The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
I have found 154cm to be much better than VG10.I think $88 is towards the lower end of prices for non-Byrd Spydercos. It's not like paying $200 for a Benchmade AFO II with similar 154CM steel.
Let's do a crude calculation. Pete at Cedric & Ada got 73 rope cuts from VG-10. You cut about 20 branches less than 1/2" thick. Don't know what kind of branches or how much less than 1/2 inch. But I recently trimmed some 1/4 crepe myrtle branches. I'm guessing that each of those cuts would be about like 2 rope cuts in terms of edge wear. A 1/2 branch, at twice the diameter, would have 4 times the cross-sectional area, so that would be like at least 8 rope cuts. But the wood would be somewhat harder, so let's say 10 rope cuts. So each of 20 cuts would be worth somewhere between 2 and 10 rope cuts. Let's split the difference and say 6 rope cuts on average. So that's like a total of 120 rope cuts, which is way more than Pete got. But Pete stops when the blade won't slice paper cleanly. I assume that you went past the point of non-paper-slicing. So the equivalent of 120 rope cuts would be pretty much in line with Pete's results.
Pete got 40 to 90 Victorinox cuts, 67 to 140 cuts from 4116, and 67 cuts from Bos 420HC. Small sample sizes, quite a bit of variation. All in the same ballpark. I don't see anything surprising.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b_rNfdJnL9oyn-JoL9yUHhUmDLAP1hJ1dN_0q5G4tug/htmlview
Well, from cutting against that bamboo cutting board it is visibly rolled over at the tip; not even a working edge there, any more.VG-10's strength may not lie in how good of an edge it holds, it's a decent edge holder that gets CRAZY sharp without an immense amount of effort. My favorite steels tend to be in the BD1N, 14C28N, and VG-10 range, just because they are so dang easy to touch up and keep hair curling sharp. Premium steels tend to get a working edge that lasts quite a while, but I like to sharpen and prefer a CRAZY edge on my daily carry. There's no question there's better steel out there than VG-10 these days, but I have no issue with any of the mid range steels.
If you're looking for a superlative steel, you'll definitely be disappointed. This is a more balanced steel.
Larrin rates VG-10, 154CM, and 440C the same for edge retention, with VG-10 half a point better for toughness. I would rate them the same except that I would put 154CM a point lower than VG-10 for edge retention. But that is Benchmade 154CM. I do not have any Spyderco 154CM or Benchmade VG-10. So the heat treatments may not be comparable. The Benchmade bevel angles are slightly narrower than Spyderco, which should give a slight advantage to Benchmade.I have found 154cm to be much better than VG10.
Same here regarding KA-BAR AUS-8.I've always found the Ontario rat's AUS 8 to be miles ahead of any vg10 I have on my sapyderco's.
Bamboo cutting boards are terrible on knife edges, regardless of the steel. If you are using one, I'd suggest you replace it with any good wood one,Well, from cutting against that bamboo cutting board it is visibly rolled over at the tip; not even a working edge there, any more.
It did touch up quickly though, as you said. Probably 5 strokes on each side with the medium and fine ceramic rods on the Sharpmaker.
I would be willing to bet that the bamboo cutting board had something to do with it. It never seemed to fail that I would have a flat spot in my edge after cutting on them. After a little bit of research I read that bamboo doesn't make the greatest cutting boards because there is a high silica count in bamboo.
So are you off the VG10 bandwagon?I recall the recent thread in which the OP seemed a bit agitated that VG-10 has as high of a regard as it does. I even stood up for it a bit, however, after today, my regard for it has gone down a notch or two.
At the start of the day, my Centofante 3 was sharp. All I did was:
1) Pruned some bushes. Whittled through probably 20 branches less than 1/2" thick. This was mostly with the base of the blade.
2) Cut the ends off of some cord cobs against an cross-grain bamboo cutting board. Not through the cobs, just the husk and silk.
At the end of the day now, I was looking at the edge straight-on, and noticed I can see about the 3/4" of it near the tip. I checked it by running my thumbprint across it; sure enough, it's dull.
Now I know VG-10 isn't a premium steel, and that bamboo is hard, but I remember it and lesser steels like AUS-8 being better. This is about the performance I'd expect from 4116 or Swiss army knife with their 1.4110 Martensitic at Rc56. I thought I read that Spyderco's VG-10 was closer to Rc 60, or at any rate, a ton harder than bamboo.
I'm going to tune it up on the ol' Sharpmaker, but if it continues to let me down, that'll be about the last VG-10 knife I buy. (and I also know now why that guy was bemoaning VG-10)
So what would you recommend specifically? I use an unknown wood cut board that I am sure has not done well for my sg2 kitchen knives than other better cutting boards though my kitchen knives seem to hold up well.Bamboo cutting boards are terrible on knife edges, regardless of the steel. If you are using one, I'd suggest you replace it with any good wood one,
Bamboo is not "wood" as it is a Grass, not a Tree. In order to turn it into a cutting board it requires adhesives, which in some cases may be or may turn even harder than the bamboo. Additionally, as a grass, Bamboo contains Silica which is an abrasive on steel.
Throughout Asia Bamboo is used for many things due to it's lightness, hardness and durability. But nobody uses for cutting boards.
They are the invention of a California company in the 1980s who thought they looked "Oriental" and would sell. Which they did.
I personally use a Japanese Hinoki board as do many others. But any good Western wood board will do.So what would you recommend specifically? I use an unknown wood cut board that I am sure has not done well for my sg2 kitchen knives than other better cutting boards though my kitchen knives seem to hold up well.
That's useful info. Today I wrote to Spyderco in fact. Regarding my new lil' native in CruWear, that similarly on cutting apples and such seems to have a rolled edge and a little dent. Very odd I thought. Interestingly I never had that problem on my VG-10 Delica nor Dragonfly 2.When I first got my Delica, I rolled the edge cutting an apple on a cutting board. I was a bit disappointed, especially with the reputation VG-10 had. It improved with each sharpening and it's pretty good now. They use powered sharpeners at the factories on the thinnest part of the blade, so it's normal for an edge from any manufacturer to be burned when they grind the initial edge. You could have to remove 0.5mm of steel from the edge before it performs at its best. Be a lot better if they'd slow down a bit on the final sharpening.
VG-10 hasn't changed. The heat treatment may have, our expectations may have, but VG-10 hasn't changed.