Trendy steels

[Chris_P_Bacon]

Not into stainless steels that are a pain to sharpen.

I'd rather go with a steel that skews towards toughness and ease of sharpening.

If you took a hard pass on two knives that were $150 each, and took that $300 and bought all three of the new Venev double sided resin bonded diamond bench stones. I seriously doubt (with those six grits) you'd ever think sharpening was a pain, (no matter how "super" the super steel) or even be concerned with ease of sharpening ever again.

Not tying to start an argument, just trying to say one simply needs the right tool for the job. With that much surface area you can get the job done hella quick. May even find that merely one or two of those stones would satisfy your needs, as long as you aren't re-profiling, or trying to get a polished edge. I know you both are well aware of this, but there's new members and lurkers that need to know it's not difficult, with good stones.

[Ankerson]

Not sure what trendy steels are. :confused:

A lot of steels have been around for quite some time, decades...

[p_atrick]

Not sure what trendy steels are. :confused:

A lot of steels have been around for quite some time, decades...

I was surprised to see how "new" knife steels are really not new at all. Does anybody know what the newest knife steel is? I know S35Vn is fairly new.

[Ankerson]

Not sure what trendy steels are. :confused:

A lot of steels have been around for quite some time, decades...

I was surprised to see how "new" knife steels are really not new at all. Does anybody know what the newest knife steel is? I know S35Vn is fairly new.

CPM 4V is pretty new.

[Larrin]

I was surprised to see how "new" knife steels are really not new at all. Does anybody know what the newest knife steel is? I know S35Vn is fairly new.

That depends on what you want to count. Bohler M398 is very new, for example, but not widely available.

[p_atrick]

I was surprised to see how "new" knife steels are really not new at all. Does anybody know what the newest knife steel is? I know S35Vn is fairly new.

That depends on what you want to count. Bohler M398 is very new, for example, but not widely available.

I guess I am thinking about steels that are more common to the knife community. That said, I think of 15V as being common (probably because I watch Deadbox Hero's YT channel).

[Larrin]

I was surprised to see how "new" knife steels are really not new at all. Does anybody know what the newest knife steel is? I know S35Vn is fairly new.

That depends on what you want to count. Bohler M398 is very new, for example, but not widely available.

I guess I am thinking about steels that are more common to the knife community. That said, I think of 15V as being common (probably because I watch Deadbox Hero's YT channel).

Maybe something like Nitro-V then.

[Albatross]

Not sure what trendy steels are. :confused:

A lot of steels have been around for quite some time, decades...

Not new, trendy. Maxamet, Cruwear, 4V, Rex45. Hap40, etc. Steels that are popular now(trendy), but will most-likely be replaced by future "trendy" steels. A steel that has been around for decades, could become the next trendy steel in knives, because it's seen as new and interesting by the knife community.

[Woodpuppy]

Not into stainless steels that are a pain to sharpen.

I'd rather go with a steel that skews towards toughness and ease of sharpening.

If you took a hard pass on two knives that were $150 each, and took that $300 and bought all three of the new Venev double sided resin bonded diamond bench stones. I seriously doubt (with those six grits) you'd ever think sharpening was a pain, (no matter how "super" the super steel) or even be concerned with ease of sharpening ever again.

Not tying to start an argument, just trying to say one simply needs the right tool for the job. With that much surface area you can get the job done hella quick. May even find that merely one or two of those stones would satisfy your needs, as long as you aren't re-profiling, or trying to get a polished edge. I know you both are well aware of this, but there's new members and lurkers that need to know it's not difficult, with good stones.

Fair point. It is a commitment in sharpening equipment though, and sometimes it’s hard to spend on support items. Like buying a gunsafe; that cash would buy a couple or one nice gun, but it’s the responsible thing to do... especially with kids and a wood frame house.

[JonLeBlanc]

Not sure what trendy steels are. :confused:

A lot of steels have been around for quite some time, decades...

"Trendy" may be a sort of nebulous term, but what if we looked at it in terms of marketing technique? I have no proof of this of course, but I could imagine steels like "Maxamet" and "SuperBlue" being more appealing to some consumers than steels like "440C" or "8Cr13MoV."

[Ankerson]

Not sure what trendy steels are. :confused:

A lot of steels have been around for quite some time, decades...

"Trendy" may be a sort of nebulous term, but what if we looked at it in terms of marketing technique? I have no proof of this of course, but I could imagine steels like "Maxamet" and "SuperBlue" being more appealing to some consumers than steels like "440C" or "8Cr13MoV."

You mean marketed and or hyped heavily?

I can think of more than a few.

Shiny Foot Prints keeps me from posting more than this.

Has to do with over the top marketing etc IMO.

In the end I say buy the knives that you like.

[Crux]

Trendy isn't something I care about at all as I find trends to be somewhat sheepish. In my obscure world, I see it more as a line in the sand as to what semi-stainless knife steels I will buy and those that I will no longer buy.

In my opinion I think this is a simple and honest approach to this issue that has strangely become a quagmire of pain and anguish to generations of knife patrons around the globe.

My personal rule for semi-stainless steel is if it is as good or better as CPM s30v then I can make it work, because at that point I'm on the gravy train. :)

[Tucson Tom]

Trendy! Like Mini-skirts and bell bottom pants. Beware the entrenched group-think.

[Ankerson]

Trendy! Like Mini-skirts and bell bottom pants. Beware the entrenched group-think.

Never was one to follow any trends personally.

Trends seem to sheepish to me, never followed the crowd.

Except to the mess hall at chow time when I was in the Military.

[Woodpuppy]

I’ve been here a year last month. I had decided I needed a Spyderco in my life after years of benchmade. What I found was a dizzying array of steel choices after being pretty content with 154cm. I have intensely disliked s30v after a benchmade and a ZT in that steel, so I wouldn’t try that. I had liked the performance of M2 in the benchmade 710, and figured more M’s (M4) would be the way to go. I have not been disappointed. I tried cruwear too and love it. But you know what else I found? Good ol VG10 is still a solid daily performer.

[TkoK83Spy]

I’ve been here a year last month. I had decided I needed a Spyderco in my life after years of benchmade. What I found was a dizzying array of steel choices after being pretty content with 154cm. I have intensely disliked s30v after a benchmade and a ZT in that steel, so I wouldn’t try that. I had liked the performance of M2 in the benchmade 710, and figured more M’s (M4) would be the way to go. I have not been disappointed. I tried cruwear too and love it. But you know what else I found? Good ol VG10 is still a solid daily performer.

You're missing out on quite a few great models with your dislike of S30V!! A few of my personal favorites only come in S30V. I say, give a Spyderco a try. If you don't like it, you can always resell it! I'd be kicking myself if I didn't get the Smock, HH UKPK Exclusive, or the OD Green/DLC PM2 just because of the steel. I can say, those 3 knives will never be sold from my collection.

[Chris_P_Bacon]

There are many reasons why people flock to Spyderco as a brand. For me, the two biggest reason are design, and steel options. I've already found a design that works good enough for me in my daily work EDC (and have backups). I could easily call it a day and walk away.

The main reason why I'm here now is to try different steels. With each new steel, I want to know how the edge reacts to my bench stones, strops, methods, and use. Once I own a sample knife in a particular steel (in this example take VG-10 or S30V) don't really need 3 or 4 more models with that same steel to garner the information that I am seeking. Make sense?

Now I'm trying to cool off the spending a bit by limiting my new purchases to new steels. I enjoy trying new steels and learning as I go. That's not to say I won't break that rule from time to time. But I think a lot of us are in this same boat. When we hear Sal say stuff like sales of the Stretch 2 are stagnant, and see them redesigning it as a Stretch 3, but keeping the same steel. Well that steel is not even on my radar anymore. If it were in HAP72, I'd buy it to try it.

Maybe it's trendy. I just wonder if they understand how some steel/edge junkies think? Maybe we're the minority?

[Tucson Tom]

I have intensely disliked s30v after a benchmade and a ZT in that steel, so ...

I don't know about ZT, but I had developed exactly the same opinion about S30V based on the other maker. I took me some time to revise my opinion, but quite frankly I have been very impressed by a couple of Spyderco knives with S30V. They came amazingly sharp from the factory and were very easy to touch up and get an even better edge using the sharpmaker. So although I now do tend to favor more exotic (I won't say "trendy") steels, but I won't hold back on a Spyderco in S30V -- it's a whole different ball game.

[Ankerson]

I have intensely disliked s30v after a benchmade and a ZT in that steel, so ...

I don't know about ZT, but I had developed exactly the same opinion about S30V based on the other maker. I took me some time to revise my opinion, but quite frankly I have been very impressed by a couple of Spyderco knives with S30V. They came amazingly sharp from the factory and were very easy to touch up and get an even better edge using the sharpmaker. So although I now do tend to favor more exotic (I won't say "trendy") steels, but I won't hold back on a Spyderco in S30V -- it's a whole different ball game.

Spyderco, CRK and Strider always have done well with S30V.

For me I have to want the knife, like the model.

Say if a Military or PARA 2 was offered in 10V, CPM 154 or 4V it would be hard for me to pass up.

[Tucson Tom]

Now I'm trying to cool off the spending a bit by limiting my new purchases to new steels. I enjoy trying new steels and learning as I go.

You say a lot of things that express exactly what I think. I would say you are a steel junky, and so am I, I guess. Nothing wrong with that.

I am also trying to cool off my spending, but the way things go with Spyderco, just limiting your purchase to new steels will only go so far. :cool:

Is Cruwear a trendy steel? I just made the decision to purchase the latest Cruwear Manix 2 offering. Part of the decision process was pulling out my Cruwear PM2 and reminding myself what a great edge that knife has and how nicely Cruwear responds to my sharpening skills. The Manix 2 is my all time favorite along with the PM2, so there is the decision. The point though is that I am not just jumping on a "trendy steel bandwagon". I am buying a knife and a steel combination that I have experience with and that I know gives me things I appreciate. Do I need another Manix 2? No. Do I need another knife in Cruwear? Not really. Am I trying to get every Manix 2 variant that comes along? Absolutely not. Am I trying to cool off my knife spending? Yes, I am. But I am sure I will enjoy the knife, so there you go. The knife is in the mail.