Do high end steels stay sharp? Sure. The offset is that a blade steel that won't lose it's edge due to abrasion will also not regain an edge easily due to abrading it back with a finer grit stone. If it's abrasion resistant it's a two edge sword. Ahem.
S30V being a good example. Hard to dull it. Hard to get it back.
There is nothing wrong about using a steel you need to touchup. What the extreme steel does it allow you to abuse it for a longer time trying to cut things that needed a pair of tin snips or chisel. We ask a lot of modern knives and expect the expensive ones to put up a survival cabin in the wilderness. The reality is that the expensive steel is more ego than helper and the marketing about them appeals to buyers on that basis. A good 1095 blade and stone can do as much, and was the standard in it's day. Still works.
We've just gotten use to the fashion of always having a shiny polished blade that never blemishes along with losing the ability to sharpen the thing when needed. We buy the next blade in fashion and move on, sometimes before we've even begun to dull it. It's the luxury of having great knives and disposable income.
I'm willing to admit I have three different sets of sharpening hones and haven't used them in years. A medium crock stick handles most of what I need on the average inexpensive knives I actually use. I've been down that road and it was fun but all said and done it's just a sharp edge and I still don't build survival shelters with them. I have a chain saw for that - and the wood products go in the fireplace for heat in the winter. The knives sit in the dark with the rest of the socks. A $375 knife has some extreme levels of use it can endure but I can't anymore. No further need now, and it was arguable I needed it then.
The next knife on the way is a $17 folder, 440c with G10 grips and I don't plan on discarding the last, a $35 OTF with 440C blade and diecast handle. They are just knives. Whether they have a spring in them and what activates the blade is actually of little importance, it's the edge that does the work. Millions are sold every year no better than that and they are doing yeoman service daily around the country. And you can resharpen them.
S30V being a good example. Hard to dull it. Hard to get it back.
There is nothing wrong about using a steel you need to touchup. What the extreme steel does it allow you to abuse it for a longer time trying to cut things that needed a pair of tin snips or chisel. We ask a lot of modern knives and expect the expensive ones to put up a survival cabin in the wilderness. The reality is that the expensive steel is more ego than helper and the marketing about them appeals to buyers on that basis. A good 1095 blade and stone can do as much, and was the standard in it's day. Still works.
We've just gotten use to the fashion of always having a shiny polished blade that never blemishes along with losing the ability to sharpen the thing when needed. We buy the next blade in fashion and move on, sometimes before we've even begun to dull it. It's the luxury of having great knives and disposable income.
I'm willing to admit I have three different sets of sharpening hones and haven't used them in years. A medium crock stick handles most of what I need on the average inexpensive knives I actually use. I've been down that road and it was fun but all said and done it's just a sharp edge and I still don't build survival shelters with them. I have a chain saw for that - and the wood products go in the fireplace for heat in the winter. The knives sit in the dark with the rest of the socks. A $375 knife has some extreme levels of use it can endure but I can't anymore. No further need now, and it was arguable I needed it then.
The next knife on the way is a $17 folder, 440c with G10 grips and I don't plan on discarding the last, a $35 OTF with 440C blade and diecast handle. They are just knives. Whether they have a spring in them and what activates the blade is actually of little importance, it's the edge that does the work. Millions are sold every year no better than that and they are doing yeoman service daily around the country. And you can resharpen them.
