Ats-55 steel

[RICHAR]

My two ATS-55 Delica 3's are the absolute sharpest Spyderco knives I own, even more so than any VG-10 I own. Why was this steel replaced ? Forgive me if this has been discussed before.

[JD Spydo]

ATS-55 is really good blade steel. I have several Spyders with that blade steel. But over the years I've found that VG-10 will outperform it over the long haul.

Spyderco did extensive testing before replacing ATS-55 with VG-10 and ZDP-189.

It's a funny thing regarding ATS-55 because I don't know of another American knife company that used it or is using it now. I do like the steel myself and I have no plans on replacing any of my Spyders with ATS-55.

It's certainly far better than many of the blade steels used by many production knife makers today,

[alancamby]

I thought the biggest flaw with this steel is rust?

I have a Rookie in this steel that has rust from sitting in a safe.
It does sharpen up well
:)

[CombatGrappler]

IIRC, Spyderco tested ATS-55 and VG-10 pretty extensively. VG-10 squeaked past ATS-55 in a category or two and was chosen as their new steel. I've never had a problem with either one, but I have a soft spot for ATS-55 because my first Spydie had it for the blade steel.

[yablanowitz]

From my recollection of past posts by Sal, ATS-55 was custom made to his specifications, so no other company ever had it. ATS-55 and VG-10 were fielded in the same time frame on different knives. Field results showed VG-10 performed better overall, so ATS-55 was phased out.

[Ribz]

ATS-55 is one of my Favs too right after S30V and S90V, maybe in between those two. Ill just call it 1A, 1B and 1C :spyder:

[RIOT]

I always thought the ATS-55 blades always looked alot more shiny or cleaner too

[JD Spydo]

From my recollection of past posts by Sal, ATS-55 was custom made to his specifications, so no other company ever had it. ATS-55 and VG-10 were fielded in the same time frame on different knives. Field results showed VG-10 performed better overall, so ATS-55 was phased out.

I thought I was right about the fact that no other American knife Company ever used ATS-55. I had an old issue of Tactical Knives magazine that had an article about ATS-55. I'll see if I can find it in the next day or so. There is a section called the "Steel Bin" and they reviewed many different blade steels. Butch Winter talked well of ATS-55 from what I remember of it.

If I remember correctly the ATS-55 was sort of a beefed up version of ATS-34 with some cobalt added and the other alloys slightly tweaked. I still think it's a better blade steel than many of it's predecessors in the Spyderco line up. I would never let the factor of ATS-55 blade steel deter any of my aquisitions. Of course I'd rather have a Civi or Matriarch in VG-10 because newer blades tend to have other improvements added as well. But if I were to go to a flea market and see both blades with ATS-55 at a great price I would grab them immediately.

The only 2 steels out of the Spyderco line that ever disappointed me to where I really wouldn't want to use them are 440A and AUS-6. Other than those 2 I like aspects about all of the different blade steels Spyderco has used throughout the years. ATS-55 is a good blade steel even by today's standards.

[ChapmanPreferred]

I also believe it was replaced by VG-10 for improved corrosion resistance.

[RLR]

It really is my favourite steel on a smaller folder, and you can put a mirror edge like nobody's business.

[JD Spydo]

It really is my favourite steel on a smaller folder, and you can put a mirror edge like nobody's business.

It does polish up good>> You're absolutely right on that point RLR>>

Also I use my G-10, SE Harpy which is my current EDC Hawkbill >> I use it a lot and I can say that on fully serrated blades it performs very well. I've only sharpened that G-10 Harpy, ATS-55, SE about 3 times this entire year. So it's good blade steel and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Also I've noticed that when sharpening ATS-55 it abrades very evenly for a uniform edge.

If Spyderco has any ATS-55 left in stock I would be curious to see how good of a fixed blade knife it would make. Maybe a sprint run of the first Perrin model in ATS-55. Just another wild idea!!!