9260 edge retention

Thank you very much Cepheon. Those are the responses I'm looking for. Any more comments are very much appreciated.

Thanks again.

I have a tenchi. The edge holds up surprisingly well, even when mistakenly taking off sections of logs used to support water bottles. I have touched it up some but it holds up much better than the the 1045 I have.

I am unsure that a DH blade would be "sharper" than a TH blade of the same material, but it would have better edge retention. Any difference in sharpness would be minor due to the harder steel I would think.

we are mostly talking about Cheness here since they are the major player in 9260 katana.
I think the important information here is being lost a little bit.

while the steel type does play a part in edge retention and wear resistence, the heat treatment, and geometry of the edge play a greater part.

Cheness 9260 swords tend to have a slightly wider than normal edge angle or "niku" this supports the edge and helps it resist rolling and dulling but it will not feel as sharp as a blade with a narrower angle sharpened to the same extent.

Cheness is a production company and heat treats in batches so the heat treat will not be as good as one done alone and given individual attention or maybe it will. the point is they will vary. some will be better than others.

Cheness swords often don't feel very sharp because of their edge geometry and because they just don't sharpen them to a very fine edge. they don't need to.

if you leave the factory edge as is and ust touch it up from time to time it should hold that edge pretty well because it's a tough edge.

if you want it very sharp you can make it very sharp but it won't hold that edge as well as some other swords.

I've sharpened quite a few Cheness swords ad their TH ones want to keep their wider angled edge. 9260 wears pretty quickly compared to standard 10XX steels until it is brought to a very high hardness. this is why I like Cheness' Kaze but not their TH swords. the kaze's edge is hard enough to get its wear resistance up to where I like it.

on a similar note Brendon's Fable Blade swords are TH 9260 but they are an entirely different animal. his heat treat is very good and his geometry is amazing. I don't know how well their edges hold up over time but I expect it is better than production 9260 TH swords because his heat treat and geometry are better.

it's all down to what you want and what works for you. for most people cheness' 9260 TH katana are plenty sharp and hold their edge well enough to satisfy them.

So if the geometry and heat treatment are equal, a 9260 will not retain an edge as well as a 1060?

What Tom said! ;D

I have the Techi as well. I've cut lite, medium, and heavy plastic bottles. Also some branches and a cutting stand, once or twice. I have now had it for 1 year and have done nothing to the edge. Still like new, a little scuffing on the blade though.

The main reason I got the 9020 steel is because I realized that I would make mistakes in cutting. So I figured on sacrifice the paper cutting ability for durability. I'm glad that I did.

I've said it many times: the smith is what makes the real difference though the steel does play a part. with that being said I have found I prefer 5160 over 9260. on a production level I have a H/T EMSHS, a TFW Laring and I've worked on a H/T bastard all made of 5160 and they are both incredible blades that hold their edges ectremely well and are plenty tough. on the other side I have had Kaze, Cheness SGC, Tenchi, and Oniyuri pass through my hands and I have felt that the TH examples of those wore down quicker than I liked while the kazes held their edges well.

to compare 5160 to 9260 on a higher skill level:
I have worked on some Fable Blades which are made from 9260 and I own three Atrim swords made of 5160.
Brendon's work on the Fable blades is excellent and his heat treatment made his blades the best 9260 blades I have ever seen. they were consistant and took an edge well. I can't say how they have held that edge since they live with shadowhowler but the impression I got from them was that they will hold their edges quite well. especially the dagger sized one. in the other corner of this comparison I have my ATrim swords. only one of which I have had for enough time to evaluate it's edge retention. it has held its edge remarkably well. I sharpened it once a little more than a year ago and I haven't needed to sharpen it again. I have used it a lot and cut very heavy targets with it including a lot of bamboo and its edge is still very close to what it was a year ago.

the Atrims out perform the H/T production models made from the same steel. the H/T 5160 productions beat out the cheness 9260 productions but the 9260 fable blades beat everything except the full Atrims and I think the Fable Blade dagger will hold its edge better than the ATrim swords.

so while the steel plays a part it is the craftsman that makes the real difference. if you want to know how a Cheness sword holds its edge I will say that if you have a cheness TH sword don't worry about making it as super sharp as possible because it will not hold that edge but rather make the edge clean and smooth and wide (fat of niku) and let the sword do its work. a wide niku edge will be held very well by Cheness' 9260 and it is no coinsidence that a fat niku edge (relatively speaking) is just what Cheness puts on them. so keep your edge polished clean and smooth and free of flat spots and your Cheness sword will serve you well. a different sword may be able to take a narrower edge but that is going to depend on who makes it, how it is designed and, a little bit, on the steel itself.

I have the Cheness Ayame 9260. It is the first one I cut with, very badly at times. It has been through a Lot of cutting, plastic bottles of all types and the edge has held up very well. It is very forgiving. I hope you enjoy your new blade.