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

singularity35 said:
Oh, most definitely Chris. :D
Click to expand...

Is the regular Cara Cara chisel ground as well? I had the combo edge version, it was chisel ground and a nasty, nasty cutter. Made short work of most garden shrubbery and green woods. Pretty amazing for a regular steel!
 
s35vn at 61-62 hrc with a convex edge stays shaving sharp for a very long time.
I had a kershaw junkyard dog with super gold 2 steel, that stuff takes a stupid sharp edge and will pop hairs for a long time.
I think its more about the hardness of the steel then what type when your talking about super low angles and popping hairs.
 
cchu518 said:
Is the regular Cara Cara chisel ground as well? I had the combo edge version, it was chisel ground and a nasty, nasty cutter. Made short work of most garden shrubbery and green woods. Pretty amazing for a regular steel!
Click to expand...

Serrated edges are usually chisel ground. Not sure about that particular model though.
 
hank_rearden said:
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.
Click to expand...

Is this true? How can a knife lose its sharpness by just sitting in a drawer and not cutting anything?
 
also, there might be something wrong with my observations. i test the knives off-the-shelf, with no wiping or stropping. condensed moisture and caked dust will really dull an edge.
 
ejames13 said:
Is this true? How can a knife lose its sharpness by just sitting in a drawer and not cutting anything?
Click to expand...

I'm going to say that based on my observations, this is absolutely, 100% true. I live in the tropics and it is very easy to observe with non stainless steels like m4. Actually, I cleaned fish yesterday morning with my m4 Phil Wilson and afterwards I rinsed it briefly and sharpened it to an edge that would instantly bite when touched to my beard. Last night I went to put it away and it had completely lost that level of bite. Now that is an extreme example and was likely due to me not fully cleaning all the fish blood off or not completely drying the edge, but you get the idea. The edge of the knife is more prone to corrosion than any other part of the blade. Depends on a lot of conditions but it is a very real phenomenon.
 
Surfingringo said:
I'm going to say that based on my observations, this is absolutely, 100% true. I live in the tropics and it is very easy to observe with non stainless steels like m4. Actually, I cleaned fish yesterday morning with my m4 Phil Wilson and afterwards I rinsed it briefly and sharpened it to an edge that would instantly bite when touched to my beard. Last night I went to put it away and it had completely lost that level of bite. Now that is an extreme example and was likely due to me not fully cleaning all the fish blood off or not completely drying the edge, but you get the idea. The edge of the knife is more prone to corrosion than any other part of the blade. Depends on a lot of conditions but it is a very real phenomenon.
Click to expand...

I would agree and add that it's that way due to how thin it is.
 
- M4 takes the keenest edge I've ever seen

- Carpenter HXP takes a keen edge

- No questions asked, AEB-L
 
I made a few knives in CPM 10V at 64HRC. To this point they definitely hold an edge far longer then anything else I've experienced.
 
I like M4 a lot but its hard to find frequently, but a good D2 is a phenomenal choice and gets overlooked because its not exotic like many of the steels mentioned, and its a bargain price wise compared to most all steels mentioned.
 
You could check a straight razor forum too. As some have naturally inluded in their answers, hardness and edge geometry must be paired with the steel of choice to get the best performance for your intended usage. Most straight razors utilize stropping and thus some convex edge geometry to get a lasting consistent performance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top