S30v chipping on new knife after first use

[Evil D]

I found that if you just turn the knife slowly without twisting it etc it works very well.

Could do the same thing with a screwdriver...

Yeah I don't even use a knife on zip ties anymore, I use my multitool pliers and just break them. A lot of them are cheap brittle plastic anyway.

[Ankerson]

I found that if you just turn the knife slowly without twisting it etc it works very well.

Could do the same thing with a screwdriver...

Yeah I don't even use a knife on zip ties anymore, I use my multitool pliers and just break them. A lot of them are cheap brittle plastic anyway.

I don't use knives either these days. :)

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

I only have one Spyderco in S30V, a regular manix 2, and after its first use the blade is chipped pretty substantially.

After buying the knife months ago the first use was this week cutting zip ties. I justed noticed that the blade is badly chipped. It's a factory edge so I don't believe this is normal.

Has anyone else had this problem with a new S30V blade?

I lent my S30V Para3 full SE to a guy in the office to pull a staple.

Some people have no business being around knives Lol.

Any way he chipped the heck out of the tip I guess the moron was trying to cut the staple???

Saw it and thought well dummy that is what you get for loaning a knife to an office bum.

Whipped out my Spyderco Double Stuff from my kit bag and using the brown stone got rid of the chips Then refined with the white stone.

Still need to give it some love on the sharpmaker, but easy enough to to fix.

Yes S30V will chip, if used on a hard enough substance, it is actually the sign of a good heat treat if it chips correctly.

At any rate good sharpening tools are a must for a collector / user.

[araneae]

SE hawkbills are made for zip ties. Even the ladybug will destroy them like a champ.


At any rate, the general consensus for the OP is to sharpen and see how it holds up after the fact. Since we don't know the specific details of the cutting task, we have mostly speculated a lot about the scenario and may or may not have given advice on how to deal with zip ties in the future...

[JonLeBlanc]

Yeah I've had some very minor chipping on a S30V blade, but it was easy to clear out. It was also on a zip tie, and yes I was also doing some lateral twisting, which I should know better than to do.

[Doeswhateveraspidercan]

I know my last answer about chipping being a sign of a good heat treat likely made little sense out of context. If you watch this then you will get the context.

https://youtu.be/B4ektqgsw9E

[Londinium Armoury]

I chipped the crap out of my S30V PM2 this week, I broke down some cardboard boxes for recycling and did some wood carving, checked the blade at the end of the day and it was riddled with chips all along the edge. Compared t my Endura in VG-10 the S30V chips like crazy, I've done the same tasks with my Endura SS and never had a single chip or any deformation. Personally I think it's the steel, it's too brittle on such a grind, I reprofiled the edge and repaired the chips with 15 mins work on a whetstone. I honestly prefer VG-10, it's more reliable and seems to hold a shaving sharp edge for longer as well in my experience. S30V's working edge probably lasts longer due to the hundreds of micro chip serrations forming along it's apex lol.

[zuludelta]

In response to the OP's original post: I've had chipping happen on a new knife... I used a brand-new Alcyone (in CTS-BD1 steel) to break down a lot of cardboard at work & noticed several very small chips on the edge at the end of my shift. I did a quick repair/reprofile job when I got home—I probably took out less than half of a millimeter of material from the edge—and the issue never occurred again.

As other have noted, something like this may have been due to the steel on the edge being brittle from being overheated during factory grinding. Or it could have been due to bad edge geometry from being improperly apexed at the factory. Either way, the fact that it didn't happen again after sharpening/reprofiling means that it was a finishing issue and not an issue with the heat treat or any of the earlier steps in the processing of the steel.

My suggestion would be to sharpen/reprofile the knife & see if the issue recurs.

[Wartstein]

Even with my rather limited experience I have to say: Factory edges just can have slight problems sometimes:
My 1095 Esee got significantly better in edge holding after some sharpening, and my S 30V PM2 edge thougher...

If it is just the factory edge then it´s actually not a problem (at least long term) though, right?
Cause either a person doesn´t uses the knife anyway (collector...), or does use and has to sharpen away the factory edge eventually anyway...

[Sharp Guy]

I chipped the crap out of my S30V PM2 this week, I broke down some cardboard boxes for recycling and did some wood carving, checked the blade at the end of the day and it was riddled with chips all along the edge. Compared t my Endura in VG-10 the S30V chips like crazy, I've done the same tasks with my Endura SS and never had a single chip or any deformation. Personally I think it's the steel, it's too brittle on such a grind, I reprofiled the edge and repaired the chips with 15 mins work on a whetstone. I honestly prefer VG-10, it's more reliable and seems to hold a shaving sharp edge for longer as well in my experience. S30V's working edge probably lasts longer due to the hundreds of micro chip serrations forming along it's apex lol.

Not doubting what you're experiencing but I've had two S30V PM2s and one S30V Para 3. All reprofiled to 30°inclusive (one PM2 on me at work today) and I've cut lots of cardboard and carved on hardwood blocks with them. Haven't experienced this chipping thing yet. Same with all the other S30V models I have (20+ knives). Factory edges have all been fine too. I keep waiting to experience this nasty chipping a lot of you mention but still haven't seen it.

[JustinB]

I think most of the problems here can be explained by burned edges from factory. After using the knife and sharpening it a few times to remove the overheated metal, edge retention and toughness will increase as you expose the fresh metal

[Londinium Armoury]

I chipped the crap out of my S30V PM2 this week, I broke down some cardboard boxes for recycling and did some wood carving, checked the blade at the end of the day and it was riddled with chips all along the edge. Compared t my Endura in VG-10 the S30V chips like crazy, I've done the same tasks with my Endura SS and never had a single chip or any deformation. Personally I think it's the steel, it's too brittle on such a grind, I reprofiled the edge and repaired the chips with 15 mins work on a whetstone. I honestly prefer VG-10, it's more reliable and seems to hold a shaving sharp edge for longer as well in my experience. S30V's working edge probably lasts longer due to the hundreds of micro chip serrations forming along it's apex lol.

Not doubting what you're experiencing but I've had two S30V PM2s and one S30V Para 3. All reprofiled to 30°inclusive (one PM2 on me at work today) and I've cut lots of cardboard and carved on hardwood blocks with them. Haven't experienced this chipping thing yet. Same with all the other S30V models I have (20+ knives). Factory edges have all been fine too. I keep waiting to experience this nasty chipping a lot of you mention but still haven't seen it.

I think what JustinB explained below might be the cause of the problem, overheating or edge fatigue. Since I reprofiled the edge and sharpened it back up after removing the factory edge I haven't experienced anymore chipping on my PM2. I've shaved lots more oak and ash wood with it with no problems. I reprofiled it freehand on whetstones so I don't know the exact angle of the edge I put on it, but it's more of a robut angle probably around 40 degree inclusive I would guess. It hasn't even dulled much since I changed the edge. My problem has gone away, but I can't be certain if it's burnt edge or me changing it to a more robust edge angle, I should of tested it at 30 inclusive after removing the factory edge to have more conclusive data, that was my mistake.