What is your favorite stainless steel and why?

[Bill1170]

This is like asking a mother which of her children she loves the most. That said, of the stainlesses I have significant experience with, there are three that stand out. Those are M390, VG-10, and ZDP-189. They all take a fine edge, and the first two have excellent corrosion resistance. The ZDP is redeemed by being able to hold a shaving edge longer than others I own.

[wrdwrght]

For stainless, I presently favor 204P. It holds a working edge on a 20dps microbevel long enough for me to get a lot of work done, and I can regain that edge (and better) without much effort using the SM's brown stones.

Truth be told, though, my requirements are generally those of a lightweight. I face no vocational challenges like Lance and Jazz, I create no performance experiments like Jim and Cliff, and I test no profiling/polishing extremes like many modders here.

Absent my own systematic comparisons, it's really hard for me to separate 204P's proven readiness to do a job from other stainless steels that curiosity has led me to acquire and enjoy.

I do, of course, detect that 204P holds an edge way better than VG10 and somewhat better than S30V and XHP, about the same as M390 and ZDP (unstained in my use so far), and worse than S90V and S110V, but not in orders of magnitude. I also detect that 204P is not as easy to sharpen as VG10, S30V, and XHP, yet it is as easy or much easier than M390, ZDP, S90V, and S110V.

I haven't used my Cruwear (if, indeed, it is to be considered here) or my LC200N enough to know if their combination of the foregoing two factors--edge-holding and sharpening-ease--is enough to move me from 204P, but all the accolades suggest they're in the running (whether for stain-resistant or stain-prone knives in my collection).

[MacLaren]

Without a doubt cts-204p/bohler m390.
I love both the way it performs and sharpens up. My favorite out of any steel really.