End of 2020 Opinions on VG-10

[M Sea]

Big fan of VG10!! My oldest Spydie is an Endura in vg10 that I have had for over 12 years in a Harsh saltwater eviornment and it's done excellent. Absolutely worked that blade hard and it's done very well. Much better than some other steels costing twice as much.

[araneae]

I've never been disappointed by vg-10. It is good enough for 99% of knife jobs and whether they believe it or not, probably good enough for most of the steel snobs if they were blind tested. It's a great all a rounder. Do I have fancier steels? Yep. Do I need them? Nope.

[knife__bro69]

It’s good hearing from everyone! I’d agree with EvilD and Sal. It seems to be the “basic” yet all around solid blade steel.

I’ve used pretty much every steel there is nowadays, and while I like steels over others because of the various properties and unique capabilities of each. For a pocket knife steel, I have found that it is these “basic” steels that seem to really shine. S30v/S35vn and VG-10 being the high performers.

I believe this is why you see these minor changes and tweaks being done to existing steel compositions like VG-10 being upgraded into SPY-27 and S30v/S35vn being tweaked to make S45vn.

Truly, whomever masters the “basic” or “all-rounder” steels and discovers the perfect composition for them, will dominate the blade steel market as a whole. But we don’t only see that from Spyderco, we see them exploring all avenues of the blade steel spectrum.

LC200N and H1 being the strongest performer in being highly corrosion resistant.

Cruwear/ZWear, 3v and 4v being the toughest blade steels for a folder.

Maxamet, S110v, K390, M4 being some of the highest edge retention steels.

Many more have some excellent properties as well like SG2, Superblue and Cruwear being very easy to sharpen. Having REX-45 with it’s high edge wear resistance.

[curlyhairedboy]

just personal opinion, but i'm not a fan of the edge retention 'progression' on VG-10, which is why i typically avoid it.

[JRinFL]

I've never had VG10 let me down in use, no chipping, no rust, no rolled edges, etc. However, for whatever reason VG10 is difficult for me to get a decent edge. Even S30V is easier for me to get an acceptable (to me) edge.
On EDC blades like the Delica, it is a good choice. On sprints or higher end knives I would prefer a different steel. The same goes for S30V.

[bearfacedkiller]

I still enjoy it. It worked well in the past and it still works well. There are lots of great steels available today that outclass it but if it was all we had it would easily meet all of our needs.

I have a safety orange VG10 Delica that has served me well for years and it will continue to do so for many more years. It is my woods bumming knife because it is lightweight, easy to sharpen and hard to lose.

I like squirrel hunting and it has cleaned a hundred squirrels. I spend a good bit of September wandering through the woods with it and my Single Six. :)

[Abyss_Fish]

Decent budget kitchen knife steel. But in my experience it’s outclassed by nearly all other options. I wouldn’t buy it if other steels were available.

[prndltech]

I personally love the stuff and use it frequently in serrated blades. I lost my PE Delica somewhere along the way. Looking at getting another, story is similar to Darby’s.

[JuPaul]

To add another twist to the conversation: How about thoughts on VG-MAX? My understanding is it's basically vg-10 with more chromium and vanadium. We bought a set of Shun kitchen knives in vgmax recently and so far I'm loving them. They came screaming sharp, get used daily, and are still screaming sharp without even being touched up. I've never seen the steel outside of Shun knives, though.

[Bolster]

I believe this is why you see these minor changes and tweaks being done to existing steel compositions like VG-10 being upgraded into SPY-27 and S30v/S35vn being tweaked to make S45vn...Truly, whomever masters the “basic” or “all-rounder” steels and discovers the perfect composition for them, will dominate the blade steel market as a whole...

Interesting post, Bro. Question: Isn't SPY-27 going to be a proprietary steel? If so, difficult to dominate the market, no matter how good it is. Or is Spyderco releasing its new steel into the wild for anyone to use?

[bearfacedkiller]

I personally love the stuff and use it frequently in serrated blades. I lost my PE Delica somewhere along the way. Looking at getting another, story is similar to Darby’s.

I guess it wasn’t orange?

[The Deacon]

Hello everyone, Im hoping you are all doing well.

I thought this would be a good topic to discuss, as I figure you are all the experts as far as I am concerned on the topic of knife steel for everyday carry.

So to get to the question, what is your personal opinion on where VG-10 falls in the hierarchy of knife steels in 2020?

I love VG-10. It's reasonably rust resistant, easy to sharpen, takes a great edge, and holds it well. Aside from my AUS-6 Jester, all the Spyderco knives I carry regularly are VG-10. Spydercos in S30V, LC200N, and H-1 do slip into my pocket occasionally, but those days are few and far between. Spyderco and Seto VG-10 knives also see service in my kitchen, though not as much as my MBS-26 Spydercos. MBS-26 is a fine steel, but that's more a question of the knives available in it verses those available in VG-10 than of preference for it.

[bearfacedkiller]

I believe this is why you see these minor changes and tweaks being done to existing steel compositions like VG-10 being upgraded into SPY-27 and S30v/S35vn being tweaked to make S45vn...Truly, whomever masters the “basic” or “all-rounder” steels and discovers the perfect composition for them, will dominate the blade steel market as a whole...

Interesting post, Bro. Question: Isn't SPY-27 going to be a proprietary steel? If so, difficult to dominate the market, no matter how good it is. Or is Spyderco releasing its new steel into the wild for anyone to use?

The larger knife market will always be dominated by steels that are affordable, corrosion resistant and easier to sharpen. That is what the average Joe wants. That is why VG10 has been successful. Maybe SG2/R2 could edge it out but cost will probably rule that out.

I have often wondered why CPM154 didn’t take over as our basic domestic option. S30V is great and we have all gotten used to it but not that long ago it was a super steel and for the average Joe it does give up some corrosion resistance and sharpenablility. Maybe SPY27 or BD1N are the answer? Time will tell. I do hope to see CPM154/RWL34 happen some more.

[soulspy]

All of my first Spydercos were VG-10 Rescue blades from the 90's. This was during a period of time where I was much less concerned with blade steels or even the use/abuse of my knives. It never rusted even though it was in the pocket of swim trunks all summer. It never chipped. I eventually met someone with a Sharpmaker and realized how easily SE VG-10 sharpened.

The best part about VG-10 is that you don't have to think about it. It sits right in the pocket of having all the attributes one would want in a general purpose knife steel.

[Lumpy]

I like vg10. It’s the best rounded basic steel around. For the price I don’t think it can be beat. I actually like the edge I get on the vg10 more than s30v.

To add another twist to the conversation: How about thoughts on VG-MAX? My understanding is it's basically vg-10 with more chromium and vanadium. We bought a set of Shun kitchen knives in vgmax recently and so far I'm loving them. They came screaming sharp, get used daily, and are still screaming sharp without even being touched up. I've never seen the steel outside of Shun knives, though.

I’ve been using a Shun with VGMAX in the kitchen for the past 3 years, and I love it. I’ve been told it’s VG10 with a little more of everything. Seems to have a slight leg up on edge retention compared to vg10. It’s easy to take care of and sharpen, and still performs great after years of everyday use. There’s a lot of reports on line of it being chippy, but I really haven’t noticed too much in that regard. I got some very small micro chipping on the factory edge, but it sharpened out in like 10 minutes and hasn’t had that problem since. Burnt edge maybe? I don’t know but I’ve been happy with it.

Wonder how it would compare in a folder? It would probably have to be run a little lower hardness. Though I’m pretty sure VGMAX is proprietary to shun so it probably won’t happen.

Also I did bust the tip a little when I knocked it off the counter, but that’s on me. Now the tip looks like the delica.

[knife__bro69]

I believe this is why you see these minor changes and tweaks being done to existing steel compositions like VG-10 being upgraded into SPY-27 and S30v/S35vn being tweaked to make S45vn...Truly, whomever masters the “basic” or “all-rounder” steels and discovers the perfect composition for them, will dominate the blade steel market as a whole...

Interesting post, Bro. Question: Isn't SPY-27 going to be a proprietary steel? If so, difficult to dominate the market, no matter how good it is. Or is Spyderco releasing its new steel into the wild for anyone to use?

Ah youre right I havent thought of that. Maybe spyderco can sell it to other companies if it catches on? Haha, I am not well versed in this part of the knife world

[JD Spydo]

I said it before on multiple occasions that VG-10 is a great blade steel for basic uses. I've still got several models with VG-10 blade steel in my "user rotation" and I have no plans on replacing any of them. Just look at how long Spyderco has had VG-10 as their mainline blade steel for all their Japan made units. It's been over 20 years and counting. And when VG-10 succeeded ATS-55, which wasn't not a bad steel at all by the way, you would think that Spyderco must have been impressed with it. And I don't see any indications that they plan on replacing those Japan made units with any other blade steel from what I can tell.

I remember back around the 2004-2006 time slot that people would buy certain Spyderco models because those models did have VG-10 blade steel. Take a high end fixed blade model like the TEMP 2 for instance. I'm sure that Spyderco had options of which steel they opted to use on that model. And look at how many knives they have sold with VG-10 over the years. All of these facts alone should tell you something.

[Abyss_Fish]

To add another twist to the conversation: How about thoughts on VG-MAX? My understanding is it's basically vg-10 with more chromium and vanadium. We bought a set of Shun kitchen knives in vgmax recently and so far I'm loving them. They came screaming sharp, get used daily, and are still screaming sharp without even being touched up. I've never seen the steel outside of Shun knives, though.

My understanding is that it’s a slightly reformulation in order to stand out from cheapo knock-off Japanese cutlery. It’s slightly better, but Shun doing an actual heat treat is what makes the difference. That’s really what their pattern weld jackets are for as well, they’re the premier budget Japanese knife company but they feel the need to prove it to their consumer base.

[joeldworkin307]

I'm still very pro VG-10. It's tough enough for me to use in the kitchen, stainless enough for me to forget about it until the next morning, and takes a sharp enough edge in no time flat. I've run the gamete of super steels and my most used knives are all in either VG-10, 52100, or 1095. Have one in 204P and a Caly in Hap40 that get regular use, but most usually they miss out in favor of simpler steels.

[u.w.]

I am, and have been, a fan of VG-10, for many years now.

u.w.