Best steel for box / tape cutting?
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agent clark
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Best steel for box / tape cutting?
What steel have you guys found to hold up best to cutting the heavier tape on boxes? I don't cut the boxes themselves hardly ever, but I do cut a bit of tape. ZDP holds up, but dulls like anything else, H1 didn't last as long, so what are your opinions?
If ZDP-189 isn't helping any then I would try S90V next. ZDP-189 is already as hard as anything out there but isn't quite as wear resistant.
Since S90V still isn't in any readily available knife yet, a more practical suggestion would be to pick up a fully serrated Endura 4. Serrations will take a lot longer to dull than anything with a plain edge (almost) regardless of steel.
Since S90V still isn't in any readily available knife yet, a more practical suggestion would be to pick up a fully serrated Endura 4. Serrations will take a lot longer to dull than anything with a plain edge (almost) regardless of steel.
Cannot Die Happy Without The Maxamet Yojumbo
Most of the time you don't need to cut the tape with a knife.agent clark wrote:What steel have you guys found to hold up best to cutting the heavier tape on boxes? I don't cut the boxes themselves hardly ever, but I do cut a bit of tape. ZDP holds up, but dulls like anything else, H1 didn't last as long, so what are your opinions?
Just a box cutter or safety cutter with a tape break works the best.
I open a lot of boxes in a week.
Messing around with a knife is SLOWER than just breaking the tape ect....
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mikerestivo
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hunterseeker5
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For cardboard? Carbide welded knife. :P *shrug* If you're talking normal steels something with high hardness and excellent toughness. M390 comes to mind, although I'm really a CTS-20CP fan.
Strikes me that ZDP-189, while plenty hard, is a little low on the toughness scale and so the contaminant particles will take the edge off the knife in micro-chips relatively quickly.
Strikes me that ZDP-189, while plenty hard, is a little low on the toughness scale and so the contaminant particles will take the edge off the knife in micro-chips relatively quickly.
Couple of things:
1) Blade geometry matters w/cardboard and tape--a thin full flat ground is much better for slicing cardboard etc. I mostly use a ffg delica, Paramilitary or UKPK for such tasks.
2) I've found that when breaking down lots of boxes, adhesive from the tape gums up the blade and decreases performance dramatically. Hit the blade with a little WD40 or other solvent to remove the glue.
3) Keep some kind of pocket stone or better yet a sharpmaker rod around and touch up the edge before it gets too dull.
S30V, CM 154, VG10 all seem to hold up fine from my perspective.
1) Blade geometry matters w/cardboard and tape--a thin full flat ground is much better for slicing cardboard etc. I mostly use a ffg delica, Paramilitary or UKPK for such tasks.
2) I've found that when breaking down lots of boxes, adhesive from the tape gums up the blade and decreases performance dramatically. Hit the blade with a little WD40 or other solvent to remove the glue.
3) Keep some kind of pocket stone or better yet a sharpmaker rod around and touch up the edge before it gets too dull.
S30V, CM 154, VG10 all seem to hold up fine from my perspective.
Agreed 100%2cha wrote:Couple of things:
1) Blade geometry matters w/cardboard and tape--a thin full flat ground is much better for slicing cardboard etc. I mostly use a ffg delica, Paramilitary or UKPK for such tasks.
2) I've found that when breaking down lots of boxes, adhesive from the tape gums up the blade and decreases performance dramatically. Hit the blade with a little WD40 or other solvent to remove the glue.
3) Keep some kind of pocket stone or better yet a sharpmaker rod around and touch up the edge before it gets too dull.
S30V, CM 154, VG10 all seem to hold up fine from my perspective.
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I find that the steel is almost immaterial when cutting tape. Point being that the edge does not get dull, but rather fouled with sticky residue that causes it to behave as if very dull.
Various solvents will remove this residue and restore the sharpness (obviously the solvent is not actually sharpening the knife in the conventional sense, but it has the effect of making a seemingly dull knife sharp again).
YMMV
Various solvents will remove this residue and restore the sharpness (obviously the solvent is not actually sharpening the knife in the conventional sense, but it has the effect of making a seemingly dull knife sharp again).
YMMV
Thanks,
Ken (my real name)
...learning something new all the time.
Ken (my real name)
...learning something new all the time.
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Scottie3000
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I've found that to be true also. I dont think I've ever dulled a blade just from cutting tape, but maybe you cut a lot more tape than I do. More than anything the adhesive residue makes the knife act likes it's very dull in my experience.unit wrote:I find that the steel is almost immaterial when cutting tape. Point being that the edge does not get dull, but rather fouled with sticky residue that causes it to behave as if very dull.
Various solvents will remove this residue and restore the sharpness (obviously the solvent is not actually sharpening the knife in the conventional sense, but it has the effect of making a seemingly dull knife sharp again).
YMMV
If you are asking about the best steel, the consensus seems to be S90V (CTS-20CP) for the cardboard itself. No matter the steel, cardboard is one of the hardest things on edges.
On order: Maxamet Native 5
Current pocket hog: S90V Para2
Next up: Something Blurple
Current pocket hog: S90V Para2
Next up: Something Blurple
Oh man...have i cut down some boxes in my days. Not only do i have years experience around anything that can come boxed up, but i've also worked in the corrugation industry making those boxes. In fact, i think i've only ever had a couple jobs that didn't involve corrugated at some point.
Anyway, the most exotic steel i own and have used is ZDP. So, i can't have an opinion on anything beyond that. What i've found is that if you use your knife on this stuff a LOT, eventually you're gonna want a working edge that is easy to sharpen at the end of the day. ZDP is pretty badass when it comes down to it, but i've found that S30V can hold a working edge just as long, and it isn't quite has labor intensive at the end of the day when it's time to touch up the edge. Also, it's easier to deal with if you end up chipping the edge on a staple or something.
Also, i can't say enough about blade thickness...if you really want to cut corrugated, you want something as thin as possible. You can find a really amazing balance between a super thin ground blade combined with a high degree bevel like 40-50 inclusive. What you end up with is a VERY strong edge, but the thin profile of the blade will help to gain back any cutting loss you might get from such a thick edge, and that edge will last a good long time, or at least through an entire shift of heavy cutting.
For the most part though, i usually stick with ~30 inclusive on my Para 2. The blade is not quite thin enough to go with a thicker edge, but even still i've found that S30V will hold enough working edge to do anything i want it to do throughout the day. It may not shave by the end of my shift but it will still cut anything i need to cut.
Anyway, the most exotic steel i own and have used is ZDP. So, i can't have an opinion on anything beyond that. What i've found is that if you use your knife on this stuff a LOT, eventually you're gonna want a working edge that is easy to sharpen at the end of the day. ZDP is pretty badass when it comes down to it, but i've found that S30V can hold a working edge just as long, and it isn't quite has labor intensive at the end of the day when it's time to touch up the edge. Also, it's easier to deal with if you end up chipping the edge on a staple or something.
Also, i can't say enough about blade thickness...if you really want to cut corrugated, you want something as thin as possible. You can find a really amazing balance between a super thin ground blade combined with a high degree bevel like 40-50 inclusive. What you end up with is a VERY strong edge, but the thin profile of the blade will help to gain back any cutting loss you might get from such a thick edge, and that edge will last a good long time, or at least through an entire shift of heavy cutting.
For the most part though, i usually stick with ~30 inclusive on my Para 2. The blade is not quite thin enough to go with a thicker edge, but even still i've found that S30V will hold enough working edge to do anything i want it to do throughout the day. It may not shave by the end of my shift but it will still cut anything i need to cut.
All SE all the time since 2017
~David
~David
i have used a zdp stretch and the Gayle Bradley M4 for those kind of tasks and found the M4 steel to be much better at holding an edge over time.
my knives:
kershaw Leek Buck 119 Cold Steel Recon tanto
Cold Steel Ti Lite VI ,
Spyderco: Tenacious ,Persistence, Endura 4 blue Stretch zdp blue, Manix 2 ,Native s30v . Sage2 titanium, Gayle Bradly cpm m4, Muleteam mt 10, woodcraft mule s30v. Orange Delica 4
Bark River PSK 154cm, Gunny, Bravo 2, Canadian Special
kershaw Leek Buck 119 Cold Steel Recon tanto
Cold Steel Ti Lite VI ,
Spyderco: Tenacious ,Persistence, Endura 4 blue Stretch zdp blue, Manix 2 ,Native s30v . Sage2 titanium, Gayle Bradly cpm m4, Muleteam mt 10, woodcraft mule s30v. Orange Delica 4
Bark River PSK 154cm, Gunny, Bravo 2, Canadian Special
Yep. :)Evil D wrote:Oh man...have i cut down some boxes in my days. Not only do i have years experience around anything that can come boxed up, but i've also worked in the corrugation industry making those boxes. In fact, i think i've only ever had a couple jobs that didn't involve corrugated at some point.
Anyway, the most exotic steel i own and have used is ZDP. So, i can't have an opinion on anything beyond that. What i've found is that if you use your knife on this stuff a LOT, eventually you're gonna want a working edge that is easy to sharpen at the end of the day. ZDP is pretty badass when it comes down to it, but i've found that S30V can hold a working edge just as long, and it isn't quite has labor intensive at the end of the day when it's time to touch up the edge. Also, it's easier to deal with if you end up chipping the edge on a staple or something.
Also, i can't say enough about blade thickness...if you really want to cut corrugated, you want something as thin as possible. You can find a really amazing balance between a super thin ground blade combined with a high degree bevel like 40-50 inclusive. What you end up with is a VERY strong edge, but the thin profile of the blade will help to gain back any cutting loss you might get from such a thick edge, and that edge will last a good long time, or at least through an entire shift of heavy cutting.
For the most part though, i usually stick with ~30 inclusive on my Para 2. The blade is not quite thin enough to go with a thicker edge, but even still i've found that S30V will hold enough working edge to do anything i want it to do throughout the day. It may not shave by the end of my shift but it will still cut anything i need to cut.
Been using an XHP Military lately and it's been doing very well.
This is after 2+ weeks of work carry, hadn't touched the edge at all.
I did have to touch it up today, it was starting to lose some bite.
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razorsharp
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How bout some of the top performers in ankersons test
How bout some of the top performers in ankersons test
