Why is my big box $3.00 throw-a-way knife (made in China) WAY sharper than my online bought Spyderco

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calldoug

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Aug 23, 2011
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I have a maybe fifteen plus knives

Both I and others have never been able to get my Spyderco Delica VG-10 sharp.
The steel seems soft and will not seem to take a good edge.

I say this from;
(1) feeling the edge with my thumb
(2) testing it, cutting slivers of paper, cord, etc
(3) looking at the edge under a jewelers loupe in bright reflected light.
(4) others looking at it


So what's wrong with this picture
I just sharpened a very cheap $3.00 throw-away blue handle knife from [a big box store] on my Sharpmaker.
I was careful, very careful this time, exactly following the instruction video from Sal the owner of Spyderco. After running it through the Sharpmaker this very cheap, this "cheap " $3 knife is pretty darn sharp now.
It will slice thin slivers off of a sheet of paper.


So I do know the Sharpmaker does indeed work very well (after carefully following the video instructions) , holding the blade very strait, taking my time and, using a few pounds of pressure as Sal recommends. ( he says about three pounds of pressure is best )


I recently took my Spyderco Delica and my Benchmade mini barrage
( Benchmade Knife 585 Mini-Barrage Osborne Plain Edge Satin Blade Folding Knife and Bondhus GorillaGrip, with Set of 8 Star Fold-up Keys ) to the best rated knife sharpener in the city ( according to Yelp) and by-the-way he only uses a " two wheel sharpener " his words, which I was not able to see.


I took both knives after sharpening ( the Delica VG-10 and the Benchmade Barrage ) home and stropped them like twenty times.


The Benchmade mini Barrage is Very sharp now and takes tiny slivers off of paper,

also the edge on the barrage looks very good under a 10 power jewelers loupe under reflected light.
I dont know the type of steel in this mini barrage, but it is obviously very good quality steel, no question about it.


The Spyderco Delica ( bought on Amazon 2011 ) is still not sharp,
it wont even cut into a paper most of the time. It will rip jaggedly into the paper on some places and not at all in others. It seems to almost get worse after going through the Sharpmaker again.

Yes, I then carefully ran the Delica through the Sharpmaker, using the dark rods then the ceramic rods, as per instructions, corners then flat side, 20 strokes each and still not sharp. Wow.


The $3.00 blue handle throw-away knife from [big box store] is WAY sharper than the VG-10 Spyderco Delica.
My Benchmade mini Barrage is very sharp also.

What's wrong with this picture ??


Final note: a person from Spyderco customer service told me in an email that there were no known fakes from that time period 2011


So assuming spyderco customer service is right ( that its not a fake Delica ) they said there were none at time of my purchase in 2011, then what's the problem.


So what are your thoughts?

Why is a $3 throw-away Walmart knife very sharp and myself and others cannot get this Spyderco sharp???


I honesty wouldn't pay ten dollars for this Spyderco Delica VG-10 knife.
My $14 knife with 8Cr13MoV, steel is way sharper and better than this $75 VG-10 Spyderco Delica
I bought this Spyderco Delica after like forty hours of research on this very forum.

It was bought brand new on [a large online web site that sells all sorts of things]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Soft heat treated VG-10? I doubt it's real, regardless of where you bought it.
Post pictures and maybe people can help. Show all markings and an overall picture.
 
Yeah I too am not impressed with my VG-10 Spyderco flipper. Though I can't recall which model it is, it's got an Emerson bottle opener on it and I really regret buying it because of my experience with the knife and that stupid bottle opener catching on everything and ripping my clothes up.

Part of it is the grind, which I really don't like and find completely useless and counterproductive for something that's supposed to cut things. Part of it is what I'm guessing is a poor heat treat. I hear Spyderco fanbois rave about their heat treats, though, so I'm willing to accept the idea that maybe mine isn't a real Spyderco, since I too bought it on Amazon.

Anyway, not exactly helpful I'm guessing, but sometimes commiseration can be cathartic. Lol
 
calldoug said:
I have a maybe fifteen plus knives

Both I and others have never been able to get my Spyderco Delica VG-10 sharp.
The steel seems soft and will not seem to take a good edge.

I say this from;
(1) feeling the edge with my thumb
(2) testing it, cutting slivers of paper, cord, etc
(3) looking at the edge under a jewelers loupe in bright reflected light.
(4) others looking at it


So what's wrong with this picture
I just sharpened a very cheap $3.00 throw-away blue handle knife from Wal-Mart on my Sharpmaker.
I was careful, very careful this time, exactly following the instruction video from Sal the owner of Spyderco. After running it through the Sharpmaker this very cheap, this "cheap " $3 knife is pretty darn sharp now.
It will slice thin slivers off of a sheet of paper.


So I do know the Sharpmaker does indeed work very well (after carefully following the video instructions) , holding the blade very strait, taking my time and, using a few pounds of pressure as Sal recommends. ( he says about three pounds of pressure is best )


I recently took my Spyderco Delica and my Benchmade mini barrage
( Benchmade Knife 585 Mini-Barrage Osborne Plain Edge Satin Blade Folding Knife and Bondhus GorillaGrip, with Set of 8 Star Fold-up Keys ) to the best rated knife sharpener in the city ( according to Yelp) and by-the-way he only uses a " two wheel sharpener " his words, which I was not able to see.


I took both knives after sharpening ( the Delica VG-10 and the Benchmade Barrage ) home and stropped them like twenty times.


The Benchmade mini Barrage is Very sharp now and takes tiny slivers off of paper,

also the edge on the barrage looks very good under a 10 power jewelers loupe under reflected light.
I dont know the type of steel in this mini barrage, but it is obviously very good quality steel, no question about it.


The Spyderco Delica ( bought on Amazon 2011 ) is still not sharp,
it wont even cut into a paper most of the time. It will rip jaggedly into the paper on some places and not at all in others. It seems to almost get worse after going through the Sharpmaker again.

Yes, I then carefully ran the Delica through the Sharpmaker, using the dark rods then the ceramic rods, as per instructions, corners then flat side, 20 strokes each and still not sharp. Wow.


The $3.00 blue handle throw-away knife from Walmart is WAY sharper than the VG-10 Spyderco Delica.
My Benchmade mini Barrage is very sharp also.

What's wrong with this picture ??


Final note: a person from Spyderco customer service told me in an email that there were no known fakes from that time period 2011


So assuming spyderco customer service is right ( that its not a fake Delica ) they said there were none at time of my purchase in 2011, then what's the problem.


So what are your thoughts?

Why is a $3 throw-away Walmart knife very sharp and myself and others cannot get this Spyderco sharp???


I honesty wouldn't pay ten dollars for this Spyderco Delica VG-10 knife.
My $14 knife with 8Cr13MoV, steel is way sharper and better than this $75 VG-10 Spyderco Delica
I bought this Spyderco Delica after like forty hours of research on this very forum.

It was bought brand new on Amazon Prime.
Click to expand...
You either got a counterfeit (with a super-steel) or you need to spend more time sharpening. I have multiple VG-10 Spydercos that sharpen quite easily...especially compared to today’s super-steels..
 
First, if it is not a BF dealer member, then leave out the seller names.

Second, cheap knives normally have softer steel. Softer steel is much easier to put an edge on.

A multitude of experienced people have found that VG10 takes a good edge and holds it significantly better than the blade on a $3.00 knife. I suggest spending some time reading in the Maintenance Forum. To put it bluntly, I don't think you have sufficient experience to point at the heat treat. There are other factors to consider.

When using a Sharpmaker, it won't actually sharpen the edge until the edge angle on the blade matches the angle of the Sharpmaker. This is called, changing the bevel angle. That happens WAY quicker when sharpening a blade made of soft steel, than with properly heat treated steel. It also happens a lot faster with steel that does not contain carbides than with steel that does contain carbides.

VG10 contains carbides, and it is heat treated to ~59 HRC. Neither 8Cr14MoV nor the $3.00 big box knife steel have carbides. So it is going to be much harder to sharpen VG10 than either of the others. But once sharpened, the VG10 will hold an edge significantly longer. Being into traditional pocket knives, I am very familiar with the vagaries of soft steel. Cough Case Cough.

Check the Maintenance Forum for threads on Sharpmakers and on using a sharpie to determine if you have matched the edge angles.
 
BeyondTheBox said:
Yeah I too am not impressed with my VG-10 Spyderco flipper. Though I can't recall which model it is, it's got an Emerson bottle opener on it and I really regret buying it because of my experience with the knife and that stupid bottle opener catching on everything and ripping my clothes up.
Click to expand...

1361187797_145356262.gif
 
Interesting. Somethings not right, whether it be you got a counterfeit or the edge is not apexed properly. If you look at the edge under light, do you see any reflections? Have you tried using a sharpie to ensure the edge is getting proper contact?

Your case is unusual as Spyderco VG 10 takes a very nice edge and also responds very well to polishing. I also find VG 10 to handle impacts relatively well after accidental hits against hard surfaces.

It would be helpful to see some pics of the knife to see if we can determine if it’s a fake. Also a few closeups of the edge.

I recommend to not write off Spyderco’s Delica 4 just yet....it’s an awesome EDC knife!
 
BeyondTheBox said:
Yeah I too am not impressed with my VG-10 Spyderco flipper. Though I can't recall which model it is, it's got an Emerson bottle opener on it and I really regret buying it because of my experience with the knife and that stupid bottle opener catching on everything and ripping my clothes up.

Part of it is the grind, which I really don't like and find completely useless and counterproductive for something that's supposed to cut things. Part of it is what I'm guessing is a poor heat treat. I hear Spyderco fanbois rave about their heat treats, though, so I'm willing to accept the idea that maybe mine isn't a real Spyderco, since I too bought it on Amazon.

Anyway, not exactly helpful I'm guessing, but sometimes commiseration can be cathartic. Lol
Click to expand...

Just throwing this out there but that feature is to purposely catch your pockets to “wave” open and deploy directly out of the pocket. It does double as a bottle opener which is kinda neat.

The hollow grind not being full flat and the shape of the knife lends to a more robust blade. I agree it’s not as slicey but that’s inherent to the grind.

But if it’s not a good fit for your purposes I totally get it.
 
calldoug said:
I have a maybe fifteen plus knives

Both I and others have never been able to get my Spyderco Delica VG-10 sharp.
The steel seems soft and will not seem to take a good edge.

I say this from;
(1) feeling the edge with my thumb
(2) testing it, cutting slivers of paper, cord, etc
(3) looking at the edge under a jewelers loupe in bright reflected light.
(4) others looking at it


So what's wrong with this picture
I just sharpened a very cheap $3.00 throw-away blue handle knife from [a big box store] on my Sharpmaker.
I was careful, very careful this time, exactly following the instruction video from Sal the owner of Spyderco. After running it through the Sharpmaker this very cheap, this "cheap " $3 knife is pretty darn sharp now.
It will slice thin slivers off of a sheet of paper.


So I do know the Sharpmaker does indeed work very well (after carefully following the video instructions) , holding the blade very strait, taking my time and, using a few pounds of pressure as Sal recommends. ( he says about three pounds of pressure is best )


I recently took my Spyderco Delica and my Benchmade mini barrage
( Benchmade Knife 585 Mini-Barrage Osborne Plain Edge Satin Blade Folding Knife and Bondhus GorillaGrip, with Set of 8 Star Fold-up Keys ) to the best rated knife sharpener in the city ( according to Yelp) and by-the-way he only uses a " two wheel sharpener " his words, which I was not able to see.


I took both knives after sharpening ( the Delica VG-10 and the Benchmade Barrage ) home and stropped them like twenty times.


The Benchmade mini Barrage is Very sharp now and takes tiny slivers off of paper,

also the edge on the barrage looks very good under a 10 power jewelers loupe under reflected light.
I dont know the type of steel in this mini barrage, but it is obviously very good quality steel, no question about it.


The Spyderco Delica ( bought on Amazon 2011 ) is still not sharp,
it wont even cut into a paper most of the time. It will rip jaggedly into the paper on some places and not at all in others. It seems to almost get worse after going through the Sharpmaker again.

Yes, I then carefully ran the Delica through the Sharpmaker, using the dark rods then the ceramic rods, as per instructions, corners then flat side, 20 strokes each and still not sharp. Wow.


The $3.00 blue handle throw-away knife from [big box store] is WAY sharper than the VG-10 Spyderco Delica.
My Benchmade mini Barrage is very sharp also.

What's wrong with this picture ??


Final note: a person from Spyderco customer service told me in an email that there were no known fakes from that time period 2011


So assuming spyderco customer service is right ( that its not a fake Delica ) they said there were none at time of my purchase in 2011, then what's the problem.


So what are your thoughts?

Why is a $3 throw-away Walmart knife very sharp and myself and others cannot get this Spyderco sharp???


I honesty wouldn't pay ten dollars for this Spyderco Delica VG-10 knife.
My $14 knife with 8Cr13MoV, steel is way sharper and better than this $75 VG-10 Spyderco Delica
I bought this Spyderco Delica after like forty hours of research on this very forum.

It was bought brand new on [a large online web site that sells all sorts of things]
Click to expand...
Fret not. Two weeks from now your spyderco will still cut your cheapie in half. Then it will outlive you, unless you become a zombie, in which case it will be handy cutting you out of your coffin.

I know... it’s been a weird day.
 
You already had a thread on here complaining about this same thing and how your sharpening guy told you vg10 sucks. Why start another thread complaining about it again? You obviously just need more practice. If you think it's the knife take some pics and throw it in the for sale thread. I'm sure someone will be more than happy to take it from you if the price is right. Otherwise your beating a dead horse here. You and your sharpening guy need more practice. Not all steels act the same and the angle of your bevel is probably not the same as the angle of the rods on your sharp maker so you may not even actually be hitting the edge yet.
 
steelhead seeker said:
You already had a thread on here complaining about this same thing and how your sharpening guy told you vg10 sucks. Why start another thread complaining about it again? You obviously just need more practice. If you think it's the knife take some pics and throw it in the for sale thread. I'm sure someone will be more than happy to take it from you if the price is right. Otherwise your beating a dead horse here. You and your sharpening guy need more practice. Not all steels act the same and the angle of your bevel is probably not the same as the angle of the rods on your sharp maker so you may not even actually be hitting the edge yet.
Click to expand...
Im not sure he’s hitting the sharpmaker. A little patience and a bit of practice, this may be just the knife he needs to learn the loving art of sharpening.
 
steelhead seeker said:
You already had a thread on here complaining about this same thing and how your sharpening guy told you vg10 sucks. Why start another thread complaining about it again? You obviously just need more practice. If you think it's the knife take some pics and throw it in the for sale thread. I'm sure someone will be more than happy to take it from you if the price is right. Otherwise your beating a dead horse here. You and your sharpening guy need more practice. Not all steels act the same and the angle of your bevel is probably not the same as the angle of the rods on your sharp maker so you may not even actually be hitting the edge yet.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

It is really beyond me that OP is not willing to send the knife to T.L.E. Sharp, who seems to be an avid sharpener here and has offered free service.
I have no idea what the Yelp rating of a sharpener really means.....
 
This reminds me of a thread where the OP claimed his S110V Spyderco (PM2 or Manix) was soft and unable to take a keen edge.
Someone in this forum sharpened it for the OP to an aggressive edge.
 
C calldoug

Sorry bro, maybe you just suck at sharpening knives. If the knife causes you that much stress, just tape the blade shut and throw it in the garbage. Simple geometry is how knives get sharp, it's actually very easy. I think we might have a couple threads around here that might tell you how to do it.
 
BeyondTheBox said:
Yeah I too am not impressed with my VG-10 Spyderco flipper. Though I can't recall which model it is, it's got an Emerson bottle opener on it and I really regret buying it because of my experience with the knife and that stupid bottle opener catching on everything and ripping my clothes up.

Part of it is the grind, which I really don't like and find completely useless and counterproductive for something that's supposed to cut things. Part of it is what I'm guessing is a poor heat treat. I hear Spyderco fanbois rave about their heat treats, though, so I'm willing to accept the idea that maybe mine isn't a real Spyderco, since I too bought it on Amazon.

Anyway, not exactly helpful I'm guessing, but sometimes commiseration can be cathartic. Lol
Click to expand...
Hang on...

They put a bottle opener on your knife? That catches on your pockets?

How dare they. You should just wave it goodbye.
 
C calldoug send it to one of the professional sharpeners on bladeforums. Ask them to give you an apex under 20 degrees per side. Say 18-17 degrees per side. Once you get it back it will be very sharp.

Now that your edge angle is under 40 degrees total use the 40 degree setting on your sharpmaker to touch up the edge when it goes dull. Don’t let your edge get too dull before touching up.

If this doesn’t solve your problem then you are 100% effing something up.
 
What knarfeng knarfeng said to a T.

Seems more like you don't know how to sharpen knives properly than the Spyderco being a problem. Even if it were a counterfeit knife, you can put a razor sharp edge on a butter knife, so the steel isn't the problem, it's you. FYI, $3 knives use super soft junk steel that you can sharpen on the bottom of a ceramic mug in a minute.
 
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