S30v

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

Lots of good stuff here, so I don't have to add, just say.
I like VG 10 better than S30V.

+1

[JaxBaron]

S30v works fine for my daily EDC carry. I think people get to hung up on knife steels. If you look at most pictures people upload of their daily knife, they look new and hardly used a lot of the times. Most people ( myself included) do not do hard work with knives that often. This is just my opinion of course.

[Pelagic]

So as a newcomer to S30v, what are the best sharpening methods? Angle, grit fineness, stropping etc. How do the experts maintain theirs.

S30V will take whatever finish you give it. However, I'd recommend stopping at 400-1000 grit (depending on your preferences and what you're cutting) and briefly stropping the edge with 3, 2, or 1 micron diamond or CBN abrasive to make sure there's no burr and to get a tad better apex refinement. S30V generally likes coarse edges over fine edges (you'll realize this yourself through experimentation in sharpening), but not as much as s90v or especially s110v. In any of these steels though, getting a fine edge requires more time than most other steels and doesn't yield a significant increase in performance (aside from the first few pushcuts). Most people like a coarse yet refined edge that excels at push cutting and slicing.

[Evil D]

At this point I would be overjoyed if LC200N became the standard steel for everything, even knives that aren't 100% Salt models. It's a great all around steel that also happens to be rust proof.

S30V is a great steel too but I'd trade it for LC in a heartbeat.

[vivi]

S30v works fine for my daily EDC carry. I think people get to hung up on knife steels. If you look at most pictures people upload of their daily knife, they look new and hardly used a lot of the times. Most people ( myself included) do not do hard work with knives that often. This is just my opinion of course.

This is the funniest part of steel snobbery to me. How ya gonna be a steel snob while carrying around a factory edge.

[vivi]

I run my S30V around 10-12dps then microbevel with the medium sharpmaker rods at 15 degrees per side. I find S30V takes a very aggressive edge off the brown rods. If it can't pop off arm hair I didn't sharpen it well. No stropping for me.

At this point I would be overjoyed if LC200N became the standard steel for everything, even knives that aren't 100% Salt models. It's a great all around steel that also happens to be rust proof.

S30V is a great steel too but I'd trade it for LC in a heartbeat.

Agreed.

[Woodpuppy]

If you’re one of the folks who have been favorably impressed with BD1N, how do you think it compares to s30v?

My dislike for the steel comes from a time when I was on the left leg of the sharpening bell curve, and with knives other than Spyderco. When I started looking at getting a new Spyder a year ago June, that dislike was still fresh, and many of the base models were s30v! I was perturbed to say the least. Luckily, the BHQ para3 in M4 had just dropped. Well, I liked M2HS so I ordered the para3 in M4. Love it. LOVE M4! I lucked out, that was before the sprints and exclusives were selling out in minutes. I actually had time to study and compare... you know, ‘shop’.

I’ve no experience with Spyderco’s s30v. But because of that grudge, and the wonderful availability of high zoot steels, I haven’t given it a second thought. I do very much like the tool steels. I use a Salt 2 SE when doing lawn work, probably need a Pac Salt. I get a great sharpening response with all of those :cool: and I can easily maintain on a Doublestuff 2 or the sharpmaker. I’m quite content.

[brainfriction]

S30V is perfectly fine.

A lot of people are okay with high end $500 knives made with s35vn, but in practical use I can't even tell the difference between s35vn and s30v. They both take a screaming sharp edge and stay sharp for a while.

[JuPaul]

If you’re one of the folks who have been favorably impressed with BD1N, how do you think it compares to s30v?

I don't have any long-term experience with BD1N, but did watch an edge test on it by Cedrick and Ada a while back. At 17dps, it held an edge longer than vg-10, but not as long as s30v. It was smack in the middle of them, if I remember correctly.

[GarageBoy]

Did not say anything was wrong with the Cruwear Delica, read it again. It was the Cruwear Delica that gave me a greater appreciation for the cheaper knives.

Ah, I read that thinking the Cru wear delica was the expensive knife and cheaper ones did better

[Doc Dan]

S30v is okay by me. It is not my favorite steel but neither does it keep me from buying a knife. I think it gets a bad rap because of factory edges from some makers are burnt in the sharpening process. Then it is understandably chip prone.

I really do not like sharpening this steel. There are other steels In the same league that are more fun to sharpen.

[ChrisinHove]

There can be very few circumstances where steel characteristics are absolutely critical - except affordability.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

So as a newcomer to S30v, what are the best sharpening methods? Angle, grit fineness, stropping etc. How do the experts maintain theirs.

S30V will take whatever finish you give it. However, I'd recommend stopping at 400-1000 grit (depending on your preferences and what you're cutting) and briefly stropping the edge with 3, 2, or 1 micron diamond or CBN abrasive to make sure there's no burr and to get a tad better apex refinement. S30V generally likes coarse edges over fine edges (you'll realize this yourself through experimentation in sharpening), but not as much as s90v or especially s110v. In any of these steels though, getting a fine edge requires more time than most other steels and doesn't yield a significant increase in performance (aside from the first few pushcuts). Most people like a coarse yet refined edge that excels at push cutting and slicing.

Lets say your primary use it taking down double walled cardboard, regular cardboard, opening plastic blister packs, some food cutting and also like being able to push cut through telephone book paper. What grit is recommended then?

I am curious about this because the sharp-maker does not provide the same grit on the edge as a factory sharpened fresh out of the box sharp spyderco does like my VG-10 Endura did. I found this knife met all this criteria very nicely factory sharp so lets say we want to apply the factory grit to the finished edge. Just what is it anyway? Any good recommendations on stones and or equipment?

[Pelagic]

So as a newcomer to S30v, what are the best sharpening methods? Angle, grit fineness, stropping etc. How do the experts maintain theirs.

S30V will take whatever finish you give it. However, I'd recommend stopping at 400-1000 grit (depending on your preferences and what you're cutting) and briefly stropping the edge with 3, 2, or 1 micron diamond or CBN abrasive to make sure there's no burr and to get a tad better apex refinement. S30V generally likes coarse edges over fine edges (you'll realize this yourself through experimentation in sharpening), but not as much as s90v or especially s110v. In any of these steels though, getting a fine edge requires more time than most other steels and doesn't yield a significant increase in performance (aside from the first few pushcuts). Most people like a coarse yet refined edge that excels at push cutting and slicing.

Lets say your primary use it taking down double walled cardboard, regular cardboard, opening plastic blister packs, some food cutting and also like being able to push cut through telephone book paper. What grit is recommended then?

I am curious about this because the sharp-maker does not provide the same grit on the edge as a factory sharpened fresh out of the box sharp spyderco does like my VG-10 Endura did. I found this knife met all this criteria very nicely factory sharp so lets say we want to apply the factory grit to the finished edge. Just what is it anyway? Any good recommendations on stones and or equipment?

In that case I'd just finish on 800-1200, but make sure you're pushcutting phonebook paper before stropping. And you technically don't need to strop at that point, but I usually do 3-4 passes per side just to check for any last burr and get it a tiny bit sharper. As far as stones go, the new vitrified diamond/CBN stones are probably the best, followed by the metallic bonded and resin bonded stones by gritomatic, venev, naniwa, etc. But I don't pay for that kind of stuff. I'm fine with atoma or DMT plates. The real edge snobs say plates leave a ragged sloppy edge, but it push pushcuts newspaper just fine in my experience. I guess under a microscope it isn't as perfect? :confused: works for me. One day I'll get a good 800 grit CBN stone, but for now I can get basically any finish I want from what I have. Aside from my spyderco fine rod I don't even have a stone over 1200 grit and when I want (which is rare) I can get a full 0.1 micron polish in little time. It's amazing what pure diamond powder on wood can do, since you determine the concentration.

[Naperville]

+1 I purchased 4 Cold Steels total in CTS-XHP I liked the models and had been hovering on buying them when I saw the Switch to S35VN happening I was like aw crap it’s now or never before the only thing available I S35VN.

Like you I voted with my wallet which trumps speculation every time.

Yea, I agree. I'll say something in a forum or on YouTube (the only social media other than Facebook that I have) but obviously WE do not know what pressure the manufacturers are facing on getting knives rolling out the door. They live and die by these decisions.

These decisions are huge. Sal, Eric and Lynn are very well aware, more than any of us, how these decisions shake out and who is going to be disappointed.

S35VN and S30V are good steels, so is XHP. I just expected the XHP steel to be even more widely available and the contraction that was going on at Cold Steel...well, I was not going to sit on the sidelines. I'd very much like XHP to be available more than it is.

[Pelagic]

I'd already have an ad-10 by now if Cold Steel had kept it XHP. The ergos of that knife look phenomenal. For now I just have a recon 1 and broken skull in XHP and bought my father a code 4 in XHP. The bottom line is steel choice keeps me with spyderco.

[vivi]

So as a newcomer to S30v, what are the best sharpening methods? Angle, grit fineness, stropping etc. How do the experts maintain theirs.

S30V will take whatever finish you give it. However, I'd recommend stopping at 400-1000 grit (depending on your preferences and what you're cutting) and briefly stropping the edge with 3, 2, or 1 micron diamond or CBN abrasive to make sure there's no burr and to get a tad better apex refinement. S30V generally likes coarse edges over fine edges (you'll realize this yourself through experimentation in sharpening), but not as much as s90v or especially s110v. In any of these steels though, getting a fine edge requires more time than most other steels and doesn't yield a significant increase in performance (aside from the first few pushcuts). Most people like a coarse yet refined edge that excels at push cutting and slicing.

Lets say your primary use it taking down double walled cardboard, regular cardboard, opening plastic blister packs, some food cutting and also like being able to push cut through telephone book paper. What grit is recommended then?

I am curious about this because the sharp-maker does not provide the same grit on the edge as a factory sharpened fresh out of the box sharp spyderco does like my VG-10 Endura did. I found this knife met all this criteria very nicely factory sharp so lets say we want to apply the factory grit to the finished edge. Just what is it anyway? Any good recommendations on stones and or equipment?

Factories use grinders and buffing wheels.

Basically any grit 80-20000 could do what you described. I think the ideal range would be around 600-800. Most of the uses you describe benefit from an under 1,000 grit edge, because a little tooth will make the cuts easier. Blister packs, cardboard, and lots of different types of food all benefit from a toothier edge VS high polish. Going up to 800 grit means you won't need a crazy steady hand to achieve phone book push cutting sharpness, but that level of push cutting ability is possible to obtain straight off a 100-300 grit reprofiling stone for what it's worth.

[Cambertree]

So as a newcomer to S30v, what are the best sharpening methods? Angle, grit fineness, stropping etc. How do the experts maintain theirs.

I'm not an expert, but I second the good info above from Vivi and Pelagic.

I basically use the same technique as Vivi. Thin out the edge area with a 10-12dps bevel, then hit the apex with the Sharpmaker at 15dps with a brown rod finish. I'll usually do a couple passes per side at 20dps with the UF rods and a very light minimal strop with 1 micron, 0.25 micron and sometimes 0.1 micron diamond and CBN emulsion pasted strops. My 'coarser' strops are balsa, for the micro deburring effect, the finer finishing strops are either smoothside shoulder leather, 'roo leather, or nanocloth.

I made a balsa strop with 0.1 micron diamond emulsion for refreshing edges between sharpenings, and that seems to work quite well. The 'give' in the substrate helps to realign the apex, and the super fine grit level means the edge doesn't get 'rounded over'.

I'm not trying to polish the edge with the strops, I'm just cleaning up the apex a little from the coarse stones/rods.

If anyone's heading down the sharpening rabbit hole, and isn't aware of it already, I highly recommend checking out the posts and magnified edge images on the scienceofsharp website. One interesting thing there is the post where the author sharpens a straight razor to a smoothly shaving edge using only a 325 grit DMT diamond plate. Technique counts for a lot.

https://scienceofsharp.wordpress.com

I remember reading a comment from Sal years ago on their factory sharpening technique, wish I could find it again. Don't quote me, but as I recall the edges are ground somewhere in the 600-1200 grit range, then buffed in the 6000-8000 grit range, IIRC.

[cycleguy]

I'm a fan of s30v as a default Spyderco steel. It offers dependable good performance and remains a cut above a lot of the budget steels. I'm happy to buy any intriguing model (the ikuchi, for instance) even if it doesn't come with a hot new steel.

Exactly why I bought, and am carrying the HH UKPK today. Different design to me, with a reliable steel. This thing is a win all the way around. Melts into my hand, even with gloves on and slices all this plastic banding like an absolute demon :cool:

And goes invisible when in pocket...

CG

[aesmith]

Thanks for all the sharpening comments. I only have one blade in S30V, the HH UKPK limited edition. Currently it's unsharpened, just in ex-factory form. It's a nice piece so I want to start off with at least roughly the right edge form.