What steels take and keep a polished hair popping edge the longest?

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SBaker34

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CPM s30v-s110v and other high carbide steels have a reputation for taking a toothy edge that loses the initial sharpness fast, and then takes half of eternity to dull.

What steels have you found keep the hair popping polished edge the longest? even if the working edge doesn't last as long as some others.
 
If you want the longest-lasting polished edge, buy a Rockstead.
 
Those are some.. pricey o.o blades. I actually enjoy touching up, and constantly seeing how sharp I can get my knives, so it makes more sense to get something that'll hold that initial edge a little longer because itll be touched up a lot anyway vs something that holds a working edge forever.
 
SBaker34 said:
Those are some.. pricey o.o blades. I actually enjoy touching up, and constantly seeing how sharp I can get my knives, so it makes more sense to get something that'll hold that initial edge a little longer because itll be touched up a lot anyway vs something that holds a working edge forever.
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If that is really what you prefer, then I would say that you would be best with something like M390, which holds either a toothy or a polished edge very well, unlike most other super steels. If you just lightly strop it once in a while, it will keep a keen edge for a very long time.

If you did buy a Rockstead though, you would likely find that you could carry it every day for about 3 months without so much as needing to even strop it (assuming pretty regular use every single day), and you wouldn't really need to have it sharpened for more than a year. They are very expensive, but they very much warrant their price tags.

They are also the sharpest knives I've ever had.
 
I've had great results with CTS BD1 keeping the original polished edge in my UKPK, I used it for EVER before I stropped it and it returned to hair whittling with ease. But the ZDP Endura I use has been sharpened once in 2yrs, and its primary job is cutting bailing twine on 3 strand bails of alfalfa. It's almost like its twine proof steel lol
 
that's two questions. the steel that can be sharpened most in my experience are high-carbon steels (including the aogami blue and white) with hardness of at least 59, or stainless steels with modest hardness (59-61) like 154 cm, vg-10, and aus-8. the only odd guy here is zdp 189 which is very hard and yet can be mirror-polished using just fine sandpaper, or a leather belt with shoe polish applied.

which steel keeps the hair popper longest is a different question. the edge's biggest enemies from my experience are corrosion, dirt, rolling, and of course wear. wear-resistant steels (you know which ones) do not have an "edge" in keeping hair-popping sharpness. their feature is they stay sharp longer when doing pressure cutting on tough or hard material, meaning when you bear down at the work, with either a push or shearing cut. but a shaver/hair splitter is not supposed to be subject to these forces.
 
I may be mistaken, but isn't a "toothy" edge akin to or the same as a saw blade?
 
Edit - I was wrong... And man enough to admit it.
 
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strategy9 said:
A "toothy" edge in regards to a knife edge is the micro serrations caused by carbides which are formed in the steel itself by certain alloying elements, (like chromium, molybednum, vanadium, niobium), reacting with the carbon to form structures within the steel that are harder then the surrounding steel. As the "steel" as a whole wears down and "dulls", these harder surfaces (carbides) don't wear as fast as the surrounding steel does and form a "saw like" edge on the microscopic level allowing a "dull" edge to still ultimately cut reasonably well.

Stainless steels with low carbon levels and carbon steels without the amounts of alloying elements present, while they will still hold a razor sharp edge, they won't form carbides, so when the begin to dull, they're dull, there are no micro "teeth" to help a dull edge to continue to cut...
(often referred to also as a "working edge", because even when slightly dulled by blade standards, it still works surprisingly effectively).
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Nope, a toothy edge is mostly at what grit finish the edge is at. The disagreement is exactly what grit finish is toothy for all. For example, a 600 grit finish might be toothy to me but polished to someone who likes a 120 grit edge finish.

For instance, I can take 420J2 knife and sharpen and finish it at 120 grit. That would be a toothy edge. Now, whether that edge will last or not is another matter entirely.

What you are referring to, is probably what most of us call a "working edge".
 
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also, it's not true that carbon steel has no carbides. it does: iron carbide Fe3C. "steel" cannot hold more than 0.08% carbon in its latices and interstices (at room temperature.) but if you keep heating and adding carbon, you form iron carbide, and that is what increases overall carbon content.
 
SBaker34 said:
Those are some.. pricey o.o blades. I actually enjoy touching up, and constantly seeing how sharp I can get my knives, so it makes more sense to get something that'll hold that initial edge a little longer because itll be touched up a lot anyway vs something that holds a working edge forever.
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I am the same way with my sharpening Baker. I like to keep em all hair popping. I have had good success with m4 holding a high level of sharpness. Interestingly enough, I have also been impressed with cpm154 which has the added bonus of being very easy to sharpen. Honestly though, the difference between these steels and something like s30v isn't massive. If you like that extreme level of sharpness like i do, you have to accept that it is a fleeting condition and regular touchups will be required with any steel...which is fine with me. :)
 
Surfingringo said:
I am the same way with my sharpening Baker. I like to keep em all hair popping. I have had good success with m4 holding a high level of sharpness. Interestingly enough, I have also been impressed with cpm154 which has the added bonus of being very easy to sharpen. Honestly though, the difference between these steels and something like s30v isn't massive. If you like that extreme level of sharpness like i do, you have to accept that it is a fleeting condition and regular touchups will be required with any steel...which is fine with me. :)
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My 8Cr13Mov can hold that hair popping sharpness for a week or two. Well, if I don't use the knife on anything at all. :D
 
zdp 189 stays hair-splitting the longest when just left lying around: 3 months. vg-10 slightly less. this is surprising considering zdp corrodes faster than vg-10. s30V loses its hair-popping ability in about a month's time without any use. but then. i am never able to sharpen my s30v's satisfactorily.
 
I stand corrected, and here all this time I thought a "toothy" edge and a "working" edge were one in the same.
 
SBaker34 said:
CPM s30v-s110v and other high carbide steels have a reputation for taking a toothy edge that loses the initial sharpness fast, and then takes half of eternity to dull.

What steels have you found keep the hair popping polished edge the longest? even if the working edge doesn't last as long as some others.
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Has more to do with sharpening talent 1st off and that's before anything else.

Then after that we get into the complicated things like wear resistance, compression strength, edge stability and a host of other factors that goes into it all like what is one cutting.

Then after that without serious testing removing most of the real variables it's not much more than what one perceives to be true.

That said from what I have found from testing is that a properly sharpened edge in the higher wear steels at high hardness will hold an extremely sharp edge for a VERY LONG TIME when compared to some others.
 
singularity35 said:
We gotta get somebody to list knifenut diseases Lance. :D
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I shave with my Byrd Cara Cara. In between, it takes light duty such as cutting pizza, some packages (instant tea, coffee, etc). Touch up needed after 2-3 days, Spyderco UF, 1u strop or green on paper over Washboard.

I think I belong to your club too :)
 
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