Rockstead Knowledge Thread

Dear Rockstead Users -
I have been reading this thread for quite sometime and was interested in Rockstead knives for a couple of years. Nave neither owned nor even touched one yet, but the Chou is on the way. I have a simple question regarding steels. I know this topic has been discussed extensively here and I fully realized that based on the chemical composition alone (given the other variables are the same, i.e. dimension and geometry), the harder ZDP189 is harder and, therefore, more brittle, whereas YXR7 is tougher and less prone to chipping; I realize all that and making a choice of steel based on this is straightforward. My question is for owners that have Rockstead in both steels: with approximately the same usage (without abusing a knife), does ZDP chipping is actually a problem? I suppose if knives in both steels are dropped on a cement floor, the ZDP would suffer more, but is deformation in chipping in regular tasks of cutting wood, rope, cartboard, plastic, or food is really an issue? Please advise. Best to all.
 
I have a William & Henry zdp and use it regularly, even in the kitchen. It's fairly old and due to use the button spring needed replacement, but the edge is chip free and it's never really needed a sharpening.
 
Thank you for sharing your observations, Brownshoe. I’m curious to what hardness is your William Henry heat treated. I did hear rumors that some early Spyderco experiments with zdp were not as successful and some blades did snap, but I tend to think that, if treated properly and given appropriate blade geometry, zdp is not brittle to a degree that one should be concerned with.
 
I've talked myself into buying a Sai Tanto. I'm 99.7% there. Such a lot of money for a knife. But better to buy it from a dealer's current stock than watch the price shoot up when Sterling collapses and we have no trade agreement with Japan. No use pretending that the UK isn't a banana republic.
 
sharp_it said:
Thank you for sharing your observations, Brownshoe. I’m curious to what hardness is your William Henry heat treated. I did hear rumors that some early Spyderco experiments with zdp were not as successful and some blades did snap, but I tend to think that, if treated properly and given appropriate blade geometry, zdp is not brittle to a degree that one should be concerned with.
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AFAIK W&H doesn't state the hardness of any knives. However Dexter Ewing in an article on the knife says it's 65-67 https://www.trackertrail.com/publications/inthenews/WHK_Brown.pdf.

My knife is laminated steel with a ZDP core.
 
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Hello everybody

First post here.

After researching Rockstead for quite some time, I decided to buy a Higo with Ironwood handles.

It came in a week ago.
Beautifully packaged in a wooden box, quality leather sheath and a beautiful knife.

I don't have any "safe queens", and as a land surveyor, my knives get used daily.
Cutting open bags, cutting rope, plastic tubing, boxes, trimming plants that are in my line of sight... Only cutting soft materials. No prying or scraping whatsoever.

However, today, while doing some regular cardboard box cutting, I noticed my Higo had chipped:

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Higo%201_zpswpnqvxqq.jpg

Higo%202_zpsndptnax7.jpg

I have no idea how this happened. Maybe there was a hidden staple in the box, as I don't see any other way this would

I have to be honest, I'm quite disappointed a 1.000+ euro knife gets damaged this quickly. I've cut the same type of box with a Sebenza dozens of times, and something like this never happened...

I've only ever chipped one blade before: an M390 knife made by Lionsteel, cutting away brambles and other plants. That was probably due to the heavy usage. Not a big deal. Got home, resharpened it and the knife was chipless, razorsharp and good to go.

However, I don't think I can fix my Rockstead... I usually use the Spyderco Sharpmaker or the Worksharp Belt Grinder, and I don't think these will work for the Rockstead... I don't have much freehand sharpening experience.

Does anyone here experienced the same thing? How can I fix this? Or should I send the knife back to Japan?

Thanks,
 
I found myself in a similar situation with microchips on the edge after heavy use and I stropped it sharp again. I believe one time I stropped it using only the usual compounds and the next I used diamond paste which was more efficient.
 
CPP said:
I found myself in a similar situation with microchips on the edge after heavy use and I stropped it sharp again. I believe one time I stropped it using only the usual compounds and the next I used diamond paste which was more efficient.
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I'm not sure stropping will help... It's very noticable, can't cut paper and feel it very well with my nail.

The seller claims that this can happen, that I cut the wrong way and need a more delicate way of cutting...
Suggests I send it back to Japan.... :(
 
Is this the ZDP 189 steel?

I can't see the chip very well, so I presume it's small. The Worksharp would be aggressive, and motorized edge sharpening is not the best.

You might try using diamond rods with your Sharpmaker, followed by the finer rods and stropping. That should do it. Because you're using the knife regularly, you need a way to keep it sharp without sending it back to Japan.

You might increase the edge angle a bit to make the edge more robust.
 
Sorry to hear about damage to your 1 week old Rockstead...that must be very upsetting.

The usual advice with Rockstead chip repair is to send it back to Japan. That is what a Rockstead dealer would say. I read somewhere that chip repair, unlike sharpening, is not free of charge for the first owner of a registered knife.
 
Twindog said:
Is this the ZDP 189 steel?

I can't see the chip very well, so I presume it's small. The Worksharp would be aggressive, and motorized edge sharpening is not the best.

You might try using diamond rods with your Sharpmaker, followed by the finer rods and stropping. That should do it. Because you're using the knife regularly, you need a way to keep it sharp without sending it back to Japan.

You might increase the edge angle a bit to make the edge more robust.
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It is the ZDP steel.
The chip is very noticable when cutting paper or running across the edge with a fingernail.

I'm tempted to resharpen it with the Sharpmaker. As you said, I need a way to resharpen it without sending it halfway across the world.
With a bit of training, I might try it with high grit sandpaper on a rubber surface.

Nick H. said:
Sorry to hear about damage to your 1 week old Rockstead...that must be very upsetting.

The usual advice with Rockstead chip repair is to send it back to Japan. That is what a Rockstead dealer would say. I read somewhere that chip repair, unlike sharpening, is not free of charge for the first owner of a registered knife.
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Correct, restoring is not free of charge.

Officer's Match said:
This was bought from an authorized Rockstead dealer? I would be very unhappy about damage like that.
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It was. And I am rather unhappy. The Rockstead Dealer is nice though. Sent a stropping board and metal polish along the order, and gave extra advice about maintaining the knife. I understand his reply as well, it's the standard procedure.
 
Berengir said:
It is the ZDP steel.
The chip is very noticable when cutting paper or running across the edge with a fingernail.

I'm tempted to resharpen it with the Sharpmaker. As you said, I need a way to resharpen it without sending it halfway across the world.
With a bit of training, I might try it with high grit sandpaper on a rubber surface.



Correct, restoring is not free of charge.



It was. And I am rather unhappy. The Rockstead Dealer is nice though. Sent a stropping board and metal polish along the order, and gave extra advice about maintaining the knife. I understand his reply as well, it's the standard procedure.
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ZDP 189 is a hard steel, but I think a pair of diamond stones for your Sharpmaker would do the trick.

Another option would be to send it to one of the good sharpeners on the forum. Have them put a 30 degree inclusive bevel on it. Then, when it needs sharpening, use your Sharpmaker on the 40 degree angle to put on a micro-bevel. The microlevel would give the edge more strength, and it would be a snap to keep sharp on your Sharpmaker. Sodak has a good sticky in the maintenance section on micro-bevels.
 
Do not sharpen it with a Sharpmaker! They are made to sharpen knives with a flat ground secondary bevel. Even attempting to put a micro-bevel on a zero-ground convex blade is trickier than it sounds. Rockstead recommends a specific stropping regimen on their website. Stropping is the way to go for someone who is not an expert as sharpening.
 
CPP said:
Do not sharpen it with a Sharpmaker! They are made to sharpen knives with a flat ground secondary bevel. Even attempting to put a micro-bevel on a zero-ground convex blade is trickier than it sounds. Rockstead recommends a specific stropping regimen on their website. Stropping is the way to go for someone who is not an expert as sharpening.
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I'm aware that it would ruin the convex edge. That's why I thought sandpaper on rubber might do the trick. Although some practice won't hurt. I can sharpen cheap stainless steel kitchen knives to razor sharp that way, but touching up a Rocksteas holds a lot more risk.

Twindog said:
ZDP 189 is a hard steel, but I think a pair of diamond stones for your Sharpmaker would do the trick.

Another option would be to send it to one of the good sharpeners on the forum. Have them put a 30 degree inclusive bevel on it. Then, when it needs sharpening, use your Sharpmaker on the 40 degree angle to put on a micro-bevel. The microlevel would give the edge more strength, and it would be a snap to keep sharp on your Sharpmaker. Sodak has a good sticky in the maintenance section on micro-bevels.
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I did consider that, but regrinding it to a flat ground bevel would kinda ruin the what makes the knife a Rockstead.
 
Berengir said:
The Rockstead Dealer is nice though. Sent a stropping board and metal polish along the order, and gave extra advice about maintaining the knife.
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Sounds like the guy at Zukuri! (I'm looking to buy in Europe soon, so I've been reading all the stuff on dealers' sites.)

Good luck with learning freehand sharpening - this seems the obvious answer for you. You have nothing to lose - you can always send the knife to Japan after your efforts if you're not happy with the result.
 
Nick H. said:
Sounds like the guy at Zukuri! (I'm looking to buy in Europe soon, so I've been reading all the stuff on dealers' sites.)

Good luck with learning freehand sharpening - this seems the obvious answer for you. You have nothing to lose - you can always send the knife to Japan after your efforts if you're not happy with the result.
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Yep, it is. Not sure if I will, but if I ever buy another Rockstead, it will be there.
He even sent me a picture of 3 higo IW's so I could choose the wood grain I liked.

He sells a free hand sharpening system as well, modeled after the Rockstead Factory one. Quite expensive though.
 
What's the official justification for the tool? Does Rockstead claim it's better than your 3M alternative?
 
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