Spyderco vs Spyderco

[cziv]

I tested my Spyderco Military in S30V, along with my Resilience in blade steel of 8Cr13MoV cut for cut with new factory edges. The bevels were adjusted to 40* degrees inclusive....the results after a week of cutting various thicknesses of cardboard was pretty close actually.

Both folders became uncomfortable in my hand on the last thick box that I sliced and diced. Every box and sheet of cardboard was shared by each 1/2 and 1/2. These 2 steels are a couple of levels apart from what I understand.

The Resilience began hurting my hand on the last box as did the Military. The Military was a lot less painful to finish with only because there's no metal liner to dig into the hand when cutting with high resistance.

The Resilience blade seemed much sharper during the first box then they both felt the same until the end of the eek and the last box.

I can't understand how the 8Cr13MoV Resilience could keep pace with the highly touted slicer - Spyderco Military in S30V (uncoated btw). The Resilience seems to have a thinner blade and that's the only reason I can think of that would allow it to keep up with the Military.

Both knives have been resharpened to 40* and are very sharp there. :thumbup:

 

[singularity35]

Excellent review! Thanks.

 

[Tsujigiri]

S30V has a reputation for losing its sharpness and keeping a semi sharp edge for a long time, which would explain why it lagged at first and then caught up. As to why they both finished the same, I have no idea.

 

[neuron]

I agree that the Resilience having a thinner blade is the most likely explanation, especially given that you were using subjective difficulty of cutting as the basis for comparison.

I've noticed the same thing with thin-bladed knives and cardboard-cutting. For example, a Delica that can't even slice paper cleanly will still be able to get through cardboard while applying a normal amount of force, whereas a thicker blade at the same level of sharpness will come to a stop mid-cut with the same amount of force applied. It's the same reason box cutters work as well as they do -- they aren't made of some steel with super duper edge-holding properties, but they're extremely thin.

 

[Bill1170]

I agree that the Resilience having a thinner blade is the most likely explanation, especially given that you were using subjective difficulty of cutting as the basis for comparison.

I've noticed the same thing with thin-bladed knives and cardboard-cutting. For example, a Delica that can't even slice paper cleanly will still be able to get through cardboard while applying a normal amount of force, whereas a thicker blade at the same level of sharpness will come to a stop mid-cut with the same amount of force applied. It's the same reason box cutters work as well as they do -- they aren't made of some steel with super duper edge-holding properties, but they're extremely thin.

Yep, this explains the fantastic slicing ability of Opinels. Also, you can now buy bimetal utility knife blades with HSS edges that do have super-duper edge-holding relative to most knife steels and way better than simple carbon steel utility blades.

 

[goodeyesniper]

hmm, i can only think of two reasons, with an improbable third.

1: the thicker military felt duller just because of increased resistance. Though to be honest, I wouldn't think 1mm of difference, of two flat ground blades would be all that noticeable.

2: The s30v was not actually sharp starting off. I know I had a bear of a time getting s30v sharp when i was new to the game. I'm going to assume you know what you were doing, though.

The distant third would be a bad heat treat that slipped through quality control.

my experience with Spyderco's s30v (on the native) and 8cr (tenacious) shows s30v in a completely different ballpark than 8cr.

 

[neuron]

Though to be honest, I wouldn't think 1mm of difference, of two flat ground blades would be all that noticeable.

You might be surprised. A difference of 1 mm may not seem like much in most everyday contexts, but it's a lot when it comes to blade thickness.

 

[goodeyesniper]

You might be surprised. A difference of 1 mm may not seem like much in most everyday contexts, but it's a lot when it comes to blade thickness.

I should have specified that I wouldn't see a huge noticeable difference in CARDBOARD cutting. I know there are plenty of chores where being thin is key. Just doesn't seem like cardboard would see as much of a gain in performance by 1mm. Love my 2mm thick centofante 4

i could definitely be wrong. maybe thicker/stiffer cardboard does give more resistance than I am assuming on thicker blades. have never really done a side by side comparison to see for myself.

 

[singularity35]

Maybe you didn't cut enough for the S30V to make a difference against the 8Cr13Mov.

Not that I'm questioning your results. Just sayin' that maybe more cutting needs to be done for the vaunted wear resistance of S30V to manifest itself.

 

[Zeseder]

I waiting Resilience. Military haven't, but as judged by forum, Resilience pain not murderer of the Military.

 

[singularity35]

I waiting Resilience. Military haven't, but as judged by forum, Resilience pain not murderer of the Military.

I see.

 

[orchunter93]

The native for instance has that slicing problem. It has s30v, but due to its really agressive blade grind, it makes it a poor slicer. On wood it works excellently though.

 

[idaho]

Not overall thickness of the blade, but thickness behind the edge is the main factor that creates most friction in cutting, beside the sharpness.
Thats is why opinels and kitchen victorinoxes cut well even when dull.

 

[cziv]

Not overall thickness of the blade, but thickness behind the edge is the main factor that creates most friction in cutting, beside the sharpness.
Thats is why opinels and kitchen victorinoxes cut well even when dull.

I agree with this and is what I think caused my Military to start dragging at the rate of an inferior steel in the sheets of cardboard. It felt like the whole blade, rather than the edge was slowing me down.

What I wrote in the OP wasn't a review - but rather a big question, as the results I experienced weren't carefully monitored except for equal amount of cuts in the same material. I'm just guessing at this point.

I bet if I did a cord cutting test, which is Ankerson and Nosh's turf, the S30V would come out WAY on top. This, due to the lack of involvement of the rear of the blade and isolating the cutting edge only.

 

[neuron]

I should have specified that I wouldn't see a huge noticeable difference in CARDBOARD cutting. I know there are plenty of chores where being thin is key. Just doesn't seem like cardboard would see as much of a gain in performance by 1mm. Love my 2mm thick centofante 4

i could definitely be wrong. maybe thicker/stiffer cardboard does give more resistance than I am assuming on thicker blades. have never really done a side by side comparison to see for myself.

Ah, gotcha. I cut quite a bit of cardboard -- gotta break down all those boxes my knives are shipped in () -- and it actually seems like cardboard is a material where thinness is important. Especially with thick cardboard, a lot of resistance comes from the blade being "pinched" between the cardboard as one cuts, and thinness helps reduce such resistance.