For some reason, it has to be hardened before it is ground. It might just harden quickly before there is time to grind it. That is one of the things that makes it so expensive. It takes a lot more work to grind. I'm not exactly sure why this is the case, but I would guess it would have something to do with the difference between carbide and nitride chemistry. H1 has almost no carbon in it. I've been "using" mine at work for a few weeks but its been way to light duty to really test the edge. Its still as sharp as it ever was. I think it will easily hold an edge better than your everyday kershaw. It probably won't come close to ATS-55 or M2, but I still think its at least as good or better than most knives out there. I do already have the feeling that it will out-perform CRKT AUS-8.

I don't have a lot of experience with the higher end kershaws, but all the kershaws people carry at work are 5 times more dull than my M2 Stryker that I used every day for 3 years until I lost it somehow(still never sharpened). My ATS-55 Rookie held up almost as well, but its on the bench now so the H1 and VG-10 can get a little time on the field. I cut mostly cardboard with some shrinkwrap and plastic bands mixed in. My Salt 1 does cut shrinkwrap a lot better than the Rookie, but I think that's more of a PE vs SE issue.