Spyderco HAP40 Thread

you would have to grind a spot on ricasso down to the core steel for a testing area

there is also rockwell files to check the edge.

the combination of the two is best

according to Kevin Cashen.

The files are about a C-note.

So I'll live without knowing
 
I would guess that when they test in the factory that they just surface grind a small test piece of the laminated steel down to the hap40 and punch it, but that's pure speculation.
 
I vaguely recall Sal mentioning the HRC somewhere on one of the foruns as these were released about half a year ago... but regardless whether I know the number or not, it won't change my satisfaction with these run of knives!

Still carry one of my Delicas almost daily unless I just rotate out simply for variety sake.
 
Surfingringo said:
Hey Ken, like ejames13 said, corrosion resistance is pretty good. I have used both hap40 and m4 on the kayak and m4 does seem to fair a bit better but both are far ahead of a steel like 1095 or superblue. As far as forcing a patina, the quickest and easiest way is to boil some vinegar in a coffee mug and drop the blade in there. Should only take a few minutes to darken up. Make sure you have cleaned it thoroughly first.

I haven't used zdp-189 but from what i've heard on the forums, it can be a bit of a bear to sharpen. Hap-40 on the other hand is about as easy as it gets, takes a crazy edge and still has excellent edge retention. When you look at the relation between ease of sharpening and edge retention, hap40 has by far the best ratio of any steel I have used. Its a real joy to work with. Enjoy.
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Thanks for the reply .
Personally I have never understood all the fuss about how hard ZDP is to sharpen , it's never been an issue for me but that is a discussion for another day .
In my excitement waiting for my Hap Delica to arrive I spent some time on the interweb searching and guess what , I found an excellent uTube vid of a guy on a kayak with a Stretch Hap40 ( I subscribed )

Ken
 
harronek said:
Thanks for the reply .
Personally I have never understood all the fuss about how hard ZDP is to sharpen , it's never been an issue for me but that is a discussion for another day .
In my excitement waiting for my Hap Delica to arrive I spent some time on the interweb searching and guess what , I found an excellent uTube vid of a guy on a kayak with a Stretch Hap40 ( I subscribed )

Ken
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Unfortunately, I believe that reviewer had a very foggy camera. :( Thanks for the sub though. I'll try and get some better stuff up. FWIW, I have 2 channels and I'm putting most of my newer fishing stuff on the crkayakfishing channel. I'll eventually add some knife stuff there too.
 
Got it yesterday , lived with the orange scales for two hours and couldn't put up with it any longer , I also put some vinegar on the blade and gave it a patina .
This will be my work Delica for the next few weeks to evaluate the steel .




Ken
 
harronek said:
Got it yesterday , lived with the orange scales for two hours and couldn't put up with it any longer , I also put some vinegar on the blade and gave it a patina .
This will be my work Delica for the next few weeks to evaluate the steel .




Ken
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Looks nice Ken! I'm sure you noticed that the vinegar wrecked your edge, so a good sharpening is in order before you get to work with it. This steel will make you feel like a master sharpener, haha. Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
 
I actually spent more time than usual sharpening this blade .
I reprofiled the edge because it was uneven from the factory .
The end result is a knife that is about as sharp as any knife Ive ever sharpened .
Now the test begins .



Ken
 
Fell in love with the shape of the stretch after finally snagging a SuperBlue a month or so ago, so I picked up a HAP40 version and a dragonfly that should be in my hands soon. Really nice steel!
 
Not much action happening at home today , so decided to give the Hap40 the book test .
Gary Graley a friend of mine here posted an example of this a while ago and it is now my " I'm bored " knife sharpness test .
Straight downward push cut , no slicing , sawing or anything else .
Push cut in one motion , it soon shows up any sharpening deficiencies .
This Hap40 gets nasty sharp , I've done this test with a number of different steels in my Delica's , this Hap40 just went through like a hot knife through butter .



Ken
 
Nice Ken, that looks very cleanly cut! Shows the edge geometry is done well, a lot of knives feel sharp and do cut, but when faced with the book, they make an indentation and do not pass through it very well, does it prove much? well it's a neat thing to do and fun when it cuts through, myself, I like that it is able to do the cut cleanly and then trying other medium like card board, it really flys through that easily too.

One knife maker and I think also a professional sharpener tests his edges to see if they push cut into the side of receipt paper, if it doesn't, that tells him the apex isn't quite reached yet, think of the edge being like the tip of a ball point pen, highly magnified of course, but rounded none the less. Once you get the apex there, it should push through material easier.

Hap40, interesting stuff, haven't tried any yet, but sounds like it may be moving up the G2 list of things to give a whirl :)
G2
 
Just on the Sharpmaker for me with the stones it comes with. No problems getting the edge on here.
 
Maybe HAP40 should be part of the regular production along with the ZDP Seki knives.;)
 
skwurll said:
Maybe HAP40 should be part of the regular production along with the ZDP Seki knives.;)
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Sal has shown some reticence to include a non stainless steel in the regular production lineup. Folks like us might appreciate it but it can create issues for the company when the average Joe buys a work knife and after a month of poor maintenance finds that it is rusting. "Spyderco must make crappy knives" can often be the first and only assumption. I would LOVE to see them do some regular production with this steel, but we may not see it for that reason. I hope I am wrong though!!
 
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