Most underappreciated steel?

[Baron Mind]

Most underrated steel? I nominate s110v, Maxamet, and 14c28n.

S110V offers the best combination of corrosion resistance and wear resistance on the market, yet largley has been shunned by way of internet misinformation and myth. There are legitimate preferential reasons to dislike s110v, but it is the most wear resistant stainless steel on the market, and should be held in high regard.

Similar reasons for Maxamet. Most wear resistant steel available yet has been hampered by internet misinformation.

Knifesteelnerds has proven 14c28n to be the best budget knife steel on the market, but it has yet to be widely adopted or demanded. Why?

Feel free to chime in with other steels you feel are underappreciated.

[Doc Dan]

I chose 14c28n of the choices given. If it is run hard enough it will hold a very sharp edge for a while, but once that goes, it gets dull very fast, it seems. I like the steel, though. I think what hurts it is Kershaw uses it on a lot of their knives and some may feel that means it is inferior. It isn't.

I think currently the most under appreciated steel has to be either VG-10 or S30V.

[steelcity16]

H1 - seems to be overshadowed anymore by LC200N. Still a fantastic steel and pretty amazing that we have it in knives at all. I still don't know of anyone using it other than Spyderco? I have 2 LC200N Pac Salts, but I will never sell my H1 SE Pac Salt or my H1 PE Dragonfly (the first Spyderco I ever bought).

AEB-L - basically a stainless 52100. used a lot in the fixed blade and kitchen knife industries. not sure why we can't get an Endura/Endela to check out in this steel since they already import other BU steels to Seki. The Urban was too small for any serious use and I and many others prefer a knife with a lock. I think an OD Green Micarta AEB-L Shaman would be very popular and bring a lot of fixed blade users to Spyderco.

CPM-3V - for some reason it is shunned in the Spyderco folder world. Other makers will use it and it is very popular for them. A model like the Manix XL would be great for a CPM-3V blade. If Spyderco made an OD Green Micarta Shaman or Manix XL in CPM-3V they would have a hard time keeping them in stock.

[PSquared]

Under appreciated by Spyderco ... 154CM. Nothing special but a decent “everyday” knife steel in the VG10 performance category that Spyderco hardly used.

[steelcity16]

52100 - great steel used in ball bearnings. easy to sharpen. gets very sharp. very tough. i think people just dislike the fact that you have to keep on top of it to keep it from rusting. the 52100 models have been slower sellers, but for people in the know, many of which are on here, it is one of their favorite Spyderco steel offerings. I'd like to see this one in some Seki models.

[Wartstein]

....I think currently the most under appreciated steel has to be either VG-10 or S30V.

That´s what I was going to say...
Though I think on this forum people know enough to still appreciate the great balances VG10 and S30V offer.
Some are just "bored" with them, but not doubting their performance.
I personally though have to say: If all of my knives came only in S30V and/or VG10 I would have nothing to complain at all.

[kobold]

On BF there is a thread called 'Your steel sweet spot' and 14c28n seems widely appreciated. And I do think this is a relatively recent development.

S110V is definitely not appreciated by many who are "carbon steel only" and against stainless steels in general, and also by those who are scared by inferior youtube content (FUD) into thinking it is nearly impossible to sharpen. :-)

Lastly, many think Maxamet is practically glass, that will readily chip and break, but in reality it is plenty reliable, not chippy at all and - more importantly - simply the best knife steel available today (ever?).
So, because its reputation is unfairly damaged, I voted Maxamet.

[kennethsime]

I would nominate VG-10. I quite enjoy it for an EDC knife, as I can get it real sharp, real easy, it's remarkably stainless, and still relatively tough.

[Wartstein]

I would nominate VG-10. I quite enjoy it for an EDC knife, as I can get it real sharp, real easy, it's remarkably stainless, and still relatively tough.

+ 1 on all the properties of VG10 you listed.

[ZrowsN1s]

ZDP-189

[standy99]

PSF 27 cops a bit of it’s just D2 but to me it’s a much better sharpening and edge holding steel than a lot of higher steels.

A year using it has surprisingly had me enjoying more and more as a steel

[aicolainen]

I'm not knowledgeable enough about steels to really really know which ones aren't getting the appreciation they deserve.
It seems though, as if the specialized steels are getting all the attention of the interwebs, and that many well balanced, and probably bang for buck steels, are not getting enough credit for what they offer.
I'm not sure where to draw the distinction between appreciation and sales, or if it really matters, but I'm tempted to vote S110V, even though I have no experience with it. It appears to be a highly specialized supersteel with some really useful properties for certain applications. Now maybe it still have a decent market share for what it is, at least one should suspect so as long as it remains an evergreen offering for many spyderco models, but it's not a steel you hear the afi's mention a lot.

I'm certainly tempted to try it out, just need to figure out where it makes the most sense for me.

[ladybug93]

i would say that it's probably s30v. how many models have been disco'd because people waited for them in something "better" than s30v? i'm not sure the same could be said for other steels, but maybe. i don't understand why so many people hate on s30v though. it's a great all-around steel. i think most people that think it's not enough really just want something more obscure etched on the side of their blade so they can feel cool and special. (i say that as someone that only owns one spyderco in s30v, so i'm talking about myself too.)

[Evil D]

Probably "only VG10" or "only S30V", the poor unloved stepchildren of the steel world.

S110V was a major big deal not very long ago, and when it was put into standard production that was when the "special" wore off and I suspect it's the same with Maxamet. People want and covet what they can't readily have.

[vivi]

Most underrated steel? I nominate s110v, Maxamet, and 14c28n.

S110V offers the best combination of corrosion resistance and wear resistance on the market, yet largley has been shunned by way of internet misinformation and myth. There are legitimate preferential reasons to dislike s110v, but it is the most wear resistant stainless steel on the market, and should be held in high regard.

Similar reasons for Maxamet. Most wear resistant steel available yet has been hampered by internet misinformation.

Knifesteelnerds has proven 14c28n to be the best budget knife steel on the market, but it has yet to be widely adopted or demanded. Why?

Feel free to chime in with other steels you feel are underappreciated.

S110V and Maxamet can't both have the best edge holding K390 is up there with them, if not superior, and its available in the best folder Spyderco makes, while S110V and Maxamet are not. K390 takes an edge much more easily too.

knifesteelnerds is not the be all and end all of knife steel information. Specifically, to my knowledge, Larrin has never used an H1 knife, but has been highly skeptical of H1 SE edge performance, despite Spyderco themselves claiming it had the best edge retention of any steel they had tested when the Jumpmaster 2 released. 2017 I think?

Larrin is incredibly smart and has more knowledge than I do on the subject by a mile, but I still place more value on real world use VS "on paper" experiences than the H1 example shows.

As for underrated steels? BD1 and H1 come to mind.

Nobody likes BD1, but it is in my top 3 of easiest steels to sharpen. For me it sharpens about as easily as Swiss Army Knife steel but holds an edge much better. I think its one of the most overlooked budget steels.

H1 is lauded for being rust proof, but even for that specific application people are overlooking it in favor of LC200N. Furthermore most folks seem to not know that H1 is tougher than any stainless steel I'm aware of Spyderco using. It sharpens incredibly easily, and as I mentioned above the edge holding, in SE at least, is better than nearly any steel on the market. No other steel has this ridiculous combination of attributes - The corrosion resistance of Ti, the toughness of a carbon steel, the edge holding of "super steels" and the ease of sharpening of a budget stainless. No other steel offers that same package.

[aicolainen]

S110V and Maxamet can't both have the best edge holding

To be fair, he does make the distinction between best stainless and best overall. Whether it holds true or not.

[JRinFL]

14c28n is meant to be an improvement over AEB-L, mostly in corrosion resistance I believe. Both are highly underrated steels and overlooked by the "single column superiority" steel connoisseurs.

FTR, H1 in my use would be ranked as over-hyped rather than underappreciated. It has always performed poorly for me, but I supposed it could be I have not set the correct angles on it. Though the optimum angles should be set at the factory, no?

[vivi]

FTR, H1 in my use would be ranked as over-hyped rather than underappreciated. It has always performed poorly for me, but I supposed it could be I have not set the correct angles on it. Though the optimum angles should be set at the factory, no?

There is no universal best angle for a pocket knife. You and I use our knives differently. Maybe you can get away with a thinner edge than I do. Maybe not.

The factory applies a general purpose edge. It isn't super thick and indestructible, but it isn't razor thin. It isn't left very coarse for aggressive slicing, but it isn't taken to an extremely high poliah for optimal push cutting.

Just like car companies have no idea what your body size will be when they're setting up the seats in the factory. You adjust the seat to the size of your body, and you adjust the edge based on your application.

Rougher, more careless use requires thicker geometry. Push cut specific knives require a more polished apex.

I've found that there isn't a steel / geometry combination I have tried from Spyderco that will not support a 8-12 degree back bevel with 15 degree per side microbevel.

I find H1 performs best when thinned out and given a coarse edge.

Some reports I've read make PE H1 sound absolutely worthless. Meanwhile I've sliced up more cardboard than I can fit in my recycling bin with my Aqua Salt without dulling it a significant amount, more times than I can count.

SE H1, on the other hand, has held a working edge as well as anything else I've owned.

[Cl1ff]

The thing with questions like this is that there are only a few widely appreciated steels, so by asking which are under-appreciated you don’t exactly narrow it down much.
There are relatively few people who can appreciate the nuanced aspects of steels because most others don’t understand or are ignorant to them.
Then, like has been pointed out already in this thread, you have different groups who appreciate different steels. For example, I’d say 52100/AEBL is undeservingly rare in production knives, especially folders, but is rather popular with custom fixed blades.

People won’t appreciate what they don’t understand, knives, the environment, or really anything else.
I think work from people like Larrin at Knifesteelnerds and Spyderco making, testing, and sharing knowledge with us is great because more and more are beginning to understand and enjoy previously “unknown” steels.

Of the choices provided and just generally from what I’ve seen, or not seen rather, s110v appears to be rare across the board.
I think the extent to which steels are appreciated is directly correlated to how much is produced and put into knives, so by that measure (and its combo of edge retention + stain resistance), s110v is a pretty good candidate for underrated steel of the day.

[vivi]

Is S110V under rated, or do consumers value a better balance of edge holding vs ease of sharpening? Or, do they want both toughness and edge holding at the expense of corrosion resistance?