I am a huge fan of H1. From my real life experience H1 is a beast in spyderedge and in plain edge it keeps a decent cutting edge for more than a decent amount of time, given that you know how to sharpen this exotic alloy. I disagree with those who look down on PE H1 pretending that it needs to be sharpened every other day. H1 is a special animal when it comes to sharpening. I am with Vivi on this. If I had to bring a knife with me for the doomsday the Jumpmaster2 would be my only choice. It waits in my bugout bag as I write these lines.
Seems a shame for it to be languishing in your bugout bag - it the finest work knife I’ve ever owned or used. I’d buy more, but it’s so incredibly tough I think it’ll be buried with me still looking like almost new
- Al
Work: Jumpmaster 2 H1 and Temp 1 SE CPM Cruwear Sprint.
Home: Chap LW SE.
Currently searching for:
Ayoob SE Cruwear
GB2 Cruwear
Preach and I will too. I would never part with my Jumpmaster 2. I'm so impressed. I kind of wish I had the first version too, though I know I'd prefer the pointy tip.
I have no problem with H1 PE, it's great for me. Serrated H1 though is my favorite steel, period. I have seven examples now and have had more. I will probably add some too.
I have no experience with H2, but do have a new Pacific Salt backup in that steel. Maybe I'll break it out one day, but my H1 version gets carried so much that's it hasn't happened yet. When I get around to it, I expect to like it just as much.
I don't think there is significant noticeable increase in hardness / edge retention in H1 with frequent hard use. I had a Pacific Salt model That I used day in and day out for close to 5 years working in an ocean environment cutting some pretty tough materials and I had to sharpen it on a very frequent basis. However it never corroded or rusted on me and I liked that. It cut well when it was sharp but lost the edge a little too quickly for my taste. After a while I bought the Caribbean in LC200N which was a little better.
Rule #9 - Always carry a knife, especially underwater.
I don't think there is significant noticeable increase in hardness / edge retention in H1 with frequent hard use. I had a Pacific Salt model That I used day in and day out for close to 5 years working in an ocean environment cutting some pretty tough materials and I had to sharpen it on a very frequent basis. However it never corroded or rusted on me and I liked that. It cut well when it was sharp but lost the edge a little too quickly for my taste. After a while I bought the Caribbean in LC200N which was a little better.
If you still have that Pacific, and haven't ever tried a thin and coarse edge on it, I highly recommend it.
I don't own that knife any longer. When I left that diving job for the submarine company I gave it to one of the other divers because he was always amazed at how well it cut the materials we worked with. I used it to cut heavy rope called Blue Steel shown in one of these pictures, up to 1/2" thick gasket material, fire hoses and the table top material shown in the photo with the hose, 3 and four inch nylon boat tow lines, Fishing nets and Monofilament line caught in propellers and propshafts, Steel leaders, etc. It was one of the most demanding jobs for a knife. That small yellow poly line and other material being cut in the video is like butter compared to the stuff I had to slice. The knife did a good job cutting, but it just needed to be sharpened fairly often. I sharpen my knives on a Wicked Edge Pro sharpener to an 18 degree per side edge with a mirror finish and when that edge was within a week of two of new it did a great job. I am not sure what you mean by a coarse edge but if you are saying a lower grit number for the sharpener I am going to have to disagree. I chose the knife because it did not rust or corrode and it was in seawater every day. I don't work in / around seawater any more so I have better choices. I did not use the Caribbean with the LC200N blade for that long but it seemed a little better than the H1.
Rule #9 - Always carry a knife, especially underwater.
My point is I did about a decade of testing H1 with different edge finishes. Everything from 80 grit to 8,000 grit or so.
What I found was H1 was quite stable at low edge angles due to its toughness, which increased edge retention. 18dps is a lot thicker than what gave me my best results. I took most of my PE Pacifics down to the 8-10 degrees per side range.
I also found edge retention increased by about 5x on most materials....more on some materials even, by going from a fine sharpmaker finish to a 300 grit edge.
Those coarse edges chew through rope much better than polished edges,and keep slicing through abrasive materials literally months after they lose shaving sharpness.
If you're in the US I can send you one to play around with if you want to compare my style edge to yours. I have a ton of Pacifics.
I am retired now and don't have any hard use for knives now so I don't need to compare. But, in my experience with a wide variety of materials a polished edge cuts better with less effort and lasts longer. I also worked for a company called ASKO, American Shear Knife as the plant Engineer. We made knives that were used in the steel industry to cut metal The useage is quite different and angles and materials are proprietary, but one thing was common among the various knives that we produced, the finish was very high / polished. The slitter knives looked like mirrors, when they were done in the lapping machines.
Most pocket and sporting knives come from the factory with about a 400 grit edge finish which I think is far too rough. When I am done sharpening a knife on my Wicked Edge Sharpener I bring it to about a 3000 grit finish or better. This is what I find to work cutting materials better and lasting longer. Depending on the type of knife I may change angles a bit, but 18 degrees is usually a bit lower than most factory edge and works well for me. Kitchen cutlery is much lower. Like I said I don't work in / around the ocean marine environment any longer so H1 or LC200H are not my go to knife steels now. I don't find that they perform well compared to most other knife steels. YMMV, but my experience is obviously quite different than you seem to have.
Rule #9 - Always carry a knife, especially underwater.
Would it be possible to take a plain edge H2 knife and hammer forge the edge, say 1/4" up from the edge? Thus extending the edge down a bit. Then sharpen as usual. Curious what the Rockwell hardness of the edge would be after forging. Is this a stupid question?
