Steel controversy over?

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
3,195
Hey guys and gals. I've just noticed that it's been a long time since we had the whole "S35VN disappoints me" type thread pop up here. I am guessing that is because after some initial learning, CRK is now spot-on with their S35VN Heat Treat. Factory sharpness is still a common complaint, but is it safe to say, that we are now happy with CRKs metallurgy? Of course we'd all like more options for steel choice, and maybe even hardness levels, but looks like they've got S35VN dialed in for the average user.

Thoughts?
 
I wouldn't mind a tad harder yet, but I'm still quite happy with what they're doing now.
 
Below you see 3 different viewing angles of the edge i recently put on a brand new Sebenza 25 (which had a subpar factory edge)
The owner of the knife took the pictures with a very expensive Leica camera to capture the different looks this edge type can have when seen from different angles.
For obvious reasons i named this a bling & bite finish, and it performs very well on especially high (vanadium) carbide steels.

I first reprofiled the factory edge from 35 degrees inclusive to 30 degrees inclusive with a Rubber Wheel coated with 230 grit diamond powder, then refined it with a Paper Wheel coated with 15 micron diamond compound, and lastly removed the tiny burr with a second Paper Wheel coated with 0.25 micron diamond compound.
The new and ever so slightly convex edge could treetop the hair on the back of my hand (even whittle it a bit) and easily slice single ply toilet paper.
And this was after i tested the edge with a few firm cuts into the edge of a piece of laminated desktop.
So yes, i think CRK has their heat treatment dialed in pretty good now.



 
Last edited:
kwackster said:
I first reprofiled the factory edge from 35 degrees inclusive to 30 degrees inclusive[…]
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I was under the impression that CRK folding knives had convex secondary bevels, any comment?
 
They are indeed, but with the help of my Tormek WM200 AngleMaster i get a fairly accurate idea of the actual edge angle at the apex.
 
kwackster said:
Below you see 3 different viewing angles of the edge i recently put on a brand new Sebenza 25 (which had a subpar factory edge)
The owner of the knife took the pictures with a very expensive Leica camera to capture the different looks this edge type can have when seen from different angles.
For obvious reasons i named this a bling & bite finish, and it performs very well on especially high (vanadium) carbide steels.

I first reprofiled the factory edge from 35 degrees inclusive to 30 degrees inclusive with a Rubber Wheel coated with 230 grit diamond powder, then refined it with a Paper Wheel coated with 15 micron diamond compound, and lastly removed the tiny burr with a second Paper Wheel coated with 0.25 micron diamond compound.
The new and ever so slightly convex edge could treetop the hair on the back of my hand (even whittle it a bit) and easily slice single ply toilet paper.
And this was after i tested the edge with a few firm cuts into the edge of a piece of laminated desktop.
So yes, i think CRK has their heat treatment dialed in pretty good now.

sebenza25snede-04L1000335.jpg


sebenza25snede-05L1000343.jpg


sebenza25snede06L1000439.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow! Great pics and nice job!!!
 
I have always liked s35vn better than s30v. I find it easier to sharpen and I think it has better edge stability with less chipping. A tiny addition of niobium does amazing things to refine steel grain structure.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2ciPAsVTq6c Fast forward to 3mins in video for an explanation of what niobium does to steel crystal grains. Fascinating!
 
I like the 35 better but I find you have to get down to better steel to see it. The factory edge seems very easy to roll, almost soft. But a profile on the gatco to 19 dps then fine finish on sharpmaker really makes the steel shine, I find.
 
My Nyala's heat treat is absolutely awful (I've posted about it before). CRK should have been embarrassed for it to even leave the shop.

Now, to be fair mine is older, but judging from Scope2x's post in this thread, things haven't changed. I have also read about a Nyala with bad steel on another forum. If I had money to waste, I'd buy a new one just to see.

All that being said, I have a Sebenza whose steel is fine. For whatever reason, this appears to be an issue with some of their Nyalas. Different batch of steel maybe?
 
I think, for me, if CRK incorporated other steel options with optimal heat treat, I potentially wouldn't need to purchase any other brand. I would sell everything, for the most part, & settle down solely with CRK.

I think their S35VN has been greatly improved.
 
skwurll said:
I think, for me, if CRK incorporated other steel options with optimal heat treat, I potentially wouldn't need to purchase any other brand. I would sell everything, for the most part, & settle down solely with CRK.

I think their S35VN has been greatly improved.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. If they would made knives in 3V with a proper heat treat, I would be on cloud nine.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's ever going to happen. Chris Reeve has stated numerous times that he purposefully runs his steel soft so that it can be sharpened in the field. I disagree with him, but he's stubborn and he's been doing things his way for a long, long time. I don't see his ideas changing.
 
when grinding the blades to make them sharp this often heats the edge up and causes issues with the heat treat. if you are having issues try and re-profile the edge with a guided system or stones and see how well the edge retention is after that. it should resolve the problem.

mass produced knives have to do this otherwise it would take forever to sharpen every knife. im not suggesting this is the absolute reason or cause... but it may help.

9Nine, now that Reeves is retired, what does the company say now?
 
Mo2 said:
when grinding the blades to make them sharp this often heats the edge up and causes issues with the heat treat. if you are having issues try and re-profile the edge with a guided system or stones and see how well the edge retention is after that. it should resolve the problem.

mass produced knives have to do this otherwise it would take forever to sharpen every knife. im not suggesting this is the absolute reason or cause... but it may help.

9Nine, now that Reeves is retired, what does the company say now?
Click to expand...

I've freehand sharpened it on Waterstones and stropped. The edge is better, but still not great.

And I had no idea he retired. Maybe they'll start branching out and making knives in different and/or better steels. That'd be great.
 
yes that is one of the better articles I've seen on blade steel... would be difficult to beat S35VN blade steel for overall characteristics
 
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