CPM-20CV Kershaw Link Issues

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flip888

Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
190
I've had a Kershaw Link in 20CV for more than a few months now, and I've developed a pretty good idea of how it performs vs other knives. At work I use it to cut plastics, strip wires, cut zip ties and heavy rubber tubes, sometimes cut up a few cardboard boxes. I use it a lot throughout the day, and what I've found is that my 20CV Link holds up about the same as my Rat 1 in AUS8. This seems extremely lack-luster for what is supposed to be a super steel.

This has led me to believe that maybe my Link has a bad heat treatment or perhaps was mislabeled and in fact isn't CMP-20CV. I don't have anything else in a similar steel to compare it to but I do have a couple Spydercos in S90V and ZDP-189, which hold up way better than the Link.

I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with this knife or if this is just how CPM-20CV is supposed to perform.

Thanks.
 
I cant complain about my link m390. My 420hc links seems pretty similar to aus8 though.

How many times has it been sharpened? Plenty of knives have bad heat treat on the edge but once you get past it, its good to go.
 
Give it a good sharpening. Get past the factory edge then see how it performs. That’s the case with most factory knives, the quick factory edge put on them never holds up as well as the next resharpening.

Also to add, I have had similar issues with knives as you do. I buy a knife with a good steel but in real world use it doesn’t seem much better than lesser steels. Could it be what we’re cutting is just that hard in the blade?
 
Mass1632 said:
I cant complain about my link m390. My 420hc links seems pretty similar to aus8 though.

How many times has it been sharpened? Plenty of knives have bad heat treat on the edge but once you get past it, its good to go.
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I've had this happen too. Sometimes the exposed edge may have gotten a bit toasted during sharpening.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I've sharpened it 3 or 4 times so far, excluding touch-up honing that I do a couple times a week. Hopefully after a couple more sharpenings it gets better.

I really like the design and feel of the Link, so if nothing else I might give the M390 version a try.
 
I’ve had similar experiences with M390, when using it hard at a construction-type job. For example cutting thick plastic tubing with dirt/rocks inside, zip ties and bags of concrete multiple times a day, among other things. I could ruin the edge in a day or two. And that was after a few sharpenings. I think where these super steels shine is for light-medium use. They last forever cutting some cardboard or lighter materials, compared to cheaper steels, but if you’re gonna beat the snot out of it, you’ll probly need to sharpen often regardless. Zip ties and some kinds of plastic can be hard on any steel. Also S90V has quite a bit better edge retention than 20CV and I believe ZDP189 does as well.
 
This is why I don't own ZT knives any more. In actual use and in controlled cut testing, I found their 20CV didn't do any better than basic steels for me.
 
Tonight I'm going to sharpen both the Rat 1 and the Link, and then use them side by side at work this week. I'll try to remember to report back on the results if anyone is interested. I might bring my S30V Griptilian too.
 
If you're cutting highly abrasive materials ithe edge won't last that long regardless of steel. Thin the edge (lower edge angle) and see how it does. It should do much better, but will still dull quickly if you hit rocks or open concrete. I dulled my S30v shaman instantly opening a bag of grout. I knew it would, and anticipated it. But I needed that bag open...

And the heat treat may be a little soft. M390 won't be any better (same steel, different name) if the heat treat is soft as well. Kershaw seems to have issues with that from time to time. I've been told ZTs do too, and have seen some tests on s35 that point to that, but never see any hrc tests of them to see what they are actually at. I know my personal Kershaws and ZTs perform well, in 20cv and m390, and even 14c28n. But big batches of blades are bound to have some low hrc examples. You may have one.
 
I just wanted to report back with my findings. After a week of using my AUS8 Rat 1, 20CV Link and S30v Griptilian as much as I could, I found that the Rat 1 lost it's edge fastest (no surprise), and the S30v and 20CV lasted, I'm guessing, 10-15% longer.

I know this isn't scientific at all, but in the future, steel choice isn't going to be a deciding factor in my knife purchases anymore.
 
Blade steel and knife purpose are just as correlated now as they have been for ages. Though before it was more about carbon vs stainless and one had to determine what is the better to use for that situation. These days, we have so many premium steels yet we still have plenty of mediocre steels. Its still goes down to what are you going to use it for. Each type of steel has its place. I say its ideal to carry a premium steel and a mediocre steel. One for if youre hacking away and the amount of force or precision doesnt matter. And then the other that you can rely on to be sharp in order to make clean and precise cuts without having to apply much force.
 
flip888 said:
I just wanted to report back with my findings. After a week of using my AUS8 Rat 1, 20CV Link and S30v Griptilian as much as I could, I found that the Rat 1 lost it's edge fastest (no surprise), and the S30v and 20CV lasted, I'm guessing, 10-15% longer.

I know this isn't scientific at all, but in the future, steel choice isn't going to be a deciding factor in my knife purchases anymore.
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If the same knife is available in two different steels, I'll go with the steel that serves my purpose (for that knife) best.

With two different knives, I'll choose blade geometry over steel *every time.


*Sometimes knives are just too cool NOT to buy, regardless of blade geometry.
 
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