_centurio_ wrote:I wanted to say that a ranking is relatively heavy to do, and even then no one can say that steel A is the best or Steel B is worse and so on.
What has higher corrosion resistance when exposed to salt water, 1095 or 440C?
Is this a question that people debate, it is something that is difficult to determine? Why not?
The only reason that rankings are difficult is that the questions are poorly framed.
Surfingringo wrote:... is more than just a theory
Theory is the highest form of scientific explanation, there is nothing more supported with evidence, nothing with more explanatory power than a theory.
If you want to rank steels then the hardest part isn't actually the ranking it is describing what you are ranking. The reason why it confuses most people and there is subjective debates is people people often ask to rank things by a description which is extremely vague.
Here is a completely meaningless question :
"Is S90V a better steel than 440A?"
The reason this is meaningless and it turns into a ramble of subjective nonsense is because "better" is not defined, you might as well ask :
"Is S90V more froody than 440A?"
or
"Is S90V more of a high pitched tulip than 440A?"
Here is a question which is has an actual objective answer :
"Grindability and ease of sharpening are critical for me, especially in very demanding work where the knife will take edge damage, which is a better steel - S90V or 440A?"
The answer is 440A because the mechanical properties are higher for the relevant usage described. If other aspects are more critical to the user (or maker) then S90V could be the better steel.
It is no different if you ask about any other property, if the question is framed properly then it has an objective answer - hence one of the reasons why one of the first thing you learn in scientific study is how to ask a question which has an answer.
