Real World User Experience Sharpening CPM 15V

[Guts]

Finally got around to reprofiling my Native 5 LW. Used a Shapal 325gr diamond plate to set the bevel, then refined the edge on a Naniwa 400gr resin bonded diamond stone. Haven't used the Naniwa too much but it's starting to grow on me. Might grab the 1000gr version of this stone.

Stropped with 3um Tech Diamond Tools diamond paste on leather. Just a few strokes to break off the burr. The heat treat on 15v as usual just a pleasure to sharpen. Burr broke off nice and clean without any fuss and the apex held up fine to the coarse stone + low edge angle.

[Enactive]

Finally got around to reprofiling my Native 5 LW. Used a Shapal 325gr diamond plate to set the bevel, then refined the edge on a Naniwa 400gr resin bonded diamond stone. Haven't used the Naniwa too much but it's starting to grow on me. Might grab the 1000gr version of this stone.

Stropped with 3um Tech Diamond Tools diamond paste on leather. Just a few strokes to break off the burr. The heat treat on 15v as usual just a pleasure to sharpen. Burr broke off nice and clean without any fuss and the apex held up fine to the coarse stone + low edge angle.

Nice work! That reprofile looks great.

[LorenzoL]

Finally got around to reprofiling my Native 5 LW. Used a Shapal 325gr diamond plate to set the bevel, then refined the edge on a Naniwa 400gr resin bonded diamond stone. Haven't used the Naniwa too much but it's starting to grow on me. Might grab the 1000gr version of this stone.

Stropped with 3um Tech Diamond Tools diamond paste on leather. Just a few strokes to break off the burr. The heat treat on 15v as usual just a pleasure to sharpen. Burr broke off nice and clean without any fuss and the apex held up fine to the coarse stone + low edge angle.

Now that’s a sharp-looking edge!

[Brock O Lee]

I recently reprofiled a S30V blade from 2014, and it was a chore compared to 15V. It took me perhaps twice as long, and I had to fight the burr to get a clean edge.

[Guts]

@Enactive Thanks! I did mess up near the tip a bit on the clip side (rotated my wrist a bit) but got it mostly even in the end.

@LorenzoL Definitely is!

[Igi964]

Finally got around to reprofiling my Native 5 LW. Used a Shapal 325gr diamond plate to set the bevel, then refined the edge on a Naniwa 400gr resin bonded diamond stone. Haven't used the Naniwa too much but it's starting to grow on me. Might grab the 1000gr version of this stone.

Stropped with 3um Tech Diamond Tools diamond paste on leather. Just a few strokes to break off the burr. The heat treat on 15v as usual just a pleasure to sharpen. Burr broke off nice and clean without any fuss and the apex held up fine to the coarse stone + low edge angle.

Nice edge What angle is that?

[Skylark427]

Just got my 15V Mule as well. Tested on the harder side (over 66Rc) between two testers. Have already compared it to MagnaMax, but that's for a different topic.

Absolutely loving these 15V blades. Can't wait to drop the angles even further (26 degrees inclusive to start, going lower from there) like I did with my old custom that was 68Rc, unfortunately stolen when the burglary happened in 2019.

These blades are amazing though. They take outstanding amounts of cutting to even get slight edge wear at the angles I run my most used ones at(I got to 1000 cuts on manila rope and gave up because the 2022 G10 Manix in 15V was still push cutting newsprint, I'm going to go with polyester, deyneema/UHMWPE, or nylon/paracord for testing on rope mediums in the future, as those all have higher resistance to abrasion and are more consistent in manufacturing).

Just figured I'd update with the acquisition of the 15V Mule. Another one I'd wanted a while

[Guts]

Nice edge What angle is that?

Thanks. It was freehanded so not 100% sure. Threw it in my guided system and it was about 13dps, though I'm not sure I trust that measurement. So I'd say between 13-15dps in actuality.

[Igi964]

Nice edge What angle is that?

Thanks. It was freehanded so not 100% sure. Threw it in my guided system and it was about 13dps, though I'm not sure I trust that measurement. So I'd say between 13-15dps in actuality.

Even more impresive Looks like from some fixed angle system. 13-15 is what I mostly did to mine EDC knives. Very good for slicing. These new higher end steels are awsome. I have Microjimbo in 15v and love the knife. Also have two N5 Lw. Magnacut and LC200N. Trying to resist buy one with BBB logo . Threads like this making it harder

[Skylark427]

Nice edge What angle is that?

Thanks. It was freehanded so not 100% sure. Threw it in my guided system and it was about 13dps, though I'm not sure I trust that measurement. So I'd say between 13-15dps in actuality.

Even more impresive Looks like from some fixed angle system. 13-15 is what I mostly did to mine EDC knives. Very good for slicing. These new higher end steels are awsome. I have Microjimbo in 15v and love the knife. Also have two N5 Lw. Magnacut and LC200N. Trying to resist buy one with BBB logo . Threads like this making it harder

The Native in 15V is something I'm looking into too. They're just done so well it's hard to resist so I get that lol. I've also been looking into their Magnacut for in the future, I'm really wanting to see how well Spyderco does theirs. I've heard great things.

[Danke]

[Wandering_About]

But.... what's in the box???

[VandymanG]

I’ve been using the Spyderco CBN Webfoot at 15dps to sharpen my Para3 LW.

The initial factory edge was pretty good and lasted a couple of weeks before I saw some micro chipping. I read a response from @deadboxhero confirming that the CBN Webfoot would work so I tried that.

The only problem I had was I could not find any of the recommended gunny juice in stock. I finally decided to go with another companies strop kit that came with 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion and a new strop.

The first attempt with the CBN Webfoot and the 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion did not end in the desired results. So I tried the CBN Webfoot again and just the 1.5 Diamond emulsion and was pleasantly surprised at how sharp the knife was and still is.

I believe the different attempts to sharpen the knife helped me re-bevel the knife to 15dps without my usually frustration. Total attempts were 6 - the first 3 were with the Webfoot and Sharpmaker brown rods. The 4th attempt was just the Webfoot. The 5th attempt was the Webfoot, 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion. The 6th attempt was the Webfoot and the 1.5 Diamond emulsion.

Since I finally dialed in how to sharpen the knife for me I’ve been using it to carve a walking stick and for yard work. I’ve only had to strop the knife back to sharpness once.

[Skylark427]

I’ve been using the Spyderco CBN Webfoot at 15dps to sharpen my Para3 LW.

The initial factory edge was pretty good and lasted a couple of weeks before I saw some micro chipping. I read a response from @deadboxhero confirming that the CBN Webfoot would work so I tried that.

The only problem I had was I could not find any of the recommended gunny juice in stock. I finally decided to go with another companies strop kit that came with 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion and a new strop.

The first attempt with the CBN Webfoot and the 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion did not end in the desired results. So I tried the CBN Webfoot again and just the 1.5 Diamond emulsion and was pleasantly surprised at how sharp the knife was and still is.

I believe the different attempts to sharpen the knife helped me re-bevel the knife to 15dps without my usually frustration. Total attempts were 6 - the first 3 were with the Webfoot and Sharpmaker brown rods. The 4th attempt was just the Webfoot. The 5th attempt was the Webfoot, 7 and 1.5 Diamond emulsion. The 6th attempt was the Webfoot and the 1.5 Diamond emulsion.

Since I finally dialed in how to sharpen the knife for me I’ve been using it to carve a walking stick and for yard work. I’ve only had to strop the knife back to sharpness once.

Gunny Juice is really difficult to cone by. If you're looking for good alternatives, StroppyStuff is really good but Lacey's emulsions on Bladebinge from CuttingLaceEDC is probably the best stuff I've found (better than Gunny).

It's also much cheaper, she's a professional sharpener and makes the emulsions herself. They work great, StroppyStuff is a decent alternative, around Gunny Juice level, just a bit different in how it works.

I've used both on basswood and balsa wood strops with great results, it really extends the edge life(like you I cut wood a lot, and do a lot of live wood cutting, 15V has been phenomenal) and if you do have a small micro burr they're good at eliminating them.

[DavidNM]

I have a backlock version of the Lil' Native in CPM-15v blade steel coming my way so this was a great thread to read. I am going to assume that ceramic sharpening stones don't really work on CPM-15v and I will need to used diamond bench plates.

Is that about right?

[Cycletroll]

Diamond or CBN.

[Skylark427]

I have a backpack version of the Lil' Native in CPM-15v blade steel coming my way so this was a great thread to read. I am going to assume that ceramic sharpening stones don't really work on CPM-15v and I will need to used diamond bench plates.

Is that about right?

Diamond plates, bonded diamond stones, or CBN. Those will actually be able to cut the carbides while shaping the apex.

[RyanY]

Recently I did a 325 dmt edge at around 15dps stropped with 1 micron and .5 micron on both my S30V and 15V lil natives and then used them together for the past two weeks. I tried my very best to match them cut for cut. A lot of cardboard was cut, and I not only counted cuts but got them out at the same time and cut the same pieces of cardboard to reduce the scatter or noise from the material being cut. So, I don't have specific quantities of cuts or distances of cardboard to report, just a reasonably meaningful real-world comparison between two steels in the role that I use them.

The results were both surprising and not surprising at the same time. Not surprisingly, after all of the cutting the 15V is a little bit sharper and took less apex damage. What is surprising is how much cardboard I cut with the S30V, and it is still going strong, it took about a week of use to notice a meaningful separation between the two. The really interesting part for me was that I noticed the initial signs of edge degradation at roughly the same time. they both stopped catching hairs above the skin after one day of use, they both started to catch slightly in news print after about five days, and both of them reached a point where they would no longer reliably slice a paper towel at the end of the week and that is typically the point where I would say it is time to either strop or get a fresh edge on. I decided to keep going past this point since they were both still flying through cardboard. after a few more days it seemed like the 15V had settled into a working sharpness that wasn't changing much, and S30V had too but at a lower sharpness and with slightly more visible microchipping and one little micro-roll.

I am sure the 15V will just keep cutting like this for an extremely long period of time and that the S30V will continue to dull quicker at this point. What was surprising to me was how similarly they behaved for the first few days while they were at extremely high sharpness. Because I care most about the extremely high front end sharpness it makes these knives almost, but not entirely, interchangeable to me. However, re-sharpening the 15V will probably be a bit easier since it has no visible edge damage, just dulling. For a pocket cardboard cutter that doesn't need to be kept at "push cutting circles in news print" sharpness 24/7 I think 15V is maybe untouchable. I don't think the S30V performance takes anything away from that. I did walk away with a newfound appreciation for S30V with what appears to be a great heat treat. Also, this reminded me the importance of sharpening and geometry for affecting performance. I haven't used spyderco's S30V in a long time because I didn't enjoy it that much when I was new to knives (and to sharpening). I think that as I got newer "fancier" steels along the way I was also improving at sharpening and some of the performance I ascribed to those steels was simply due to my improvement as a sharpener. Now I see that all of my steels perform better now than they did 10 years ago and that's because of the edges they get are better. It is worth noting too, that this S30V lil native does seem to be the best performing S30V I've had, and is likely a bit harder than normal. It sharpens like a dream and holds the fine edge up front longer than some other similar steels in my collection.

This is just one data point. I look forward to using 15V more in the future. It was easy to sharpen.

Anyways, S30V is great. 15V is incredible. We are spoiled rotten.

[cabfrank]

Excellent!
Thanks for sharing.

[Skylark427]

To add onto @RyanY 's data point, I figured I would mention my own comparisons between 15V and MagnaMax, both on the Mule platform. This was just some work done on live silver maple wood, both had the factory edges, and both were roughly 16°~ per side(verified by my goniometer).

I only lightly refined the factory edge on each knife prior to this rudimentary testing. They both received about 3-4 passes per side on a balsa strop with 6 micron, then 1 micron StroppyStuff. Some very light batoning was done with a small deadblow mallet on each knife. The MagnaMax Mule measured just a bit over 65Rc on a Mitutoyo HR-320MS at work, verified by a Starrett Digital Twin in another shop I used to work, both machines are calibrated, tuned, and inspected every 3-4 months professionally. The 15V Mule measured right just over 66Rc on the same two machines.

Here's a cut for instance from one of the blades, they both ripped through silver maple with relative ease, especially on the smaller braches.


Here's the overall amount of wood cut, which came from a roughly 14-15 inch thick large section of my tree that came down in a recent storm. I'll include a link to the full album afterwards.


So it was a decent pile cut. The knives were both far from being completely dull afterwards, a few passes on the same balsa wood strop brought the edges back to the same relative sharpness they had originally, though the 15V Mule held its edge a bit better, after cleaning the wood sap off the blades, the 15V Mule would still cut paper cleanly. The MagnaMax Mule would cut it, but would catch slightly as you hit certain spots of the edge. Regardless, both were back to shaving sharp with the same edge refinement on the balsa wood strop that it started with. No major edge damage to either blade, despite the relatively hard use. I'm beginning to love the Mule platform in general.

Both blades prior to testing


Here's the complete album:
https://imgur.com/a/magnamax-mule-15v-m ... ns-Jlie1i6

I'll also add I was able to make a thousand cuts in 1/2" manila rope with my 15V Manix at 28° inclusive, the edge suffered no noticeable wear after all of that, I took it all the way to 1.5 micron on my Edge Pro Beveltech with Venev's highest polish bonded diamond stone. It basically sank through the rope, which was free-hanging off a work surface. I'm likely going to need to move to more abrasive synthetic ropes like I used to do, polyester ropes or even high density polyethylene rope if these steels can compare to the 10V and 15V customs I used to have at 67Rc-68Rc between 2015 and 2019 before my house was burglarized and I lost the entire knife collection me and my wife had built together, and enjoyed testing together.

15V brought me to this amazing brand, and I'm very happy to see it being done justice through the hard work of Sal, Shawn, and the other good people at Spyderco.

Thanks @sal and @Deadboxhero for bringing this amazing and sentimental steel(to me) to these knives. I only wish my wife was still around to experience this amazing company with me.

I'll include a picture of my F1500/8000 grit 1.5 micron edge on the 15V G10 Manix (nearly 66Rc verified with the same two testers) with the goniometer, these things are handy if you don't already have one(it was difficult to hold the knife, goniometer, and camera, but you'll get the idea, as the blade slightly shifted holding all 3, you can tell because the primary bevel doesn't read equally 2° on each side for the 4° primary bevel). It shows you everything with your sharpening, I also intend to get a BESS tester again soon.

Hope someone found all this useful