Tell me about Case's "Tru Sharp" Steel

Since 154CM came up in this thread, and Case uses it in a couple of their knives as a counterpart to TruSharp, in the real world what is the difference? I know it's supposed to be a "supersteel," and I assume it doesn't get sharper per-se (hair whittling is hair whittling), and corrosion resistance is pretty well handled already by the TruSharp, so is it a matter of edge-holding? Is it less likely to chip? More carbides for a longer-lasting toothier edge like 440c? I assume I get something good in return for higher price and (probably) more difficulty sharpening?
 
AFAustin said:
I'm likewise a fan of Case Tru-Sharp as I'm partial to the very fine edges it affords.

Carl, David, and everyone who mentioned the sometimes stubborn burrs with Tru-Sharp---what are your favorite methods for removing them?

Thanks,

Andrew
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To get a burr off in the most expedient fashion, I take the knife and drawer the edge across the corner of a 2X4 like I'm trying to slice the 2X4 in half. Do this two or three times. The wood will take care of the burr.
 
AFAustin said:
I'm likewise a fan of Case Tru-Sharp as I'm partial to the very fine edges it affords.

Carl, David, and everyone who mentioned the sometimes stubborn burrs with Tru-Sharp---what are your favorite methods for removing them?

Thanks,

Andrew
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On Case's 420HC, and other tenacious burr-holding steels like VG-10 and ATS-34, a very firmly-backed denim or linen strop with white rouge or aluminum oxide compound works real well to clean the burrs up. By 'aluminum oxide compound', that can be something like the white/grey stick compounds rated for stainless steel (including 'white rouge'), or Flitz, Simichrome or Mother's Mag polish. Any of those work well if the burrs are pretty big and otherwise tough to remove.

For finer burrs on Case's stainless, sometimes (often, actually) a simple leather belt strop with green compound can take those off. A lot depends on how heavy the burrs are; if one's touch on the stones is well-developed, a lot can be minimized there, before stropping. My own burrs off the stones used to be pretty heavy on Case's blades, and I was thankful for the denim/AlOx strop with those. As my touch has improved, I'm not using that strop as much anymore, and instead going to the leather belt with green compound for a few light finishing passes.

The stones used will make a difference too. Sounds like overkill for a simple stainless, but a diamond hone is so much more clean-cutting on these steels, my finished edges sometimes don't need much burr-removal at all. I haven't liked using ceramics much on Case's 420HC and other softish steels (Victorinox, for example), as the combination of soft, burr-prone steel and burr-inducing abrasive is kind of a double whammy on them. Other poorly-cutting stones, like 'cheap' AlOx stones (some 'cheap' ones are surprisingly good, and some are horrible) and heavily worn (glazed) AlOx or natural stones can create lots of burring problems too.

All this being said, a light touch on the hones will make the biggest difference of all. I 'trained' my hands for that on diamond hones, and it has paid off on everything else I've used since then. When the touch is good, Case's and Victorinox's stainless will sing on most any stone used, and burrs won't be a big deal anymore.


David
 
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oldtymer said:
Nothing wrong with Case SS. I just wish they offered more models with the "as ground" blades. It is a little less slick to get a hold on and
does not show the fingerprints like the polished version.
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I second this. I bought a couple of the Carhartt patterns just to get the as ground blades, but I prefer the Case shield on my Case knives.
 
Nufsaid - but i do remember what a super pain to sharpen the old gerber stainless kitchen knives were - whatever the tin was it was too hard!@ and case, vic, kershaw, buck, al mar, and others never gave me that problem
revvie
 
David and Carl, thanks for your burr removal tips. In my sharpening, it seems that different methods work for different knives at different times, and sometimes even for the same knife. Drawing through cork, drawing through wood, increasingly light alternating strokes on the Sharpmaker, passes on denim-on-wood strops with compound, can all be effective---but sometimes they don't work as well and leave me wondering why. Recently I've had good luck at times with the "cutting off the burr" method---that is, doubling (or slightly more) the SM angle and making 1-2 light passes as if cutting into the stone, followed by 4-5 light alternating passes at the original (15 degree) angle.

I guess I would like to settle on one universal burr removal method for all knives, but sharpening, like life, is seldom that simple. ;)

Andrew
 
GaiusJulius said:
Since 154CM came up in this thread, and Case uses it in a couple of their knives as a counterpart to TruSharp, in the real world what is the difference? I know it's supposed to be a "supersteel," and I assume it doesn't get sharper per-se (hair whittling is hair whittling), and corrosion resistance is pretty well handled already by the TruSharp, so is it a matter of edge-holding? Is it less likely to chip? More carbides for a longer-lasting toothier edge like 440c? I assume I get something good in return for higher price and (probably) more difficulty sharpening?
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154CM is not considered a Supersteel. In the world of modern blade alloys, it is currently considered an "intermediate steel". In testing it performs noticeably better than 440C, and lightyears beyond tru-sharp in edge retention. In real world the difference in edge retention is quite noticeable for hard work. It's also noticeable for light work, but it isn't such a large step.
 
Man I wish I had a buck for every time I've seen this topic discussed over the years. I'd buy a new knife lol.

I am not a steel nerd. 1095, D2, an occasional 440C (which is about perfect for my tastes). Don't know much about Case steels. But I'll say this: If I really liked a knife and those were the a steel options I would buy it. And I'd never give it a second thought. And I wouldn't give any thoughts to the criticisms of those steels either.

But that's just me. I've been known to go my own way at times.

Will
 
AFAustin said:
David and Carl, thanks for your burr removal tips. In my sharpening, it seems that different methods work for different knives at different times, and sometimes even for the same knife. Drawing through cork, drawing through wood, increasingly light alternating strokes on the Sharpmaker, passes on denim-on-wood strops with compound, can all be effective---but sometimes they don't work as well and leave me wondering why. Recently I've had good luck at times with the "cutting off the burr" method---that is, doubling (or slightly more) the SM angle and making 1-2 light passes as if cutting into the stone, followed by 4-5 light alternating passes at the original (15 degree) angle.

I guess I would like to settle on one universal burr removal method for all knives, but sharpening, like life, is seldom that simple. ;)

Andrew
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For me, the universal method is to minimize and reduce burrs on the stones first. I do it by decreasing pressure continually as the edge is refined and as the burr is reduced, also with a gradually decreasing number of passes per side in doing so. At some point, if that's done effectively, whatever burr is left becomes essentially undetectable, except perhaps as seen under high magnification, and any remnants of it will come off in use, or with just a few light passes on the jeans or on a bare leather strop.

Personally, if I'm increasing the edge angle to try to strip or break the burr away, I sort of feel like I'm probably going about it a little too impatiently, as well as risking applying a microbevel I don't particularly want in the first place. If I just do as described above, gradually decreasing pressure at the same steady angle, whatever burr is left eventually becomes so thin that it'll come off with the blade's first use, or with just a light swipe or two on jeans or whatever. I've come to this conclusion because that's what I've been doing thus far, and it's working ever-better for me all the time. I don't do a lot of stropping with compound anymore, save for light use of the green-on-leather strop. I don't often use anything more aggressive than that on a strop, UNLESS I'm deliberately seeking a highly-polished edge, for which the white rouge, other AlOx and diamond compounds work well for that.


David
 
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Update: I purchased a Case Mini Trapper in Amber Bone with the Tru-Sharp steel. So far the factory edge was sharp enough, but had noticeable burrs that I sharpened down and tried (and was mostly successful) in stropping down. I'm going to put this knife through its paces while I spend some time in the woods making "feather sticks", figure four traps, and whittling.

I wish Case would offer some stonewashed blade variants though versus polishing blades to a mirror finish. Stonewashed blades would, in my opinion, complement the polished nickel silver bolsters.
 
EDCanAdamas said:
Update: I purchased a Case Mini Trapper in Amber Bone with the Tru-Sharp steel. So far the factory edge was sharp enough, but had noticeable burrs that I sharpened down and tried (and was mostly successful) in stropping down. I'm going to put this knife through its paces while I spend some time in the woods making "feather sticks", figure four traps, and whittling.

I wish Case would offer some stonewashed blade variants though versus polishing blades to a mirror finish. Stonewashed blades would, in my opinion, complement the polished nickel silver bolsters.
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Case does offer an "As Ground" blade finish on a few select knives. Actually, there are several offerings. I don't know how well you can see it in this picture but here's one example. These are Tru-Sharp stainless steel blades in the As Ground finish. Not shiny and as close as you'll get to a stone washed blade from Case.

I could almost swear that I saw some Mini Trappers from Case in smooth black synthetic and As Ground blades.

In addition, the Case/Bose collaboration knives have a satin finish but those are quite expensive.

 
They make a great jack with black delrin handles, with the as ground blades. A number of sites will specifically let you look for that detail. I thought I had recently seen advertised stonewashed cv blades but I could be mistaken. Don't recall when or where though.
 
I'll have to look out for one of those "As Ground" blades. My mini trapper worked fine for whittling, but I noticed marks on the blades from where harder parts of the wood left really minor scratch marks in the mirror finish. Scratch marks are probably inevitable when you use your mirror-finished Case knives.
 
knarfeng said:
Inevitable with just about any knife that gets used, IMO.
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It's just a little harder when the knife is brand new out of the box. Out of curiosity, if I took things to an absurd level and wanted a reblade, does Case offer that service? I'm sure someone's worn out their Case and wanted new blades only.
 
Case will repair any knife to the best of their ability. This includes a new blade if the pattern's blade is still available.
 
When it comes to removing burrs, the "slice" through a piece of wood is good, also some light stropping strokes over the final stone or the final two stones do the trick.
 
This 1989 Tru-Sharp Copperhead Wharncliffe Trapper is a beautiful example of the "as ground" blades.

CopperheadWTopen_zpsad096599.jpg~original
 
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