Sharpener said my Spiderco Delica VG10 is cheap steel & hard to sharpen

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calldoug

Joined
Aug 23, 2011
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Spiderco Delica VG-10
Question; Is Vg-10 cheap Japanese steel

The knife sharpening guy ( does it every day ) who sharpened knife said its cheap japanese steel and that's the best I can do. ( note others tried to sharpen this knife before)
I got very upset and said this is VG-10 do you even know what that is?
He said I sure do its cheap Japanese steel and hard to sharpen and that's about as sharp as you will get it.
Im starting to think he is right.
I bought this new and paid a lot for it thinking I had some great amazing lifetime knife.
I just bought a knife for ten dollars that is much sharper than this.
I also sharpened it on my expensive Spiderco sharpener and could never get it very sharp.
I have aus 8 cold steel knives and $15 high carbon Opinel steel knives that are MUCH sharper than this, actually some are razor sharp.
I am pretty upset, this knife was like $70 or so.
So please tell me what you think.

UPDATE
Images of my Delica VG-10
https://imgur.com/a/dFMiR28
 
Last edited:
I don't believe he knows that much about sharpening ---I have a delica I keep in my truck as a backup and sharpened on my edgepro than stropped it and it is stupid sharp.I accidently swung it closed on my finger and sliced it pretty good for as light as the blade touched it.VG-10 is known by most as being able to take a wicked edge if someone knows what they are doing. just saying
 
Seems OK

"VG-10 Steel is a popular knife steel used extensively by Spyderco. VG-10 is short for V Gold 10, and is manufactured exclusively by Takefu Special Steel in Japan. VG-10 is quite unique in it’s composition using Molybdenum, Cobalt and Vanadium in the mixture. VG-10 is typically hardened to anywhere from RC 58-61. According to Takefu, the Cobalt makes the substrate stronger, and the addition of Moly and Vanadium form harder carbides increasing the wear resistance and thus improving edge retention. Additionally, VG-10 has excellent corrosion resistance, making it a fantastic all-round steel comparible to CPM 154CM but cheaper to manufacture"

https://www.swordsofmight.com/knife-steel-complete-guide/
 
calldoug said:
Spiderco Delica VG-10
Question; Is Vg-10 cheap Japanese steel

The knife sharpening guy ( does it every day ) who sharpened knife said its cheap japanese steel and that's the best I can do. ( note others tried to sharpen this knife before)
I got very upset and said this is VG-10 do you even know what that is?
He said I sure do its cheap Japanese steel and hard to sharpen and that's about as sharp as you will get it.
Im starting to think he is right.
I bought this new and paid a lot for it thinking I had some great amazing lifetime knife.
I just bought a knife for ten dollars that is much sharper than this.
I also sharpened it on my expensive Spiderco sharpener and could never get it very sharp.
I have aus 8 cold steel knives and $15 high carbon Opinel steel knives that are MUCH sharper than this, actually some are razor sharp.
I am pretty upset, this knife was like $70 or so.
So please tell me what you think.
Click to expand...

First of all vg10 is an excellent steel and that sharpener is an idiot. I find vg10 will take an extremely agressive edge fairly easily and the steel has great properties. I would rank it around 154cm, n690 or 14c28n as a great steel without being a super steel.

Secondly the spyderco sharpmaker is imho not a good sharpener. First of all if the sides of your knives are more than 20 degrees per side there is no setting on the sharpmaker that will be able to sharpen the apex if you are holding the edge pointing straight down. Even then you have to keep a very steady hand in order to get angood edge and it is hard to keep the knife perfectly vertical floating in the air like that.

Also it really isn’t good for sharpening from dull. Rather it is more of a touch up tool. These are just my humble opinions. If the knife has become too dull good luck getting it sharp woth a sharpmaker.

Edit to add: oh also I notice vg10 starts to really shine when sharpened at a higher grit. Its possible that the sharpener was a lazy jackass who didn’t want to work with higher grit.

Ask yourself if vg10 is garbage that cannot get sharp then how did the knife come sharp out the box? If anything a professional sharpener should be able to put a WAY better edge on that delica than it came from the factory with.
 
Probably just hard to sharpen compared to what you're used to.
That AUS8A and those carbon steel opinles can be touched up on the bottom of a coffee mug in no time at all, I don't think you'll be doing that with VG10.

This guy who sharpens knives is probably just used to easy sharpen steels.
 
I don't consider mysel a steel expert, but I have my share of knives, many in VG10, folders and fixed, and the steel is excelent!!

I don't think your so called sharpener is much of an expert either.
 
calldoug said:
Question; Is Vg-10 cheap Japanese steel
Click to expand...

It all depends on what other steels you're comparing it to, VG-10 is used as the entry-level steel for many knives made in Japan like AUS8 is the entry-level steel used in Taiwan-made knives and 154cm is the entry-level steel in US-made knives. Compared to the current batch of what most call super-steels like M390 or ZDP-189, VG-10 is a cheap and simple steel; compared to certain other steels like 420j, 420hc, or Gerber 'stainless', however, it's a quality steel that has a good balance of edge-retention and ease of sharpening.

It's all about personal preferences and comparisons. To me, it sounds like your sharpener person has a personal bias against VG-10 that doesn't match up to what most other knife folks will say, I certainly wouldn't let his opinion model your experiences with the steel. Opinel knives are always screamin' sharp from the factory, but that's not a property of the steel as much as the factory producing it; many inexpensive knives come in razor sharp with cheap steel, it's about how long the sharpness lasts with use and how easy it is to get that sharpness back.
 
No, VG10 is not a cheap steel at all. There really isn't a "cheap" Japanese steel used for knives beyond maybe 420J2.
I have plenty of knives in VG10 including cooking knives. They guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Simple as that.
 
VG 10 is great stuff! I can even mirror polish it with a lansky :eek: This Delica below is scary sharp and took all but 15mins to get it there. I suggest you fire your sharpener and purchase a guided system for yourself. There's lots of great people on the forum here that can help with any sharpening questions you may have. I don't have a sharpmaker but many here do and I'm sure they can offer some tips and tricks.31748784_Unknown.JPG
 
When I got my vg10 Endura it was sharp. Would easely shave armhair. Took a few swipes on the fine triangle sm-stones and it would split a chesthair.

Later I took it to the edge pro with a <15 deg bevel. Treetopped headhair after, bit the edge wasn’t durable enough for qhat I used it for. So now I maintain it with the UF triangle rods on 20 deg, and after just a few swipes it will treetop headhair again, and maybe split it some places along the edge, not the whole length (my sharpening skills is to blame there, not the steel).

I have SAKs and a neckknife from Enzo in 12c27 that I can get as sharp/sharper quicker, but it’s still more than sharp enough, and I don’t have to use much time to get it there.

In short: if someone can’t get VG10 sharp, it’s not VG10’s fault.. :)
 
I wouldn’t take $20 from your sharpener to let him sharpen one of my knives.

If I were in your position (and I was) I’d learn to sharpen myself (and I did). You will be shocked how sharp you can get your knives when you know what you’re doing. Takes some hours of practice and reading, though.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Probably just hard to sharpen compared to what you're used to.
That AUS8A and those carbon steel opinles can be touched up on the bottom of a coffee mug in no time at all, I don't think you'll be doing that with VG10.

This guy who sharpens knives is probably just used to easy sharpen steels.
Click to expand...

Actually, the fine rods on a Sharpmaker, designed for VG10 Spydercos, are ceramic. Like the bottom of a coffee mug. So you could easily touch up VG10 on a coffee mug (or the fine rods of a Sharpmaker).

And VG10 is not hard to sharpen at all compared to more recent "super steels."
 
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