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BFK, I've only seen 50-50 on both steels from several different tests, and Ankerson stands by his opinion after all the testing he's done, that S110V out-cuts Maxamet by far. At the same time your experience is opposite, and to me, from all the discussion we've had over these two steels over 4 or 5 ...

How soft is raw tungsten? If it doesn't get pulled into a carbide it just gets left in the matrix as its own self, right? It's supposed to be very hard, just like cobalt, thus the confusion when reading the composition chart and all of us thinking it should be twice as tough as vanadium steels. How...

S110V is said to be one of the most stainless steels, I can't see it would give in to sweat or humidity exposure like that.

I never thought that the "working edge" that S30v settles into was enough for me. It'll stay paper-slicing sharp for a long while, but hair-shaving goes away pretty fast. I took a leap of faith a few weeks back and got an S110v PM2, and the factory edge continues shaving hair after some f...

I just stumbled upon a post by dj moonbat under //forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73533, regarding edge behavior of S30V and reflecting exactly my impression with it: I never thought that the "working edge" that S30v settles into was enough for me. It'll stay paper-slicing sharp...

If wear resistance was all that mattered we would all be using ceramic or carbide blades. Indeed. Would you agree then that in terms of versatility, for the most all-around use, that excels on the most fields and checks the most boxes while holding not an above-average but truly great edge... S110V...

The problem is, there's a lot of conflicting data suggesting counter-intuitive conclusions. For example Jim Ankerson's extensive tests show S110V well above Maxamet in edge retention and Jim swears by it. I've also seen a test between CPM 10V and Maxamet in retaining razor sharpness, with Maxamet wi...

To the point: Which steel has better edge-retention—stays razor-sharp longer?

Jim, I believe you're on record as liking S110V the most among Spyderco's production knives. Do you foresee Maxamet taking its place? Your test has certainly piqued my interest. Thanks for the report. As far as production knives go I still like S110V. May I ask why you prefer S110v? It seems your t...

Hi Bunker, Welcome to our forum. sal Thank you, Mr. Glesser, and let me be yet another person to thank you for the best knives out there. Just wanted to add: http://i.imgur.com/VwZuo6z.jpg That's very interesting. I wonder then, why tungsten alloys like MAXAMET hit higher HRC than S--V steels, unle...

These cumulatively have a complicated impact on the characteristics of the resulting alloy vs S90V, i.e. it's not as simple as you suggest. Of course you're correct—I am only using a shortcut in deduction here—and I'm not denying small differences between these alloys and their behavior. To me pers...

Thanks bear, and nice talking to you. :) I've never handled S110V, so if it doesn't fall far from 90, no point in getting it just to find out I should've tried MAXAMET. By the way, I just checked the composition for 90 and 110, only to discover that they're the same steel as far as vanadium content,...

Interesting, what does that 13% tungsten do on the toughness of the steel compared to S110V? Less prone to chipping? Not sure about toughness, especially considering much less chromium, but from what I read, it's supposed to form much harder carbides and therefore contribute to better edge support....

No worries there, these are only my own conclusions based on reading composition charts. See, what I need from a knife is to cut and nothing more, so really all I'm looking for is solid edge retention. Despite how many amazing alloys are out there, I've had a hard time finding one with truly solid e...

Now that the title got your attention, let's talk about some steel. Experience shows that vanadium steels (CPM S--V family) generally lose razor edge quickly, but retain very good overall sharpness for a long time. Both very high carbon content and the addition of vanadium try to counter the huge am...