Are We Witnessing The Death Knell of K390 In Production Folders?

[horzuff]

Could either of You share a link to the Etsy store? I like my Police LW scales but "variety is the spice of life" and all that ^^

Type DHCustomKnives ans you'll find him ! I'm on the phone right now and am not good with this particular tool

Thanks a lot! Their offer is impressive and reasonably priced at the same time!

[kontei]

What does sharpenened to the max mean?

This question depends on experience, knowledge, intelligence, sharpening skills, and so on. Personally for me, e.g. spyderco VG10 is on max when it glides through thin paper like butterbread-paper AND when further sharpening do not bring anything.

[ladybug93]

i find it interesting that a thread that could've been answered with "no" has spawned so much drama and six pages of discussion.

that's not meant to be a complaint or critique... just an observation of how interesting humans are.

[kontei]

Just "no" is too less here. The very first time ever I see a heavy failure in spydercos strategy and offering lil temperance k390 will make it worse. This is not meant negative!

[Traditional.Sharpening]

What does sharpenened to the max mean?

This question depends on experience, knowledge, intelligence, sharpening skills, and so on. Personally for me, e.g. spyderco VG10 is on max when it glides through thin paper like butterbread-paper AND when further sharpening do not bring anything.

To me personally, the ideal sharpening job would depend entirely on what is required by the scope of work the knife is expected to see. There is no such thing as ideal or best until you've clearly outlined the parameters of application. You haven't said anything to what the knife would be used for and therefore there is no answer unless you only use it to slice thin paper.

[kontei]

What does sharpenened to the max mean?

This question depends on experience, knowledge, intelligence, sharpening skills, and so on. Personally for me, e.g. spyderco VG10 is on max when it glides through thin paper like butterbread-paper AND when further sharpening do not bring anything.

To me personally, the ideal sharpening job would depend entirely on what is required by the scope of work the knife is expected to see. There is no such thing as ideal or best until you've clearly outlined the parameters of application. You haven't said anything to what the knife would be used for and therefore there is no answer unless you only use it to slice thin paper.

[kontei]

As far, as I remember I did never say that. I'm pretty sure that never in history someone had to completing a knife-needing-task and failed because he had "only" BD1N, S30V, or similar insead of k390.

Nobody NEEDS it, but some WANT. This was my trigger:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... G9mWBDdmij

[Bolster]

I don't know how you guys have the patience to spend the time watching amateur ^ videos like that. They just plod. Kudos if you have the patience to do it. I don't have the attention span, I guess.

[RustyIron]

I don't know how you guys have the patience to spend the time watching amateur ^ videos like that. They just plod. Kudos if you have the patience to do it. I don't have the attention span, I guess.

Didn't anyone ever tell you that patience is a virtue?

Luckily, I'm comfortable in my unvirtuosity. It's a rare day when I watch ANY videos that are recommended in a forum. If someone takes the time to articulate their thoughts and carefully craft sentences, then I will give consideration to their position. If someone is only capable of cutting and and pasting Ticky-Tocks, and can't take the time to explain their thoughts, then I can't take the time to watch their videos.

What were we talking about? K390? Oh, yeah. It's the best knife steel ever. If Ned Stark's sword was K390, Game of Thrones would have been over after one season.

[kontei]

And what you think about this:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... -HLTDtV1c-

[Stas]

i find it interesting that a thread that could've been answered with "no" has spawned so much drama and six pages of discussion.

that's not meant to be a complaint or critique... just an observation of how interesting humans are.

Exactly! People crave interaction, even when it means responding to silly questions.

[kontei]

I don't know how you guys have the patience to spend the time watching amateur ^ videos like that. They just plod. Kudos if you have the patience to do it. I don't have the attention span, I guess.

This guy doesn't interest me honestly.

More interesting could be your arguementation, why that guy is an "amateur". You must know this since you are a "professionell", I guess.

[Bolster]

If someone takes the time to articulate their thoughts and carefully craft sentences, then I will give consideration to their position.

Exactly. Text is wonderful. You can skim it quickly or slow down and read it carefully if warranted. This is why I'm still an active member of the forum, and get my info here rather than on YouTube. It's faster, usually better sourced, occasionally has input from Spyderco or other known experts, and bad info (sometimes my own!) is quickly corrected by another member.

More interesting could be your arguementation, why that guy is an "amateur". You must know this since you are a "professionell", I guess.

Amateur video. Wasn't talking about his 'professionell' life. Or mine. Thanks for playing.

[Naperville]

I don't know how you guys have the patience to spend the time watching amateur ^ videos like that. They just plod. Kudos if you have the patience to do it. I don't have the attention span, I guess.

This guy doesn't interest me honestly.

More interesting could be your arguementation, why that guy is an "amateur". You must know this since you are a "professionell", I guess.

What makes an amateur? What makes a professional? Depends on the subject but I think professional and expert are awarded to too many people. A guy flicking a knife or reading specifications on camera is no more professional/expert than I am, and I barely know anything about knives/steels. I can read specs and understand graphs though.

As to knives, I think you need to be a bladesmith for 3 years and have made hundreds of knives from scratch to be a professional. Everybody else just has an opinion and they are amateurs.

As to knife steels, you may be an expert if for 3 years you made knives in certain steels, or you are a metallurgist with a degree and have done knife steel research like Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerds.

A knife retail sales rep is not an expert/professional. What? They memorize a few pages of data and that makes them an expert/professional? NOPE!

[Bolster]

What makes an amateur? What makes a professional? ...

I know it's a rhetorical question, and I agree with your post!

The definition of professional is someone who makes his profession at something. BBB, Larrin, and Sal are examples of knife/steel professionals. Salespeople are not knife/steel professionals, they are sales professionals. If the discipline is not one's primary source of income, one could be considered an amateur -- I am a knife/steel amateur, even if I have a YouTube channel devoted to knives and steels. But in my post I was referencing the amateur nature of the video...loquacious, redundant, meandering, a steady stream of hyperbole which reduces its credibility (sounds sales-y), even a vacuum cleaner (?) running in the background. I ask myself, "Why am I watching this??"

To get to the point: many amateur YouTube videos don't get to the point (fast enough for me). And I find the lack of credentials disturbing. You're an expert because you can take an iPhone video and post it?

It may be a generational thing.

[kontei]

I know it's a rhetorical question, and I agree with your post!

The definition of professional is someone who makes his profession at something. BBB, Larrin, and Sal are examples of knife/steel professionals. Salespeople are not knife/steel professionals, they are sales professionals. If the discipline is not one's primary source of income, one could be considered an amateur -- I am a knife/steel amateur, even if I have a YouTube channel devoted to knives and steels. But in my post I was referencing the amateur nature of the video...loquacious, redundant, meandering, a steady stream of hyperbole which reduces its credibility (sounds sales-y), even a vacuum cleaner (?) running in the background. I ask myself, "Why am I watching this??"

To get to the point: many amateur YouTube videos don't get to the point (fast enough for me). And I find the lack of credentials disturbing. You're an expert because you can take an iPhone video and post it?

It may be a generational thing.

Okay, let us forget about "amateurs", "experts", and so on.

Regarding the question, why people watch this, spoken for me I can say: It is just a good and free opportunity to see some knives in action from a guy who is not talking BS and has some cutting-experience.

[Danke]

Well I lasted 21 seconds. Between the ambient noise and the camera not being focused that was enough to form an opinion.

[zuludelta]

This captures my feelings on K390 as well. Fantastic stuff and I'm thrilled to have it as the Seki City models' performance steel.

I don't think I have any ZDP-189 anymore - tried it in a Delica, Endura, Ladybug, Caly 3 and 3.5. Didn't like that it was a "stainless" that could rust and I found it frustrating to sharpen. And I really liked the rest of the design on those Calys!

I've been much, much happier with K390 both in terms of edge retention and ease of sharpening to bring that edge out. It holds an aggressive edge for a long time and still touches up well on ceramics. Currently have an Endura, Urban, Stretch, and recently a wharnie Delica from the discontinued sales.

I also prefer K390's performance & characteristics over ZDP-189's, but I still have a soft spot for the latter: it was my first "super steel" & I learned a lot about sharpening trying to get my Dragonfly 2 back to factory sharpness after I eventually dulled it. And I still have that Dragonfly (it's my oldest Spyderco at this point).

[Naperville]

I don't go to YouTube that often. I'm bored but not that bored.

In any case, when I come across a knife demo, if the knife interests me I may watch some or all of the video but it does not follow that suddenly I subscribe to the critic unless everything else is in place.

[Steeltoez83]

I still havent found a great testing platform for serrated knives. Part of the edge is protected by the points and during edge evaluations downward pressure is needed for accuracy. In my current ish testing downward force alters controlled testing results. So when i tried my police 4 serrated k390 I got about 70% ish of what standard plain edge seki k390 did. I just think theres better steel choices for serrations. Lack of sales and lack of overall feedback resulted in those variations to go away imo. Im not a fan of wharnies for my own uses, leaf shape works better for me. So nows the time to score at such discounted prices. Spyderco has to do whats best for spyderco. And if certain designs and variations are no longer profitable, decisions have to be made. Ive tested the plain edge k390 alot. Probably have over 150 controlled cut testing experiments done so far. Factory edge testing on Doods video makes me cringe a bit. I like using the factory edge to test out ergos or pocket clip placement. Ususally the knife doubles in performance by edge 3. My stretch k390 actually outcut my 15V shaman in my testing. I averaged the results with the 15V manix which bumped it slightly over the k390. K390 held its front end sharpness better than 15V or maxamet. !5V is very predictable in how it dulls, whereas k390 just kind of sneaks up after alot of use. The performance, the availability, the options in models makes k390 imo the best value in the folder lineup. The mules being the best in the fixed blade arena.