What's good about S30V

Discuss Spyderco's products and history.

What do you think is good about S30V

I think S30V is just fine no need for other steels.
6
5%
I love the way S30V sharpens.
13
11%
I find S30V easy to sharpen to a high degree of sharpness.
19
16%
I find S30V holds a truly sharp edge for a long time.
3
3%
I find S30V holds a working edge longer than a truly sharp edge.
18
15%
I find S30V to be as corrosion resistant as I need it to be.
28
23%
I love S30V in a fixed blade due to its toughness.
2
2%
I do not like S30V I will not use it Sam-I-am I'd rather eat green eggs and ham!
2
2%
I wish Spyderco would us a different steel as its base steel
16
13%
I Still can't figure out why Spyderco continues to use S30V instead of S35VN
13
11%
 
Total votes: 120

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Naperville
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Re: What's good about S30V

#41

Post by Naperville »

Vivi wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:00 am
Naperville wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:44 am
OK, toughness is a good thing to have, but you have to know what the knife is going to be used for when you design or buy it. We are grown ups here so lets talk about my intended knife use.

I have USCCA Elite insurance and my planned use is for self defense. I'm not sure they are going to have a problem cutting clothing(jeans, shirt, jacket) or tissue(a tendon or muscle) no matter what they are made out of. Maybe if the blade hits a zipper I'm done for, but other than that I'm looking for a non-failing use of steel against another human. Take it or leave it that is what I carry a folder or fixed blade for. Self Defense.

It looks to me like I'd be better off having a knife(Street Beat) made out of AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC.
You could get a custom made out of S7 :D It's a steel that trades away edge holding to maximize toughness. Used for jackhammer bits and my 9" chopper.
I don't think I need a 1V(Bark River Knives comes to mind) or S7 (Hinderer comes to mind) I think I need more edge holding. A balance between the two with edge holding being more important.

Why are there no fixed blades being offered in AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC? Anyone making them anywhere?
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Re: What's good about S30V

#42

Post by knivesandbooks »

Naperville wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:04 am
Vivi wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:00 am
Naperville wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:44 am
OK, toughness is a good thing to have, but you have to know what the knife is going to be used for when you design or buy it. We are grown ups here so lets talk about my intended knife use.

I have USCCA Elite insurance and my planned use is for self defense. I'm not sure they are going to have a problem cutting clothing(jeans, shirt, jacket) or tissue(a tendon or muscle) no matter what they are made out of. Maybe if the blade hits a zipper I'm done for, but other than that I'm looking for a non-failing use of steel against another human. Take it or leave it that is what I carry a folder or fixed blade for. Self Defense.

It looks to me like I'd be better off having a knife(Street Beat) made out of AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC.
You could get a custom made out of S7 :D It's a steel that trades away edge holding to maximize toughness. Used for jackhammer bits and my 9" chopper.
I don't think I need a 1V(Bark River Knives comes to mind) or S7 (Hinderer comes to mind) I think I need more edge holding. A balance between the two with edge holding being more important.

Why are there no fixed blades being offered in AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC? Anyone making them anywhere?
Yep! But they're custom.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#43

Post by vivi »

Naperville wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:04 am
Vivi wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:00 am
Naperville wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 10:44 am
OK, toughness is a good thing to have, but you have to know what the knife is going to be used for when you design or buy it. We are grown ups here so lets talk about my intended knife use.

I have USCCA Elite insurance and my planned use is for self defense. I'm not sure they are going to have a problem cutting clothing(jeans, shirt, jacket) or tissue(a tendon or muscle) no matter what they are made out of. Maybe if the blade hits a zipper I'm done for, but other than that I'm looking for a non-failing use of steel against another human. Take it or leave it that is what I carry a folder or fixed blade for. Self Defense.

It looks to me like I'd be better off having a knife(Street Beat) made out of AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC.
You could get a custom made out of S7 :D It's a steel that trades away edge holding to maximize toughness. Used for jackhammer bits and my 9" chopper.
I don't think I need a 1V(Bark River Knives comes to mind) or S7 (Hinderer comes to mind) I think I need more edge holding. A balance between the two with edge holding being more important.

Why are there no fixed blades being offered in AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC? Anyone making them anywhere?
Edge holding? For self defense? I don't follow.

I believe Bradford makes fixed blades in Nitro V but I have no idea what they harden it to.

And, OT, but as far as I know carrying a knife with the intent to use it for self defense is illegal in Illinois?
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Re: What's good about S30V

#44

Post by Naperville »

Vivi wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:48 am
Edge holding? For self defense? I don't follow.

I believe Bradford makes fixed blades in Nitro V but I have no idea what they harden it to.

And, OT, but as far as I know carrying a knife with the intent to use it for self defense is illegal in Illinois?
I train in escrima/arnis and we practice for dealing with 2 to 3 people simultaneously, during all seasons of outerwear.

I don't plan on living in Illinois after I retire(probably to TX, SD, WY) and although OT, the Bill of Rights says quite clearly our 2nd Amendment rights shall not be infringed for any reason. In as much as a knife is a 2nd Amendment weapon, I do find myself carrying what I need.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#45

Post by Naperville »

knivesandbooks wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:22 am
Naperville wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 11:04 am
I don't think I need a 1V(Bark River Knives comes to mind) or S7 (Hinderer comes to mind) I think I need more edge holding. A balance between the two with edge holding being more important.

Why are there no fixed blades being offered in AEB-L, NioMax or Nitro-V at 63HRC? Anyone making them anywhere?
Yep! But they're custom.
Thank you! I'll hunt around....
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Re: What's good about S30V

#46

Post by ugaarguy »

Doeswhateveraspidercan wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 11:47 am
I saw a post by Vivi asking what is wrong with S30V and the first thing that came to mind was why start with the negative?

How about what is good about it instead?

It is fairly easy to predict the replies to the negative in a way it is like a group opinion has formed with a few that just do not fall in with a persuasive argument or the crowd readily or easily.

So for fun and feedback to Spyderco I started this poll please do feel free to tell all what is good about S30V and what is bad.

In the spirit of fairness and not locking anyone into just one answer you can choose as many of the pole questions as you like all of them or none of them and even change your vote later.
At least one of the poll options is worded in a very biased manner. Whether you intended it or not, the way you worded the first option is going to discourage people from choosing it. I think S30V is great, but I also see the need for other steels.

I think S30V is a great base steel. It was developed as a cutlery steel, and it's made by a US based steel maker. It's corrosion resistant enough for most of my uses. It's easy to sharpen with diamond plates. I've used the bottom of a coffee cup and an old leather belt to touch up the edge. I can leave it toothy at 600 grit for a long lasting working edge, or take it up to 1200 or 1500 grit diamond plate finish for a more refined edge.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#47

Post by Pelagic »

I suppose corrosion resistance is necessary for a base steel. It's too bad, because I really think the general public would love cruwear. Beginner sharpeners would be getting razor sharp edges in little time. That will get people into knives and remember your brand. Now I wish there was a thread "stainless steel with best sharpening response?" LC200N would be a great base steel, and I don't think it would negate the salt series, since liners, fasteners, and other hardware could potentially rust.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that by using as much empathy as I can at the moment (for regular knife people and average Joe's, not us knife nerds), I think a base steel PROBABLY should have:

1. Corrosion Resistance
2. Sharpening Response
3. Edge Retention

LC200N is at least comparable to s30v in these categories.
1. LC200N >>> S30V
2. LC200N >> S30V
3. S30V > LC200N however, LC200N may hold ultra high sharpness a tad longer under certain uses. Working edge certainly goes to s30v, and working edge is more important to the masses, isn't it? Every time I sharpen a blade for a coworker their edge is supremely destroyed. BUT... the people who choose to buy a SPYDERCO knife aren't exactly average, ya know? They probably care for and know how to sharpen knives a lot better than your average Gerber owner. So maybe they'd appreciate high sharpness edge retention?

What else should a base blade steel have? I guess some toughness, and strength would be a bonus too. Price is an issue as well.

S30V is a B- to a B in all categories. For the vast majority of people, there is a better option. But to cover everyone's needs adequately, there are very few options better than s30v.

What percentage of spyderco customers have an account on this forum, maybe 1%? 0.1%? It would be nice to hear from more non-knife nerds. I'm genuinely curious to hear about what they have to say about s30v versus other steels, if they've tried any. As well as hear what they look for in a blade steel.

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Re: What's good about S30V

#48

Post by Doeswhateveraspidercan »

Well now interesting, according to this completly unscientific fun Poll, it appears the two things people like best about S30V are as follows:

Corrosion Resistance

Holding a working edge for a long time
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Re: What's good about S30V

#49

Post by Notsurewhy »

Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:06 pm
TkoK83Spy wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:03 pm
My buddy here at work that's a diehard Benchmade guy has like 20 different models of Benchmades and he absolutely loves S30V. Now, that could be because they only use like 3 different kinds of steels. We over here, have become EXTREMELY spoiled.


It says a lot when one company's standard production steel is another company's premium option.
I wouldn't say it's spyderco's premium option.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#50

Post by Sharp Guy »

Notsurewhy wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:27 pm
Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:06 pm
TkoK83Spy wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:03 pm
My buddy here at work that's a diehard Benchmade guy has like 20 different models of Benchmades and he absolutely loves S30V. Now, that could be because they only use like 3 different kinds of steels. We over here, have become EXTREMELY spoiled.


It says a lot when one company's standard production steel is another company's premium option.
I wouldn't say it's spyderco's premium option.
He was implying it was Spyderco's standard production steel and some other company's premium options
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Re: What's good about S30V

#51

Post by Evil D »

Notsurewhy wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:27 pm
Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:06 pm
TkoK83Spy wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:03 pm
My buddy here at work that's a diehard Benchmade guy has like 20 different models of Benchmades and he absolutely loves S30V. Now, that could be because they only use like 3 different kinds of steels. We over here, have become EXTREMELY spoiled.


It says a lot when one company's standard production steel is another company's premium option.
I wouldn't say it's spyderco's premium option.

Neither would I, you've looking at it backwards, S30V has been the premium option from other companies.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#52

Post by JRinFL »

Doeswhateveraspidercan wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:46 am
Well now interesting, according to this completly unscientific fun Poll, it appears the two things people like best about S30V are as follows:

Corrosion Resistance

Holding a working edge for a long time
And this is exactly why Spyderco uses it as their default choice along with VG-10. For the overwhelming majority of non-enthusiast users those are 2 of the top three selection criteria. Cost/price likely being number one.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#53

Post by Notsurewhy »

Evil D wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:34 pm
Notsurewhy wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:27 pm
Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:06 pm
TkoK83Spy wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:03 pm
My buddy here at work that's a diehard Benchmade guy has like 20 different models of Benchmades and he absolutely loves S30V. Now, that could be because they only use like 3 different kinds of steels. We over here, have become EXTREMELY spoiled.


It says a lot when one company's standard production steel is another company's premium option.
I wouldn't say it's spyderco's premium option.

Neither would I, you've looking at it backwards, S30V has been the premium option from other companies.
Ah. I was confused since benchmade was mentioned. S30v is the cheapest steel benchmade works with since they upped the grip from 154cm a while back and Spyderco still uses 8cr, bd1n, vg10, n690 etc.

For other companies s30v is definitely considered premium (Kershaw, Buck, Gerber)
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Re: What's good about S30V

#54

Post by Evil D »

Notsurewhy wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:20 pm
Evil D wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:34 pm
Notsurewhy wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 2:27 pm
Evil D wrote:
Fri Oct 11, 2019 2:06 pm




It says a lot when one company's standard production steel is another company's premium option.
I wouldn't say it's spyderco's premium option.

Neither would I, you've looking at it backwards, S30V has been the premium option from other companies.
Ah. I was confused since benchmade was mentioned. S30v is the cheapest steel benchmade works with since they upped the grip from 154cm a while back and Spyderco still uses 8cr, bd1n, vg10, n690 etc.

For other companies s30v is definitely considered premium (Kershaw, Buck, Gerber)


Yeah times are definitely changing too but Spyderco has been using S30V I think longer than most as their standard steel from Golden.
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Re: What's good about S30V

#55

Post by Robishere »

Chippy, brittle, nothing is good about s30v.

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Re: What's good about S30V

#56

Post by Doc Dan »

S30v seems a good wel rounded steel. Other steels do better at some things, sure, but S30V seems better balanced than a lot of them. It is not my favorite, but for a base steel it excels.
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