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Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:37 pm
by David R
Cast 440C
4V (maybe not unpopular, but not as popular as it should be)
PSF27
PD#1
BD1
S30V
VG-10

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:55 pm
by JD Spydo
David R wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:37 pm
Cast 440C
4V (maybe not unpopular, but not as popular as it should be)
PSF27
PD#1
BD1
S30V
VG-10
It's really been interesting to learn that the "Cast 440C" is actually considerably better than the regular 440C steel is. I've heard nothing but good about that fixed blade Serrata model which has that blade steel. The Cast 440C and 4V seem to be mostly used in fixed blades I've noticed.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:56 pm
by aaronkb
Everybody’s always bashing it but I love me some m4

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 10:25 pm
by DukeNiemand
I'd have to go with 420HC with Buck's heat treat. Surprisingly good gear resistance, and takes a beautiful polished edge. Great for food prep, or wood carving.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 7:55 am
by David R
JD Spydo wrote:
Thu Oct 17, 2019 9:55 pm
David R wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:37 pm
Cast 440C
4V (maybe not unpopular, but not as popular as it should be)
PSF27
PD#1
BD1
S30V
VG-10
It's really been interesting to learn that the "Cast 440C" is actually considerably better than the regular 440C steel is. I've heard nothing but good about that fixed blade Serrata model which has that blade steel. The Cast 440C and 4V seem to be mostly used in fixed blades I've noticed.
Given the difficulty making these blades described by Sal and Stuart it seems like going smaller would have challenges. I believe David Boye stated doing cast 440C blades a while back. Not sure if he made folders with them. He's now doing cast cobalt blade folders.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:23 pm
by Chumango
Back in the day (70s-80s) Puma used a basic stainless (1.4110, more or less similar to 440B) that they hot forged and heat treated well. It was easy to get sharp, and held an edge better than the 440C available (Buck). I once tested it against Benchmade 440C on cardboard, and it lasted about 10% longer than the 440C. A very nice steel.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:14 pm
by northmanscall
For me it's 8cr13mov. Most people rant about it. But I like him in the daily chores and it's super easy to touch up.

Also there are great designs for a budget like the Tenacious or the Bow River.

Greetings.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 5:15 pm
by JD Spydo
I'm just a little disappointed that so few agree with me about ATS-55. But I guess I got to realize that there are so many guys that weren't here when it was plentiful. Because as far as I know there still isn't any American knife company using ATS-55>> and I think Spyderco kind of had an exclusive on it for the short time they had it.

I know it didn't hold an edge quite as good as VG-10 but you sure could put a really wicked edge on it. Not to mention how good it was with a serrated edge. But it's been a very interesting thread so far.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:08 pm
by Baron Mind
S30V for me. People dislike it for no reason. Powdered steel, so fine grained and evenly distributed carbides, 4% vanadium, stainless. I prefer harder steels more optimized for edge stability, but s30v is still a very good blade steel in my book.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 12:44 am
by bbturbodad
10V/K294/A11

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 2:50 am
by Tims
Vg10 and 154cm.

Simple steels, I wouldn’t say they’re unpopular though. A lot of knives in these steels, in the hands of a lot of people.

There are certain steels I enjoy sharpening more than others. Ease of sharpening for sure, potential for screaming edges but also how they feel on the stones. 14c28n is in this category for me too.

I’ve only had limited time with bd1n but I’m really liking it.

I’ve come to appreciate the easy to live with nature of mid range stainless steels. I don’t mind, but don’t rush to buy, steels ending in V

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:12 am
by JD Spydo
I hate to get off track so to speak but there are a couple of blade steels I remember on Non-Spyderco knives that I kind of liked. Growing up in my late teens, early 20s I had a twin blade Ka-Bar hunter/folder with a stag handle. I had a pair of carbon steel blades and I'm not sure what Ka-Bar used at the time but those blades with old Arkansas Stones would really take a razor edge.

In a way I can see why a lot of the old timers preferred high carbon steel blades over stainless. However it's only been in the past 20 years or so that Stainless cutlery steel has made great advances. Not to mention the advances in tool steels as well. But whatever blade steel it was that they used on those 70s, 80s era KaBar folding hunter knives it sure had a nice edge when sharpened with those older Arkansas Stones.

Re: Unpopular Blade Steels That You Like?

Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2019 5:29 am
by Pelagic
Just 20 years ago I basically liked any steel that would rust. As crazy as that sounds, there was high availability of cheap junk stainless steels (there still is and always will be). I wasn't into expensive knives and a lot of the 420 and 440 steel variations wouldn't even get sharp. Production heat treat has come a long way in that time in addition to all the new types of blade steels that are readily available (thanks spyderco!). With a carbon steel, you knew you could get it insanely sharp, you knew it was tough as nails, and you knew it would hold an edge for a reasonable amount of time. Nowadays there are incredible stainless steels available (and I'm much more knowledgeable about knives, lol) so my outlook is much different.