Taking tough blade steels to the extreme

JTR357

JTR357

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Steels that are tough with a resistance to chipping to a low angle like 12-15 degrees. Have you done it? What were your results?
 
They chip. All of them. Infi, 3v, zwear and more. Some worse than others. I take mine low anyway and just don't use them for chopping nails. I'm still rough with them in things like dirt and will occasionally hit soil with rocks and it will take damage.

I value the laser like performance in a thicker tough blade like my p&l or dek 2 so I thin them. Will still pry a car door open while making wood curls a blade that thick should not be able to make.
 
Enzo necker in 12c27, I think it’s around 58 hrc. - 10 degrees pr side. Rolled really fast when whittling hard wood, but did not chip. Have maintained it on 15 deg setting on sharpmaker after, and no problems (but no heavy use either).

Winkler belt knife, 80crv2 - 15 deg pr side. No issues.

Bradford guardian 3.5, 3v: less than 15 deg pr side, 15 deg micro bevel. No issues.

I have sometimes seen some shiny spots, smaller than a needle head, on the the edges after some use, but some Sharpmaking took care of that pretty fast, so no chips.

Edit: This is not large knives, so they are not used for chopping or anything like that, just cutting wood and other hiking-related chores. The chances for accidents that would lead to striking a rock or anything similar is pretty slim, but if I did so with the thin-edged Bradford I think I would get a chip in it..
 
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JTR357 JTR357 Thin edges also need strength. It's not just about raw toughness.

One would think that you could take the world's toughest, soft steel and it would make make some kind of incredible chip resistant thin edge but there's more than meets the eye with how things are working.

Slap a true dead flat 12° dps edge on one of these super tough steels and it will deform quickly at the apex with use and look "chowdered up" at the edge due to the severe deformation.

Resistance to deformation is an important factor. It's not just about the toughness.
 
Pr3inar said:
..aaand today I found a chip on the Enzo. A tiny bit, less than a mm, missing from the edge. Must be because of this thread..
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IDK what is with Enzo, just earlier some guy I have on Facebook sent me pic of his broken Enzo necker 70 in same steel as yours.

Long story short - the tip got bent, and it snapped off when he tried to straighten it.
 
LostCause said:
IDK what is with Enzo, just earlier some guy I have on Facebook sent me pic of his broken Enzo necker 70 in same steel as yours.

Long story short - the tip got bent, and it snapped off when he tried to straighten it.
Click to expand...

Let's be clear.


Anything and everything can chip and break unless it's not even thin enough to cut well to begin with.

I think it oversimplifies the discussion when specific brands get dragged through the mud as to why something broke or chipped rather than the task that was being done and how and with what geometry.


It's no wonder why companies that make sharpened crowbars do so well.

The only measure of quality is if they chip or not rather than if they cut well or not.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Let's be clear.


Anything and everything can chip and break unless it's not even thin enough to cut well to begin with.

I think it oversimplifies the discussion when specific brands get dragged through the mud as to why something broke or chipped rather than the task that was being done and how and with what geometry.


It's no wonder why companies that make sharpened crowbars do so well.

The only measure of quality is if they chip or not rather than if they cut well or not.
Click to expand...
That was very blunt Shawn, coming from a sharp guy like yourself. 🥳
 
DeadboxHero said:
Let's be clear.


Anything and everything can chip and break unless it's not even thin enough to cut well to begin with.

I think it oversimplifies the discussion when specific brands get dragged through the mud as to why something broke or chipped rather than the task that was being done and how and with what geometry.


It's no wonder why companies that make sharpened crowbars do so well.

The only measure of quality is if they chip or not rather than if they cut well or not.
Click to expand...
While we’re being clear: I do not blame the knife/brand. I thinned it down a _lot_ before setting a 15 deg micro on in, and it’s beeing used everyday for kitchen/household stuff, by me and otgers in ghe house. So I do not consider this faulty, if anything I’m surprised it haven’t chipped before (or more) :)
 
Probably all/most I make are less than 15 per side....
15 feels obtuse.
I freehand grind and free hand sharpen, but measuring I'm about 12ish.
Later this year, I'm going to experiment going shallower on some.

I'm glad people are thinking about thin, sharp, knives again.
Thin wins!

So far I think AEB-L type steels are great at hard, low angles.
HSS like M2 & M4 is good.
I've been happy with CPM Cruwear, and heard magnacut is great shallow.

3V kinda sucks if it's too thin bte with acute angles. It needs to be beefy at 15° per side, and .015" + bte
 
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