SPY27 Edge Character...

[Steampunk]

Hi All,

I'm really curious about SPY27, but haven't read enough about how it sharpens, or the feel of the edge to drop the dough on one in it yet. Can any users who love to sharpen and compare edges elaborate?

How would you describe the feel of the edge compared to other iconic Spyderco steels?

HAP-40 for example takes a really aggressive feeling edge at lower grits, that feels sharper than you think it should at that low of a grit, but seems to lose some bite and longevity if fully polished out. Great for a 'working' knife.

ZDP-189 doesn't really come into its own - in my experience - until polished on higher grit stones. Holds a polished edge longer than just about anything I've tried. A little bit fussy, at times, and feels kind of 'glassy' on stones. Good for a 'gentleman's' blade.

Aogami Super - has nice bite at both high and low grits. Really wants to get sharp; not fussy at all. Easy to read the feedback on the stones, like HAP-40.

VG-10 - Nothing bad. Just a tiny bit 'meh' at all grits in terms of sharpness and bite, but the way Spyderco HT's it, seems to be happier at higher grit numbers than lower ones. Can't say it's 'fussy', per-say, but also feels a bit more 'numb' on the stones than HAP-40, or even Spyderco's Italian-manufactured N690 knives. Okay overall experience to use and sharpen.

8Cr13Mov - I'll be polite. It's not fun for me. Feels a bit gritty, a bit glassy, and a bit plasticky on the stones all at the same time. Not easy to deburr on low-grit stones, loses bite fast on high-grit stones. Dulls to butter knife smoothness quickly, but at the same time isn't easy to abrade while sharpening. Not my cup of coffee.

How would you describe how SPY27 takes an edge, and what that edge feels like?

Thanks for your help!

[kobold]

The steel is fine grain and gets really sharp really quick on ceramics, but also even on just a strop.

[Matus]

I have not used it yet, but it is supposed to come at around 62 HRC - what would be more than what S30V, S35VN or S45VN from Spyderco - I am wondering whether it would mean more edge stability.

I am definitely curios to hear more about this steel from the user perspective.

[tomhosangoutdoors]

I was about to type out all my thoughts, but figured it'd probably be easier if you checked out my video on it instead. Solid stuff. I enjoyed using/sharpening it.

[Wandering_About]

I like it. It likes to get sharp, nice sticky edge off a 3k stone and 1 micron diamond strop. Curious to know what Spyderco is running their S45VN at for hardness. Have a PM2 in that, and have not sharpened it yet. I'm thinking it will be tough to tell much of a difference between them, will know more once the PM2 needs some time on the stones.

[sal]

Hi Steampunk,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[Steampunk]

I was about to type out all my thoughts, but figured it'd probably be easier if you checked out my video on it instead. Solid stuff. I enjoyed using/sharpening it.

Thank you very much for the video! Top work! Just the sort of feedback I was looking for; better commentary on the steel than most reviewers I've seen. Keep it up!

[Steampunk]

Hi Steampunk,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

I've been a Spyderco user for decades, now. Thank you for producing amazing knives, and making them better by never standing still.

- Steampunk

[Bolster]

I just received a Hapstone R2 and sharpened a SPY27 Manix on it. The experience was delightful; a bitey but reflective (800 grit) edge in little time, with little effort. Unfortunately I've not had the Hapstone long enough to be able to compare SPY27 to other steels (other than VG10 which is even easier to sharpen). But standing on its own, SPY27 was straightforward to sharpen.

[vivi]

Hi All,

I'm really curious about SPY27, but haven't read enough about how it sharpens, or the feel of the edge to drop the dough on one in it yet. Can any users who love to sharpen and compare edges elaborate?

How would you describe the feel of the edge compared to other iconic Spyderco steels?

HAP-40 for example takes a really aggressive feeling edge at lower grits, that feels sharper than you think it should at that low of a grit, but seems to lose some bite and longevity if fully polished out. Great for a 'working' knife.

ZDP-189 doesn't really come into its own - in my experience - until polished on higher grit stones. Holds a polished edge longer than just about anything I've tried. A little bit fussy, at times, and feels kind of 'glassy' on stones. Good for a 'gentleman's' blade.

Aogami Super - has nice bite at both high and low grits. Really wants to get sharp; not fussy at all. Easy to read the feedback on the stones, like HAP-40.

VG-10 - Nothing bad. Just a tiny bit 'meh' at all grits in terms of sharpness and bite, but the way Spyderco HT's it, seems to be happier at higher grit numbers than lower ones. Can't say it's 'fussy', per-say, but also feels a bit more 'numb' on the stones than HAP-40, or even Spyderco's Italian-manufactured N690 knives. Okay overall experience to use and sharpen.

8Cr13Mov - I'll be polite. It's not fun for me. Feels a bit gritty, a bit glassy, and a bit plasticky on the stones all at the same time. Not easy to deburr on low-grit stones, loses bite fast on high-grit stones. Dulls to butter knife smoothness quickly, but at the same time isn't easy to abrade while sharpening. Not my cup of coffee.

How would you describe how SPY27 takes an edge, and what that edge feels like?

Thanks for your help!

Odd, I recently reprofiled a Resilience and while it isn't the quickest steel to deburr, it took a blistering sharp edge. I set the bevel with a 200 grit diamond plate, then gave it two strokes per side on a spyderco medium ceramic. Hair popping sharpness with some microserrations left for aggressive slicing.

[GarageBoy]

I'm curious to try spy27 too
Here's a helpful thread
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=86859

[Steampunk]

Thank you all for the help!

Odd, I recently reprofiled a Resilience and while it isn't the quickest steel to deburr, it took a blistering sharp edge. I set the bevel with a 200 grit diamond plate, then gave it two strokes per side on a spyderco medium ceramic. Hair popping sharpness with some microserrations left for aggressive slicing.

I sharpened 8Cr13MoV while I was playing with it on Japanese water stones (Shapton Glass, Naniwa Chosera/Pro, etc.) to about the 4-6K point, with maybe some 1-micron diamond paste on hard balsa or leather thrown in sometimes, and also a little Coticule or two.

On these stones at every grit from 1K up I noticed the edge didn't have as much aggression as other 'simple' stainless alloys I've worked with at a given grit level (12C27, 14C28N, N690, VG-10, AUS-6, AUS-8, etc.). AUS-8 or VG-10 for example doesn't tend to 'run' or slip much, with a hair shaving edge from a Shapton 4000 grit HR Glass Stone, when using the belly of the blade to slice into plastic wrap (Think removing the plastic from a roll of paper towels.) or doing a paper towel test. 8cr13 did for me. Blue Super has all kinds of teeth on that same stone. An interesting exercise.

A 'hybrid' edge, that leaves some teeth behind from a coarser grit like what you did, is probably the order of the day for this steel.