SE H1 is 67 HRC?

[manowar669]

Read in another thread that the H1 SE knives are 67 HRC and surpassed ZDP-189 in edge retention tests. Is that true? Any further info or details?

 

[Barman1]

I don't know about edge retention but ZDP is certainly harder to sharpen. And in my experience that means harder to dull. Could be wrong though.

Here's a bit of info from Spyderco stating the hardness of H1. http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=170
I believe they take the ZDP to 64 rc if I remember correctly.

 

[Slider817]

I can tell from personal experience, the ZDP that Spyderco runs blows away their H1

 

[The Deacon]

Don't recall ever reading any specific Rockwell info for serrated H-1, but I do recall Sal saying that it holds an edge better than any other steel they tested. I also recall him saying that they stopped offering serrated blades in ZDP-189 because the tips of the serrations tend to break off too easily.

 

[Surfingringo]

I use serrated h1 a lot and it is very impressive and blows plain edge h1 away, but it's not magically enchanted as some would have you believe. It is quite hard (and exceptionally tough) and gives a great balance between edge retention and ease of sharpening imo.

 

[James Y]

I can tell from personal experience, the ZDP that Spyderco runs blows away their H1

Is that comparison with the H1 in SE or PE? There's a very big difference in edge-holding between the two.

Jim

 

[manowar669]

I posted this topic after it was mentioned in another thread that H1 is a work hardened steel, and the process that grinds the SE blades hardens the edge to 67, while the PE blades are 58 or so. I guess I should have been more specific.

 

[marthinus]

Hi HLite,

Tips are thin and will either break or bend why used for prying. Not a recommended activity for knives. For you to expect a tip to hold up to tough prying is, in my opinion unrealistic. I think if you were going to use one of our H1 knives for light prying, and you didn't want to eait for our fixed blades (still months away) I would suggest the Atlantic Salt. It is a sheepfoot which was designed to be full thickness almost to the tip and had demonstrated that it will handle light prying more effectively.

Other than the testing that we have done at Spyderco (lab testing), there are no other tests, that we know of, other than the tests Crucible did (mentioned below).

Boats,

Thanx for the kind words and support. When we did our testing, the PE model CATRA tested (edge retention) about the same as AUS8, but the serrated version's testing results were much higher. Normally, serrated edges will run about twice the plain edge of same steel and geometry, but the H1 was running about 4 times, up there with powdered metals. A puzzlement.

Hi Mete,

When the foundry rolls the H1, they roll to two different hardness, we end up with 58 for the blade material and considerably lower spec for the lock material. Not meaning to be disrespectful, but the two hardnesses are controlled by the rolling process.

Dick Barber, metallurgist for Crucible steels was curious as to why the H1 steel was testing so well and wanted to do metallurgical testing on the material. We sent them samples and they did their tests. In their micro hardness testing, they found the H1 was differentially hardening. Their explanation was as I described.

The were getting over 60 (64/65 as I remembber the report) at the edge of the blade, 58 at the spine and various hardness in between as they went from the spine to the edge.

The serrted edge version was higher (68 as I remember) which Mr. Barber attributed to the extra "work" (heat) required to serrate the edge over just sharpening as on the plain edge.

If you would like I can fax you, or mail you a copy of the report. Email me your address.

sal

From this thread.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/464310-H1-Steel-Experts?p=4484958#post4484958

Hope it can help.