Crusader Forge VF01 Flipper

My latest, a Crusader Forge VF01 Flipper.

Specs:

Length open: 8.3 inch (21,1 cm)
Length closed: 4.9 inch (12,5 cm)
Blade length: 3.3 inch (8,5 cm)
Blade thickness: o.2 inch (4,9 mm)
Steel: triple tempered CPM-S30V
Hardness: 59-60 HRC
Handle material: 6AL4V Titanium
Weight: 265 grams

Clip & review: http://www.edgeobserver.com/?cat=82

Close-up of the blade with an edge angle of about 50 degrees inclusive, the main reason why it doesn't cut too well.

Exploded view with Nylatron washers & a rather thin pivot pin for such a big folder;

I just finished reprofiling the edge on the Tormek T7 and the blade is now clamped in the Wicked Edge for finer sharpening & polishing.
The triple tempered S30V is noticeably more difficult to sharpen than the S30V from Strider, Spyderco & Chris Reeve, and it also behaves differently.
Normally this steel needs quite a lot of refinement steps with various grits to form a clean edge which can be used for cutting, but this stuff already forms quite a good edge after only gritsize 100.
As a comparison; after the same gritsize 100 the edge on my Strider SMF looks like somebody's broom when seen through a magnifying glass.

More pics to follow.

Currently busy with the 200 grit diamond stones;

@ Kanif: will post a picture of the framelock's cutout when i put the knife back together again,

Zitat von bodoubles

What does the black lines on the upper area of the blade means?
You'll put a false- or even an sharp edge one on top unless I'm very much mistaken ...?!

All the best, Ben

Hi Ben,

The black lines you see on the upper area of the blade are the outlines of the Tormek knife clamp; because i had to remove quite a lot of very wear resistant S30V steel to reprofile the edge to a smaller inclusive angle i chose to use my Tormek T7 wet-sharpening machine for that job.
But because that clamp was designed for more narrow blades the reprofiling results would be uneven on the almost 5,0 mm thick Crusader Forge blade, that is why i had to turn the blade over inside the clamp after i finished reprofiling one side of the edge.
The black lines helped me to re-clamp the blade in the correct position.

Currently i'm almost done with the 400 grit diamond stones;

After the 600 diamond grit stones;

After the 800 grit wet & dry paper taped to the stones;

Zitat von master747

Looks really nice and constant but why did you also sharpen the choil?

gruß

The hollow grinding on both sides of the blade already starts to thicken before the heel of the edge is reached, so i had to remove metal there to accomodate for the diamond paddles to be able to reprofile the actual edge to 30 degrees inclusive, and i had to remove more metal in the back to even things out.
Otherwise the would have been a big gap.
It's pure necessity and i don't like it any more than you do.

This is a shot of the actual edge angle this blade is going to get;

There is a small difference in bevel width between both sides of the blade, but i think that has got to do with these blades not being made with the use of CNC equipment.

These two pictures showcase the reason why i had to remove metal behind the actual edge.
The black lines show the beginning of the ramp from the hollow grind part to the full thickness of the blade , which as you can see is different on both sides of the blade.
Reprofiling to around 30 degrees inclusive with the Wicked Edge sharpener wouldn't have been possible without first removing quite a bit of metal in that region.
As soon as i have finished the edge i hope to get both sides more even with the help of a small diamond file.

After the 1000 grit wet & dry paper taped to the stones;

After the 1200 grit wet & dry paper taped to the stones;

Here is my Wicked Edge set-up, screwed on to an old wooden cutting board with rubber feet instead of a granite slab.
Currently taped to the stones is cut to size 1500 grit Silicium Carbide (SiC) wet & dry paper.
I only use SiC paper because it cuts every kind of carbide in the steel cleanly, and when it's time for the diamond compounds i apply this to the backside of the used pieces of wet & dry paper, which are then taped to the stones again.
Useful stuff i tell you,

After the 1500 grit wet & dry paper taped to the stones;

After the 2000 grit wet & dry paper taped to the stones;

After 6 micron (3000 grit) diamond polishing paste on the backside of the earlier used wet & dry paper;

Currently busy with 3 micron diamond polishing paste (8000 grit) on the backside of the earlier used wet & dry paper; slowly but surely we're getting somewhere,