So what's the top contender for all around "super steel" these days?

[sbaker345]

Back when I first got into knives M390 with CTS 204P were both highly regarded as perhaps the ideal blend of amazing corrosion resistance, top tier edge retention yet also quite tough, Though S110V was king as far as edge retention as far I remember while also being absurdly corrosion resistant, while I found S110V to be quite tough, at least far tougher than claimed. I do feel like it also being one of if not the most difficult steels to sharpen for most people probably relegates it more towards a specialty steel.

So what's the current verdict on the contenders for best all around "super steel". Knives that have top tier edge retention, great toughness and yet still remain very much stainless, rather than "semi stainless" like 3V.

[Abyss_Fish]

MagnaCut. Nuff said.

[aaronkb]

Until Magnacut is actually a production knife steel, k390 because stainlessness is silly in most contexts

And maybe even once it is, if you value edge retention over extreme stainlessness and toughness

[vivi]

If stainlessness is a requirement, I'd probably go with 204p. Holds an edge very well, quite stainless, sharpens more easily than I expected.

If stainlessness isn't a requirement, K390 holds an edge better than anything else I've used.

For my personal uses, can't beat H1. It has the best balance of attributes that matter to me.

[kobold]

I am really happy with my Maxamet, S90V, S110V and Rex45 knives. They are the reason I am in no hurry to buy K390 or MagnaCut even.
And none of them are match for my DMT diamond plates. Diamond and CBN sharpeners are equalizers - all steels can be sharpened in just a few minutes. S110V might need a tiny bit more work on a ceramic finishing stone compared to the others, not a big deal.

[Fireman]

Super is subjective based on what you will put it through (literal and non literal)

Corrosion resistance
I live and work by or on the ocean and I expose knives to water and or sweat so my corrosion needs are high but not essential.

Toughness
I need a knife to be tough because of the potential tasks I may need it to do where a dull knife is better than a broken knife in an emergency situation so my needs rank this as essential, above high.

Edge retention
A dull knife can be dangerous in terms of not performing in an emergency situation but I sharpen regularly because that is my habit over decades so edge retention would be essential for most but for be it ranks as high I keep with me at least one means of sharpening.

Ease of sharpening
This is ranked as high for me based on my usage and frequency of sharpening.

The one available steel that meets these requirements for me is LC200N.

Your “super” may vary.

[Airlsee]

Not to be dismissive, but knife steels have pretty much plateaued. Proper heat treat & geometry are much more important factors.

That's why we're all so excited for the next actual steel designed for knives, which is Magnacut. S30V changed the market, and personally I'm expecting Magnacut to do the same. S30V was designed with the help of a great knife maker, Magnacut was designed by THE PhD knifesteelnerd.

If you're just looking for conversation or answers then my vote goes to K390 & Vanax Superclean depending on how important corrosion resistance is to you. Vanax has been good in my uses, but I don't have uses that will push the steel. From other's tests/reporting's I am left to wonder why Spyderco hasn't used it yet. I'm sure there's been discussion about it, but I haven't gone down that rabbit hole.

My top recommendations depending on use would be K390, Vanax, S90V, Rex45, 4V or LC200N.

Magnacut is floating alone in hype-land until we actually start getting our hands on it, and hopefully it exceeds expectations. I'm pretty sure that's impossible at this point, since we'll find ways to complain once lightsabers are accessible to all, but that's fine.

Something's gotta push R&D.

[Airlsee]

Just to add:

Now I'm imagining all the arguments over saber beams being too thick, too short, too long, too thin, sh*tty hot spots from the under-developed handles, etc...

At least the matter separation industry has a robust future...

[chronovore]

Until Magnacut is actually a production knife steel, k390 because stainlessness is silly in most contexts

And maybe even once it is, if you value edge retention over extreme stainlessness and toughness

It might seem silly if you live in a cool or dry place, don't sweat much, aren't around the ocean, etc. For a lot of people, a little corrosion resistance is anything but silly. For some people in some environments, it's a big deal.

Summers are humid where I live and I tend to sweat when I'm active. I can carry D2 three seasons out of the year with minimal maintenance. In the summer though, it can be a losing battle. Some guys aren't bothered by a little spotting, hazy spots, etc. I don't like it, even on budget beaters. So why even have that as a possibility if it isn't necessary?

My EDC needs are adequately met by stainless budget steels such as VG-10, N690, 14C28N, and WE's 9Cr18Mov. Of course, who wants adequate? Some "super" stainless options include M390/20CV, S110V, and Vanax. I don't know if the following are "super" or "premium" but I'm very interested to try S45VN, SPY27, and MagnaCut.

[RamZar]

The M390/CPM-20CV/CTS-204P gets my vote for the current “Super Steel” (since 2013) based on my needs of high corrosion and wear resistance. Where you encounter salt water, sand and sweat you need corrosion resistance and you only need to service the edge once every few months. Back in 2005-2006 my “Super Steel” was CPM-S30V (regular great non-powdered steels were N690, 154CM and VG-10).

[vivi]

Until Magnacut is actually a production knife steel, k390 because stainlessness is silly in most contexts

And maybe even once it is, if you value edge retention over extreme stainlessness and toughness

It might seem silly if you live in a cool or dry place, don't sweat much, aren't around the ocean, etc. For a lot of people, a little corrosion resistance is anything but silly. For some people in some environments, it's a big deal.

Summers are humid where I live and I tend to sweat when I'm active. I can carry D2 three seasons out of the year with minimal maintenance. In the summer though, it can be a losing battle. Some guys aren't bothered by a little spotting, hazy spots, etc. I don't like it, even on budget beaters. So why even have that as a possibility if it isn't necessary?

My EDC needs are adequately met by stainless budget steels such as VG-10, N690, 14C28N, and WE's 9Cr18Mov. Of course, who wants adequate? Some "super" stainless options include M390/20CV, S110V, and Vanax. I don't know if the following are "super" or "premium" but I'm very interested to try S45VN, SPY27, and MagnaCut.

I've said it before, but for me H1 and LC200N take less work to maintain than K390 or S30V.

Sharpening them is very fast, and I don't have to worry about rust at all.

K390 and S30V can go longer between sharpenings, sure. But they take a little longer to sharpen. I also have to break down those knives and clean corrosion off blades, liners, etc.

So despite not holding an edge as long, the rust proof folders require a lot less maintenance per year.

[Matus]

One could do worse than k390 and S90V ... given that one has the means to sharpen them.

[RamZar]

Are H1, LC200N and Vanax SuperClean truly rust “proof” or just very highly corrosion resistant?

[Evil D]

I gotta say, I just deleted what was maybe the most jaded and synical post I've ever typed. This topic always gets me, because if it goes on long enough you'll see almost every steel available mentioned. I really wish we could all participate in a blind test of 20 or so popular steels in the exact same blade grind/etc and really see where that goes. Someone on here recently said something to the effect of steels falling into ranges or categories where they're so similar to each other that it's so unlikely that you could actually pick them apart from each other in a blind real world test, and that really stuck with me. I just feel like so much of this topic has become placebo..."it's best on that bar graph so it's the one I like the most" when if you really used that steel vs 10 of the ones similar to it you'd never tell them apart.

And THEN you factor in edge angle, edge grit, blade grind geometry, and all those steel properties start to mud together and their subtle differences stand out less and less.

I dunno. This post ended up pretty jaded too.

[Airlsee]

I gotta say, I just deleted what was maybe the most jaded and synical post I've ever typed....

And THEN you factor in edge angle, edge grit, blade grind geometry, and all those steel properties start to mud together and their subtle differences stand out less and less.

I dunno. This post ended up pretty jaded too.

With the full understanding that I'm saying "look at me", "look over here"...

Is my post just not showing up on other people's screens? Is this an IG/Facebook situation? Is that what the forum update was about?

I feel like I just said all of this. Maybe it was convoluted and vague.

The argument over blade steels, is dumb, boring, and has been beaten to death. Until something game changing comes along it's all about your particular uses and needs. Heat treat and geometry are more instrumental and more impactful to the everyday user than which super steel am I missing out on.

[aaronkb]

Phone was acting up and I somehow submitted this twice, ignore

[aaronkb]

Until Magnacut is actually a production knife steel, k390 because stainlessness is silly in most contexts

And maybe even once it is, if you value edge retention over extreme stainlessness and toughness

It might seem silly if you live in a cool or dry place, don't sweat much, aren't around the ocean, etc. For a lot of people, a little corrosion resistance is anything but silly. For some people in some environments, it's a big deal.

Summers are humid where I live and I tend to sweat when I'm active. I can carry D2 three seasons out of the year with minimal maintenance. In the summer though, it can be a losing battle. Some guys aren't bothered by a little spotting, hazy spots, etc. I don't like it, even on budget beaters. So why even have that as a possibility if it isn't necessary?

My EDC needs are adequately met by stainless budget steels such as VG-10, N690, 14C28N, and WE's 9Cr18Mov. Of course, who wants adequate? Some "super" stainless options include M390/20CV, S110V, and Vanax. I don't know if the following are "super" or "premium" but I'm very interested to try S45VN, SPY27, and MagnaCut.

I live in a city that’s nicknamed the swamp and I work on my feet all day

The crux of my point is that it’s silly IMO to care about spotting. Maybe it helps that I’m an essential worker, and before we all knew better I was sanitizing everything on my person whenever I got home. The sanitizer managed to rust the **** out of my M390, s30v etc…. Which really put minor spotting in perspective for me. My k390, rex 45, and m4 knives give me the best performance and sharpening experience, and I’m happy to accept they might not look like they just came out of the box.

[Airlsee]

Are H1, LC200N and Vanax SuperClean truly rust “proof” are just very highly corrosion resistant?

I have no idea, but Pete from "Cedric & Ada Gear and Outdoors" had some of the same questions and made videos about the observations.

Vanax Observation

LC200N Observation

H1 & LC200N Observation

[Evil D]

I gotta say, I just deleted what was maybe the most jaded and synical post I've ever typed....

And THEN you factor in edge angle, edge grit, blade grind geometry, and all those steel properties start to mud together and their subtle differences stand out less and less.

I dunno. This post ended up pretty jaded too.

With the full understanding that I'm saying "look at me", "look over here"...

Is my post just not showing up on other people's screens? Is this an IG/Facebook situation? Is that what the forum update was about?

I feel like I just said all of this. Maybe it was convoluted and vague.

The argument over blade steels, is dumb, boring, and has been beaten to death. Until something game changing comes along it's all about your particular uses and needs. Heat treat and geometry are more instrumental and more impactful to the everyday user than which super steel am I missing out on.

Not sure what you mean? Should I have quoted you and said "ditto" or something? Honestly I don't always read every post before I post. I post between doing things at work, lots of skimming happens.

[Airlsee]

Not sure what you mean? Should I have quoted you and said "ditto" or something? Honestly I don't always read every post before I post. I post between doing things at work, lots of skimming happens.

Heard and understood. I quoted you, but was not targeting you in the quote, if that makes any sense.

It was more just expressing the same frustration that I feel like most of us have when this topic comes up. People look for the steel to be the end-all be-all, and that's just not the case.