VG-10 vs. S30V?

[mwebb524]

I've been a knife guy since I was about 10, but am a newbie to Spyderco. Up to a year ago, I only had old-style jackknives and Leatherman tools. I recently decided to expand my horizons a little and got a Delica 1 with full Spyderedge. It was love at first slice. About a month after the Delica, I went to my local knife shop and bought a Native. The owner had a comparably priced Centofante 3, but as they appeared to be made of equivalent materials, I went with the Native for the forward choil and overall chunkiness. My question is this: what are the differences in performance between S30V and VG-10? I was under the impression that S30V was a little better, but Spyderco sells the Native III (with VG-10) at a higher cost. Take pity on a rookie :p

[Bolster]

Welcome Mwebb! Hopefully you will enjoy the Spyderco forum and stick around for awhile. For the part of your question that pertains to steels, check out:

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32670

People on this forum are moving away from "better" to describe steels, since modern cutlery steels generally represent a balance of attributes with planned tradeoffs...we follow CEO Sal's lead and prefer the concept of "different" steels for different purposes. The trick is finding a steel whose strong points match what you want most: fewer sharpenings, less rust, sharp initial edge, toughness, or a balance of some or all of these benefits. Hopefully the above thread will help you sort out your needs relative to a particular steel's strong points.

[Halfneck]

As far as my limited steel knowledge goes, the comparison of the 2 is something like this:

S30V - Holds an edge longer, but harder to sharpen.
VG10 - Easier to sharpen, but does not hold it's edge as long.

Personally I prefer VG10.

[LowTEC]

I personally like S30V better :cool:

[The Mastiff]

And that pretty much sums it up! :) Joe

[MANIXWORLD]

VG10 is WAY MUCH less prone to rust. Love the VG10!!

[MacTech]

VG-10 Corrosion Test
S30V Corrosion Test

[amen74]

Thanks for the links to your tests MacTech. Also to the test subjects. Very informative.

[Fred Sanford]

Gosh just from MacTech's tests it would seem that S30V had less rust than VG-10. :eek: Is that true MacTec?

My favorite is VG-10. It just seems very very good at everything. :)

[Slatts]

For practical purposes, there's really not that much difference between S30V and VG-10. I'd advise you to get the knife you liked the best and don't sweat the minute differences in blade steel performance.

[MacTech]

Gosh just from MacTech's tests it would seem that S30V had less rust than VG-10. :eek: Is that true MacTec?

My favorite is VG-10. It just seems very very good at everything. :)

VG-10 took a hair longer to rust, but rust was more extensive, S30V picked up cosmetic corrosion quicker, but actual damaging rust took longer to form

both steels are extremely close in performance, I also like VG-10 better as an all-around versatile steel, easy sharpening, good corrosion resistance and good edge stability

[markg]

The increased price of the Native III has little to do with the steel choice. Has to do with where it is made. The Native (II) is made in Golden CO, and the Native III is made in Japan. The maker who makes the Native III has a lot to do with the price (and then factor in exchange rates, etc.)

Both are high performance, modern stainless steels. One interesting note, is that CPM S30V is actually one of the few steels that was designed to be a cutlery steel from the get go (most are adapted from other applications).

What you will notice is that VG-10 will have a finer edge, where S30V will feel more "toothy" or rough, which in some applications is preferred.

[cobrajoe]

Truthfully, I like S30V better. Not because of any diference in edge retention or sharpening, but just a bit of personal taste.

I find that S30V is slightly easier to get a biting edge, while VG-10 keeps an extremely smooth edge. This means to me that VG-10 is easier to get a shaving edge, while S30V likes to slice better.

Then again, these are just my findings, so feel free to come to your own conclusions
(This means you will need to buy more than one :D )

[mwebb524]

Wow. Thanks for all the great info. I'm very happy with the Native. In the 24ish hours I've owned it, it's made short work of a couple of those obnoxious plastic blister packs that electronics (and everything else) comes in, and several smaller tasks. My old Schrade would have needed an appointment with Dr. Diamond Stone after the blister packs (I'm a little obsessive about keeping a good edge). The Native is still going strong.

[markg]

Blister packs?

Can anyone say...

CRICKET!!! :)

[ClockWork]

Blister packs?

Can anyone say...

CRICKET!!! :)

Plus a freaking Million!!!!

The Cricket devours plastic packaging!!!!

!!!!

[Jeff Tanner]

Good steels, both...but I prefer VG10 as a hard use steel as it seems to handle edge impacts with hard objects with more grace than S30V, and edge restoration is very fast in the field, even when using less than optimum tools. Great all round versatile steel that seems to do many things well.

I gave up using S30V in heavy work environments where there was a probable likelihood of inadvertently whacking the edge against stuff, which often resulted in a much more difficult to restore chipped edge. I found that frustrating. S30V is a great meat steel, though...nice "sticky" micro saw edge.

[Agent Starling]

S30V v. VG10??? I'll take 10 of each please...

Seems many of us here started out with the humble SAK or some such knife...then progressed to full-on Spydermania!! :D

I like learning about the different steels, but I don't get too hung up on the matter...I like having that good variety in my collection. :)

Agent Starling

[jag-engr]

What you will notice is that VG-10 will have a finer edge, where S30V will feel more "toothy" or rough, which in some applications is preferred.

I find that S30V is slightly easier to get a biting edge, while VG-10 keeps an extremely smooth edge. This means to me that VG-10 is easier to get a shaving edge, while S30V likes to slice better.

S30V is a great meat steel, though...nice "sticky" micro saw edge.

I've found this to be true as well. I'm sure that both knives can take an equally sharp edge, but the S30V edge just has more "bite" to it. I've never had a knife that feels as sharp as my UKPK. For that reason, I prefer S30V to VG-10.

This is in no way a criticism of VG-10 - it's a close second favorite. In fact, my VG-10 Caly3 has been seeing the lion's share of carry time of late.

Steel is only one variable of a good knife, and I think that it is sometimes over-emphasized on many knife forums. (Some may consider this heresy :p ).

________________________


I suspect another variable in the S30V vs. VG-10 debate may be country of origin - the S30V knives are made in Golden and the VG-10 knives are made in Japan. Both are very well made, but, in my limited experience, there are just little things that make a Golden knife a little better.