The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Lesson learned re: hard vs. soft steel and straight vs. serrated

FirstFreedom · September 2, 2007, 09:02 PM

Note to self & others - New rule on knives:

If you're buying a premium very hard steel, get a straight edge, not a combo edge (partially serrated). Put another way, for serrated knives, get softish to medium-hard steel.

Have two Kershaw G10 / S30V knives. As you may know, S30V is a very hard premium stainless steel. One of these two Kershaws is a combo edge. For the life of me, I cannot get the serrations sharp again now, after much tinkering with tapered diamond rod sharpeners made for serrations.

Always gonna get an easy-to-sharpen straight edge in the future on steels like this which are hard to sharpen. They hold an edge well, but damn near impossible to get there it seems on the serrated part.

Any tips would be appreciated. Hopefully someone will learn from my mistakes.

Going no harder that 440 C or AUS 8 on stainless combo edges from now on. I like the combo edges for many tasks, if they're sharp, but if they're dull, they're actually *worse* than a dull straight edge, it seems.

September 2, 2007, 09:02 PM	#1
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Lesson learned re: hard vs. soft steel and straight vs. serrated Note to self & others - New rule on knives: If you're buying a premium very hard steel, get a straight edge, not a combo edge (partially serrated). Put another way, for serrated knives, get softish to medium-hard steel. Have two Kershaw G10 / S30V knives. As you may know, S30V is a very hard premium stainless steel. One of these two Kershaws is a combo edge. For the life of me, I cannot get the serrations sharp again now, after much tinkering with tapered diamond rod sharpeners made for serrations. Always gonna get an easy-to-sharpen straight edge in the future on steels like this which are hard to sharpen. They hold an edge well, but damn near impossible to get there it seems on the serrated part. Any tips would be appreciated. Hopefully someone will learn from my mistakes. Going no harder that 440 C or AUS 8 on stainless combo edges from now on. I like the combo edges for many tasks, if they're sharp, but if they're dull, they're actually worse than a dull straight edge, it seems.