H1 Edge Test

[loamy47]

Hello all,

About a week ago I asked you all if the edge retention was as bad as everyone makes it sound and from the results of that thread, picked up a PE Dragonfly Salt. I also decided that with this knife, I was going to make a thread documenting the knife's edge retention day by day to see how it lasts. Well, the Dragonfly came in yesterday, and after narrowing the edge down a bit to how I sharpen my other knives and putting a mirror edge on it this morning, the test can officially begin! So far today, I've done a bit of food prep with it and I broke down the (far too large) mailing box it came in. Nothing much, and as one would expect the edge hasn't suffered. I'll update a little later, and then will try to update at least once a day with what I've used it for and how it's holding up. And if this interests you. make sure to look at tonijedi's thread on the same subject here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=83361.

[vivi]

I'm glad people are doing this. It's about time the myth of PE H1 being a poor performer is broken.

[Deadboxhero]

I'm glad people are doing this. It's about time the myth of PE H1 being a poor performer is broken.

I'm just curious if it gets harder if I Regrind one. That would be dope. I guess it's not even heat treated. It's purely a work hardning steel and is hardened from rolling to bars.

Perhaps some light taps from a hammer :D

(Don't do that xD)

[vivi]

I'm glad people are doing this. It's about time the myth of PE H1 being a poor performer is broken.

I'm just curious if it gets harder if I Regrind one. That would be dope. I guess it's not even heat treated. It's purely a work hardning steel and is hardened from rolling to bars.

Perhaps some light taps from a hammer :D

(Don't do that xD)

If I had a belt sander and some money to burn I'd buy a SE Pacific Salt, regrind it to PE, and compare edge retention to a stock PE model.

[Deadboxhero]

I'm glad people are doing this. It's about time the myth of PE H1 being a poor performer is broken.

I'm just curious if it gets harder if I Regrind one. That would be dope. I guess it's not even heat treated. It's purely a work hardning steel and is hardened from rolling to bars.

Perhaps some light taps from a hammer :D

(Don't do that xD)

If I had a belt sander and some money to burn I'd buy a SE Pacific Salt, regrind it to PE, and compare edge retention to a stock PE model.

Huh, I didn't think of that, I got a plain edge coming to test and see if regrinding works.

[Evil D]

I've talked to a couple guys who had theirs reground into FFG and say they saw no difference. That could just be that the edge of the blade wasn't ground enough.

I think the edge retention thing is valid when compared to other steels but I don't think that makes it horrible. A Miata is still loads of fun even though it's slower than a Corvette. What it lacks in all out edge retention it gains in ease of sharpening, toughness and corrosion resistance. It's all in what you expect out of a knife.

[sal]

I agree with Evil.

Shawn, rollers, bevel grinding and edge grinding.

sal

[vivi]

It's all in what you expect out of a knife.

I've gifted PE Pacific Salt to five friends who weren't exactly knife people, but they were guys that appreciate a good tool. All of them were impressed with the steel. Comes down to perspective I suppose.

[thewoodpecker]

I've talked to a couple guys who had theirs reground into FFG and say they saw no difference. That could just be that the edge of the blade wasn't ground enough.

I think the edge retention thing is valid when compared to other steels but I don't think that makes it horrible. A Miata is still loads of fun even though it's slower than a Corvette. What it lacks in all out edge retention it gains in ease of sharpening, toughness and corrosion resistance. It's all in what you expect out of a knife.

^^^+1
Love my PE Pac Salt. Gets the job done, no muss, no fuss.

[Evil D]

It's all in what you expect out of a knife.

I've gifted PE Pacific Salt to five friends who weren't exactly knife people, but they were guys that appreciate a good tool. All of them were impressed with the steel. Comes down to perspective I suppose.

Yeah my buddy loves his Salt 2 and he isn't gentle with it. It's an excellent option for gifting knives to people who aren't necessarily AFI's but really use their knives.

[tonijedi]

It's all in what you expect out of a knife.

I've gifted PE Pacific Salt to five friends who weren't exactly knife people, but they were guys that appreciate a good tool. All of them were impressed with the steel. Comes down to perspective I suppose.

As I already said on the thread I started about this same topic, go an read the reviews on Amazon about the PE Pacific Salt:

"keeps an edge"
"The negatives are few. Because of the nice hard steel, it is somewhat harder to sharpen than softer steel"
"Pros: holds an edge"

Perspectives indeed.

Yeah my buddy loves his Salt 2 and he isn't gentle with it. It's an excellent option for gifting knives to people who aren't necessarily AFI's but really use their knives.

I usually carry a SE Salt 2 and now I want a PE version to go with it. I've come to realize that it's not the edge holding per se that leads to more frequent sharpenings but the accidental bumps on metals and concrete that damage the edge. For these situations I now prefer the ease of sharpening of H1. When I first faced this issue I switched from my VG10 Delica to the ZDP189 version and although the edge retention was better the sharpenings due to cutting stuff inside of brick walls took much more time and effort.

[loamy47]

Sorry guys, couldn't update yesterday because it turned into a six hour round trip to pick up family. I didn't end up using my knife for anything except a couple wrappers, so there was still no loss of sharpness from the edge. So far today, I've broken down a few packages, and nothing has had any detriment yet. I'll update as the day goes on.

[loamy47]

I agree with Evil.

Shawn, rollers, bevel grinding and edge grinding.

sal

Hey Sal, thank you for continuing to put out some of the best products out there. Also, thank you for putting in your two cents from the perspective of being the one making the knives.

[loamy47]

I've talked to a couple guys who had theirs reground into FFG and say they saw no difference. That could just be that the edge of the blade wasn't ground enough.

I think the edge retention thing is valid when compared to other steels but I don't think that makes it horrible. A Miata is still loads of fun even though it's slower than a Corvette. What it lacks in all out edge retention it gains in ease of sharpening, toughness and corrosion resistance. It's all in what you expect out of a knife.

That's a really good way of putting it. I can't quite yet say that I agree or disagree from firsthand experience, but from what I have read and seen so far, that's the best way of putting it.

[loamy47]

A quick update:

It was a nice day outside and I decided to go out and enjoy the nice day and carve a little cube of scrap wood I found. About three hours later, my hands gave out before the edge did. I even went so far as to push the knife through the little block to get the corners off by splitting the wood, and the edge shows virtually no sign of wear and can still shave hair. I felt that I would be surprised some by how much of an edge PE H1 would hold, but so far my expectations have been surpassed by miles.

[ladybug93]

people talk it down all the time because they’re comparing it to modern super steels, but it’s better steel than most woodsmen we revered ever carried.

[Doc Dan]

I do not have any direct experience, but people I know say that PE H1 has edge retention about like well heat treated AUS8 or a bit better. Is this accurate, I wonder?

[vivi]

I do not have any direct experience, but people I know say that PE H1 has edge retention about like well heat treated AUS8 or a bit better. Is this accurate, I wonder?

Sounds about right. For me the raw edge holding was a bit worse than Spydercos VG10, but a little better than the AUS8 I've used (Mostly kabar and boker).

[ladybug93]

i edc’d a sog flash ii (aus8) for seven years and only sharpened it once or twice in that time. granted, i never used it hard, but it survived plenty of light edc usage. i also have an esee zancudo in aus8 that i carried and used quite a bit. aus8 is no slouch and easy to touch up.

that said, i think lc200n is as easy, if not easier, to touch up as aus8 or pe h1, so i’d choose lc200n personally. h1 is an amazing steel though that is (sadly) highly underrated.

[tonijedi]

H1 is a victim of prejudice.