ZDP-189 blade steel, whats turned U on/off about it?

bikeknife said:
Do most of you find that the Sharpmaker is all you need to sharpen zdp-189? or do you have some other method?
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I don't have the skills needed to get ZDP spooky sharp with a Sharpmaker. Hubcap polish on paper over glass - no problem, though. I just press too hard with the Sharpmaker. :o
 
sliced tomatoes with endura this morning in zdp189 did'nt clean blade.5 hours later wiped blade off no tarnish or corossion. frankly i do'nt understand why some members have problems with discoloration & brittleness. i know texas tomatoes are'nt that much different than caif,tenn.,or new york .i ca'nt get my endura to chip or rust wonder if my zdp189 is a bad batch.as always thanks for the responses. dennis
 
Vivi said:
I know Jd Spydo had one of his ZDP189 blades corrode of cutting tomatoes and not rinsing the blade off right away. I cut apples, pears, bananas etc. with mine many times but I never let them go unrinsed for more than half an hour either.
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I've cut tomatos and a bunch of different fruits with a zdp czly 3 and caly jr, while camping and picknicking and never had any problems with staining, or rusting. All I ever did was rinse with water and wipe dry on my jeans or t-shirt. zdp rules
 
I have couple William Henry Quest "survival" knives. One is a back up (against loss). It has a sandwich blade in which the center is ZDP 189 and the support slabs are something like 410 SS. The bread in this sandwich is supposed to be tough and corrosion resistant. I put a pocket clip on this baby and carried it inside my shirt (placket). The bologna corroded less than the bread. This ZDP-189 material is only 67 RWc. Corundum, Carborundum, and Arkansas stones sharpen it with ease. I have EDCed this knife for months on end. No chipping. No corrosion that wouldn't wipe off. I do a lot of food preparation including citrus in all of its incarnations. I bought an Endura ZDP-189 but haven't had time to test it yet. I recommend ZDP-189 to all.
 
I've only gotone ZDP-189 knife, a Spyderco Lum Chinese folder, and I like it quite a lot. The great steel combined with an excellent blade geometry make it a fantastic cutter.

However, so far I can't say I notice a huge difference with S30V or VG-10. I strop my knife often, so it's difficult to see a big performance difference between premium steels.

I've had no issues with rust or chipping, and I'd definitely buy more knives in this steel. At least for pocket knives, it works great.
 
Alright, I've been using my ZDP D4 a bit more, and I've made some more observations:

The steel DOES allow me to continue cutting longer and more comfortably than other steels like VG-10. However, I just can't get the same level of sharpness on this steel than others. No matter what I do, bevels nicely polished and all, I still can see very, very tiny shiny spots along the edge. I look under the microscope, and I see tiny microchips. I'm thinking that maybe the steel is too hard and diamonds at 1200 mesh are chipping pieces of the ZDP-189 steel off. VG-10 doesn't do this, and neither does 420HC; I've only been getting this on ZDP-189.

As for corrosion resistance: I continue to be satisfied with it.
 
Another observation: Blunt Truth 4U on Youtube had said about his ZDP Endura that when he hit a staple, the edge didn't dent. I thought it was a flop or wasn't true, but today, I was cutting boxes next to a dumpster, and I carelessly smacked the edge onto the metal part of the dumpster. It took of the paint and made a good cut in the metal. I went to inspect, expecting to see a shiny spot in my edge or a chip, but to my surprise, I found neither. The edge was untouched.

I have to say that I'm more impressed now with ZDP-189.
 
Just wanted to add that my zpd delica is frequently in river water and left damp. The first time it got wet it had some rust speckles (very light) and hasn't since including being left in a rain soaked pair of pants for two days and frequently clipped to my PFD. My tenacious on the other hand is never going near the river again it rusted up so bad after four hours clipped to my PFD in my kayak and being used to make an emergency plug for a missing bolt (literally rusted shut by the time I got back to my house)

The edge retention is as mentioned amazing, but is pretty brittle around the edge/tip. I haven't chipped it even cutting small copper wire but did crumble off a bit of the tip. Wish more companies used this steel and that something comparable were available for US manufacture.
 
as soon as i get a spydey in ZDP, and get it duller than when it came new, i'll experiment free-hand honing using aluminum oxide on glass. i used corundum successfully twice in the past: as a kid sharpening home-made snap cutter blade knives with glo metal polish, and in our mineral lab when polishing thin rock sections for microscopy (aluminum oxide powder in water on a felt-covered steel wheel.) but i'm hedging my chances. first i'll buy dinky spyderco knives (dragonfly or ladybug.) i mean, a blade shorter than 2 inches shouldn't take too long to hone.

which also brings me to my question, has anyone tried to free-hand zdp 189?
 
This steel is the best no doubt use 2000 grit 3m sharpens easy patina with mustard looks like a rainbow and did I say I love this stuff
 
Zdp-189 and m390, umm hmmm my two favorite steels :) my zdp endura has cut so many things and its still pretty darn sharp.
 
I had a NIB Spyderco Sprint (blue) Stretch in ZDP-189 and had to sell it. It was wonderful, even though I never got to use it. Beautiful design.
 
I love zdp-189. The secret is to use a diamond loaded strop often, stays razor sharp!
 
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