salt on harder media, lol. It does eat softer stuff like crazy though, and sharpens easily. I can push cut paper with each serration with minimal work. Thanks everyone, I appreciate the input. I guess maybe I need to save the harder stuff for my PE blades.
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Interesting. I have used mine for years at the fish cleaning table. they regularly cut through HEAVEY scales and rib bones. I have never done any appreciable damage or rolling to the serrations. I am not implying that you have not, it just makes me curious about whether you and I have a steel difference or a usage difference.
 
I believe h1 is a work hardening steel, so the more you use and sharpen it the harder it gets. (to a degree) In my experience I have found that claim to be true, when I first got a h1 dragonfly it would roll quite badly but overtime it has come to not roll as much and performed similar to spyderco's vg10.
 
My serrated Aqua salt rolled cutting up some tires when I first got it. Like mentioned before, give it a little more obtuse edge and some time. After a few sharpening a and some use it will get better and it'll grow on you. I've been working as a dive master in Honduras for the past month and have had it on my 24/7 in and out of the water. It's gotten a ton of use and h1 is my new favorite. Super low maintenance, cuts well and sharpens easily and quickly.
 
I actually had a dragonfly salt se before the salt 1, and had the same thing happen to it. I'm curious now to see how much better this one gets with age /sharpening. I'll have to use it for a while and not be so obsessed with the edge, lol. Thanks a ton guys!
 
For me the big question is, which Salt is next, after having the Salt 1 as my one and only example of H1 for quite a while. Kinda torn between the Tasman and the Pacific...
 
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