Well there ain't no cure for the VG-10 blues

U

UncleBoots

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May 27, 2020
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I have learned much here. I am a better sharpener, and on the road to becoming a really good sharpener, someday. I have somehow acquired a number of Spydercos, in different steels, and have enjoyed sharpening them all, and learning how they are different.

Here is the paragraph you can skip, which I will help you justify by paraphrasing Isaac Asimov: "You are being mystical, and I always find it difficult to understand another man's mysticism." I truly think I can understand things about a steel by sharpening it, and letting the edge ever-so-slightly penetrate a finger or thumb. In this reckoning, S110V and Maxamet are strange, otherworldly materials, akin to ceramic, steel that is harder than steel should be, not friendly, but scary-capable, if you conform to its needs. M390 is the supreme steel, accessible and friendly and supremely capable of taking an edge that will do just about anything. Aogami Blue is like that, too, but not quite where M390 is.

And then there's VG-10. It's just weird to sharpen. Oh, I can get it sharp. I can, with effort and time, deal with its gummy reluctance to shed its burr. But I cannot get it scary-sharp. I've tried all my sharpening equipment, all the tricks I've read here and elsewhere. The simple answer is that it's just not that good a steel. But it feels like one. It feels like a steel that you should be able to get a scary sharp edge on without that much effort. It's not happening for me. Diamonds/CBN down to very fine grits, J-Nats, stropping with compound, nothing will avail to boost this steel from "just good enough, really all right" to "ouch, better not touch that edge." And from the corner of the room, M-390 smiles, reminding me how easy it can be to make a great edge.

Any tips or advice on how to slay this VG-10 dragon?
 
After you raise a burr on both sides of the edge, you can chop off the burr with a very short stroke.

So, if you just finished sharpening on the right side of the edge, the burr will be curling off to the left side of the edge.

Use your stone on the left side, holding your sharpening angle, and give the whole edge a series of light, short passes [edge leading] -- just an eighth of an inch. If you keep going with a longer pass, you'll just raise a new burr.

After you cut off the burr with those short strokes, strop the edge lightly at the sharpening angle. Stropping at this point will refine your clean edge, not your burr.

Your VG 10 should come out with a sharp, long-lasting edge.
 
UncleBoots said:
I have learned much here. I am a better sharpener, and on the road to becoming a really good sharpener, someday. I have somehow acquired a number of Spydercos, in different steels, and have enjoyed sharpening them all, and learning how they are different.

Here is the paragraph you can skip, which I will help you justify by paraphrasing Isaac Asimov: "You are being mystical, and I always find it difficult to understand another man's mysticism." I truly think I can understand things about a steel by sharpening it, and letting the edge ever-so-slightly penetrate a finger or thumb. In this reckoning, S110V and Maxamet are strange, otherworldly materials, akin to ceramic, steel that is harder than steel should be, not friendly, but scary-capable, if you conform to its needs. M390 is the supreme steel, accessible and friendly and supremely capable of taking an edge that will do just about anything. Aogami Blue is like that, too, but not quite where M390 is.

And then there's VG-10. It's just weird to sharpen. Oh, I can get it sharp. I can, with effort and time, deal with its gummy reluctance to shed its burr. But I cannot get it scary-sharp. I've tried all my sharpening equipment, all the tricks I've read here and elsewhere. The simple answer is that it's just not that good a steel. But it feels like one. It feels like a steel that you should be able to get a scary sharp edge on without that much effort. It's not happening for me. Diamonds/CBN down to very fine grits, J-Nats, stropping with compound, nothing will avail to boost this steel from "just good enough, really all right" to "ouch, better not touch that edge." And from the corner of the room, M-390 smiles, reminding me how easy it can be to make a great edge.

Any tips or advice on how to slay this VG-10 dragon?
Click to expand...
Hi,
Hypnotize the dragon?
Say out loud , you are getting sleepy ... you are getting sharp, "scary scarp", it is your destiny, its inevitable, its already happening...

Get a different VG-10 knife?

Get seriously much more detailed?
 
Maybe you’re putting too much pressure on the stone during sharpening that is creating a abnormal burr that’s not coming off. Try using just the weight of the stone without applying pressure. I think very fine grain steels don’t require any pressure to get the edge scary sharp.
 
Eli Chaps said:
VG-10 is a very good steel and I find it very amicable to sharpening.
Click to expand...
This is what I have found and I have a whole pile of white and blue steels to compare it to.

So three things come to mind - one heat treat and two burrs.
If this is only one knife, it may be a poor heat treat. BD1 has felt gummy on novaculite - almost like drawing out clay, but a good VG10 does not. But with a bad heat treatment VG10 just keeps on forming burrs. Early Shuns had this reputation.
The original burr might not be removed - there may still be a micro-burr left.
Or conversely, since the steel feels soft, OP may be going too far in trying to remove the burr and forming a new one on the opposite side. Feel for a burr on both sides after stropping.
 
Thanks for all the great advice. I think the prize goes to the "it's your knife" people. Or rather, "it's that last mm of your knife." I pulled out my 80 grit stone, ground it back a bit, went through the progression. I'm at 800 grit at the moment, and I've found that scary sharp edge. So I'm guessing it's one of those "the grinder messed up the heat treat on the edge" cases.
 
Vg10 was the first real knife steel I experienced after a childhood of gas station specials. After sharpening m390, I appreciate how fast you can rebevel a knife with vg10. M390 gave me nightmares.
 
I put a convex edge on my F1 using diamond hones, seems to work well although the burr takes a while. Use light strokes.
 
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