What steel has the sharpest edge? Already have S30V.... want to take it further

W

wacki

Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
319
Already have S30V, SR101 and a few other steels. What's the sharpest? Right now I'm under the impression that ZDP 189 is. It's brittle so people sandwich is w/ 440C.

Is that the top of the sharp end or is there something sharper?
 
The sharpest steel is the steel sharpened by the most skilled sharpener, I would think...

Although, if we're talking a mirrored super fine edge, I guess a steel with fewer and smaller carbides in it could get sharper than one with more and larger carbides.
 
The short answer is they all are capable of a nearly identical level of refinement, some are just easier than others to get to that point. Typically steels with tons of carbides are the most difficult to refine. Personally I've had extremely good luck with cpm-m4. I seem to be able to get cpm-m4 consistently sharper with less effort than any other steel I've used. Case CV and kershaw's 14c28n also get extremely sharp with relative ease but don't hold that edge anywhere near as long as m4.
 
ELMAX, CPM-154, SR-101 and 1085 get the sharpest for me in that order, i hear amazing things about CPM-M4 as well, the trick is getting a really fine grain structure it helps make a finer edge :D
 
Trick question.... Even two knives with the same steel from different manufacturers will have different heat treats, which will drastically affect the properties of each. So long as you know how to sharpen well, you can make nearly any steel hair popping sharp, but as mkjellgren said, some get there quicker than others...
That said, I always have had great luck with s30v, cpm m4, and d2
 
the steel you're holding, once you really get the hang of sharpening. it's not stretching it when i say s30v is as good as any (assuming it's a good knife.)
 
Dont know but i heard something about the powder steel(dont know if its what its called in english directly translated from Swedish) that fällkniven use in some of ther folders should be able to get scary sharp
 
Steel type has nothing to do with sharpness. You can get Mild steel just as sharp as ZDP or S30V.

Edge retention has to do with Steel type (and cutting edge geometry, heat treatment etc).

You're asking the wrong question.

Edit: well, almost nothing to do with sharpness. In general steel types with less carbides can attain a sharper edge than steels with large amounts of larger carbides. But in general you won't really notice the differene unless you attain a serious microscope.
 
Last edited:
Sharpest is really defined by what the minimum radius is possible on the cutting edge ! One of the finest is glass .Naturally occurring glass, obsidion, is used indelicete surgery of the eyes because of it's sharpness . I wonder if anyone has made a blade of graphene ?? That's a one atom thick sheet of carbon ?
 
the geomery of the blade and it's edge is what determines if it's sharp or dull. thing is - the type of steel determines how thin it can get before it can't hold anymore. you can compensate with sharpening skill, but that will mean that it's still a weak edge (even if razor sharp). the harder (not to be confused with toughness) the steel the sharper it can get.

that being said:
from what I know, the steels that make for the sharpest edges aren't used for the sort of knives you'r talking about. japanese carbon steels like white #1 (shirogami) and blue #2 (aogami). also blue #1 (rarer). those are often considered better then VG10 (for example). but those are used by japanese knife makers, and they are mostly used for japanese style knives - mostly kitchen knives.

there's O3 tool steel that I understand is similar to blue #2, might be more common in use for knife making.
there's the hi-tech powdered steels - all sort of stainless supersteels, but I hear they are a bugger to sharpen and cost too much in
 
Last edited:
greendude said:
from what I know, the steels that make for the sharpest edges aren't used for the sort of knives you'r talking about. japanese carbon steels like white #1 (shirogami) and blue #2 (aogami). also blue #1 (rarer). those are often considered better then VG10 (for example). but those are used by japanese knife makers, and they are mostly used for japanese style knives - mostly kitchen knives.

there's O3 tool steel that I understand is similar to blue #2, might be more common in use for knife making.
there's the hi-tech powdered steels - all sort of stainless supersteels, but I hear they are a bugger to sharpen and cost too much in
Click to expand...

Murray Carter uses those steels(at least some) in his neck knives if you must absolutely have those.
 
greendude said:
I don't spend that much money on my non-cooking related knives... :)
Click to expand...

Oooh, I forgot about my Caly in superblue...

sbcaly9.jpg
 
High carbon steels take a very fine edge, but geometry probably is as important as the steel. My sharpest is a Scandi in 1070 by Ivan Campos. Close runners-up (due to slightly different blade profiles, i.e., convex edges) are a Marble's Campcraft in 52100 from Mike Stewart's shop, Roselli Carpenter in Krupp W9, and a selection of wood carving chisels, probably something like 1095. They all pop hair.
 
LX_Emergency said:
Steel type has nothing to do with sharpness. You can get Mild steel just as sharp as ZDP or S30V.

Edge retention has to do with Steel type (and cutting edge geometry, heat treatment etc).

You're asking the wrong question.

Edit: well, almost nothing to do with sharpness. In general steel types with less carbides can attain a sharper edge than steels with large amounts of larger carbides. But in general you won't really notice the differene unless you attain a serious microscope.
Click to expand...

Not quite.

For any steel or alloy that a reputable knife maker would suggest for a blade, your statements would be somewhat accurate. However there are numerous offerings that are touted as straight razors that prove your statements to be completely wrong. If you like, I can point you to some resources where world renowned hone-meisters (a term reserved for HIGHLY skilled razor honers) have taken the challenge to make some of these blades shave ready (i.e. suitably sharp for shaving) and they cannot accomplish the task.
 
wacki said:
Right now I'm under the impression that ZDP 189 is. It's brittle so people sandwich is w/ 440C.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're referring to Spyderco here. Some of their Zdp blades come laminated in 420j but that's because the maker who produces those knives (caly series) doesn't have the means to cut full thickness Zdp so they stamp out thinner pieces of zdp and laminate them in 420j.

Spyderco also offers other models in solid Zdp (from other makers).
 
Grease said:

The sharpest steel is the steel sharpened by the most skilled sharpener...
Click to expand...



That's the answer right there, :thumbup: :cool: :thumbup:

...all steels can be made equally sharp, :eek:

...though the edge retention can vary quite a bit.




Big Mike
 
unit said:
Not quite.

For any steel or alloy that a reputable knife maker would suggest for a blade, your statements would be somewhat accurate. However there are numerous offerings that are touted as straight razors that prove your statements to be completely wrong. If you like, I can point you to some resources where world renowned hone-meisters (a term reserved for HIGHLY skilled razor honers) have taken the challenge to make some of these blades shave ready (i.e. suitably sharp for shaving) and they cannot accomplish the task.
Click to expand...

This is true. Don't worry about pointing out the "Hone Meisters" I know some of them quite well already. Like Lynn over at SRP.

What you're now stating is exactly what I'm talking about though. The reason those steels don't get sharp enough is due to the carbides in the steel. They create a rougher edge that isn't suitable for shaving.

So actually...I'm right.
The steels that are suitable for shaving (and thus can be made "sharper" are the ones with a finer grain structure. The ones that are cleaner. In general they won't hold an edge like the steels that DO have more carbides in them. But they WILL get sharper. Everything is a tradeoff in the end.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top