CTS-XHP - edge finish testing- Spyderco Chaparral 

Cedric & Ada Gear and Outdoors I think XHP takes a nice edge toothy or polished, but there aren’t many super steels I take to a high polish, so with XHP I usually can’t resist the opportunity. It is a great knife steel. By the way, thanks for the share.

Woodward IV I’m still a little surprised how much I like this knife. The build quality is very nice.

Devin Durnell thanks.

J Lee kme should work just fine

AK album reviews thank you.

Aubrey Hummer correct.

SuperSteel Steve thanks. Give me a shout when you get the channel going so I can check it out.

Michael Christy yea man you got it.

little woody I agree, I think Cold Steel did great with it.

Herb Toker yup.

Joshua Briggs thank you. I may pick up another Chaparral, but only because I want to really put this one through a lot of use, kind of like I did with my ZDP Endura. As for draw cut tests, I’m not real big on spreading out the wear across an entire blade. I may end up doing something like that eventually, but it would take me some time and practice to get comfortable with another testing method.

Thank you for the quick reply Michael. Obviously establishing and maintaining equal draw cuts requires incredible dexterity and skill of which I'm quite sure you're capable given your nearly cyborg like Proficiency in free hand sharpening. LOL you are the bomb! On a serious note, I'm just alluding to the commonly held opinion that a toothy carbide rich edge provides more advantage on draw cuts vs the advantages of a polished edge for push cuts. Obviously there are human limitations in trying to scientifically evaluate this phenomenon. Once again thank you for your efforts in your videos; they are really enjoyable and among the best on RU-vid on the subject of knives and sharpening. :)

Randy Parker the angle guide is an accessory for the Tormek Sharpening system. They’re available on Amazon. Just search “Tormek angle setter”.

Reinen Ruud it might look funny on the Techno, but that’s subjective. I think XHP would be fine at 14 DPS.

ShesSusie because XHP doesn’t have enough vanadium in it to form vanadium carbide, so sticking with alumina waterstones is no problem.

Stephen Carter for diamond sprays and pastes, I typically use leather or basswood. I don’t buy a particular brand of leather. Instead I look for the surface I want which varies based on the abrasive I’m using and how I plan to use it.

@@michaelchristy4982. Thank you for the reply.

I’m thinking of ordering some

Mike B I think they’ll have some similarities, but I think the result of the final comparison will depend on heat treat, so we’ll have to wait.

Joshua Burkhead I have a lot of leather these days. I go back and forth. Also, I’ve been using very expensive compounds lately, which I prefer on leather.

Michael Christy that makes sense. When you use wood is it like a one and done kind of thing? Like you throw the wood away every time after you use it? I've never used wood so I have no clue what it's all about.

corismsyn XHP is a great steel, but it’s no where close to S110V. Moving from one kind of cardboard to another can cause a huge difference in edge retention and in the numbers. When looking at my testing, don’t try to compare one test’s cut numbers to another, because I use different mediums and the result won’t be accurate.

Michael Christy Yes I understand and that's what I meant when I said there were different variables. Sorry my comment wasn't clear. I have a Recon 1 in XHP and it seems to lose hair popping shaving sharpness really quickly after going through cardboard. Sharpening was on DMT coarse to EEF, no strops. I wonder if it's the steel or my sharpening. Conversely my factory edge PM2 S110V still cuts magazine paper fairly effortlessly after 2 - 3 weeks of EDC and cutting some cardboard. Doesn't shave hair though.

Luka Mosashvili I used to use Arkansas stones years ago. I don’t think that Arkansas stones are as hard to Spyderco’s ceramic stones, but I still may pick up a black Arkansas just to try it out.

Michael Christy wow thanks :)) I've asked this question about 5 times now and finally got the reply :)) I'd like to say thanks for your videos. I've learned sharpening from them and I have watched all of them several times. You have very good way of explaining things. I'd love to see if you can sharpen rockstead. I'm wondering whether there is any practicality in those knives, or you have to keep sending them back to factory for shaping the whole life. Thanks!

Matthew Forrest I think that they’re similar, but I think that ZDP come out on top in edge retention. XHP just doesn’t have the composition to compete with ZDP.

Michael Christy yeah probably, carpenter says xhp and 204p have similar wear resistance. But when you were talking about how to describe xhp I’d say it is like a more user friendly zdp.

Do you recommend a mirror polish on zdp? I’ve heard some say to leave it alone after the fine stones.

Nick Macaluso zdp does better with a high polish

KnivesAreMyLife I do my best.

EDnaut Lol. You really worried about the small weight increase of a stainless back spacer? The Chaparral is an extremely light knife, even with the SS back spacer.

Michael Christy, take a look around, we are a long way down the rabbit hole!

Jovonn Trujillo I don’t really like doing rope cut tests, which is why I don’t.

Mos Matic no, sorry. I just use the sharpening supplies, I don’t sell them. You could always get in touch with Ken Schwartz.

Michael Christy copy... thanx man.

Dmontes depends on the steel.

Michael Christy it would be 3v , s30v , s35vn and s110v

And m4

Dmontes for those I would use diamond and ceramic.

Thanks !

Daniel Wu there’s a lot that goes into this kind of sharpening. The cost would be pretty high.

The Ace the tools are out there to go farther.

Michael Christy yeah. So far I feel I've done quite well for the money spent. DMT XC, C, F, and EF bench stones (plates one day), as well as cheap oil based diamond compounds on basswood and leather. The stones are $37 apiece, strops were $15 (i have 3), and compounds are about $12. I also have several diamond powders ($8 on ebay) that I use to increase the concentration of diamonds in cheap compounds. Stropping on dry powder alone cuts very aggressively as well. Everything I have is diamond except for a tube of 3 micron Tormek honing compound ($14 for a large tube), that I additionally load with 3 micron diamond powder when necessary. I always treat sharpening as practice and experimentation, and I keep trying different recipes for the edge I want. I've found that I can achieve a hair whittling edge skipping from 1 micron all the way to 0.1, even on s110v. It doesn't take long at all, so I don't find myself using 0.5 or 0.25 much anymore. I'm wondering how far I can skip down to if I want to load my 3rd strop with extremely fine compound or spray. Maybe I can get away with 0.025 after 0.1. What do you think? I have been freehand sharpening for over 20 years but it is solely because of you that I have started stropping, and although I try to minimize stropping and never let it be a crutch for achieving high sharpness, it has allowed me to take my edges to the next level. I have a spyderco UF stone on my radar.

The Ace I recently decided to get into knives and freehand sharpening. I also went with a set of 4 DMT diamond plates (8”x3” XC, C, F, XF). Also got a dual-sided leather paddle strop along with a block of green honing compound and 4 bottles of diamond spray (Richmond brand - 1, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125). Looking forward to that stuff getting here so I can get out some cheap knives and start practicing! Any tips or suggestions?

@@johnmpifer on your first strop, try stropping on wood when you're going for a fine edge. It will remove the 1200 grit scratch pattern (left by the DMT XF) more quickly and will keep your bevels flat. Leather can convex your bevels and even round off your apex if you are applying too much pressure or not maintaining the proper angle. Sharpening is about keeping your angle and forming an apex. Your knife should be extremely sharp after the very first stone you use before moving on.

Jim Parker the Chaparral is a great model.

RMFN congrats.

Michael Christy You were my muse

It's pretty cool right? A bro gave me a hint to use less pressure with my strops and I was whittling hair in a jiffy. I could always do ok but the lighter pressure in finishing really helped me out a lot.

What help u most to get that level skill to make it hair whittling sharp

sebastian faix that’s an interesting request. You don’t think I’ve covered the Military enough?

yes but you dont havy any video about cpm s30v and i love thet steel and i im intereset what you think about thet steel ':)

sebastian faix my video on the Para 3 (my first Para 3 video) talks about S30V.

Im sorry i didnt notised tahat you have thet video And i agree vith you on thet s30v I have one more ansver on you i tested corodion on 3V i leave IT for one Day in vater And nathink hapend then i look at how much IT have Cr And C when i saw IT i think About vhen you hawe less carbon you also need less Cr to prevent the steel from corosion what are you think About thet?

Oldcoinsandstuff1 I got it off Amazon.

SGANET I think Rex 45 would be ahead in edge retention if that’s what you were asking.

Michael Christy LoL thanks for the response, this was the first video I watched, I then watched another dozen video of yours and bought a satin PM-2 CPM-10V 😂

Mike Sloan Spyderco isn’t ripping you off... You have to choose to buy the product. If you think the price is too high, buy something else.

I suppose I need to put it another way to prevent others from splitting hairs (ha ha) .... yes Spyderco prices are always too high for what it is they have... yes their products and workmanship are typically good BUT so are many others at a MUCH lower price. The best thing spyderco provides is consistency in workmanship and good warranty but not at those inflated prices, their knives don't even have much originality or "style"..... they all start looking very much the same after a while... apart from the different steels used, if you have owned one Spyderco you have owned them all.... So, Don't buy these F'ing Knives you are RIPPING YOURSELF OFF if you do............ imho

Far I know my sharpening is consistent because I check the angles in an angle guide. If you don’t like my delivery (and want fewer words), that’s understandable. The simple answer is, don’t watch the videos.