ZDP-189...Where's it gonna end?

L

Lavan

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Nov 8, 2000
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As the mfrs. go for harder and harder steels and to laminations to hold them together, where do you think this will end?
As much as ZDP189 intrigues the "hold an edge forever" part of my brain, I still like VG-10 and its versatility ...combined with... an ease of sharpening.

Are a bunch of you really interested in going higher and higher on the Rockwell scale for braggin rights or is a "forever" blade really important to you?

I bet in a few months we will be reading posts about how someone is having a hard time sharpening their ZDP's and they don't cut concrete blocks like they did when new.

HOW hard do most knife nuts REALLY want their steel?

I'm as guilty as anyone as I frown on the old standbys like 440 and AUS 6 like they were rubber knives.

:confused:
 
Lavan said:
I bet in a few months we will be reading posts about how someone is having a hard time sharpening their ZDP's ...
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Not if they are ground correctly. This steel optimally needs a deep hollow grind, and a very thin edge profile.

On small utility knives I like the steels at max hardness, on other knives, it is usually at the toughness peak.

-Cliff
 
The only knife in ZDP-189 I've seen was the Tom Brown Quest knife. Does anyone know if anyone else made knives in ZDP-189?
 
Wm. Henry does now. Spyderco is doing a run on the Calypso and Delica.
Check the Spyderco forum.
 
Ultra hard steels are commonly used in other places and have been for a long time. Japanese blades for example, chisels and knives are commonly made out of very hard steels, ~64 HRC. This is only something new to the western market, and even here lots of people have been using very hard steels for a long time, ~20 years or more.

-Cliff
 
lukaszki said:
Rockstead Knives actualy makes knives with zdp-189 steel laminated with ats-34
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Spyderco had planned to use ZDP-189 laminated with ATS-34 on the Delica and laminated with 420J on Caly. Last I heard the Delica is being postponed and is going to be solid ZDP-189.

Well, if ease of sharpening is the only problem...that has not much to do with the hardness of the steel. The steel matrix will always be softer than your sharpening tools. The individual carbides in the matrix may become a problem yes. But I would say that wear resistance is a much bigger factor in ease of sharping. Therefore, if you can make a steel that is still not brittle at 70 Rc, I would like a knife made with it!
 
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