Easiest Sharpening Spyderco Steel

[Chieftjs]

Simple question. What Spyderco steel is the easiest to sharpen. I could be totally wrong but I’ll assume it’s also the quickest steel to lose an edge and need sharpening the most. The super steels seem to get the most attention for the super long edge holding ability but they also seem to have a reputation for being difficult for your average person to sharpen. I got a Sharpmaker recently and have been obviously sharpening everything in sight so what Para3 can I buy that I’ll need to sharpen a lot (lol).

[xceptnl]

Simple question. What Spyderco steel is the easiest to sharpen. I could be totally wrong but I’ll assume it’s also the quickest steel to lose an edge and need sharpening the most. The super steels seem to get the most attention for the super long edge holding ability but they also seem to have a reputation for being difficult for your average person to sharpen. I got a Sharpmaker recently and have been obviously sharpening everything in sight so what Para3 can I buy that I’ll need to sharpen a lot (lol).

I don't own a Para 3, of all the exclusives, regulars and sprints in all their various steels I haven't had trouble le sharpening any of them. You already have a terrificly designed and quality made tool for sharpening, the technique is also simple.
As for edge retention and sharpening difficulty, they are not mutually exclusive. There are some steels that defy these misconceptions. I think S60V (kershaw) was my least favorite to sharpen, yet I never have seen the same troubles from 440V in Spyderco so perhaps the heat treat and grind thickness have as much to do with ease of sharpening as the composition.
As for easiest to sharpen, in this user's experience Aogami Super and VG-10 are top of the list. Especially on Spyderco stones.

[vivi]

For me it's been BD1, BD1N, H1, LC200N and VG10, in that order.

[Danke]

Definitely LC200N for easy to maintain a really nice edge on. Just with a Sharpmaker and no special skills.

[Wartstein]

Out of all "Spyderco-steels" I tried:
BD1N. (Perhaps BD1 even easier, can't recall).
Also decent edge retention imo in relation to how super quick and easy it can be touched up.

And @Chieftjs : Of course you actually CAN get a Para 3 in BD1N

[zhyla]

I could be totally wrong but I’ll assume it’s also the quickest steel to lose an edge and need sharpening the most.

Well… yeah that’s a good assumption, but I think you’re leaving out half the equation. Diamond stones will sharpen anything fairly easily.

[Wartstein]

For me it's been BD1, BD1N, H1, LC200N and VG10, in that order.

I think this could be my list too... (8CR missing perhaps).

The thing with LC200N is: From what I read when it was announced or pretty new I expected it to clearly "beat" VG10 in edge holding.
At least in my use it does not though, but on the flip side it is even quicker to touch up imo.

[RustyIron]

I’ll assume it’s also the quickest steel to lose an edge and need sharpening the most.

I think the opposite is the case.

The super steels seem to get the most attention for the super long edge holding ability but they also seem to have a reputation for being difficult for your average person to sharpen.

Don't listen to the average people, unless you want to be like them. Personally, K390 is my favorite. Putting a good edge on it is almost effortless. Cruwear and PD#1 are pretty nice. S30V and VG10 require a little more effort to manage the burr. SPY27 is surprisingly nice to sharpen. That's just my own opinion. Other people's tools and techniques might yield different results.

[Doc Dan]

H1/H2 for sure are the easiest to sharpen.

[CDEP]

VG10 and Cru-Wear would get my vote.

VG10 gets a great edge easily. Cru-Wear takes more effort but comes back so well on a strop.

[Paul Ardbeg]

LC200N is one of the easiest to sharpen of the steels I have.

[Chieftjs]

So for steels most recommended and also available in my beloved Para3 it looks like my next will be a BD1N. That will give me 4 Para3’s with my S110v,Magnacut & s45vn. This is fun!

[Jeb]

My vote is with what Vivi has listed out here, for ease of sharpening. There is something here though not mentioned yet, you can put a little more effort in to sharpening and get big dividends back on the tail end of this with edge retention. Just my two cents worth...

Edit: we posted at the same time lol. I see you do have some blades with great edge retention, after reading your last post here this early morning... Coffee is up here already and it's hot, strong and straight up black.

[horzuff]

I’ll assume it’s also the quickest steel to lose an edge and need sharpening the most.

I think the opposite is the case.

The super steels seem to get the most attention for the super long edge holding ability but they also seem to have a reputation for being difficult for your average person to sharpen.

Don't listen to the average people, unless you want to be like them. Personally, K390 is my favorite. Putting a good edge on it is almost effortless. Cruwear and PD#1 are pretty nice. S30V and VG10 require a little more effort to manage the burr. SPY27 is surprisingly nice to sharpen. That's just my own opinion. Other people's tools and techniques might yield different results.

This points out quite an important distinction in what is actually hard in sharpening. And I agree mostly (maybe not completely with the "quite opposite to easier to sharpen=easier to dull" as it's more complex, but the sentiment is right IMO).

What I mean is sharpening high hardness and wear resistant steels isn't necessarily hard, but rather tedious. You just have to go at it for a long time as removing material is harder due to increased wear resistance (diamond/cbn abrasives nullify this to a certain degree).

The actual hard part that requires skill is, as mentioned above, proper deburring which is sometimes more problematic in softer steels and usually easier in really hard steels. Though this is also a big simplification as it depends on many more characteristics like retained austenite and plenty more I don't know well enough.

[jdw]

For me it’s 52100 followed by Super Blue. Both are relatively easy to get hair splitting sharp but have decent edge retention compared to ease of sharpening. You may find a 52100 Para 3 still floating around the secondary market but I would recommend branching out from the Para 3 and trying some SB as well.

[JoviAl]

H1/2, VG10 and CPM Cruwear

[p_atrick]

Another vote for 52100. Your basic Sharpmaker can get you an amazing edge in no time.

[benben]

Easiest steels that I personally own....H1, LC200, and VG-10, and they're so easy to get screaming sharp! Cru-wear is at the tail-end of that list for me.

[TkoK83Spy]

52100, BD1N, M4

[8th_Note]

My favorite to sharpen are the sprints in Micro-Melt PD#1. It's easy to get a beautiful and razor sharp edge.

My hardest Spyderco to sharpen is my Tasman 1 in H1. But thats because it's a hawkbill and I don't have any rods, only diamond stones and a paddle strop.