Sharpener said my Spiderco Delica VG10 is cheap steel & hard to sharpen

calldoug said:
Spiderco Delica VG-10
Question; Is Vg-10 cheap Japanese steel

The knife sharpening guy ( does it every day ) who sharpened knife said its cheap japanese steel and that's the best I can do. ( note others tried to sharpen this knife before)
I got very upset and said this is VG-10 do you even know what that is?
He said I sure do its cheap Japanese steel and hard to sharpen and that's about as sharp as you will get it.
Im starting to think he is right.
I bought this new and paid a lot for it thinking I had some great amazing lifetime knife.
I just bought a knife for ten dollars that is much sharper than this.
I also sharpened it on my expensive Spiderco sharpener and could never get it very sharp.
I have aus 8 cold steel knives and $15 high carbon Opinel steel knives that are MUCH sharper than this, actually some are razor sharp.
I am pretty upset, this knife was like $70 or so.
So please tell me what you think.
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I love the Delica and love VG10. It’s, IMHO, the best all around steel you can find, right next to 154cm. Easy to get very sharp, corrosion resistant, and good edge holding. The sharpener is a dope.

I agree that you should sharpen your own. That said, I’ll put myself out there. If you are comfortable sending it to me, I’ll sharpen and return it to you sharp enough to shave hair and cleanly slice paper. You pay shipping but I’ll sharpen it for free. I’m not a professional sharpener and you don’t know me from Adam, so no offense taken if you don’t want to.

Only caveat is that if the “pro” buggered the edge irreparably, I may not be able to fix his damage.
 
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I will chime in here, I have owned VG10 blades from Kizer, Spyderco, and Al Mar. I have no idea why this guy made such a claim. VG10 is one of my favorite steels, I sharpened my Kizer Vanguard from nearly butter knife dull to hair popping sharp using medium and fine sharpening rods on my Sharpmaker.
 
Delica is unofficially my fav pocket knife. Absolutely fine for me with vg10. No microbevel no burr its a great steel. Good steel for beginners to use with their sharpmakers.
 
I have no issues with VG10 sharpening at all. I look at is an entry level steel but still a very good one. It does not hold an edge long but it really only takes a few swipes on my fine or UF Sharpmaker stones and the edge is back. I do have a Wicked Edge which I use to set the primary bevel and from then on it's just touch-up 1-2x a week. Spyderco's VG10 is rather similar to my CRKs with S35VN. The initial edge goes away pretty quickly but it is rather easy to touch up. Nothing like my AEB-L semi-custom kitchen knife which holds an edge for a long time but if it gets dull then only some work on my Wicked Edge will bring it back to life.
 
VG 10 is my favorite steel. Easy to sharpen, takes a wicked edge and has good retention.

You need to learn to sharpen yourself and you'll be much more satisfied with your knives.

The Sharpmaker (actually should be called the Sharp Keeper) is a great system to start with but if you totally dulled your knife, it could be a bitch to bring back.
 
Kreyzhorse said:
The Sharpmaker (actually should be called the Sharp Keeper) is a great system to start with but if you totally dulled your knife, it could be a bitch to bring back.
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This.

I love my Sharpmaker, but good luck on a very dull blade in a hard to sharpen steel.

I like VG-10. Easy to sharpen, takes a lot to tarnish and holds a good edge. I use an VG-10 Endura a ton.

I wouldn’t take that clown my $5 knockoff Chinese knives to sharpen....
 
Many here that are knife knuts or steel junkies probably feel like I do...

That is, VG-10 is an excellent steel, that has been around long enough that many consider it "entry-level", and in some ways it is, but in a good way. For example, if I'm checking out a new knife, and the steel is VG-10, I am already very familiar with it's performance, and very likely will NOT let it affect my decision to purchase the knife (unless it's A VERY premium price point).

There are few, if any, choices that are as well balanced as VG-10.

Learn to sharpen... If you're here, you already like knives... Sharpening is the next step.
 
assuming the knife is real. very odd for a professional to say what he did. makes me wonder what he sharpens daily. maybe a former participants favorite 420j2?:)
 
I have no problem getting VG10 sharp enough to whittle hairs. Compared to many steels available today it is relatively easy to sharpen.

It was actually developed as a cutlery steel unlike many of the steels used in blades.

If he cannot sharpen VG10 he is a terrible sharpener.Find somebody else or learn to do it yourself.

I love the sharpmaker and can get crazy sharp edges off of it. If it isn’t working for you do not blame the sharpener. The Delica comes with an edge bevel well under 40 degrees and the Sharpmaker should work fine. Stick with it, learning to sharpen takes time.
 
Is he using a powered belt grinder to sharpen. If so I would run away. Not because you cannot use a power sharpener but because he sounds like he doesn’t know enough to be doing it that way. Avoid him before he burns up your edge, if he hasn’t already.
 
I have some VG10 Kitchen knives and I've had others try to get me to sell them. They are sharp, they stay sharp, and I don't have any trouble keeping them sharp. I've had them 25 years, and you couldn't tell to look at them.
 
jbmonkey said:
assuming the knife is real. very odd for a professional to say what he did. makes me wonder what he sharpens daily. maybe a former participants favorite 420j2?:)
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lol!!! :D

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SpyderPhreak said:
Simple answer. Fake knife or a sharpener that has no clue what he’s doing.

I can put an edge that will shave on cast iron, but it won’t last too long. I wonder if the correct answer is both a fake knife AND a bad sharpener? o_O
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He’s probably used to sharpening 1fSNARmoZ
 
Whew... give a guy a whet stone and suddenly he's a metallurgist... and he can practice his craft via the interweb!

Despite all the 'sharpener is an idiot' posts, why don't you just call Spyderco? It's entirely possible that you've just got a bad blade. It happens. The worst that happens is that they put an edge on it and call your guy an idiot. Again.

I've got an old Schrade trapper that's as hard as glass, It just won't sharpen. I've also got one of those Imperial sheath knives that had the black and white striped tin handles. A file won't touch it. I've been putting edges on things for fifty years now, and though I might be an idiot, but I can sharpen a knife. :D
 
VG10 is very easy to sharpen. You can leave it with a low grit finish or all the way up to a high mirror polish. It doesn't hold an edge for very long, but it's easy peasy to bring back to razor sharp. Dude probably doesn't know what he's doing.
 
dsutton24 said:
Whew... give a guy a whet stone and suddenly he's a metallurgist... and he can practice his craft via the interweb!

Despite all the 'sharpener is an idiot' posts, why don't you just call Spyderco? It's entirely possible that you've just got a bad blade. It happens. The worst that happens is that they put an edge on it and call your guy an idiot. Again.

I've got an old Schrade trapper that's as hard as glass, It just won't sharpen. I've also got one of those Imperial sheath knives that had the black and white striped tin handles. A file won't touch it. I've been putting edges on things for fifty years now, and though I might be an idiot, but I can sharpen a knife. :D
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Sure everyone can have a dud blade.


Exhibit A) Can't sharpen a knife.
Exhibit B) Stating that VG-10 is cheap steel.

Case closed.
 
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