Ranking the Steel Ranking Articles

[Larrin]

The most meta of any of the articles I have written: an analysis of other articles. I took the top 5 articles that provided ratings of various knife steels and I rated their ratings. I also critiqued their descriptions of steel properties that preceded the ratings. Then I ranked the rankings using criteria that was just as objective as the articles themselves.

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/09/03/ ... -articles/

[kodai78]

Thanks for posting this. I find your articles informative and educational. I am not a metallurgist but I still find the articles understandable if I read carefully.

[Tucson Tom]

Nice. Yes you nitpick a bit, but you make up for it by knowing what you are talking about. At least I think you know what you are talking about, but how would I know -- but I'll trust you. And some humor too -- so, do you call your mother as often as you should?

I remember reading some of these articles when I was first grasping for clues. I still am of course, but I have some clues now. Someday I'll take the time to read all the articles on your site. I should pick up some kind of basic text on metallurgy someday. I need to find out what Martensite and Austenite are and all of that so I can throw big words around with the best of them.

Thanks for putting this together.

[Calicoast]

Thanks for posting Larrin.

Think I need to try some: Elmax, S110V.
Enjoying M390, and M4.
C

[Larrin]

so, do you call your mother as often as you should?

Always!

[Chumango]

Larrin, you have probably seen these, but - there are a couple of rankings made by the steel manufacturers, though perhaps a bit dated. This one is the most comprehensive.

Click on Knife Steel Basics here, and scroll to page 4.

http://www.crucible.com/Products.aspx?c=25

Others give partial rankings, such as Bohler, but I can't seem to find it right now (CATRA results, toughness charts). Did they just change names and change their web sites? Specialty Metals LLC has comparison charts on the data sheets for steels they sell, such as the one for CTS-204P. I don't know where they came up with the data.

http://sb-specialty-metals.com/staticpr ... ine-store/

[Larrin]

I decided not to evaluate the manufacturer ratings. There is reason to be skeptical of some of the ratings but the reasons for the potential discrepancies are different and I decided they are too different to evaluate within the same article.

Bohler-Uddeholm was purchased by voestalpine in 2008. B-U itself was already a merger of the two named companies. A couple months ago voestalpine changed the name from Bohler-Uddeholm to voestalpine High Performance Metals. They redid the websites and removed a bunch of content. Links are broken all over the place.

[bacmapei]

Larrin,

Another note of appreciation and thanks. Like Snopes for steel - thanks for sharing.

[DHaze]

Larrin, Thank you very much for all your time and energy to research and share the information you have already done.
I look forward to each and every article you release.
I would to mention the Steel Chart on Creely Blades website for your consideration.

[blueblur]

Thanks for sharing. An informative article.

[JD Spydo]

Another really cool subject you bring to the table Larrin :) And I knew there was a reason I've become so fanatical about my Spyderco M390 Military model Not only is that all great information you share with us but most of it is easy to understand for the most part. Understanding the properties of different blade steels really sheds a lot of light on which one would be ideal for your own unique situation. Not everyone needs the rust/corrosion proof properties of H-1 or LC200N. To me there are so many trade offs with those nitrogen based steels that I pretty much only use them in very corrosive environments.

And truthfully some people just simply don't mind sharpening a blade frequently if that particular blade steel is relatively easy to sharpen. I just wish we could find more raw data on what makes certain steels ideal for serrations or Spyderedges. Because serrations sure work better with a completely different set of properties. Take H-1 for instance>> it really has a lot to be desired in plain edge but yet Spyderco's extensive tests they did showed H-1 to be the best blade steel they've tested yet for serrated edges. And I would have never guessed that to be the case either. But I do know just by using a wide range of blade steels that there are some blade steels that really do much better in serrated edges whereas they have lackluster results in plain edge :confused:

[ChrisinHove]

I remember seeing 440c way down that same corrosion resistance chart and raising an eyebrow. Credibility is key.