I'm really starting to like s30v steel! Opinions?

[chuck_roxas45]

I found that as my skill to sharpen and experience at fitting an edge to the task increased, that I was getting to like a wider range of steels.

[jtoler_9]

but by my definition I can't imagine getting a knife much sharper than I can with the Paramilitary 2. I usually sharpen up to the 1600 grit ceramic stones on the WEPS and end up with an edge that is truly scary sharp, easily sharper than my VG10 blades. :D

In my mind it may be a challenge to compare the sharp edge of your S30V Para 2 to your VG10 blades. I think there are other factors at play other than just type of steel. Like thickness of the edge and behind the bevel. Grind type and even blade shape. Since there have not been any VG10 Para 2's to my knowledge, the comparison between the two is tough. At least that's my understanding of things. Hopefully one of the experts here can chime in and keep me honest.
But I do agree I love my S30V Para.

[Cliff Stamp]

S30V is a powder metallurgy, high carbon / high vanadium stainless steel, it is a pretty extreme position to rank it as below "super steels" which tends to be simply a ranking based on low stress abrasive wear. The only steels which are significantly higher in this kind of labeling are steels such as ZDP-189, S90V. It isn't outclassed in that type of rank by steels such as Elmax and m390 which are significantly below that type of wear ranking than S90V.

S30V is well used, as is S35VN just like ATS-34 before it, but in the general spectrum of stainless steels, even stainless steels for cutlery they are still fairly extreme materials in regards to alloy and construction methods.

The most non-hype way to look at / understand S30V was exactly how it was originally promoted which was to offer makers/manufacturers a stainless steel which had more low stress abrasive wear resistance than the commonly used steels, but not have to jump to S60/90V which are more demanding to grind/harden so much so that people didn't want to use them.

Spyderco in general does very well with S30V. While there is some spread among the S30V knives I have used from Spyderco, the better ones can easily match the performance of customs from people like Phil Wilson in regards to ease of sharpening and edge retention over a wide range of materials and that isn't a bad standard to achieve.

[akaAK]

One of my favourites, glad it is used in so many platforms, can get it and keep it sharp, relatively cost effective, good wear resistance (for my uses) and good corrosion resistence.

I consider it a super steel (purely subjective)

[TheChunk91]

S30V is my top choice overall, it works perfectly for me and ive never had a problem with chipping (like we all seem to hear about so much) I have only has 2 times where it was impossible for me to sharpen and I had to get it done by somebody else, once with my old para 2 before I had any sharpening skill and again when I cut up a ton of carpet with my manix 2. I have found it sharpens up insanely sharp pretty easily and has no problem holding a long razor edge and a very long working edge. I hope S30V isnt phased out by as spyderco's standard by something else, its a tried and true exceptional performing steel that I see as the gold standard for quality supersteels.

[Surfingringo]

S30V is a powder metallurgy, high carbon / high vanadium stainless steel, it is a pretty extreme position to rank it as below "super steels" which tends to be simply a ranking based on low stress abrasive wear. The only steels which are significantly higher in this kind of labeling are steels such as ZDP-189, S90V. It isn't outclassed in that type of rank by steels such as Elmax and m390 which are significantly below that type of wear ranking than S90V.

S30V is well used, as is S35VN just like ATS-34 before it, but in the general spectrum of stainless steels, even stainless steels for cutlery they are still fairly extreme materials in regards to alloy and construction methods.

The most non-hype way to look at / understand S30V was exactly how it was originally promoted which was to offer makers/manufacturers a stainless steel which had more low stress abrasive wear resistance than the commonly used steels, but not have to jump to S60/90V which are more demanding to grind/harden so much so that people didn't want to use them.

Spyderco in general does very well with S30V. While there is some spread among the S30V knives I have used from Spyderco, the better ones can easily match the performance of customs from people like Phil Wilson in regards to ease of sharpening and edge retention over a wide range of materials and that isn't a bad standard to achieve.

Hey cliff, I don't have enough metallurgy (or general) knowledge to always understand everything you talk about, but I enjoy reading your posts and always learn something. Could you give me a simple definition of "low stress abrasive wear resistance"? Does that mean how wear resistance it is while making light cuts without much pressure? I'm not sure what the "low stress" means.

Thanks,

Lance

[chuck_roxas45]

He means it'll.fracture with light use. He's been saying that for a long time now. I don't know much metallurgy but my high carbide steel's edges haven't fallen apart on me.

[Surfingringo]

He means it'll.fracture with light use. He's been saying that for a long time now. I don't know much metallurgy but my high carbide steel's edges haven't fallen apart on me.

Hmm, I didn't get that at all. Sounded more like he was extolling the virtues of the steel and comparing it favorably with a lot of steels that are commonly considered superior. But like I said in my previous post, I don't know what folks are talking about half the time. :)

[chuck_roxas45]

Yeh, well it'd be interesting if he's changed his tune. :)

[Philo Beddoe]

I've got S30V, S90V, S110V, M390, M4, ZDP-189, Super Blue and Cruware bladed Spydies here, all great steels IMO, but if my Mule is any indication, K390 outdoes them all, but as always YMMV.

I will say I am liking Cruware a lot.

Hoping for a K390 bladed Millie in the next few years.

[Philo Beddoe]

I've got S30V, S90V, S110V, M390, M4, ZDP-189, Super Blue and Cruware bladed Spydies here, all great steels IMO, but if my Mule is any indication, K390 outdoes them all, but as always YMMV.

I will say I am liking Cruware a lot.

Hoping for a K390 bladed Sprint Run Millie in the next few years.

[Cliff Stamp]

Could you give me a simple definition of "low stress abrasive wear resistance"? Does that mean how wear resistance it is while making light cuts without much pressure?

Yes that is exactly what it means : http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthre ... y-quot-use .

It is often argued that a steel has high wear resistance by citing a chart or statistic in a materials data sheet, however there are many ways to measure wear resistance and you have to ask yourself what way is relevant to the steel being used in a knife.

A common method is pin-on-disk which is a very low stress test of abrasive resistance where the load can be as low as 1 kg. Now think about the last time you were using your knife and only putting a couple of pounds of force into the cut.

There is another test of wear resistance commonly used which is block-on-wheel which uses a much higher load of about 50 lbs. This is a measurement of high stress wear resistance. In this test S7 has a higher wear resistance than M4 for example, the opposite is true in low stress testing.

This means that the wear resistance of a steel will depend on how it is used.

[Surfingringo]

Thank you cliff. Interesting. So it sounds like the "best" steel with the "best" edge retention will be greatly dependent upon the way you are using your knife. I can tell you this...the load on my average cutting tasks is a **** of a lot closer to 1 kilo than 50 lbs! Especially as sharp as I am able to keep s30 v! :)

[sixheads]

I have carried a sage 1 and a caly 3 in rotation everyday for years. If i have to do any dirty work i use a bird . I do not even look for pocket knives anymore nothing has come close to the blade steels and carry of these 2 knives. For a fixed blade i use a rock salt in H1.

S30v and vg10 are just to easy to use and maintain to look any further.

[Cliff Stamp]

I can tell you this...the load on my average cutting tasks is a **** of a lot closer to 1 kilo than 50 lbs!

In this case, and assuming your edges are similar to 0.015"/15 dps, then steels like S30V tend to do very well, hence why D2 is so popular for example as a hunting/skinning knife and why so many people speak well of Dozier as D2 and S30V are in the same class for how they behave in regards to wear.

Exactly right though, the best steel/edge retention is very knife dependent. I have some knives in some steels which are very well paired, but but the same steel in another knife and the knife becomes almost useless because of the poor performance of the steel.