vg10 vs zdp189

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DennisStrickland

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endura & stretch both cut 32 times 15 in. cardboard. code on cardboard was edge crush test 48 lbs. per in.[whatever that means] heavy board was lawnmower container.both slightly shaved leg hair with the stretch shaving slightly easier.this was difficult to push the knives thru & i was surprised the vg10 was so close to the zdp189. 480 in. of board each.
 
DennisStrickland said:
this was difficult to push the knives thru & i was surprised the vg10 was so close to the zdp189. 480 in. of board each.
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Same surprise for me when comparing two Calypso Jr. One VG10 and one ZDP 189. They were very close in edge retention with a slight advantage to the VG10. I assume the very sandy cardboard i used dulled the ZDP189 by micro chipping. On wood and rope the edge retention of the ZDP189 was better than the one of the VG10.

dantzk.
 
Thanks for the test. Since those two knives have the same grind and edge profile any cutting difference should be attributable to the steel. I'm pleased that the VG10 preformed well. The more I learn about VG10 the more I like it. This test also reaffirmed my previous decision not to get ZDP-189.

I'll grant that edge retention might be better in ZDP-189 in some circumstances, but for me that doesn't outweigh the problems with ease of sharpening, chipping, and corrosion.

Between these two I'll take VG10 any day.
 
i've put zdp to some hard tests with no chipping or corrosion. however in view of cost factor vg10 is proving to be better value.
 
I'm a big fan of VG-10. Excellent steel. I would be content to use nothing but VG-10 the rest of my life.
 
Get into a few thousand inches of cardboard and tell us what you see ;)

Also add some carpet, drywall, manila rope, copper wire, and anything that usually dulls a blade fast. Push it far beyond dull, push it to the point of not being able to cut, this is the area of edge retention that separates the men from the boys.
 
i would rate s30v as almost as good at straight retention compared to zdp189. knifenut1013 i love your dedication but if you reach 71 yrs you may find your eagerness to cut up everything in the world has abated somewhat.you are well appreciated in your knowledge of mastering the fine edge.in quest of practical working tests on steels i have found that the cardboard has a direct coorelation to processing whitetail deer & hogs. for my purposes this knowledge which equates to practical field use is certainly adequate for the texas hunter.this paragraph is not intended to get in a spitting contest between alloys. i put in some effort making a smalll test & simply reported my results. please recognize that 35 years of cutting cardboard does give some credence in knowledge of edge durability . thanks again for informing myself as to the effectiveness of diamond paste.
 
cgmblade said:
Thanks for the test. Since those two knives have the same grind and edge profile any cutting difference should be attributable to the steel. I'm pleased that the VG10 preformed well. The more I learn about VG10 the more I like it. This test also reaffirmed my previous decision not to get ZDP-189.

I'll grant that edge retention might be better in ZDP-189 in some circumstances, but for me that doesn't outweigh the problems with ease of sharpening, chipping, and corrosion.

Between these two I'll take VG10 any day.
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Are you kidding? those two edge profiles are night and day different....am i the only one that see's this????
 
DennisStrickland said:
i would rate s30v as almost as good at straight retention compared to zdp189. knifenut1013 i love your dedication but if you reach 71 yrs you may find your eagerness to cut up everything in the world has abated somewhat.you are well appreciated in your knowledge of mastering the fine edge.in quest of practical working tests on steels i have found that the cardboard has a direct coorelation to processing whitetail deer & hogs. for my purposes this knowledge which equates to practical field use is certainly adequate for the texas hunter.this paragraph is not intended to get in a spitting contest between alloys. i put in some effort making a smalll test & simply reported my results. please recognize that 35 years of cutting cardboard does give some credence in knowledge of edge durability . thanks again for informing myself as to the effectiveness of diamond paste.
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Cardboard and deer and hogs you say, that some good info :thumbup:

What I meant by my post is that most never push a super steel to its breaking point (not breaking but point of useless edge) its really amazing how far the steels will go even after they are what we would all call very dull.
 
ditto to knifenut1013--pushing those knives thru the cardboard broke a sweat on me /i sure hope i do'nt ever need to cut drywall.mr. wheelspeed please elaborate as to how totally different 2 flatground bevels can be as long as blade stock is equal.
 
What kind of distal taper does the FFG E4 have? What are the measurements behind the edge? Was shaving your hair the only metric of edge retention you used? How were they sharpened and to what polish level?

I don't want to be rude, but this is not a very good test of any sort of edge retention. A measured or weighted cutting test done over specific intervals would have been a better test. That slight difference in shaving ability could translate into a large percentage difference in actual cutting performance if based on a more scientific and quantitative testing style.

I've noticed ZDP does not suffer a wire edge very well at all and will show poor retention if the burr is not removed. When the burr is properly removed I've found it to show quite a bit more retention than VG10. But, same as you, this is just my opinion on noted performance through use.
 
cutting cardboard was never intended to be a quantitive empirical truism. simply a practice ive done for many years to give myself a personal opinion of practical edge durability. as mentioned i certainly did'nt wish my opinions to be published in scientific american.all bevels were similar & one can be assured i know what a wire edge consists of. any person can devise a method of testing that satisifies his own opinions.i have a slight knowledge of catra testing performed by buck, spyderco & fallkniven.also have read how charpy impact tests are performed. any member is free to do their own tests in such a fashion as they please & hopefully allowed to state their own conclusions. i certainly did'nt expect my simple opinions to be chiseled in stone. hopefully other members will give their results from various other tests which we can read . i have always considered communication to be more constructive in which people give their personal testing experiences rather than decrying other individual testing experiences.
 
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knifenut1013 said:
Cardboard and deer and hogs you say, that some good info :thumbup:

What I meant by my post is that most never push a super steel to its breaking point (not breaking but point of useless edge) its really amazing how far the steels will go even after they are what we would all call very dull.
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Yab puts most cutting tests to shame. A pair of S90V Militarys gets him through the day IIRC.
 
Yab is the one that inspired me to use drywall as a test meida :)
 
It's an informative test, and is good enough for me, especially since my own testing got similar results.
 
I don't want to be rude, but this is not a very good test of any sort of edge retention. A measured or weighted cutting test done over specific intervals would have been a better test. That slight difference in shaving ability could translate into a large percentage difference in actual cutting performance if based on a more scientific and quantitative testing style.
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Empirical tests have their place. What a "large percentage difference" means for a user? Less than a "slight difference in shaving ability". When you can correlate a specific cutting cardboard test to deer dressing, like did DennisStrickland, isn'it informative enough? I do like to read experts reports but make my own tests is part of the hobby.

I've noticed ZDP does not suffer a wire edge very well at all and will show poor retention if the burr is not removed. When the burr is properly removed I've found it to show quite a bit more retention than VG10. But, same as you, this is just my opinion on noted performance through use.
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I agree on that point even if you make it, like i do, on a "noted performance through use".

dantzk.
 
if nothing else was resolved we got to converse between ourselves & even though we may have contending views , the important nexas was we are talking to each other. the influx of opinions is what is important since without input we would not have a forum.certainly we all would like to hear of various cutting experiences whether they are empirical tests as such performed by knarfeng or backyard chop offs.all cutting experiences have some merit & can be of interest to members.
 
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