What’s your S45VN experience been?

After spending a couple of days at 22.5 degrees I decided to tape up and take another 1/2 of a degree off. I started with the extra course grit to set the angles at 22.0 degrees on each side. The S45VN on this blade again proved to be very cooperative as it took out further unevenness from the manufacturer. This S45VN is what I would call talkative in that if you are using a light enough touch you can feel and hear the vibrations of the stone on the steel maybe another way of saying this is that S45VN gives great feedback.

I could literally tell when I had reached 22 degrees and flipped a bur as the steel became more grabby on the stone so I would get off the more grabby areas and work the less grabby smooth feeling areas until they started grabbing and then finish with a whole side leveling stroke remaining mindful of the tip at all times.

After flipping and recalibrating with the digital angle cube followed the same procedure until the entire edge was grabby on both sides and then just used the weight of the stone finish up using tip to heal strokes 30 each side and touching up blending the tip, after this it was just running the remaining 4 grit progressions up to 1000 grit, On each grit progression 30 strokes each side and constant angle cube recalibration.

The recalibration might seem like a drag but after a while you get pretty fast with it and the Blitz is super easy to get fine adjustments swiftly.

The end result was nice even bevels and a sharp knife but I can tell I will not be staying at 22 degrees for long 21.5 here I come lets see how long I can resist playing with this steel.

So far I am finding S45Vn to remind me of CPM Cruwear in the ease of sharpening department but not quite that easy it just reminds me of Cruwear as a steel that seems to like to get sharp. Taking S45VN down 1/2 of a degree at a time may seem like a slow boat to China but I am maintaining excellent control and even bevels this way and it is actually more enjoyable than trying to take off a whole degree or two at a time. S45VN seems to cooperate very nicely when you do not try to hog off too much steel all at once.
 
Ok so far the Sebenza 31 is holding steady at 22 degrees and not really feeling a pressing need to lower the angle at this time, something I would like to add is I wanted to freshen up the blade a bit so I visually placed the edge on my Spyderco Galley V and gave the blade 5 light strokes first doing one side then the other so as to better keep my angle consistent after the first 5 swipes I could tell a difference and was amazed how nicely this steel takes to honing I wound up doing a total of 20 swipes per side as I did 5 at a time and did some magazine paper cut tests and at 20 followed up with a few alternating passes using feather light pressure I was very satisfied with the edge performance.

The Gally V is a great sharpener but Spyderco needs to tighten up their quality control as one side of the rods is not smooth and I have dealt with stuff like this before with their bench stones.

One last thing Syoderco got the size correct with the Galley V and honestly needs to make the sharpmaker the same size as those rods have always been to short for my taste.

Today I received a New in Box S45VN Umnumzaan it's future is that of a user and I took down a large box with it and also my Sebenza 31 that I have been writing about, both are S45VN Steel Knives they were both equally sharp and felt nearly identical gliding through cardboard. Very impressed with S45VN. Easy to sharpen, easy to hone and is holding a very nice edge as I cut through all kinds of things including hard plastics.
 
After not looking at new knives for … while I came back to see a new CPM steel. I thought well that figures… while I do watch DBK knives on YouTube it seems CPM steels aren’t their bag.

I’ve ordered a new EDC Inkosi in 45vn so we shall see if I can tell a difference between its brothers.

While I use Moras a lot these days I don’t think anyone cuts enough with pocket knives to tell.

I would be able to tell performance differences in bow saw blades more than anything else woodcraft related.
 
Great! Say where did you score an Inkosi? I am in the market for one as well. So far my large Sebenza 31 and Umumzaan in S45VN have been great.
SubaruSTi said:
After not looking at new knives for … while I came back to see a new CPM steel. I thought well that figures… while I do watch DBK knives on YouTube it seems CPM steels aren’t their bag.

I’ve ordered a new EDC Inkosi in 45vn so we shall see if I can tell a difference between its brothers.

While I use Moras a lot these days I don’t think anyone cuts enough with pocket knives to tell.

I would be able to tell performance differences in bow saw blades more than anything else woodcraft related
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SubaruSTi said:
Monkey edge
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Uh yeah about that... :) well I decided it was a fair price and I do miss my Insingo which is the only one they had available so.. Thank you for your assistance I just purchased a Large Incosi with Insingo Blade plain without inlays. S45VN by Chris Reeve really gets my approval. I tried touching up my Umnamzaan with the brown rods on the sharpmaker and it did not come out well.

Switched to the Spyderco Gally V and it works much better with Chris Reeve S45VN.
 
I don't remember the exact date that I got the knife but I've been carrying my black micarta 31 exclusively for 4 - 6 months. My knife are not hard users. I use them for daily tasks cutting up an apple, opening packages, tearing down boxes, and any other task that I need a knife for. I'm not cutting 1000 zip ties a day, tearing down 500 feet of cardboard, and cutting rubber tubing daily. With that being said s45 has been great for me. I just recently did a honing on a Spyderco fine rod because I had one spot that seemed to snag a little but would still totally sharpen. The knife responded well and is now good to go for a while.

Also, I've really come to like using the fine rod for this over a strop with diamond paste.
 
Do yourself a favor and get the Spyderco Gauntlet, I have many ways and sharpening tools but have recently discovered this works best with all my Chris Reeve S45VN as well as My PM2 S45VN and quite a few others. I consider this a honing device and it gives an finish that is sharp and smooth but does not slip.
 
Begggar_So said:
Do yourself a favor and get the Spyderco Gauntlet, I have many ways and sharpening tools but have recently discovered this works best with all my Chris Reeve S45VN as well as My PM2 S45VN and quite a few others. I consider this a honing device and it gives an finish that is sharp and smooth but does not slip.
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What does it provide the Sharp Maker doesn't? I usually don't use the SM base but only the rod in my hand.
 
3 things.

#1. It gives a different finish than the white rod on the Sharpmaker it is more aggressive finish but not coarse.

#2. The rod is longer.

#3. The cats eye design allows for more customization in how you sharpen, works great with serrations and anything with a recurve or a hawksbill.

It is also the same on the Spyderco Galley V but the Galley V is even longer.
 
My two main CRK users have been reprofiled on my WE Gen3 at 18dps and then use a micro bevel on my SharpMaker. Makes a great working edge that is easy to touch up. These days they still sit in a drawer as I'm still obsessed with my Maxamet based EDC these days.
 
Haven't done much cutting with this new Sebenza 31 yet, but the factory edge is much better than any I had on a 21. The PM2 I had in S45VN kept a screaming sharp edge for a lot longer than I expected it to, and it came right back with just a couple swipes on the strop.
 
I have a Maxamet Native and PM2. It is an interesting steel that I don't find hard to keep sharp at all.

T tomsch wouldn't mind seeing a picture of that 18 degree reprofile if you don't mind.

I have not been impressed with the Sebenza 31 in S45VN Factory edge whatsoever at all, but that was also true of the 21 in S35VN I sold a long time ago. The same is true of the Umnumzan also in S45VN. I wound up reprofiling the Sebenza on the TSPROF with an angle cube and maintaining it using the Spyderco Gauntlet. In fact, if not for S45VN impressing me so much on my Buck 110 I would never have bought another CRK!

The Zaan has not been reprofiled yet but it is going to happen pretty soon. I also have two Inkosi each in S45VN one Insingo and one clip point. Oddly enough both of these came in screaming sharp and are better slicers despite having a less deep hollow grind. Neither of these require reprofiling just a wee bit of honing here and there on the Gauntlet.

My thoughts are going in this direction if you pinch the blade between thumb and finger going from spine to edge in a sliding motion and use an old machinist's test down to the blade you will feel where it thickens on the Sebenza and Zan before you get to the bevel that forms the edge / apex. Seems to me this is why they are not as good of slicers compared the Inkosi which does not have this transition nor does the Spyderco Military family of knives or the Buck 110.

The Sebenza came in at 22.5 degrees from the factory, taking off 1/2 of a degree improved it immensely.

Out of all the S45VN Knives I own and taking into account blade geometry which is a huge factor I still think my Buck 110 in S45VN has the best iteration of S45VN.

Buck has the geometry down pat, they have the heat treatment dialed in and it really shows by how easy it hones and how well it holds a sharp edge.

After Buck It goes to Chris Reeve for the same reasons. Sadly I have small praise for Spyderco as is often the case with them they run steel too hard and it makes it brittle as I experienced with the PM2 in S45VN as the tip broke off and the edge chipped out while gently trying to remove a double AA battery from a plastic keyboard and I do mean gently these blades cannot handle lateral stress whatsoever at all from my experience.

The PM2 most certainly has incredible blade geometry for slicing as does the Para3 in S45VN which I also own.

Not getting down on Spyderco I own many versions of the Military, the PM2 and the Para 3 in different steels and this is just my experience with one of them in S45VN. In fact I purchased a Para3 in S45VN because I liked the steel so much and another PM2 and then fixed the damaged one. My Point is they have to be treated gently in S45VN, The one that chipped was a first run Green handled one so maybe they corrected the heat treat later? Don't know not interested in damaging blades to find out.
 
Thanks B Begggar_So for that detailed writeup.

I'm curious what angle others are sharpening their CRK S45vn to, and how is it workout for you in terms of cutting ability and durability?

I've seen a few youtube videos claim that sharpening to 15 DPS make the edge last longer, particularly on CRK S35vn. I don't really understand why that would be, but I've heard it a few times so I'm curious to learn more.
 
You are welcome, Over the years I have heard allot of things about different steels and their properties at lower angles and did a painful experiment. Using first a wicked edge 3 followed by a Hapstone 7 system and then by hand but those bevels needed a machine to even hope to get right and S90V is EXTREMLY wear resistant which you really find out what that means on a heavy reprofile and pretty much wiped out my 100 grit WEP. paddle. I finally finished with a Ken onion electric grinder and a TSPROF to dial the edge in.

When I read people writing the average person can't tell the difference between steels, I always think you are probably right but take the average person put them behind some sharpening equipment and take a stock 15 to 17 degree blade down to 10 degrees and they will swiftly receive an education about the differences between S90V and VG-10.

I took a Spyderco S90V Military purchased at a discount on EBAY since the previous user had really screwed it up trying to sharpen it he had parts down to as far as 10 degrees per side.

I turned this into a project knife and even stone washed it. This is where I got the idea of going down to 10 degrees using a digital angle cube. Saying you are sharpening at this degree or that is all well and good and highly subjective until you use measuring devices and yes the digital angle cube when properly used give the same result on a wep3 a hapstone 7 which is a little looser on tolerances and a TSPROF BLITZ360 AND KADET.

Next I took a new Spyderco Military CTS204P Blade steel and worked it down more or less to as close to 10 degrees pers ide as I could on the WEP Gen 3, it sat for a long time my 100-grit paddle was less aggressive than its counterpart on the other side which was 200 grit.

Finally a self stone washed Spyderco Straight spined Stretch in VG-10.

What I have observed is that the rumors are very true when you take a knife down to 15 degrees and even further down to 10 degrees per side you wind up with a slicing beast and the blade holds up just as well and stays sharper longer without a doubt.

The thing is this Spyderco's are pretty much purpose built to be slicers to start with, not all but most are very thin blade stock and even a stock Paramilitary 2 should not be used to pry with even lightly as the tip will break and I had that happen only twice once with an S45Vn PM2 and once with a S30V serrated Para3.

The para 3 was just cutting heavy cardboard. Chris Reeve knives by and large are stronger I can pry a battery out of a plastic keyboard without worrying about snapping of a tip and chipping the blade as happened with a S45VN PM2. So taking it down to 15 degrees should be fine you just have to be careful to hold the bevels in alignment towards the belly and the tip where the steel thickens more. If you do I would suggest using a TSPROF Blitz 360 and only do maybe .5 to 1 degree at a sharpening evn 1/2 of a degree from stock makes a big improvement.

At 15 degrees I have no more worries than I do at a stock 17 degree blade and yes it will perform better and stay sharper longer and still be tough enough for most sensible tasks even carving a 2X4 if you must at 10 degree I don't think so.

At 10 degrees the blades I have done as listed above are staying sharper than factory and are stupid sharp if I slice cardboard with my 31 Sebenza or Zan and compare the two the thinner stock Spydercos down to 10 degrees are like razor blades in comparison seriously they just glide through cardboard. They have not chipped or deformed.

I have been thinking of lowering the profile on my Sebenza 31 in S45VN even further but have been hesitant as that was a $550.00 knife, so I contacted Chris Reeve about purchasing a replacement blade if I really screw it up and here is what they had to say.

"You can absolutely purchase replacement blades. Blade replacements are $150 and there is currently a 6 to 9-month wait on them."

This was good news and I think I am going to order one, as I am eager to really play with this blade and get its geometry lower, so it cuts better, as you may be able to tell I enjoy discovering the different properties of different blade steels and S45Vn has caught my attention big time.
 
Begggar_So said:
take the average person put them behind some sharpening equipment and take a stock 15 to 17 degree blade down to 10 degrees and they will swiftly receive an education about the differences between S90V and VG-10.
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Hahahaha

What I have observed is that the rumors are very true when you take a knife down to 15 degrees [...] the blade holds up just as well and stays sharper longer without a doubt.
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Do you (or anyone) understand why this is? It certainly seems counterintuitive.
 
Another question - both TSPROF and Hapstone R2 have a convex edge attachment. I'm wondering if that's worth considering, to honor the design choice by CRK to keep these having a mild convex edge. I'm thinking of saying screw it and making it a V, but I'm curious if anyone has tried those attachments.
 
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