Steel vs. Edge Type

[Lockback]

I thought of a random knife-related question yesterday and thought this would be a good place to get it answered.

Are there any steels that are better suited to one edge type vs. another? For example, I seem to remember reading that PE H1 is comparable to AUS-6, but SE H1 acts like a higher grade of steel in terms of egde retention. Thus, H1 would seem to be better suited to SE knives.

Are there any other steels that seem to exhibit an "edge preference?"

[dialex]

I remember I read somewhere at BF that the molecular structure of VG-10 makes it more suitable for SE. However, I dare to say that any steel benefits from serrations.

[The Deacon]

I wonder if it really is an issue of serrated-vs-plain, or more a case that the extra "working" of the metal to produce the serrated edge improves the edge retention. If that is the case then, in theory at least, one might achieve equal edge retention in a plain edge by "working" it in some other manner. Or am I just displaying how little I know about steel?

[HoB]

Deacon is right. According to what Sal wrote on the bladeforums, H-1 is very peculiar in its behavior. When comparing a PE H-1 blade to a SE H-1 blade you comparing a 65 Rc blade to a 67 Rc blade, due to the different amount of work hardening. Not really a fair comparison I would say.

Speaking for myself, I think I prefer a PE edge on pretty much any knife of decent steel, not to mention the top end steels that Spydies are made from.

[thorin hammer]

I think one aspect of knife sharpness is how fine the grain of the steel is. The finer the grain the better the push cut on a PE knife. But if the grain is courser then it will be a better slicer. Weather or not the knife is serrated, seems to me, to be a different set of characteristics. Honing a knife on ultra fine white stones and then stropping will put an incredible edge on the knife. But this edge is not for cutting cardboard. That will bend the edge right off. For that you need a durable micro serrated edge. Which can be obtained by using the grey stones on the Sharpmaker (I use this on my EDC Chinese Folder). At work I use a steel (those round things that come with wooden block knife sets) for my Santoku. I have been using it every day for two years and haven’t had to “sharpen” it yet. It puts on a micro serrated edge that is perfect for food.

Just my humble opinion…