Ti-Lite Aus8 sharpening?

R

red96ta

Joined
Jun 15, 2008
Messages
132
I've got three knives, a Ti-Lite, Leek, and a Nitrous Stryker. The last two blades always sharpen well, but for some reason, the Aus8 Ti-lite won't take an edge to save it's life. I've been sharpening knives my whole life and the blade of the Ti-Lite acts like it's not even heat treated...

Generally, i use the ti-lite to separate black sands from gold when I prospect which is, granted, tough on any blade, and it usually needs a touch up at the end of the day, but it just won't get sharp like the 440c Kershaw or the D2 Benchmade. I have katanas made of 1060 that will go through anything without an issue and even with the appleseed geometry of the katana is still WAY sharper than the Aus8.

So what's the deal? Is Aus8 just a sorry metal, Cold Steel dropped the ball? Both? Needless to say, I don't think I'll get a CS knife anytime soon if they can't make their gear better than a production run chinese katana.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! I've moved this to the forum where we discuss sharpening.

Since you seem to know how to sharpen, I'm at a loss about the Ti-Lite. Cold Steel generally does all right with their AUS-8. I have several that hold a decent edge quite well, including an old titanium handled Ti-Lite. There is a possibility that one blade didn't get a good heat treat.
 
I can't help your problem, but its odd as I find AUS-8 the easiest ot sharpen out of my collection. I do not have any CS, however.
 
I have a Ti-Lite as well. It came shaving sharp, and it has stayed that way since this knife is strictly for defense. Can't comment on sharpening, but so far as I've heard, AUS8A is supposed to be very easy to sharp and is supposed to be able to take an extremely sharp edge due to the grain size or something like that.

Is there a possibility you can contact CS?
 
I used to use a Ti-Lite made when they first came out and liked it for opening bags and such. Later on, I went to sharpen a friends Ti-Lite and it acted like you describe (I suspect).

Does this sound familier: coarse stone, sharp; medium stone, sharp; fine stone, sharp; final x-fine stone, dull.

I think it is acting like it has been heat treated for impact resistance vice max hardness, so the edge gets an annoying "micro-burr" that doesn't want to come off. That's my hypothesis, anyway.

I ended up just using the medium stone edge.
 
orthogonal1,

That sounds about like what you've experienced....it came out of the box VERY sharp, but after a few weeks, it had lost it's edge. So I went through the routine and now it won't even cut a sheet of paper. At this point, it's not much more than a prison shank...pointy up front, but that's about it. I didn't experience any burs while sharpening...but it's dead none-the-less.
 
Two questions. What are you using as a sharpener: a ceramic rod setup, a benchstone, diamond rods? Also, have you tried the marker technique, covered the edge bevel in marker and looked to see what part of that sharpens off?
 
I did the marker trick, tried diamonds, ceramic, oil stones, and stropping.

Didn't seem to make a great difference. Once past a certain grit in fineness, the edge would disappear. That is why I was thinking "micro-burrs". Couldn't feel them with my fingernails, though. Reminded me of some "440C" knives I've sharpened.
 
I've found that Cold Steel AUS8 on my Voyagers responds beautifully to DMT hones. I can shave with both of them and the edge lasts a good long time. AUS8 has a pinch of vanadium which makes it one of the better cutlery steels around IMHO. I keep to the factory bevel, generally.
 
Well, the Voyagers are broad, thin, hollow ground, the Ti-Lite is a dagger. Maybe try a coarser stone, don't go for a polished edge, and see how it performs.
 
I have knives in many different steels, including a Ti-lite in AUS-8. I have reprofiled it to 30 degrees inclusive with no back bevel, and it is one of the easiest knives to sharpen that I own. Quick, easy, very sharp. It was easy to sharpen at 40 degrees too before I decided to do almost all of my knives at 30. I use a Sharpmaker and all 4 rods, usually only the fine or the ultra fine for daily maintenance, and a strop with green compound.
Perhaps reprofiling and starting all over might be your best solution. Nothing wrong with the steel IMO.

Rik
 
update:

I went back to work on that Aus8 Ti-Lite and redid the profile on the edge to give it a narrower angle of entry and only sharpened with the course stone and that seems to have added a bit more of an edge than it previously had.

The bottom line is that I think that the knife wasn't properly heat treated from the CS factory. Of course, there's no way to prove it and no way that they'd take the knife back so I think I'll hang onto it and use it as my box chopper and use the Kershaw or Benchmade as my primary tool....

Still, it'll probably stay with me on the prospecting trips. All I need to be hunkered over a creek with a low profile and have a mountain lion think I'm an easy target. It usually does like this....pan, pan, look over shoulder, pan, pan, look over shoulder....lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top