H1 - Im really impressed...

[DCDesigns]

I got my first of the salt series a couple weeks ago, a Dragonfly 2 Salt (to replace my ZDP one). I must say I am really impressed with H1 thus far. I was not expecting the level of edge retention Im getting from the Dragonfly. Spyderco really has a home run here with this stuff! After two weeks of pretty heavy use, it still cuts paper clean. Forget about the rust-proof feature, this is just one good cutting knife steel. It takes 5 minutes on my Grandpa's old hard Arkansas stone to get it hair popping sharp, I cant say that about the ZDP one.

I have the feeling I will be adding a lot more salt to my collection, just thought I'd share.

What are your experiences with H1?

[jabba359]

If you like the edge holding now, just keep waiting. H1 gets better and better the more you use and sharpen it. Glad you like the steel.

[Jazz]

Glad you joined the H1 club. My Salt 1 SE gets tons of use and I love it and it's edge retention. I also have a few PE Salts - all great. I also like the linerless construction of them.

- best wishes, Jazz.

[.357 mag]

I sharpened my dragonfly out of the box 3 months ago. Ever since then, I've just used a strop and about a minute and a half a week and its back to popin hair. H1 rocks in my book!

[BDNX]

Love it! I have 8 Salts and they pretty much get the most use of all my knives...

[DCDesigns]

Love it! I have 8 Salts and they pretty much get the most use of all my knives...

****! Thats a lot of salt! Next on my list: PE Black on Black Pacific Salt, and then a SE Spyderhawk Salt.

You know what, Why havent we seen a Mule Salt? I'd love to make my own dive knife!!! H1 mule, come on, lets see one!

[bc]

oh yeah. H1 Mule!

[SolidState]

H1 mule is a great idea.

[jabba359]

I believe that there was a time where an H1 mule had been contemplated. The problem was that H1 is extremely hard to FFG, so Spyderco wasn't able to do it on a large scale. IIRC, Tom Krein had been in discussions to grind them, but I haven't seen anything since. I'm sure that they'd be pretty pricey, considering the price of the material plus the cost of custom grinding.

hi Scottie,

We've got 9Cr18 Mo mules already made.

Hitachi has agreed to sell us some Super blue, but we have to buy more than we'd need for a mule team run and there is a 9-12 month lead time. It's also quite expensive.

Tom Krein has offered to grind H1 to the full flat Mule Teeam spec, but again the total package would end up quite expensive.

Part of the deal is that we don't end up with excess inventory.

We're looking at some Carpenter steel that has promise. We threw a G-10 handle on a mule team prototype made from Carpenter's CTS-XHP. It tested quite well on CATRA tests and I've been cutting with it for about a week. Impressive stuff.

We also tested some Carpenter powder metal 440C that tested very well on CATRA.

While in Seki a month ago, we discussed some possibilities:

One of our Seki makers has a damascus mule team prototype that they made for us. It's a VG-10 core with special layers, including 420J2 and nickel silver.

Takefu has a new steel they call their Cobalt special; about 1.% carbon, 15-17 Cr and 2.0-3.0 cobalt.

I can always get one for me, but I don't know if we can sell 1000?

sal

[FlaMtnBkr]

I'm glad you like it but I haven't been impressed. It will get really sharp but then gets really dull with little use, and no I don't have a wire edge. I'm talking butter knife, run your finger down the edge unscathed, dull. It also gets scratched really easy and mine looks like coarse sandpaper has been taken to the blade. I don't mind because its a user and I carry it all the time because I end up on the saltwater a lot and like to have a rust proof knife handy. I just checked mine and it barely rips computer paper and it was touched up recently. I'm curious to try serrated H1 because of how it did on the CATRA but I'm hesitant to buy again due to my steel snobery.

[Tripwire]

Have had my Tasman PE and SE for about a week now (gotta love the amazon storefront, got them on the ship within two weeks of ordering them). Currently deployed on a USN destroyer and the Salts just seemed to be an outstanding choice for the environment I am in nearly 24/7. I seem to use the SE more than the PE so far but I am impressed. Yes they do scratch easliy but I look past that as they are working knives. Haven't touched either up yet so will see how that goes when the time comes. I am also appreciative of the size of the Tasman, as some spaces on board a ship are more confined than others. Overall a great knife!!!

[BAL]

Have had my Tasman PE and SE for about a week now (gotta love the amazon storefront, got them on the ship within two weeks of ordering them). Currently deployed on a USN destroyer and the Salts just seemed to be an outstanding choice for the environment I am in nearly 24/7. I seem to use the SE more than the PE so far but I am impressed. Yes they do scratch easliy but I look past that as they are working knives. Haven't touched either up yet so will see how that goes when the time comes. I am also appreciative of the size of the Tasman, as some spaces on board a ship are more confined than others. Overall a great knife!!!

Thanks for your service Tripwire, you might also be interested in the Spyderhawk. It has the H1 and is a bit bigger than the Tasman, but not too big..

[Tripwire]

No problem BAL. Currently my PE is next to the keyboard and the SE is in my back pocket. Will have to take a look at the Spyderhawk this pay period...

[Blerv]

It's a fantastic working knife steel. It won't take an edge like the exotics (or hold one) but it does better than most give it credit for. Serrated H1 is wicked :) .

Vg10 had a huge following. H1 will get the spotlight too someday.

[Donut]

H1 is a very well performing steel for my uses. I cut up a couple cardboard boxes into 1/4" strips because of the work hardening, and it was a little tough to cut at the end, nothing too crazy.

I have some boxes at home lying around, maybe I should continue.

It is a VERY easy to sharpen steel. You can wear that blade down quite a bit and it won't take long to fix up.

[araneae]

I love H1 as a working steel. I work outdoors and can get my knife gunked up with sweat, rain, plant guts and mud. Its nice to know I can just put the knife back in my pocket and clean it up whenever. It takes a very fine edge and holds it adequately for my purposes. Sure it's no ZDP, but that's why I like it for work.

How about an H1 version of the HG Woodcraft mule for those craving a mule in H1?

[Jazz]

Check out the "H1 vs a shoe" thread to see a bit of testing I did.

- best wishes, Jazz.

[bartvdb]

my h1 's greetzzz

[razorsharp]

Must say I looove H1, my ladybug gets used more than my ffg delica in use.
Out of the box, the edge was hair splitting, literally, cause the edge didnt degrade sitting in the box like normal knives.
And even though the shaving edge degrades fast, the working edge is excellent

[D1omedes]

H1 is a great steel to work with. I got Mr. Krein to give my Salt 1 the FFG treatment and it slices like a demon. I have used it from food prep to cutting up old carpet. It has performed very well and has been a breeze to sharpen. For someone new to knives and sharpening, H1 is hard to beat.