What are your top 5 favorite steels?

[Paraguy]

Hi everyone. I'm not the most experienced when it comes to exotic steels like Maxement for instance. I'd be interested to hear what steels everyone around here likes.

[S-3 ranch]

1. Cruwear
2. Hap40
3. K390
4. Crucible steel S35v-spy27
5. V-taku2
Not necessarily in that order depending on my day
My edc are a G-2 se delica and a stretch 2 V-2

[M Sea]

LC200N
H1
S35VN
S30V
BD1N/SPY27 ( had both less than a year but so far, so good)

[Airlsee]

4V
K390
Cruwear
20CV
LC200N

Not in a set order, depends on use.

Edit: Honorable mention for M4. It is wonderfully tough and sharpens super well. By far the most common knife steel found in my collection.

[eRoc]

LC200N
Cruwear
52100
Spy27
M4

Wish there was more 52100 options. Sharpens like a laser beam.

[RustyIron]

CPM REX45: I'm a little biased because I have a handful of blades in this material and it's my EDC. But there's no denying it takes a nice edge, wears well, and although it can get banged up, still maintains a usable edge.

CPM SPY27: I only have one blade in this material, the Mule. Although fixed blades aren't my favorite, I've been carrying this one a bit. It's easy to give it a good edge. It seems to hold the edge well, and I haven't seen it getting banged up much. Perhaps I've just been going too easy on it. More time with this blade is needed. But if I was in the market for a new knife, and it was offered in SPY27, I'd seriously consider it.

Honorable mention are M4 and K390. I only have one blade in each of these. They haven't seen a lot of use, so I can't state unequivicolly that these are the bee's knees. But again, if the knife I wanted was offered in these materials, I wouldn't hesitate.

[Gtscotty]

S110V
Maxamet
20CV
S35VN
S30V

[Team Sick]

Maxamet, K390, 20CV, S45VN, Vanax

[bdblue]

Rex45
K390
M4
S110V
D2

My EDC rotation contains examples of each of these.

[The Meat man]

In no particular order:

-Maxamet
-LC200N
-CPM 4V
-K390
-Super Blue

Honorable mentions to CPM REX 45, S35VN, S90V, PD#1, ZDP-189, and others.

[FourStringFiend]

K390
M4
LC200N
20cv family
Rex 45

Cruwear seems to be great but I’ve had it the shortest time period.

And don’t let S30v stop you from trying a model that intrigues you. It’s a solid user steel. There are several models I tried in S30v that I now know aren’t my thing and become an easy pass when a sprint comes out.

And honorable mention to CTS-XHP because that is all the Chaparral is offered in, and its one of the best things Spyderco makes.

[MFlovejp]

No particular order:

CTS-XHP
K390
H1
ZDP-189
VG10

[Fireman]

LC200N near perfect
1095 cheap, easy to sharpen and robust.
S90V-S110V for edge retention and corrosion resistance
S7 for obvious reasons
3V for obvious reasons
Honorable mention to the soon to be released Magma Cut

If I had to bet my life on it? S7
All around? LC200N
combo of reasons above 3V
Snobbery reasons S90V-S110V
Cost and sentimentality 1095

[Paraguy]

I hardly know anything about lc200n besides its corrosion resistance which isn't that important to me.
What does to bring to the table for edge retention toughness and sharpen-ability?

[Paraguy]

Does anyone know Sal's honest opinions on steels.

[Fireman]

This should keep you busy for a few hours...

LC200N aka Cronidur 30 AKA Z-Finit.

https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www. ... or-z-finit

https://www.alphaknifesupply.com/Pictur ... 00N-DS.pdf

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/09/17/ ... fe-steels/

https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Best-Knife ... uide--3368

I hardly know anything about lc200n besides its corrosion resistance which isn't that important to me.
What does to bring to the table for edge retention toughness and sharpen-ability?

[Paraguy]

This should keep you busy for a few hours...

LC200N aka Cronidur 30 AKA Z-Finit.

https://www.everydaycommentary.com/www. ... or-z-finit

https://www.alphaknifesupply.com/Pictur ... 00N-DS.pdf

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2018/09/17/ ... fe-steels/

https://www.bladehq.com/cat--Best-Knife ... uide--3368

I hardly know anything about lc200n besides its corrosion resistance which isn't that important to me.
What does to bring to the table for edge retention toughness and sharpen-ability?

THANKS!

[Steeltoez83]

Cpm rex45 seems to be my favorite steel. I've had 6 knives Rockwell tested and they hit 66-67 hrc consistently. 4V is also up there and very comparable to rex45 imo. Xhp is probably my 3rd choice and it's on models I enjoy using a lot. I've had great luck with xhp on cold steel knives as well. Number 4 would have to go to k390 from seki city specifically. The pm2 I own in k390 performs great but the seki delica I have just feels better heat treated and 3 Rockwell points higher than my pm2. Number 5 I'm giving the nod to s90v. The spyderco military in s90v is just an excellent performer from what I've seen first hand. Honorable mention list is everything else I own and use. Just bcuz s30v or maxamet is not on my top 5, doesn't mean I haven't used them extensively. And have figured out how to make them enjoyable. For this list I'm only sticking to production spydies not customs I own to make the playing field even.

[knifemovieguy]

Only four (haven’t tried Cruwear, SuperBlue, LC200N and M4):
K390/Rex45
S90V
S35VN

[savagesick]

1.) V-Toku2
2.) 52100
3.) M4
4.) Devin Thomas Basketweave
5.) Damasteel