62rc, stroped the factory edge and measured it for angles and sharpness on the BESS tester as seen in the video.
I put my own edge on it using some metallic cbn stones to set the edge and resin diamond waterstones to polish followed by stroping.
I'd be curious to play on some regular ceramic abrasive waterstones to compare, the vanadium/niobium carbides seem to be at low enough volume as to not interfere with sharpening but I'll have to test and see.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/85vuD1j.jpg)
My initial impression is that the steel wants to get sharp.
If I could only use one word to describe it I'd say "Crisp"
I've noticed over they years that different steels have their own character at the edge, some being more aggressive and "bitey", some more keen, and some really gummy and difficult to deburr.
So I was stoked to see the edge come up crispy with bite rather than purely on the smoother solely keen side like Vtoku 2
I especially enjoyed how pleasant this steel was to deburr. Steels like Bd1, 8cr13Mov aren't very pleasant to deburr and are morre on the gummy side and can come up smoother at the edge.
The edge character reminds me of Sg2/R2/SGPS, Srs-15, Lam CoS.
Too soon to say more.
So far, I'm very happy.
-Shawn
*Update 01/12/2021
S30v vs Spy27
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/XW47xRQ.jpg)
The goal of the cut testing was to discern the difference between these two steels compared directly, it is not to say that folks will get exactly x amount of cuts in their personal use but to distinguish between the two different steels in cutting edge retention with slicing rope.
The test used is a modified version of Phil Wilson's Rope cut test but with a fixed amount of cuts and with sharpeness measured before and after the cutting
The knife with the lowest sharpeness value in grams at the end of the test is the winner.
Differences in controlled testing may be marginal to what some folks experience anecdotally since there are more variables for users in the wild especially with the sharpening differences between different users etc.
For example,
If steel X cuts less in controlled testing but is easier to sharpen than steel Y for one user than they may feel it has better edge holding due to starting sharper for them and their ability and techniques.
The Test
Both knives were at
12°dps, 0.025"bte
Same angle and edge width
400grit CBN, no strop.
Both started at 109grams BESS sharpeness.
Rope used was 3/4 Manilla full braid
Moisture of rope was 11.6%
Rope was dried at 300°F for 20min
Moisture after was 0.0% and confirmed by comparison to non dried piece.
Starting cut weight both the same at 7lbs, the drier rope combined with the 0.025" behind the edge thickness increased the pounds needed to slice back and forth and separate the rope.
Than if the rope was at 11.6% moisture and if the behind the edge thickness was narrower.
7 slices per cut to separate the rope.
20 cuts total, 14lbs of force needed to slice by last cut in 0.0% moisture rope.
The drier rope significantly affected the edge wear
Versus when tested at 11.6% moisture and was significantly more difficult to cut.
11.6% moisture rope had a lower lbs needed to slice the rope at 5lbs to start versus 7lbs on the 0.0% moisture rope, also the 11.6% moisture rope only needed 9lbs to slice after 20 cuts
End result
0.0% moisture rope
S30v
397g BESS
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/CH55Zlh.jpg)
SPY27
538g BESS
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/n8FHTcw.jpg)
11.6% Moisture rope
S30v
268g
SPY27
298g
S30v had a better BESS sharpeness score after 20 slicing cuts in 3/4 manila rope with and without moisture with the same edge angle and behind the edge thickness and starting BESS sharpeness despite being slightly softer in HRC due to higher carbide volume of harder carbide particles at the edge.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/SDFRv84.jpg)
Next test is edge stability with a polished edge.