Which steel are you able to get the sharpest?

CPM M-4 and Elmax seem to take very fine edges, but almost any kind of cutlery steel can be made ridiculously sharp by an experienced sharpener with good equipment.
 
Bo T said:
My Mora 1/0. 1095 equivalent steel with fine/ultrafine grain.
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Mora for me as well. The only knife I've been able to get a real HHT with. With almost everything else I top out at whittling hairs, but the "lowly" cheap carbon steel took me to the next level :)
 
For me I can get most carbons very sharp.

my sharpest now is white steel #2. I polish at about 10 degrees on a 8000 and its stupid sharp. It actually slows my work down since knife will stick in the board. I like it though
 
I'm going to echo Opinel XC90, stuff takes a very nice edge, with little effort, also their 12C27 gets about as sharp. 8CR13MoV of all steels, has impressed me in terms of sharpness, I put a nice edge, on a Drifter for a friend, it took a screaming sharp edge. I don't know how well it held it though. UBH-20C gets pretty sharp too, still my dad gave me his old Schrade, stockman to sharpen, a rusted mess, I was able to get the blades to impress me, with only a Norton India pocket stone.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Good 1095 seems to get there the easiest; Schrade's older USA blades are my gold standard for the edges they'll take & hold, and the ease with which it can be done. David
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What he said, I will have too add that whatever the old Schrade's stainless was is pretty darn easy too sharpen and holds a wicked edge also. I have a Schrade Muskrat and a Kentucky Rifleman Stockman both in stainless that will take a terrifying edge with as much ease as 1095. The old US Schrades are heat treated right!
 
The first knife I had any sucess in sharpening was my Buck 119 in 440 HC with the Boz heat treat.

Since then I have been reading and watching vids, not to mention getting decent sharpening supplies. This has become my new relaxing hobby.

Now My favorite steel to sharpen is Esee 1095, I can shave with my Esee-4, E-6, & Candiru! Can also get a great edge on my Benchmade CSK II in 1095.

Today I sharpened a couple of stainless kitchen knives for my friend, got it shaving sharp but dang, I hate stainless steel.....
 
james terrio said:
I suspect you'll like it. XHP is pretty fine-grained. An excellent steel :thumbup:
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Thanks James. Like I've said, I've never used it, but I think it'll be nice from all accounts. It was between that and s35vn, but I wanted to try a new-to-me steel. You probably know who's making it (Ian,HallHandmade) and from what I've seen of his work thus far I'm impressed. Sent me a pic of several blocks of dyed/stabilized buckeye burl to choose from. I'll be posting a review in the Reviews forum after some use.

On topic- I forgot about vg 10, and aus8. Those two definitely get an honerable mention. Not the best at retention, but that seems to be a common thread. Ack... o1 too!
 
Yes, as stated a thin bladed steel like 01 will take a sharp edge quick. I like the edge cpm-154 gives as well. DM
 
My Delica ZDP189 will split a hair ~~ if it was any sharper it just might scare me ( takes me about 15 minutes to get it that sharp after I have abused it.!**)
 
hunter s thompson said:
What he said, I will have too add that whatever the old Schrade's stainless was is pretty darn easy too sharpen and holds a wicked edge also. I have a Schrade Muskrat and a Kentucky Rifleman Stockman both in stainless that will take a terrifying edge with as much ease as 1095. The old US Schrades are heat treated right!
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I have one of those; bought it because I really liked the rifle inlay in the handle scale. Never carried it or attempted re-sharpening of it; maybe I'll have to work that one into the pocket rotation. I'm pretty sure most of Schrade's (USA) older stainless blades were 440A, which is an easy steel to live with, and very easy to sharpen up. As with 1095 and many other steels, a good heat treat can do wonders for it. I also have an older Camillus-made Buck 307 stockman in 440A, and I've been impressed with it. Having seen how well Schrade did with 1095, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they tweaked the best out their stainless as well.


David
 
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The steel that gets the sharpest for me, and is practically impossible not to get sharp is white steel #2. I've had some success with ZDP-189 lately, although I chipped the edge, lightly dinging it against a ceramic plate (where other steels might have just rolled).
 
Im surprised no one has mentioned 13C26/AEB-L and its also a little surprising that S30V seems to be mentioned so much, I've never really thought of it as a steel that takes an extremely fine edge.
 
The two steels I can get the sharpest are good 1095 (my ESEE 3) and VG10 (Fallkniven F1 and Spyderco Caly 3.5). The 1095 is easier but all three of those knives are just insane sharp.

I can get 52100 very sharp as well but my 52100 knives don't have the thin edges that the above knives do so they wont get as sharp. Swamp Rats need to have a little meat behind the edge imo.
 
I obviously haven't used every Japanese steel but the ones I have use such as Aus6, Aus8, VG10, ZDP189, Hitachi White, Hitachi Super Blue...etc are all known for their ability to take a very fine edge. Is it just a coincidence?
 
fsatsil said:
I obviously haven't used every Japanese steel but the ones I have use such as Aus6, Aus8, VG10, ZDP189, Hitachi White, Hitachi Super Blue...etc are all known for their ability to take a very fine edge. Is it just a coincidence?
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I'm convinced it isn't. Don't think I've ever seen or used a Japanese-produced blade that either didn't already have, or wouldn't take, a very good or great edge. I've long believed they seem to take great pride in workmanship and putting quality where it really matters, across the entire price spectrum. Even the 'cheap' Japanese knives I've used have been pretty impressive, so far as the blade and steel are concerned.


David
 
fsatsil said:
Im surprised no one has mentioned 13C26/AEB-L and its also a little surprising that S30V seems to be mentioned so much, I've never really thought of it as a steel that takes an extremely fine edge.
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I'm dying to try AEB L. It's one of the few SS's that I'm really excited about. Especially after reading what Devin Thomas has to say about it.

I'm not getting the s30v thing either. I've gotten it sharp at an acute angle but it just chipped and wasn't as sharp as others. I know a lot of people love it dearly, but it's not my favorite, or even close.
 
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