Recently I sent in my production HEST/F 1.0 knife to DPX Gear customer service and they graciously (and quickly) sent me a replacement knife... a brand spanking new HEST/F 2.0 knife. Upon receiving and inspecting the 2.0, I knew that this would be my EDC for a long long time... I have no idea what bevel angle the factory puts on the HEST/f, but I do know that it has to be in the 50 plus degree inclusive range which is probably a good choice for a last ditch survival blade but not so good a bevel angle for an everyday carry option. I also EDC'd my HEST/f 1.0 folder and I simply convexed the edge on it and left it at that... the HEST/f 1.0 was an ok slicer being convexed and the D2 blade held that edge extremely well. I decided to go a different route with the edge bevel on the HEST/f 2.0 and got my edge pro apex out and proceeded to reprofile the edge bevel to 30 degrees inclusive with a mirror polished edge. That D2 is tough stuff as it took me almost 2 hours to reprofile and mirror polish the edge, but the end result is that this new HEST/f 2.0 knife will damn near spilt atoms and causes the air to bleed if you slash at the wind. It is definitely a much better slicer than the convexed HEST/f 1.0 I previously did... so i guess now we'll have to see how this setup on the new HEST/f does with edge retention at this bevel angle. Below is a pic of my re-beveled duty ready HEST/f 2.0 along side with my bone stock sterile LE HEST/f #28. I apologize in advance for the crappy pic, but I never claimed to be a photographer. :)
BTW, in the pic it looks like the blade has some dark spots along the edge... it does not, just some reflections in the mirror edge that I couldn't seem to avoid.
/dusty