CPM 15V Sprint sharpening and performance thread

[Strauss95]

Last night I sharpened my Military in Rex45, and my 15V Manix 2. To my surprise the Rex45 felt more "difficult" on the stones, the 15V was noticeably easier to remove steel on. The more experience I have with this 15V the more I fall in love with it.

[Deadboxhero]

[Sharp24/7]

That tears it, I’m taking mine up to 2300 finish followed by a one micron strop.

[Deadboxhero]

[ZrowsN1s]

I recognize that knife!

Been in my pocket all day. I love the way high grit edges glide through plastic and paper. I open things with it I don't really need to because it's fun to use.

[Deadboxhero]

I recognize that knife!

Been in my pocket all day. I love the way high grit edges glide through plastic and paper. I open things with it I don't really need to because it's fun to use.

Strong work

[gunmike1]

I recognize that knife!

Great job sharpening it. Be sure to report on how the 12 DPS edge holds up. If it works out well are you considering going more acute? I generally like running 10 DPS with a 15 DPS microbevel for my EDC cutting. So far at 15 DPS after my first sharpening there are zero signs of edge stability problems, as expected.
Been in my pocket all day. I love the way high grit edges glide through plastic and paper. I open things with it I don't really need to because it's fun to use.

[ZrowsN1s]

Great job sharpening it. Be sure to report on how the 12 DPS edge holds up. If it works out well are you considering going more acute? I generally like running 10 DPS with a 15 DPS microbevel for my EDC cutting. So far at 15 DPS after my first sharpening there are zero signs of edge stability problems, as expected.

I go as low as 10 on some. 13-12dps is my preferred. You get that bump in performance going below 15dps without making the edge too fragile (im pretty careful with my edges but stuff happens). It also takes longer to reprofile to 10dps, and pushes the limits of the fixed angle system. I use wicked edges low angle adapter for most of my knives below 15dps (which is basically a smaller clamp that sits on top of the regular one) Go too low and you start sharpening the clamp.

[Fireman]

Have not read the whole thread. Has anyone done a 3 or 4 sharpenings yet to see if there is a performance gain in eliminating “burnt” steel like some other steels?

[Steeltoez83]

Have not read the whole thread. Has anyone done a 3 or 4 sharpenings yet to see if there is a performance gain in eliminating “burnt” steel like some other steels?

I have. I did my cut testing on edge number 2 with 325 cuts at a 13 degree microbevel on a 1k super vit diamond stone. I tested edge number 3 with a 20 inclusive 1k vitrified cbn stone and got 495 cuts. I'm testing 15V against maxamet and k390 this week with the same edge angle and edge finish to see how they compare to each other.

[Fireman]

Have not read the whole thread. Has anyone done a 3 or 4 sharpenings yet to see if there is a performance gain in eliminating “burnt” steel like some other steels?

I have. I did my cut testing on edge number 2 with 325 cuts at a 13 degree microbevel on a 1k super vit diamond stone. I tested edge number 3 with a 20 inclusive 1k vitrified cbn stone and got 495 cuts. I'm testing 15V against maxamet and k390 this week with the same edge angle and edge finish to see how they compare to each other.

So you are in the camp of you need at least three sharpenings before you make judgement on this heat treat and steel? Thanks for the reply

[Steeltoez83]

Visual reference.

[Strauss95]

Have not read the whole thread. Has anyone done a 3 or 4 sharpenings yet to see if there is a performance gain in eliminating “burnt” steel like some other steels?

I have. I did my cut testing on edge number 2 with 325 cuts at a 13 degree microbevel on a 1k super vit diamond stone. I tested edge number 3 with a 20 inclusive 1k vitrified cbn stone and got 495 cuts. I'm testing 15V against maxamet and k390 this week with the same edge angle and edge finish to see how they compare to each other.

Can you post an update with your results in this thread? I'd love to see how that test turns out! Thank you for your contribution, I truly appreciate comparison testing like that.

[Steeltoez83]

Have not read the whole thread. Has anyone done a 3 or 4 sharpenings yet to see if there is a performance gain in eliminating “burnt” steel like some other steels?

I have. I did my cut testing on edge number 2 with 325 cuts at a 13 degree microbevel on a 1k super vit diamond stone. I tested edge number 3 with a 20 inclusive 1k vitrified cbn stone and got 495 cuts. I'm testing 15V against maxamet and k390 this week with the same edge angle and edge finish to see how they compare to each other.

Can you post an update with your results in this thread? I'd love to see how that test turns out! Thank you for your contribution, I truly appreciate comparison testing like that.

I tested a maxamet pm2 this morning and got 520 cuts. In my cut testing maxamet dulls differently than 15V. 15V blunts evenly throughout the whole edge. Whereas maxamet dulls at the heel first and blunting gradually moves towards the tip. I use an index card to evaluate sharpness of the whole edge. so either the heel either pushes the card or it cuts it. I still have to test my k390 stretch. My takeaway from the last test I ran was that k390 holds a higher front end sharpness over 15V. But the last 50% of the test cutting the k390 dropped sharpness or the cutting length of test cuts on the card faster. 15V dulls gradually and consistently from the cut testing I've done.

[Strauss95]

So would you say all 3 are pretty close in max edge retention, but they all lose their sharpness in a unique different way?

If so that is fascinating stuff! And impressive that both K390 and 15V can keep pace with Maxamet in edge retention.

[Steeltoez83]

In my testing it appears that way so far. However I think maxamet has lower edge stability than 15V at this angle. If I went 17 degrees per side I believe maxamet would push further ahead. I run cut testing on more than just 1 material tho. The current test is 100 grit sanding rolls which is abrasive. And I'm using 1k as a edge finish for the test. My other testing is low volume cutting designed to test how resilient the steel is. Generally want failure to happen under 75 cuts in that style of testing. Rex76 outshines everyone when I was doing that style of testing a few months ago. I try to be different than the cardboard cut testers. 15V is amazing stuff if you can get it. But k390 is stress free to acquire and it's offered in soo many models. Shawn found a great balance with this bilet of 15V and how to mass produce the heat treat. He usually heat treats 1 knife at a time. I enjoy all 3 steels for different reasons but that's me.

[Steeltoez83]

I got 460 cuts with k390 today. This is piles of 10 bcuz the roll is 1.5 inches whereas the 15V Pic has piles of 15 from 1 inch roll. I use the 1 inch rolls when I test Para 3s and delicas and it was all I had at that time. K390 has better stability than maxamet but less than 15V. At 300 cuts k390 had the longest distance traveled on the index card. So it holds front end sharpness the best of the 3. 15V is right between maxamet and k390 in my edge retention testing so far.

[Wandering_About]

Nice work on the edge testing experiments, steeltoez.

[Laphroaig9]

Will the MANIX™ 2 BROWN G-10 CPM 15V® SPRINT RUN™ be available for the FIRST RESPONDERS/MILITARY DISCOUNT?

[electro-static]

I’ve talked with her in reddit, she has given me a bunch of helpful advice on on the quality of different manufacturer’s steel and HT in terms of how well they sharpen and hold hold an edge. She knows her stuff well enough to sharpen tungsten carbide blades.

Dialing in the HT for mass production so consistently is a huge achievement! (I’m a process engineer, I can’t imagine how you pulled it off).