CPM 15V Sprint sharpening and performance thread

[electro-static]

Hello everyone, This is a thread to share our experiences with the sharpening and performance of the CPM 15V Sprint Run knives.

While there is a thread for the CPM 15V Manix 2, I feel that there should be a separate one for just for sharpening and performance as mostly people talking about how to get one, rather than the performance of the knife and the steel.

I just got mine today, and am pretty impressed with the sharpness and aggression of it. It will be interesting to see how it compares to my K390 stretch 2 in the coming week.

[legOFwhat?]

1st day in pocket for me, so any input other than appearance is all I can give right now. That being said, it sure does look good. I gifted my blacked out Manix 2 to a nephew LEO a few years back, so I only had the lw Maxamet version until now. G10 is quite grippy and looks better to me in person than the photos. I have a flawless example, so hat tip to Golden!

[Netherend]

I am curious to know how 15v performs with every day tasks. How does it handle cardboard, and how quickly does it dull on cardboard ? How does it handle softer material what does the edge retention feel like in use compared to s30v or a common steel? Someone here likely owns both an s30v and 15v Manix. I would love to know how they compare .

How is the finish on the blade? Does it scratch easy? Sharpening… Toothy or polished?

[electro-static]

I am curious to know how 15v performs with every day tasks. How does it handle cardboard, and how quickly does it dull on cardboard ? How does it handle softer material what does the edge retention feel like in use compared to s30v or a common steel? Someone here likely owns both an s30v and 15v Manix. I would love to know how they compare .

How is the finish on the blade? Does it scratch easy? Sharpening… Toothy or polished?

The finish on the blade is nice, almost like my maxamet PM2. I am rocking the factory edge presently and it would seem to be fairly aggressive. Eats cardboard and paper, and will easily S-cut paper towels. will keep you posted as I use it at work today.

[ZrowsN1s]

Haven't had a chance to use it yet. Factory edge measured at 16 and 19 degrees. Sort of dreading evening the bevel out. Been sharpening a Maxamet Manix off and on for the last few days. Reprofiling Maxamet is a very slow process (using a guided system). I'm hoping 15V will be easier to work with. The trade off od course is once you actually get it sharp it's got great edge holding.

[Sharp24/7]

I am curious to know how 15v performs with every day tasks. How does it handle cardboard, and how quickly does it dull on cardboard ? How does it handle softer material what does the edge retention feel like in use compared to s30v or a common steel? Someone here likely owns both an s30v and 15v Manix. I would love to know how they compare .

How is the finish on the blade? Does it scratch easy? Sharpening… Toothy or polished?

The finish on the blade is nice, almost like my maxamet PM2. I am rocking the factory edge presently and it would seem to be fairly aggressive. Eats cardboard and paper, and will easily S-cut paper towels. will keep you posted as I use it at work today.

Ditto on cardboard and paper. I’ve been using it every chance I get and I haven’t noticed any quantifiable loss of sharpness. It won’t S-cut paper towel, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a factory edge that can. I don’t plan on putting my own edge on it until I absolutely have too. At this rate—and I’m taking any cardboard I cut down to the rough size of an old school VHS tape—I doubt I’ll even have to strop before the New Year. For contrast I got a Sage 5 during the MAP holiday and put it through similar paces. Got about two weeks before it started to tear paper.

[Guts]

Should have my 15V Manix in the coming days if Fedex's estimate can be trusted. Since the factory edge is generally not the same angle on both sides I'm debating just reprofiling soon as I get it, then reprofiling my other two Manixes in Maxamet and S30V to test.

[Sharp24/7]

Should have my 15V Manix in the coming days if Fedex's estimate can be trusted. Since the factory edge is generally not the same angle on both sides I'm debating just reprofiling soon as I get it, then reprofiling my other two Manixes in Maxamet and S30V to test.

Is reprofiling substantially different than ordinary sharpening in terms of process? I’m concerned about taking off too much material, and/or “over sharpening” so that i end up wrecking the apex.

[Guts]

Should have my 15V Manix in the coming days if Fedex's estimate can be trusted. Since the factory edge is generally not the same angle on both sides I'm debating just reprofiling soon as I get it, then reprofiling my other two Manixes in Maxamet and S30V to test.

Is reprofiling substantially different than ordinary sharpening in terms of process? I’m concerned about taking off too much material, and/or “over sharpening” so that i end up wrecking the apex.

I'm no sharpening expert, but it's not really any different than normal sharpening. I think it can be a pretty broad term actually, but in most cases I think people refer to reprofiling as changing the edge angle to what you want vs sharpening the existing angle. One of the previous posters mentioned the factory angle on his example of the 15V manix was 16 degrees on one side and 19 on the other. So when I reprofile I like a 15 degrees (30 inclusive) per side or a 17 degrees (34 inclusive) per side edge.

If you're happy with the existing angles and how it cuts, there's no reason to reprofile, you can just hone your existing angle. I've gotten some funky factory grinds on my Spydercos before. For example, had one that was 20 one side and 26 the other. So I just reprofile to keep both sides even as a starting point, but also because I'm a little OCD about it. If you're concerned about wrecking the apex, grab a high magnification loupe or a microscope so you can check your work. Helps a lot.

[Sharp24/7]

Should have my 15V Manix in the coming days if Fedex's estimate can be trusted. Since the factory edge is generally not the same angle on both sides I'm debating just reprofiling soon as I get it, then reprofiling my other two Manixes in Maxamet and S30V to test.

Is reprofiling substantially different than ordinary sharpening in terms of process? I’m concerned about taking off too much material, and/or “over sharpening” so that i end up wrecking the apex.

I'm no sharpening expert, but it's not really any different than normal sharpening. I think it can be a pretty broad term actually, but in most cases I think people refer to reprofiling as changing the edge angle to what you want vs sharpening the existing angle. One of the previous posters mentioned the factory angle on his example of the 15V manix was 16 degrees on one side and 19 on the other. So when I reprofile I like a 15 degrees (30 inclusive) per side or a 17 degrees (34 inclusive) per side edge.

If you're happy with the existing angles and how it cuts, there's no reason to reprofile, you can just hone your existing angle. I've gotten some funky factory grinds on my Spydercos before. For example, had one that was 20 one side and 26 the other. So I just reprofile to keep both sides even as a starting point, but also because I'm a little OCD about it. If you're concerned about wrecking the apex, grab a high magnification loupe or a microscope so you can check your work. Helps a lot.

OCD about knife edges… Me? No, never! Seriously though, the edge angles appear to be different on mine. Once the factory edge quits, I plan to use the Sharpie trick to judge the angle on each side, and then whichever side has the higher angle I’ll work on until it more or less matches the other side. But long before that I plan to practice on an 8Cr CRKT Pilar that I bought for the rare occasions I’m in the city. KnOCD would be far worse if I messed up on the 15V. Waaaayyy too nice a knife for that. Love the shade of the G10. Also, I have a 10x loupe. And you were right about the CBBL; it’s amazing.

[Guts]

Ended up getting my 15V Manix. Grind seemed to be 15deg on the show side and around 17deg on the clip side. Actually a pretty even grind for the factory compared to some Spyderco's I've gotten. Edge bevel is a lot more even on the show side all the way to the edge compared to the clip side. Pretty sharp from the factory. I stropped it to get it whittling hair then broke down a few cardboard boxes, some being the thick double walled type. No damage on the edge that I can see. Hit the diamond compound strop again and it was back to hair whittling. Can't complain. I'll leave the real testing to the professionals though

I can definitely get it sharper than what you get from the factory so I'll likely reprofile it today or tomorrow and report back how the sharpening experience was.

Here's a shot of the factory edge out of the box.

[troutinCO]

Just ran mine on the Sharpmaker with diamond rods, lightly, with sharpie to get a gauge on mine. Seems to be like yours Guts but opposite sides. Guess I'm going to dive in to the fun this weekend too. Going to start tonight and get the high side knocked down a bit first.

[electro-static]

I did my first “abusive” task with my 15V manix today, scraping tape off a stainless steel surface. Still wearing the factory edge.

No visual damage to the knife edge, after checking under a microscope there was only some very slight micro-chipping. one or two very slight hang ups detected with finger-nail. Tip won’t shave as easily anymore, but is otherwise still very sharp.

Update: It stropped back to scary sharp with 1um diamond, and 0.25um CBN on a rough leather strop.

[troutinCO]

I got the reprofile set with the F80 Venev stone on the Hapstone last night. Seems like any other steel to sharpen so far.

[Ramonade]

Please keep uploading macro shots of the edge ! It's hurting me to wait for it to appear in Europe, but seeing some stuff about it helps

[kennbr34]

Mine was pretty darn sharp from the factory, and with an angle at about 16.5 per side from what I could tell. Though it wasn't equal from one side or the other, and plus I don't know if they used coolant on the grinder, so I decided to just re-profile it.

It's at about 29-30 degrees inclusive now. Started with an Atoma 140, then moved on to my Shapton Kuromaku 120, and then Shapton Kuromaku 2k. The Shapton ceramics cut the steel a lot better than I expected, considering that Kizer's 10V Sheepdog glazed my 120 grit pretty badly. I kinda wonder why that is... More vanadium content, and undoubtedly harder steel... I would think that would think it would not have cut better. Oh well.

I actually like a bit of a toothier edge so after the Shapton 2k I used my DMT Fine 600 grit until it was hair whittling. I'll do some performance tests later on when I have enough material to cut.

[Guts]

Please keep uploading macro shots of the edge ! It's hurting me to wait for it to appear in Europe, but seeing some stuff about it helps

This one's for you Ramonade

Factory edge after stropping


Haven't gotten around to reprofiling my 15V yet. I got a Venev stone in the mail that I want to break in with the 15V steel. Can't wait. I'll upload some progress and final shots of the edge as I reprofile it with the Venev progression.

[electro-static]

After a bout with some nasty cardboard the edge was no longer biting into my finger pads (Still slicing paper and shaving hair though) , so I decided to re-profile it to 15dps on my KME using 140 to 600 grit diamond hones. The steel moved faster than Maxamet, and slower than Seki K390. It was easy to deburr as well. I ended up stropping on 1um diamond, and 0.25um CBN paste (nothing crazy) on a rough leather strop.

The end result was edge that is hair whittling sharp.

[Guts]

After a bout with some nasty cardboard the edge was no longer biting into my finger pads (Still slicing paper and shaving hair though) , so I decided to re-profile it to 15dps on my KME using 140 to 600 grit diamond hones. The steel moved faster than Maxamet, and slower than Seki K390. It was easy to deburr as well. I ended up stropping on 1um diamond, and 0.25um CBN paste (nothing crazy) on a rough leather strop.

The end result was edge that is hair whittling sharp.

Sounds like 15V will sharpen pretty nicely then. I did reprofile my Maxamet Manix 2 LW recently and that did take a while even with an all diamond progression, so that's good to know 15V won't take quite as long as Maxamet. How do you like the CBN stropping paste vs Diamond? Haven't tried CBN compound myself yet.

[electro-static]

After a bout with some nasty cardboard the edge was no longer biting into my finger pads (Still slicing paper and shaving hair though) , so I decided to re-profile it to 15dps on my KME using 140 to 600 grit diamond hones. The steel moved faster than Maxamet, and slower than Seki K390. It was easy to deburr as well. I ended up stropping on 1um diamond, and 0.25um CBN paste (nothing crazy) on a rough leather strop.

The end result was edge that is hair whittling sharp.

Sounds like 15V will sharpen pretty nicely then. I did reprofile my Maxamet Manix 2 LW recently and that did take a while even with an all diamond progression, so that's good to know 15V won't take quite as long as Maxamet. How do you like the CBN stropping paste vs Diamond? Haven't tried CBN compound myself yet.

it was significantly closer to K390 to maxamet. I like the 0.25 CBN paste from grit-o-matic better than 0.25um gunny juice. I like the 4um and 0.25um CBN pastes from grit-o-matic better than diamond.