What steel is the most difficult for you to sharpen?

Status
Not open for further replies.
JTR357

JTR357

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
14,353
For me it's D2.I don't get it.I can sharpen ZDP,M4,S90V,etc.All with a higher hardness.There's just something about D2 that makes me feel like a noob sharpener.I can't get a decent edge on anything with D2(Queen,Krein,Dozier,etc.),using my sharpmaker &/or a DMT aligner.

What's your problem steel?
 
Of the ones I've tried so far, S30V is by far the toughest. I've used my Lansky system to reprofile a couple of my Queen Country Cousin soddies in D2, and those were fairly tough.

Part of my problem is that I've only got one diamond hone (medium) to supplement my standard Lansky set. I've pretty much worn that hone out, using it to reprofile a lot of blades (in 1095, 420HC, ATS-34, VG-10, D2 and S30V). The S30V has been the toughest of the lot, and made all the more so by trying to use my somewhat worn medium diamond hone. I think (and hope) that it'll be a little easier when I'm ready to spend the money to replace my standard Lansky set with a diamond set.
 
Roselli UHC (ultra high carbon; HRC about 66) is the hardest to sharpen I've ever encountered. It requires a diamond hone - regular stones won't touch it. But, once sharpened, it holds an edge better than any blade I've ever owned (and that's a lot :-)

Rich S
 
Last edited:
None are really "harder" than others to sharpen... Some just take longer. Well, I might call VG-10 "harder" to sharpen just because the burr tends to flop back and forth. I guess it is "harder" to get rid of on VG-10 compared to other steels.
 
D2 is tough.

I own a dozen knives in D2 because it's tough.

I use diamond hones, fine & extra fine, for rough work, and Belgian garnet (natural) stones for finishing (4000-8000 grit).

CPM D2 is easier sharpened due to the small grain size compared to conventional D2.

I've not found any other steel as hard to get 'scary sharp' as regular D2. It's worth the work. If you hate your D2 knives, swap me some of 'em, cause I don't.
 
Probably S30V. I was able to keep S90V sharp but then I tried to reprofile it some and now I can't get it sharp again. S30V just doesn't like to get sharp for me.

On the other hand M4 gets really sharp very easily. It almost has me questioning it's edge retention because of how easy it is to sharpen. I think I am going to have to do some informal testing between steels so I can 'trust' it again.
 
I agree with several statements here; THG, "some take longer" and mitch, "D-2 is tough".
For me D-2 took longer work than 440C and I think the large carbides have something to do with it plus the presence of vanadium . Then there is no denying, S30V and S60V take some time and I'm doing most of these on Norton's SiC stones . Using my diamond stones didn't seem to improve the equation much . It requires patience and making sure the angles are correct . DM
 
ZDP-189 hands down. Maybe WH heat treats it differently, but I know that regardless of who heat treats it, it is still typically in the 64-66 hardness range.

- Mark
 
i can never gget a good edge on aus8 or 440c. probably because i dont spend enough time on them, but for some reason i sharpen harder steals easier than softer steels.
 
D2 is also my problem child. It seems to take FOREVER just to get an edge that I can accept and forever and a day to get something that I'm somewhat proud of. Don't even get me started on reprofiling!

Flamtnbker: I have also noticed that CPM-M4 is very easy to sharpen and it scared me a little also. I've sharpened both Spydercos M4 (64 rc I believe) and Benchmades M4 (62 rc) and both took a razor edge very easily. I also would like to do some carboard cutting tests to see how M4 holds an edge. If you beat me to it please start a thread explaining your results as I'm very curious.
 
s30v. It takes a long time to sharpen for me, and when you jack the edge up (chips, rolls) it really takes awhile to sharpen it out.
 
Mark J said:
ZDP-189 hands down. Maybe WH heat treats it differently, but I know that regardless of who heat treats it, it is still typically in the 64-66 hardness range.

- Mark
Click to expand...

See,I find that peculiar.I can reprofile a zdp knife faster & easier than one with D2.:confused:
 
I can reprofile ZDP pretty easy with a diamond stone on the edge pro. But just getting it tree topping sharp is pretty easy with the diamond loaded strop. I don't have a problem with it and find it quite a bit easier than S30V at least to get it really sharp. I think I also find really hard steel easier to sharpen than the softer stuff.
 
S30V is difficult for me, but that's because it just takes a lot of time to sharpen correctly.
 
420/440A steels give me fits. They grind quickly, but actually getting a good cutting edge on them takes every trick I've got sometimes.
 
ChapmanPreferred said:
It is less of a steel issue for me. I find thick edges take longer to sharpen.
Click to expand...

This is about right. A thin, sound edge is not difficult to sharpen, no matter what steel. What makes knives difficult to sharpen is the thick, less-than-usefully-acute factory edge bevels so many knives come with. In the attempt to sharpen the edge without going even less acute, there is a tendency to not grind enough at the actual edge. Even if the factory edge were perfectly matched, the result is an edge bevel that is even thicker than before, which makes the task progressively more difficult each time. The only real long term solution is reprofiling.
 
shecky said:
This is about right. A thin, sound edge is not difficult to sharpen, no matter what steel. What makes knives difficult to sharpen is the thick, less-than-usefully-acute factory edge bevels so many knives come with. In the attempt to sharpen the edge without going even less acute, there is a tendency to not grind enough at the actual edge. Even if the factory edge were perfectly matched, the result is an edge bevel that is even thicker than before, which makes the task progressively more difficult each time. The only real long term solution is reprofiling.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup:

That's EXACTLY why I reprofile. It's much easier to 'feel' the bevel on a stone or strop, if it's just a little broader than the typical factory bevel (which almost always seems to be miniscule). Makes touch-ups so much easier.
 
I would say some take more time than others but none are really hard to sharpen when you use diamonds :cool:

Even with diamonds though, I still hate sharpening O1. For some reason that steel seems to take forever to grind and polish, and consistent sharpness. I think O1 just doesn't like me :(

Polishing on the other hand is where I find the difficult steels, any stainless CPM steel and I know I'm going to be in for a lot of work. I've spent more hours polishing S30V than I think anything else.

I will agree on the D2 though, I know I would not want to be the one using a Arkansas stone to sharpen that steel..... Ha.... the steel would probably be causing more wear to the stone than the stone to the steel :eek:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top