Para 3 CPM-S45VN Question

[James Y]

Although I like S30V, I don’t see why S45VN is a bad thing. And I get that some people don’t value better corrosion resistance (or care about corrosion resistance at all), and many even prefer tool steels. I’m not one of them. Maybe S45VN’s performance will turn out better than it appears on paper? Why not let some time go by and see what actual users have to say about it before judging it negatively? And BTW, even very good steels have their detractors.

Jim

[Spook410]

Buying a new knife is when we get to over-analyze, nitpick, rationalize, and scrutinize. But if there is a good enough discount off regular price, that all goes out the window. For $105 (reference 'crazy good deals' thread) I couldn't resist a S45V PM3. I am quite certain that the steel, while not my personal first choice, will be fine. I also wanted contoured grips. And a free lanyard. But at this price, less than perfection looks pretty much OK.

[zuludelta]

Based on current charts, S30V should hold an edge better. S45V should be more stain resistant. I have the latter on order because a good price came up but would actually have preferred the former.

.. By way of example, you can sharpen your S45VN Para 3 to, say, 15° per side, which will probably hold its edge just as long or even longer than an S30V blade at 17° per side. All while having a similar edge stability ..

But why would you sharpen S30V to 17 instead of 15 in the first place? If you sharpen S30V to the normal 15 degrees per side, are you then going to attempt a 13 degree per side for S45V to keep pace? That's not going to work out well. Not to mention that S30V is just as tough as S45V to start with.

S45V is just more stainless and I was disappointed to see Spyderco go this route with the Para 3.

Sheesh. I was just trying to make you feel better about your decision to buy the Para 3 in S45VN. But okay <shrug>

Here's what Larrin had to say about S45VN as it compares to S30V in his in-depth article on the steel published in 2019:

S45VN shows improved toughness and corrosion resistance relative to S30V along with similar edge retention. Or slightly reduced toughness relative to S35VN but with improved corrosion resistance and edge retention. It shows a better overall set of properties, I think, making S45VN a good upgrade to either S30V or S35VN.

https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/11/01/ ... 5vn-steel/

[Spook410]

I saw the older Larrin discussion on S45VN but in his updated charts the steel's position is somewhat changed compared to where it was a few years ago. I'm sure it will be fine. Not like people in the knife community are broadly complaining about the steel. As for making me feel better, thanks. Wasn't slamming you.. just, politely I hope, making a correction to a common misconception that you can use edge geometry to adjust between toughness and edge holding. I'm sure you can in some applications (copper wire cutting?) but less so in common EDC.