"Super-steels"?

Not sure if my perspective will help, but as a Vineyard worker I find it useful to have a knife that is easy to resharpen should I need to 'abuse' the edge. Usually I would classify the edge abuse I do as- scraping, light prying, digging (in EXTREMELY rocky areas) out weeds that will otherwise spread (in a Vineyard, not digging out a weed when it's seen, a few weeks later the whole area is covered.) Usually my thinking is that when I am over a kilometer away, downhill from the shed with the proper tools, It is much more efficient to use a knife for most jobs.

A while ago I was digging out a hole for a 10ft pole using a corer, and hit a big patch of very fine clay, that kept on sticking in the corer. We couldn't push the clay out, so I just started cutting it out with my Case CV sodbuster. It scraped on the tool, and on the rocks in-bedded in the clay but it meant the job got done much quicker. Once back at the shed, on our way to lunch, I used a diamond sharpener to bring back the edge using very few swipes. (less than 30 seconds)


I want to clarify that I am not really a user of 'super' steels, the most advanced I use being D2, 440C and 154cm

I treat my Ken Coats custom in 154CM almost as a scalpel, it has a slight hollow grind that is very thin, will get wicked sharp and will keep cutting even when it's mostly dull. I just wouldn't trust it to any abuse, as chipping is a chief concern.

Other than that, I have mostly knives in basic carbon and stainless, 1095, case CV 12c27 Ect... And while the grinds are mostly thin, I am not worried about chipping occuring, due to the softer heat treats. To be honest I am not sure how accurate my assessments are, as I haven't used super steels to the extent of the basics. Just thought I would tip my hat into the ring,
 
Ryan Sumner said:
Not sure if my perspective will help, but as a Vineyard worker I find it useful to have a knife that is easy to resharpen should I need to 'abuse' the edge. Usually I would classify the edge abuse I do as- scraping, light prying, digging (in EXTREMELY rocky areas) out weeds that will otherwise spread (in a Vineyard, not digging out a weed when it's seen, a few weeks later the whole area is covered.) Usually my thinking is that when I am over a kilometer away, downhill from the shed with the proper tools, It is much more efficient to use a knife for most jobs.(...)
Click to expand...

Hi Ryan. Maybe try something in L6 for rough work in rocky soil. I don't know if an oil-hardened tool steel is considered 'super' but it takes a good edge, it's tough and easy to sharpen. I was pretty impressed by a Svord Peasant for gardening work and lawn edging; it's an inexpensive way to try L6 (just stick to the plastic or wood scaled models because the riveted aluminum handles are garbage.)

Then again, you're probably happy sticking with what you have since it works well for ya! :)

-Brett
 
timberweasel said:
Hi Ryan. Maybe try something in L6 for rough work in rocky soil. I don't know if an oil-hardened tool steel is considered 'super' but it takes a good edge, it's tough and easy to sharpen. I was pretty impressed by a Svord Peasant for gardening work and lawn edging; it's an inexpensive way to try L6 (just stick to the plastic or wood scaled models because the riveted aluminum handles are garbage.)

Then again, you're probably happy sticking with what you have since it works well for ya! :)

-Brett
Click to expand...

I've been wanting to try a svord for a while now, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet. The L6 steel really interested me, so at a local knife makers show I bought a small fixed blade in L6 for a good price. The grind was pretty think, and I had a hard time getting a very fine edge because of that, so I mainly used it as a rough knife. It worked pretty well, until I had to twist a plastic wire-clip to fix it and it snapped off the first inch of the blade! I have been meaning to post a pic to see if it was poor heat treat, or whether I was expecting too much. (To be fair, i've done the same twisting motion with 2.5 inch bladed slipjoints, with 1095 steel and had no problems).
I really shouldn't let that experience sour me on L6 though, and I think you've convinced me to finally try a svord. (Maybe even a fixed blade?)
 
i have limited experience with super steels i have always stuck to aus 8 or vg1 the only super steels i own are a manix xl in s30v and a recon 1 tanto in cts-xhp s30v. s30v is ok, not much use of the recon 1 yet
 
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