ZDP-189 chipping?

[captnvegtble]

Has anybody had any problems with ZDP-189 knives chipping?

[tonydahose]

yeah, i had my endura chip on some heavy zip ties...others have had problems and some have had no problems. personally i just buy plain edge when it comes to zdp.

[spoonrobot]

I had some chipping of the factory edge on my FRN Stretch. Now that I've sharpened it for the third time I have seen no more chipping.

Here's what I think why:

I'm an adherent to the thought that fast moving belts and wheels during production heat the edge enough to make it more brittle than the steel will actually be with hand sharpening. Not sure if this is scientifically/metallurgically sound but it's something I've noted in my experiences with factory knives. It is worth it note that my limited experience with serrated knives shows that chipping of that factory edge type is much less than a plain edge in similar steels. This may be due to the fact that SE only has work done on on side so heat is mitigated. I don't profess to be an expert, just trying to objectively report what I see.

[Bill1170]

But, but, but... wouldn't overheating draw the temper and make the edge less brittle?

An alternate explanation that makes more sense is that the thin edge gets hardest because it quenches the fastest after heat-treating, and the really hard layer is shallow, so is removed in a few sharpenings.

Bill