Which steel at what HRC holds the longest razor fine edge?

I would like this to be a collection of data testing results and user experience with discussion and comparisons. To find the optimal steel composition at the optimal hardness, and optimal edge angle to produce the longest lasting fine edge.
I would like to avoid discussing working edges in this thread as the main topic (Bring them up for comparisons but don't focus on them please)
If I were searching for the worlds best as of 2021 in the ability to hold a fine shaving sharp edge, what steel at what HRC would we be talking about? (eg Shirogami, 65 HRC, 10 dps)

I feel everybody these days is always doing tests and talking about working edge of high wear steels, thats great and all and I love me a bit of Vanadium in my folders like every other cardboard cutting enthusiast.
What about absolute ability to hold the worlds longest fine edge? I'm the type of person who thinks his knife is dull if it fails the 3 finger test, and doesn't instantly feel the blade cutting into the first layer of skin upon a tiny soft drag. Or if my knife cant cut through paper towel I think it's time to hit the ceramic rods for a few passes.
What is the ultimate top tier list for fine edge holding, top 5, top 10, data samples from 50? Anything and everything is welcome.
How long did something last while just shaving hair, how long did something last while cutting abrasive material while still being shaving sharp. There's lots of different variables and I want to know them all. User experience is also highly welcome even if you dont have testing data recorded. Say you got a custom from a local smith who did a particular knife for you at some ridiculously high HRC and you noticed the grain was especially fine and could shave a mosquitos back hair for 3 years, I'd like to know that too.
Cheers.

 

I will get around to picking up an Endura or Delica in ZDP very soon. I thought they were forever production models, but I saw on the American blade stores "Discontinued" marked above the listings, which made me think okay time to grab one before they all go. That's one steel I don't have much experience with, I've heard very good things though. Better go grab a ZDP Endura before they all go.

 

Not to derail my own thread but I have no idea why the stretch is like double the price of the endura, maybe because it's not as popular and doesn't sell as many units. I noticed my UKPK is basically a slip joint version of the stretch.

 

Can I borrow a couple grand, promise i'll give it back in the distant future.

 

I know a few people who own them and are very impressed. I don't see why we should exclude carbide alloys from the list, in fact it would be interesting to see how good they do at taking and holding a fine edge, or if they are even capable of taking an edge as refined at some of the finer grain steels. I think you could sharpen them on diamond stones, probably don't want to go too low on the grit though in case you cause chipping issues, maybe start on a 600 grit diamond stone, then take your time.

 

Do you happen to have any test data purely on fine edge holding? if you could link to some results I'd like to see the numbers.

 

I'm surprised H1 can even maintain a working apex at 7.5 dps, was it production spyderco or some work hardened piece?
I don't even know what to make of your graphs, why is H1 jumping all over the place like that, is it lost and in need of a map, haha.
Nice testing though, even if I don't quite understand the results.

 

Thanks, going to have a read now, better brew a cup of tea first.

 

I'm about halfway through the article and I have a question. With the high wear steels losing their fine edge on the first stroke, you mention a 1 micron edge can't contain a 5 micron carbide. So if the carbides are not very fine then anything in the initial apex wont actually contain any of the 5 micron carbides at all, then the edge will stabilize itself at the 5 micron size carbides and form a thicker apex right? which will then be a working edge and continue cutting like that.
If I read that correctly is it safe to assume you want carbides as small as 1 micron to form the actual apex in order to hold that initial fine edge for long periods? Or in other words if your knife contains average micron size of 4, you shouldnt even bother trying to put a 1 micron edge on it to begin with because that is just going to wear away very fast because the actual apex doesn't even contain any carbides because it's simply too small to house the larger carbides.