Stropping S30V?

B

Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
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Does anybody strop their S30V blades? I know a lot of people seem to get good results from leaving a coarse finish on S30V, but I have not. So I figured what the hey, I'll strop it up. Anyways, its come along real knice. Finally its taken that keen edge that has been so elusive on this knife. Seems to be holding it well, but can't say for sure as it typically only sees apple cutting duty, with maybe some mail here and light cordage there. Hopefully it will finally hold its edge well (Native, S30V), and its looking promising!
 
I've been using a piece of scrap leather about 3" x 8" loaded with Mother's metal polish. I've actually found that stuff works great as a stropping compound.

Not rediculously aggressive, but its about perfect for finishing up after any grit (fine polished edge, or finish up a toothy edge for good bite) as well as maintaining a razor edge on my blades. Brought about a very, very nice mirror finish on my P.O.S. gerbers, and has done wonders on my Becker and SAK/pen knives.
 
I've been using this $29 belt sander with a 1"x30" leather belt on my S30V Sebenzas and Strider. In about 30 seconds it has the edge polished and razor sharp...
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Glad to hear you're now happy with your Native. I know you've been working on it for a spell.:thumbup:
 
Oh forever! Can't believe you've been keepin up on the saga... Stropping seems to do it good, hopefully it isn't an illusion (otherwise I'd be forced to by yet ANOTHER knife!). :D
 
Stropping has seemed to work just the same for me on my S30V knives as the rest of them. I strop all of my knives. I generally only use stones and the like for reprofiling.
 
S30V is easy to strop. Try it on the back of a legal pad, on the cardboard back. No muss, no fuss! Just remember to keep your strokes light on whatever you strop.

NJ
 
When you strop/polish the edge, how well does it slice fibrous stuff like rope compared to a rougher, grabbier edge?
 
Good for you guys. I haven't had much luck stropping S30V.
It's harder to put a fine edge on than D2 by a longshot, IMHO.

I've found that S30V is great for putting a BARELY shaving edge onto and then using really hard without it losing its edge.

.
 
Excellent. I don't cut much like that around here, maybe some light rope or rags once in a while, but I did cut up some 1/8 inch rope recently and it went right through it. Even just feeling the edge, it doesn't feel near as smooth as my carbon steel blades (or even other non-s30v SS blades) after stropping. I'm getting really curious as to just how S30V differs from more traditional steels now.

But yeah, I'll be able to give a better review after the summer time, but I'm thinking this is going to turn into a great knife for me, just maybe a totally different type of steel than I've ever had...
 
rhino said:
When you strop/polish the edge, how well does it slice fibrous stuff like rope compared to a rougher, grabbier edge?
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I find a well-formed edge will still do these things well. If it's something like cardboard that can be push cut, you're fine. Some materials works better with a draw cut though. For instance, certain breads with crusty exteriors can be difficult to work through with a plain-edged knife with a high-polish, which is how I keep mine. I can still cut through the materials smoothly, but in these certain applications a toothier edge will excel.

Really though, if you have a thinned out edge and a very keen edge, the knife will have a good bite to it. When I reprofiled my Buck 110 flat to the stone, the way it went through cardboard compared to the stock edge amazed me. It was very highly polished too.

My S30V knife I currently EDC (Buck Hartsook) is also ground flat to the stone, then taken to 1200 grit sandpaper, then a loaded strop, then my pants leg for the final stropping. Fairly high polish for a knife edge. I find it keeps a good bite to it like this, much better than other S30V knives I used like a Spyderco Manix and Yojimbo at their stock edges. S30V has a tendency to get just under shaving sharp for me as easily as it does for others, but with the low edge angle and high polish I'm using on the Buck it seems to last pretty good. In the future, should I own anymore knives from this steel, I think I'll keep the edge angle extremely thin because it gives me good results.
 
I have not had good results getting a scary sharp edge on S30V. VG10 and 154V has produced much better results. This is vis-a-vis both production and custom knives. The best edge I had was on a CPM440V Spyderco Gunting.

I like that $30 belt sander set-up. How can I go about putting one together?
 
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I've never really stropped, so I may give it a try someday. The closest I've ever come was when I used to use a hard, black Arkansas stone that was originally used in a hospital to sharpen microtome blades. It was pretty each to get a Swiss Army Knife to shave facial hair without any pain with that, but then the edge would also slide over rope or even some kinds of tape. That's when I started using diamonds and found I liked the toothier edges better.

For what it's worth, I have one knife made of CPM S30V, a Cabela's Alaskan Guide Series Buck 110. With diamonds, it takes an edge about as sharp as any knife I own without much trouble. The geometry makes a big difference, of course, and I also reduced the angle to almost flat with the blade I get a much sharper edge on it than I do on my Buck 110 with BG-42 with the same amount of effort using the same tools.
 
WhitleyStu,
Nice pic. Where did you get the belt sander for $29.00? It looks like a Harbor Freight model but they're selling it for $39.00. Thanks.
 
Gene said:
WhitleyStu,
Nice pic. Where did you get the belt sander for $29.00? It looks like a Harbor Freight model but they're selling it for $39.00. Thanks.
Click to expand...

We have a Harbor Freight store in Fort Wayne, Indiana and these are always on sale for $29. Lots of other items are priced lower in the store than on their web site...
 
WhitleyStu said:
We have a Harbor Freight store in Fort Wayne, Indiana and these are always on sale for $29. Lots of other items are priced lower in the store than on their web site...
Click to expand...

Crap, I just bought mine from a local HF store (last weekend) and paid $39 for mine. Good score.

NJ
 
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