Spyderco PM2 in s110v

No, and no. It's a SFO (Special Factory Order) - meaning they are made special for a retailer. There are two M4 PM2s coming: one from BladeHQ, the other from Knifeworks
 
You need CBN or diamonds to get the most out of high vanadium carbide steels like these, anything else just won't do.

I would have to disagree with that. :confused: No reason Aluminum Oxide (ceramic) won't work well too. The fine ceramic sticks on my Sharpmaker did just fine. Most belts on powered grinders are AlO2 of some sort or another. True, Diamond and CBN will do the job faster, but IMO aren't required to get "the most" out of these steels.

with mine if I hit the strop long before it's "dull" it does work for maintaining the fine edge. I've cut more cardboard than the avg user by far with mine and hitting the strop ever 2 days has kept it shaving sharp. This steel is more wear resistant than s30v and when my s30v knives will only strop back to shaving sharp once or twice.

Normally, that's what I'd do as well (and what I do with most all of my knives). However, for "evaluation" purposes, I like to see how long the edge will stay stable and sharp without touching it, just so I know what to expect from it before adding it to the rotation. So far, this S110V PM2 is a real winner in my book! :cool:
 
I would have to disagree with that. :confused: No reason Aluminum Oxide (ceramic) won't work well too. The fine ceramic sticks on my Sharpmaker did just fine. Most belts on powered grinders are AlO2 of some sort or another. True, Diamond and CBN will do the job faster, but IMO aren't required to get "the most" out of these steels.



Normally, that's what I'd do as well (and what I do with most all of my knives). However, for "evaluation" purposes, I like to see how long the edge will stay stable and sharp without touching it, just so I know what to expect from it before adding it to the rotation. So far, this S110V PM2 is a real winner in my book! :cool:
I find stropping kinda relaxing, after a days work I typically will get to the hotel and strop my edc blades that saw use thru out the day. Especially if I'm carrying less wear resistant steels that day like 8cr13mov, 420hc, 1095cv ect. If I'm carrying s30v or now this s110v I can stretch it out 2-3 days before hitting the strop.
 
I would have to disagree with that. :confused: No reason Aluminum Oxide (ceramic) won't work well too. The fine ceramic sticks on my Sharpmaker did just fine. Most belts on powered grinders are AlO2 of some sort or another. True, Diamond and CBN will do the job faster, but IMO aren't required to get "the most" out of these steels.

To get the most out of high vanadium carbide steels you need abrasives that are able to cut & shape the carbides themselves, which in commonly available materials leaves only CBN and diamond.
For both maximum sharpness & edge retention you want a row of actually shaped & sharpened carbides in your edge, not just a row of whole carbides (which will do for coarser edge types, but they simply work better when sharp.)

The other materials you mention will most certainly plough through the matrix and push the vanadium carbides out of the way, but due to their lack in hardness they are physically unable to refine those carbides.
Take a look at the bottom of this page for a list of materials and their Knoop hardness:

https://www.tedpella.com/Material-Sciences_html/Abrasive_Grit_Grading_Systems.htm

What works for me when i want a (semi-) coarse edge on S110V steel and the like is to use silicon carbide (220 grit Paper Wheel and/or 1000 grit Tormek Blackstone) to create the bevels, then jump to a fine diamond compound (1 micron on a Paper Wheel) to remove the burr.
This provides me with the edge irregularities (or teeth if you want) for that coveted slicing aggression, and which also have actual sharpened vanadium carbides in the apex.
For a more polished edge on S110V steel and the like i refine the results of the silicon carbide with various diamond compounds (in my case 15, 6, 3, and 1 micron on dedicated Paper Wheels)

For some time now i've also been experimenting with a Rubber Wheel coated with 230 grit diamond as a substitute for the 220 grit silicon carbide grit Paper Wheel, and although i still need to learn more about it, so far i like the results i'm getting with it.
 
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To get the most out of high vanadium carbide steels you need abrasives that are able to cut & shape the carbides themselves, which in commonly available materials leaves only CBN and diamond.
For both maximum sharpness & edge retention you want a row of actually shaped & sharpened carbides in your edge, not just a row of whole carbides (which will do for coarser edge types, but they simply work better when sharp.)

The other materials you mention will most certainly plough through the matrix and push the vanadium carbides out of the way, but due to their lack in hardness they are physically unable to refine those carbides.
Take a look at the bottom of this page for a list of materials and their Knoop hardness:

https://www.tedpella.com/Material-Sciences_html/Abrasive_Grit_Grading_Systems.htm

What works for me when i want a (semi-) coarse edge on S110V steel and the like is to use silicon carbide (220 grit Paper Wheel and/or 1000 grit Tormek Blackstone) to create the bevels, then jump to a fine diamond compound (1 micron on a Paper Wheel) to remove the burr.
This provides me with the edge irregularities (or teeth if you want) for that coveted slicing aggression, and which also have actual sharpened vanadium carbides in the apex.
For a more polished edge on S110V steel and the like i refine the results of the silicon carbide with various diamond compounds (in my case 15, 6, 3, and 1 micron on dedicated Paper Wheels)

For some time now i've also been experimenting with a Rubber Wheel coated with 230 grit diamond as a substitute for the 220 grit silicon carbide grit Paper Wheel, and although i still need to learn more about it, so far i like the results i'm getting with it.

Nice post! :thumbup: Sounds like some good info here.
 
I just remembered the clip that came on my original Para. It was black and had the triangular mounting holes with a hole in the middle for the pivot adjustment.
As I recall it was only drilled for tip down carry wasn't it?

It was kind of ugly but not nearly as bad as the new design chrome.

Thanks everybody for the clip replacement suggestions.
Something is coming in the mail to replace the chrome one. Not sure what yet.
 
So how does this s110v compare toughness wise against the s30v. I'm just wondering if I'm gonna have to treat this knife differently. I have heard a lot about edge retention but not much about toughness and edge stability.
 
So how does this s110v compare toughness wise against the s30v. I'm just wondering if I'm gonna have to treat this knife differently. I have heard a lot about edge retention but not much about toughness and edge stability.
I think for the typical use a pocket knife sees edge stability on s110v will out perform s30v. I did some carving and whittling with mine today and was wrenching on the edge a lil on some small knots and it didn't chip roll or damage the edge in the slightest. I've also nicked a couple staples that were embedded in some cardboard while breaking down boxes and it didn't damage the edge either. That act would've destroyed the edge on my previous 420 stainless beater blade.
 
Nice, yea so I also noticed so far that when cutting cardboard it doesn't micro roll nearly as much as s30v. I'm guessing micro rolls not chipped no because I can strop them out very easy.
 
Nice, yea so I also noticed so far that when cutting cardboard it doesn't micro roll nearly as much as s30v. I'm guessing micro rolls not chipped no because I can strop them out very easy.
It's a good bit harder than S30V that may be a contributor
 
Nice, yea so I also noticed so far that when cutting cardboard it doesn't micro roll nearly as much as s30v. I'm guessing micro rolls not chipped no because I can strop them out very easy.
The biggest difference I'm seeing between s30v and s110v besides edge retention is the ease of bringing a fine edge back with a strop.with S110v I've repeatedly honed the edge with a strop, first black then green compound. With s30v im only able to hone it back to razor sharp with a strop twice maybe 3 times.
 
The biggest difference I'm seeing between s30v and s110v besides edge retention is the ease of bringing a fine edge back with a strop.with S110v I've repeatedly honed the edge with a strop, first black then green compound. With s30v im only able to hone it back to razor sharp with a strop twice maybe 3 times.
Are you sure that's whats happening using black and green compound?What do you consider a fine edge?What kind of compound are you using?
 
Are you sure that's whats happening using black and green compound?What do you consider a fine edge?What kind of compound are you using?
Well the fine edge I'm referring too will shave and push cut phone book paper. Its easily gone from snagging phone book paper to cutting under just blade weight. The black (looks grey when applied) compound I'm using is a emery stick from the hardware store, it's more abrasive than the typical black strop compound and green is some stuff I got with some work sharp stuff, it's way more abrasive than .5 micron they claim it to be.
 
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Well I've gone through 3 PM2's in S110V. Got one left in safe that I will include in rotation soon.
Secondary bevel grind lines on all 3 have been very good. I think they're using their sharpening robot they showcased in the Meet the maker for these!
 
Well the fine edge I'm referring too will shave and push cut phone book paper. Its easily gone from snagging phone book paper to cutting under just blade weight. The black (looks grey when applied) compound I'm using is a emery stick from the hardware store, it's more abrasive than the typical black strop compound and green is some stuff I got with some work sharp stuff, it's way more abrasive than .5 micron they claim it to be.
Thanks...I cant get my green or black to do anything but polish or remove burs from such high carbide steels.If I look at what's happening under magnification I think what I am seeing is just polishing and rounding of the apex.I have since used diamond based compounds for my super abrasion resistant steels and have not looked back.I though there may be some new black and green compound that you have found that I did not know about.The Black and green compound works great on my carbon steel blades.I a glad to hear that the compounds are working for you and thanks for the reply.
 
Thanks...I cant get my green or black to do anything but polish or remove burs from such high carbide steels.If I look at what's happening under magnification I think what I am seeing is just polishing and rounding of the apex.I have since used diamond based compounds for my super abrasion resistant steels and have not looked back.I though there may be some new black and green compound that you have found that I did not know about.The Black and green compound works great on my carbon steel blades.I a glad to hear that the compounds are working for you and thanks for the reply.
It doesn't work as well on s30v or s110v compared to 1095, 8cr13mov, 440hc, and other lower wear resistance steels, but gets the job done. I get allot less steel residue embedded in the compounds.
 
Thanks...I cant get my green or black to do anything but polish or remove burs from such high carbide steels.If I look at what's happening under magnification I think what I am seeing is just polishing and rounding of the apex.I have since used diamond based compounds for my super abrasion resistant steels and have not looked back.I though there may be some new black and green compound that you have found that I did not know about.The Black and green compound works great on my carbon steel blades.I a glad to hear that the compounds are working for you and thanks for the reply.

Would you mind telling me (us) what compounds you are using on your super steels to strop with? Are you just loading those compounds onto a bare strop?

Thanks in advance!
Drew
 
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