What kind of steel?

[clovishound]

I'd bet a couple grades of diamond plate would make short work of sharpening the S30V blade. Just don't let it get really dull. I have used diamond plates to sharpen high speed steel. That is some tough stuff.

One thing not often discussed is the quality of the edge. Some steels have a different "grain" structure and will not take as smooth an edge as others. 1095 is probably the king here, and likely the reason it is used so much for woodworking tools. You need an extremely sharp, smooth edge as the blade is not used in a "sawing" motion, but rather it is mostly using a straight on push. A knife is normally pushed laterally as well as straight on when cutting, so a coarser edge can be effective. I wouldn't want to shave with it though.

I have a Buck folder that someone gave me. He found it in a car he purchased. It had the tip broken off. I carefully reshaped it, and sharpened it. I would assume from an above reference that it is 420HC. It was a decent blade IMO, but I still think I would prefer 1095 for a daily user. It won't take as keen an edge as 1095, and takes longer to do so. I put as good an edge as I could on it, and put it in my hunting backpack. I pull it out and resharpen at the beginning of each hunting season.