Sharpening new stainless supersteels?

J

JDBraddy

Joined
Sep 20, 2002
Messages
217
I have never had any trouble getting high carbon steels "scarry sharp", but have not had much luck with the new stainless super Steels, like ZDP-189, S30V, and BG42. I can get them useably sharp, but nothing like I can high-carbon steels. I just bought a new TiZDP Leek, and it didn't come very sharp at all, so I just tried to sharpen it. I set the edge in the 25degree holes with my Lansky system ceramic stones. Lapped it on several layers of Denim streached over a paint stick with Trippole rubbed into the cloth. That will usually do it for H.C. It'll shave a litle hair off my arm, but It's not "Scarry Sharp" like my High Carbon steel blades. Is there some special secret to this?
Thanks in advance,
JDBraddy
 
What ever you do to get carbon steel sharp, try to do that X 20 :eek: with the super steels, that should get the job done.

Hope this works for you ;) ;)
 
Well first and foremost what you really need to set the stage for getting these "super steels" as you call them properly sharp is the right equipment and the added effort of stock removal.

RE-profiling is so important with any knife sharpening job. I can't stress enough just how important that re-profiling particularly is for these newer steels. With most of them having stubborn abrasion resistance and most of them being harder on the Rockwell scale you just simply have to put more effort into it.

For manual re-profiling I use coarse diamond stones for that job. Because most of these newer steels with the exotic alloys just simply have a lot more abrasion resistance. It seems like vanadium is the culprit in most of these new super steels but don't overlook the ones with cobalt as well. You just need the proper sharpening equipment and understand that reprofiling is so essential. The newer, super steels are just a completely different game and require much more effort. But you won't be sharpening them as much either.
 
When there is chromium present 13% or more for stainless, it makes the steel more abrasion resistant than plain carbon. But at the same time chromium makes the steel weaker, which causes more chipping. Think of chromium as slag that acts likes ice on the surface of the steel, it's junk that will make the steel stain-resistant but makes everything else perform poorly.

When you're sharpening, you're wearing away metal and this slag-ice kinda clogs up the pores of the stone surface and it makes sharpening harder due to this "ice" on the surface of the steel that makes slippery contact surfaces. To add on top of that, chromium makes the steel weaker that causes deeper and larger microscopic chipping which wears away the cutting edge much faster than carbon steel.

So, in summary, stainless steel will be harder to sharpen (due to slippery surface) and you have to grind down way more metal (due to micro-chipping that causes a more blunted edge).... Basically you have to do 4X the work to sharpen stainless.

Adding vanadium in stainless keeps the grain smaller so you have smaller micro-chipping also manufacturers can heat treat the steel harder and makes the chromium harder as well. With "SUPER-STAINLESS" you have to do 6X to 8X the work to get it down to your preferred sharpness and get the same performance as a plain carbon steel.
 
there isnt any knife made yet other than maybe ceramic (which i would love to try) that i cant sharpen razor sharp. if its good steel, i can sharpen it. i have read quite a few posts about members not being able to sharpen their knives razor sharp. i made an ulu out of tool steel and its razor sharp. some of you might not agree but the only way to get a knife razor sharp and do it quickly is with the cardboard wheels. i used to have an ez sharp jig which is similar to the lansky sharpeners but when i bought the wheels, i gave the ez sharp to my cousin. i used to spend 1/2 hour to 45 minutes at times on a blade just to get it razor sharp but with these wheels i can do maybe 30 knives in that length of time depending on their condition. i have also made good money with the wheels which paid for them many times over. with a little time and practice anyone can sharpen a knife razor sharp. there are cheap versions of these wheels but a member here (stevebot) sells the good ones at a discount to bf members. if you want to get your knives razor sharp each and every time check them out. i offered in another post that anyone replying today that wishes to get 1 knife sharpened for free to send it to me (return postage and insured) and i'll do it.
 
And that, Sports Fans, is why old Ben sticks to high carbon and tool steels. I really like 1095, but I LOVE A-2 and D-2!:D

Not saying I won't ever get a blade made of S30V, but right now it isn't very high on the priority list!:p

Ben
 
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richard j said:
there isnt any knife made yet other than maybe ceramic (which i would love to try) ...SNIP....there are cheap versions of these wheels but a member here (stevebot) sells the good ones at a discount to bf members. if you want to get your knives razor sharp each and every time check them out. i offered in another post that anyone replying today that wishes to get 1 knife sharpened for free to send it to me (return postage and insured) and i'll do it.
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I'd be interested in trying one of these cardboard wheels, but I tried to PM Stevebot, and it says he has chosen not to, or is prevented from recieving PM's and I don't have an email. Perhapse you could ask him to email or PM me. There will probably be a sale in it for him. JDBraddy
 
JDBraddy said:
I'd be interested in trying one of these cardboard wheels, but I tried to PM Stevebot, and it says he has chosen not to, or is prevented from recieving PM's and I don't have an email. Perhapse you could ask him to email or PM me. There will probably be a sale in it for him. JDBraddy
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Go here http://users.ameritech.net/knives/paper.htm and get the 8" wheels for a 6" grinder. Ask for the BF discount. I got mine from him and they are awesome. I confess to anally using an EdgePro for my really good (read expensive) knives but the paper wheels are fantastic. The learning curve takes about 5 minutes with a couple of cheapo knives. I cannot say enough good things about steve's wheels.

Buzz
If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going!
 
One, and only one, caveat. Be careful about overheating thin bladed knives near the tip. As I said, practice with the cheapos first.

Buzz
If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going!
 
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