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Spyderco's factory sharpness

nccole

nccole

Joined
Jun 2, 2011
Messages
2,972
How woould you describe Spyderco's sharpness from the factory? I can get my knives sharper than factory if I want but can never get quite the same feel. I don't know how to describe it, anyone else notice the difference? I know they do it by hand on a wheel of some sort. Is it a coarseer edge or a fineer edge? They always pop hairs and push cut with ease, but it doesn't look or feel like a polished edge. I like the finish, it feels a bit more refined than the brown stones but not quite fine like the white stones.
 
I'd call them excellent, slightly toothy, edges. AFAIK they hand sharpen using power equipment, belts and/or wheels. There are some videos out there showing the process.
 
While I'd call all my Spydie factory edges toothy, I have seen a ton of variety in quality. I've had some that were "just ok" (S30V Millie), and some that were "holy s$:t" (Cruwear Millie).

A couple that stand out:

My SB Ladybug came out of the box crazy, hilariously sharp but I'm dreading that thing getting dull. There is a huge change in bevel angle from heal to tip. Thing is going to be a pain to work on.

My S30V Millie simply would not get sharp via the Sharpmaker. Finally I put the Millie on some DMT stones and tried to clean up the whole bevel. As I worked with the DMTs I started working down through irregularities in the bevel that must have been left by over from manufacturing. It got to the point you could feel bumps by running your finger along the side of the bevel. Since I got the bevel cleaned up, she takes a screaming edge with just a few passes on the Sharpmaker.
 
I have never had a Spyderco that was NOT hair shaving sharp. I take them out of the box and attempt to shave my forearm hair and ALL of them have done it.

I would guess that the edge is done on 250 grit give or take 50 grit.....so yes it is quite toothy but man does Spyderco know how to do it.

I have never had a knife from the factory come out of the box/package sharper than a Spyderco. I've owned Strider, MCusta, Benchmade, Kershaw, ZT, GEC, Case, Victorinox, Boker, Cold Steel, Queen, Ontario, ESEE, TOPS, Kabar, Emerson, and a few others.
 
All of the Spyderco factory edges that I've inspected have had a very clean bevel and were quite sharp.
Their sharpening process leaves a series of fine grooves running perpendicular to the edge. These grooves (or ridges) sharpen out over time but there is variation in the groove depth so unless you deliberately reprofile the knife it will take several sharpenings to completely eliminate all of them.
 
It takes what, 30 seconds to factory sharpen a Spyderco knife? I recently purchased a Ti Military and I've not sharpened it but I've stropped it a few times and the edge is quite sparky. I do frequent phlebotomy in my line of work and I'd put this stropped tip up against any factory needle. Modern widget needles are actually quite clumsy given some of the high expectations of some folks around this forum. I can tell the difference between a sharp one and one that is leaning toward the outside of spec.
 
I got my first Spyderco yesterday, a black Tenacious. It came with a very nice, even and sharp edge. Compared to other companies' factory edges,(except maybe Kershaw) I'd say Spyderco uses a much finer belt. Pulling it over my thumbnail, it feels very smooth, whereas other factory edges I've had were more biting. Also the grooves that Fancier mentioned are finer than other factory edges I've seen.

That said, it depends a lot on the steel and the intended use of the knife. D2 steel for example IMHO works better with a coarser edge, while AUS8 works great with a fine edge. I'd also sharpen a large outdoor blade with a coarser stone (or belt) than a slicey pocket knife.

But yeah, Spyderco factory edge=great in my limited experience.
 
My serrated Delica and Military came very sharp.

I bought a Starmate for a friend that came passably sharp, while the Street Beat I bought was fairly disappointing.
 
Going off of the Mule Team 18 I own I would say it was a bit toothy and sharp. Not nearly as sharp as I could get a knife but still sharp enough to get just about any job you throw at it done.
 
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