Wow this thread is great, this is why I enjoy being a member at BF. Lots of great insight here around all facets of this issue! A few replies, lumped together.
(...)
David that all makes sense about SM being designed before the advent of super steels. They've tried to address the gap with diamond/cbn, but as many folks who use these know, they haven't quite nailed that part of the equation yet. At least, not IMHO as a user. I certainly don't attribute the lack of an "optimal" solution to super steels to anything sinister on Spyderco's part, they did after all release the diamond and cbn rods years ago to address this very thing. It just seems like they haven't worked that great. Also, I don't think most Spyderco average users have these add-on stones anyway, plus they don't realize that the included ceramic stones have the limitations with super steels that we're discussing in this thread. It seems like, for things to get better for those using SM to maintain super steels, they need some kind of improved strategy (best driven by Spyderco) to message HOW they should deal with super steels, and also, improved sharpening rod options. Absent that, it seems like SM users might be able to fall back on a solution something like what I indicated above in my reply to 42, some aftermarket stones that may cut better than the diamond/cbn, and then just using the ceramics in a very limited/niche role for light finishing work.