Spyderco H1 Edge Retention?

personally, im not expecting H1 to hold an edge like s90v. somewhere between good AUS-8 and VG-10 is acceptable to me.
 
Orion's Belt said:
It does seem to perform optimally in SE format. Sal said that, in serrated form, H1 had the best edge retention of ANY steel they tested.
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that's just odd to me, you'd think serrated or plain its edge retention would me the same, I mean its the same steel..

maybe its the geometry of the serrations and the fact that it doesn't 'rub' as much against the material its cutting..

hmmm, I don't like serrations myself and prefer plain edge BUT a knife with H1 is designed for specific use around water, that said a full serrated blade may be acceptable in my book after reading this..

thanks for the info I had no idea...
 
TheLastDaze said:
that's just odd to me, you'd think serrated or plain its edge retention would me the same, I mean its the same steel..

maybe its the geometry of the serrations and the fact that it doesn't 'rub' as much against the material its cutting..

hmmm, I don't like serrations myself and prefer plain edge BUT a knife with H1 is designed for specific use around water, that said a full serrated blade may be acceptable in my book after reading this..

thanks for the info I had no idea...
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As has been mentioned, H1 is a work hardened steel. The more grinding,milling , or abrasion a particular area of the steel receives, the harder it will get. For example, the edge is going to be harder than the spine. Similarly a serrated edge will be harder than a plain edge due to the grinding involved in making serrations. There are people here who can explain it more in depth and scientifically and talk about plastic deformation and the differences between austenitic and martensitic, but this is just the gist of it.
 
I have a few salt series knives, all in plain edge because I cant stand serrations. they are great knives, I dive with them all summer, go hiking ect. however the answer is no they dont hold an edge all that great. good enough for me though. its a give and take, you want a blade that can hang out in the ocean all the time and still cut fairly well, you got it. but its no M4 as far as sharpness and edge holding.
 
Yeah thats kinda true...its not the best at holding an edge, but with a sharpening system, it can be resharpened in no time at all. Like the other guys have said it will probably hold more of a cutting edge on a rougher finish rather than a finer finish.

Thats why the serrated one just keeps cutting so well.
 
Orion's Belt said:
It does seem to perform optimally in SE format. Sal said that, in serrated form, H1 had the best edge retention of ANY steel they tested.
Click to expand...

Have a link? I can't believe the serrated version is any better than VG-10 and no where close to S90V.

I'm not that impressed with its edge holding. I have a PE model and it dulls really quick.
 
I've got a fully serrated lady bug and it's edge retention is just fine this H1 is strange stuff.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Have a link? I can't believe the serrated version is any better than VG-10 and no where close to S90V.

I'm not that impressed with its edge holding. I have a PE model and it dulls really quick.
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I'll get around to searching, but I think I recall someone saying that the hardness on a serrated h1 is in the realm of 68rc. I'll look now.


From the Spyderco forums:

Originally Posted by TazKristi
H1 is a precipitation-hardened alloy. And yes, it is also work-hardened. Meaning that anything that you do that causes heat through friction will harden the steel further; it’s also important to note that tests have shown that it does not become brittle. The work-hardened properties of H1 have been proven by analysis independently performed by Crucible Specialty Metals. It is this that explains why an H1 blade with a SpyderEdge has better edge retention than it's PlainEdge counterpart. In the end, the analysis from Crucible found the Rc at the spine was 58, however at the edge it had increased in both the PlainEdge (to 65 Rc) and the SpyderEdge (to 68 Rc).

The Salt Series knives are being made and promoted to a market where corrosion resistance is important.

So, is H1 possibly just another flavor-of-the-month? Possibly, but hype can only go so far.

Kristi
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Have a link? I can't believe the serrated version is any better than VG-10 and no where close to S90V.

I'm not that impressed with its edge holding. I have a PE model and it dulls really quick.
Click to expand...

I'm having a hell of a time trying to find where Sal mentioned it. I think it was on the Official Spydie forum. Maybe Sal can chime in here and confirm or deny it.
 
For me, PE holds an edge well when cutting soft stuff, like food prep. Tough jobs dull it quickly but it sharpens up faster than anything else I've used.
 
I own a couple of PE Salt knives...a Salt 1 and a Pacific. And I own several SE Salts, too. The SE ones I use most are the Tasman and Spyderhawk, and they hold an edge incredibly well. I've used them a lot at work, and they keep on cutting and show no signs of dulling yet. I like the serrations on the hooked Salt blades better than on the Pacific or Atlantic Salts, because the latter's serrations are cut deeper/pointier and tend to snag. They also roll if you accidentally contact something that's hard, but they don't break off; this is easily remedied with the Sharpmaker. I haven't had such issues with the Tasman/Spyderhawk Salts due to their smoother serrations.

As for the PE, I mainly use them for food prep or other easy jobs, and they hold an edge well enough for that. And they're probably the easiest steel I've ever resharpened. The PE's probably hold an edge comparable to or even better than many knife steels of decades past.

Jim
 
These days I willing to sacrifice edge retention for ease of sharpening.

Plus the corrosion resistance during exercise, heavy perspiration, or being in the water are a huge plus

Would love to see a delica 4 with a pointy tip in H1
 
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