different factory sharpness

[dnb]

looking at a very small sample of different blade metals (basically the knives i own), I noticed they all came with different level of sharpness from the factory.

In order of sharpness - cutting paper
1. Stretch CF ZDP - the sharpest
2. Street Beat VG-10 - 2nd place - not as sharp as ZDP
3. Salt Ladybug PE H1 - not as sharp as the first two
4. Benchmade 907 Mini Stryker in D2 - not as sharp as the 3 Spydies. Not as sharp when I first bought the knife brand new, and not as sharp when I got it back from it's first visit to "LifeSharp" last week.

Have you guys noticed anything like this?

[VashHash]

My sharpest knives from the factory was either my S90V manix or my Forum Native. Both were SCAREY sharp. My ZDP stretch was pretty sharp but got sharper after a few passes on the lansky crock sticks.

[CanisMajor]

My Stretch II ZDP is my sharpest knife that came from the factory. My Aqua Salt PE in H-1 came "scary" sharp as well.

Canis

Edited for spelling.

[LorenzoL]

The sharpest knives I have ever seen are my S90V Manix 2s. The rest are not even close.

[BuffaloBill]

caly3 zdp for me.

my ukpks came pretty sharp. Although i need to send my black one back in to spyderco for a sharpening to get it back to factory condition.

i can sharpen decently but after a while it doesnt hurt to send it in to have it bring it back to a clean slate. i kinda screwed up the black ukpk (with time i could probably get it back shaving sharp) but i think i got my angles cornfused and plan on sending it back this week. and am kinda curious to see how well it comes back.

[gaj999]

Factory knives vary a lot. Even from the same factory. Almost all are sharp enough to shave, but some have wire edges and some will chip out because they were sharpened on a grinder or belt. I reprofile every knife I get and often the bevel angles aren't even. I've gotten to the point where I just sharpen new knives before I use them.

Gordon

[spoonrobot]

Have you guys noticed anything like this?

Yes, different steels have different levels of sharpness they can attain due to their composition. Sharpness can also depend on the media used to sharpen the blade. I'll try to find the graph but IIRC diamond is able to give the sharpest edge to a given steel.

Although this Kyocera graph may be simplified for marketing purposes it does display the differences as they would appear from machine testing:

http://kyoceraadvancedceramics.com/ceramic/

Like this:
http://www.catra.org/pages/products/kni ... nives1.gif
From this page:
http://www.catra.org/pages/products/kni ... l1/slt.htm

[thebestnoobcake]

my Stretch II came pretty sharp, but some time with an old tile and a couple of different grit sandpaper (sharpmaker is too expensive for me), and it is cutting through paper under its own weight! woo

[O,just,O]

For me it was my Chokwe, have you all got your Chokwe's yet ?
They are pointy, ssso sssmoooth, and bloody sharp.
O.

[docwatson]

sharpest knife I have ever owned is my tenacious, the manix 2 is almost its equal along with both sages.

[Noble]

BG-42 Millie is the Sharpest I own, from the Factory. Next would be my D2 Para. Then My Pac Salt and Tenacious are equally sharp IMHO. I use the Para daily, and sharpen her about every 3-4 days, just touch up, and its Extremely responsive to the Sharpmaker. I get her back to scary sharp on the SM. I find it satisfying that I can repeatedly put a constant scary edge on my fave EDC knife.

[anti-torsion]

ZDP FRN stretch is #1 from the factory. BG-42 mili and D2 para are up there as well but that ZDP just loves the super thin angles.

[THG]

Unfortunately all of the Spydies I have owned came... Less than ideally sharp. The only exception is the Native I got NIB in a trade.

It's okay; I sharpen them myself soon after I get them anyway.

[iwolf81]

My D2 Para's are the sharpest Spydies I have. They can effortlessly and consistently shave off arm hair. The E4 ZDP-189 SE comes next, followed by the ATR SE.

Regards,
Ira

[gull wing]

The Gray Calypso Jr VG10 was the sharpest, I cut myself without even knowing it.
The most dull was the Cat, pretty bad for a Spyder.

[alexcue]

The sharpest knives I have ever seen are my S90V Manix 2s. The rest are not even close.

Ditto!!! holy smokes was that thing sharp, it's bitten me a couple of times!

[VashHash]

I also usually sharpen my knives as soon as i get them but the S90V didn't need anything done to it. I didn't even wanna sharpen it.

[Dslteck]

I have owned four :spyder: 's over the years and I have yet to get one that couldn't spit an atom! All the way back to AUS-6....now then how long they stayed that way different story entirely.

I have yet to own a knife in the ZDP flavor, but I have to say by far the most sharpest and resiliant was my Native1 w/S30V....love that knife :D

[Slick]

I can sharpen factory knives sharper than I received them but the definition of sharpness is the issue. Is push or slice cutting your predominant use? I seldom get a poorly sharpened Spyderco and I am using "poorly" to reflect perfect geometry as well as cutting ability. My sharper edges just do not last as long as the original edge I get.

I can sharpen sharper than the original edge but the factory edge is a work horse and my best (?) is less durable.

[dnb]

slice cutting is my primary use. actually, from working in an office to living in the suburbs, my edc's hardly gets used...envelops, boxes, or whatever else I find to cut.

but they are interesting to collect and neat to carry around.