Why H1 in the Schempp Chopper?

J85909266

J85909266

Joined
Jun 6, 2005
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It's such a great design. I could have sworn I read it was going to be made in an appropriate steel like 52100 or something similar. I really can't see the advantages of a blade like that in H1. Can somebody explain it to me?

Pictures can be found here:
http://spydercollector.nl
 
Well, I think the main reason is that it won't rust in places that have a lot of salt in the air (or MacTech's corrosion tests). Although it's still nice having a blade you can leave anywhere and not have it rust.
 
There's not much in that design that says "chopper" to me--the handle shape looks like it would serve for that use, but the swedge grind up top removes weight from right on top of what would be the sweet spot of the edge in a swing, and also weakens the point. On the other hand, this improves piercing and makes the balance more neutral, which would favor this as being intended more as a fighter.

The blade stock seems thin for the overall size and I'm not wild about the saber hollow grind if this is indeed intended to be a chopper. My guess is that having a chopping-oriented blade is an idea that got left behind in favor of an overall camp/combat knife. If this is supposed to be the chopper...well, I'd be surprised. H1 would not be my personal choice for a knife this size, but if it must be stainless there certainly are worse choices, and I always suspected that a regular production Spyderco CPM3V blade was just too good to be true.

Whatever its advertised application turns out to be, it will certainly be interesting to see some feedback on it.
 
My Schempp said it is more of a slicer than a chopper
Ed Schempp said:
The knife pictured is a small camp style utility knife and has roots of development from the large camp-competition blade. This is a Japanese prototype of the knife to be delivered. The handle will have bi-directional texturing similar to the Delica and Endura 4s...Take Care...Ed
Click to expand...
Ed Schempp said:
Jerry Hossum designs are very attractive. Fox has done a very good job on the four Hossum fixed blades. They are using one of the best steels availible in Germany, N690 from Bohler. The knives have some similarity in blade shape. The H1 blade is 1/8 inch thick and is a much lighter knife. There is still a US made version in the works. The US made version will be in 5/32 material. Jerry's design are 3/16 thick material. H1 is an austenitic steel, which is very durable. The 7 inch H1 knife will probably weigh in at about the same weight or less than the 5 inch Hossum design. The handle design is very different with the Hossum knives having a more traditional straight lines of design and use. I prefer a canted handle for my perferred ergonomic interface. The grind on the H1 knife is hollow and the Hossum knife is flat ground. The US version of my design will also be flat ground. The handle material will be FRN, a much lighter material than micarta. The flat gound versions will cut differently as the Hossum's have a heavier edge, yet both knives will have a Hamaguri or appleseed edge geometry. I expect the heavier Hossum designs to be better choppers while I expect my preferred edge geometry to a better cutter-slicer. I encourage anyone interested in the designs to handle both knives when they have the chance...Take Care...Ed
Click to expand...
http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26754&page=2
 
H1 is an austenitic steel that is work or precipitation hardened. Generally Austenitic steels like 304 SS are very tough and very appropriate for durable tools. H1 has variable hardness as each grinding operation further hardens the effected area. There was a plan to build the large 10" bladed camp knife from H1 but the material is not available in thicknesses greater than 1/8 inch.

Choppers benefit from being heavier than an all purpose knife needs to be to be able to chop competitively. The 7 inch H1 blade will be very durable and perform most outdoor tasks relatively well, at a very light weight...Take Care...Ed
 
Ed Schempp said:
H1 is an austenitic steel that is work or precipitation hardened. Generally Austenitic steels like 304 SS are very tough and very appropriate for durable tools. H1 has variable hardness as each grinding operation further hardens the effected area. There was a plan to build the large 10" bladed camp knife from H1 but the material is not available in thicknesses greater than 1/8 inch.

Choppers benefit from being heavier than an all purpose knife needs to be to be able to chop competitively. The 7 inch H1 blade will be very durable and perform most outdoor tasks relatively well, at a very light weight...Take Care...Ed
Click to expand...

Mr. Schempp,

I was going to post a general question in the company forums regarding the work hardening of H1, but it seems more appropriate to ask you, as you're very knowledgeable about this steel:

Does any chipping occur with H1 as it is work hardened? I understand that it can reach the low-mid 60's Rc as it is sharpened/used over time. Does the edge stability remain the same as a 57/58 Rc edge (i.e. rolling/blunting of the edge, rather than chipping). What I like about H1 is that it simply rolls/blunts when used hard, while other higher Rc steels would chip out. Is chipping a concern as it is work hardened? Also, would I be correct in assuming that as H1 is work hardened, the higher yield Rc would suggest that it would hold it's edge for a longer period of time?
 
Details:

At the levels of Nitrogen in this steel brittleness is usually avoided. Similar to limiting the Carbon content in martisitic steels. For example I use 4140 steel for hammers, it won't go past 46-48 on the Rockwell C scale because it doesn't have enough Carbon to make it any harder. With a plain edge H1 knife Rockwelling 60-61 on the edge and a serrated version coming in at RC65, the plain edged 7" camp will be very close to the 60-61 edge and will initially roll and as it is work harden eventually get some very minor chipping. The body of the knife that is not ground will probably be about RC 55...Take Care...Ed
 
I don't see why this couldn't be a great boating or large diving knife too. Looks like it would make short work of ropes, nets, webbing, (sharks :)). It's big but smaller than the Sog Tigershark -- I think more in line with the Seal knife or Mission's Ti.
 
Ya know -- the more I look at this design, the more I like it. It just went from my 'Maybe' list to my 'Must Buy' list, lol.
I think I'm going to replace the handle slabs with an oily, dense wood like Lignum Vitae. I'm really looking forward to this...
 
Ed Schempp said:
Details:

At the levels of Nitrogen in this steel brittleness is usually avoided. Similar to limiting the Carbon content in martisitic steels. For example I use 4140 steel for hammers, it won't go past 46-48 on the Rockwell C scale because it doesn't have enough Carbon to make it any harder. With a plain edge H1 knife Rockwelling 60-61 on the edge and a serrated version coming in at RC65, the plain edged 7" camp will be very close to the 60-61 edge and will initially roll and as it is work harden eventually get some very minor chipping. The body of the knife that is not ground will probably be about RC 55...Take Care...Ed
Click to expand...

Thanks! :)
 
The Utility H1 is nice, but does it come in a smaller size? I don't care for the skeleton handle on the Dive knife, will that come with a FRN handle instead of a skeleton handle?
 
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