Why does everyone hate AUS-6?

[Fisher of Men]

I have heard more complaints about AUS-6 than I know what to do with.

I heard someone say it's no better than kitchen knife steel.

I have to say that I have never had a kitchen knife rust or not hold a decent edge. In fact I would say that most stainless kitchen knives I've had are darn good.

Do I just have really good kitchen knives or do people just say that AUS-6 is bad because they are knife nuts and they are really picky?

I have a SS Delica CE that is AUS-6 and I don't see anything wrong with it. It seems like a normal knife to me.

AM I missing something? :)

Cheers,
David

[Jimmy_Dean]

It's not a bad steel but there are better out there!
as you said, knife nuts tend to be picky.....I think it's 95% of it.

-Dean

[The General]

I used to use my Spyderco Pride a fair bit as an EDC knife. Loved the fit and finish, but I was sharpening that little feller all the time! It sucked edge holding. VG10 and S30V are soooooooooooo much better its unreal. :spyder:

[ghostrider]

I used to own a CRKT Prowler in AUS-6. I use my knife every day and found that I was spending much more time sharpening than I cared to. I have wondered how Spyderco's AUS-6 compares to that of other companies (like CRKT). For all I know, :spyder: 's heat treat may make up for this, although I have seen some forum members express the same concern. I recently purchased a byrd Cara Cara, which is similar, in some respects, to the Endura. I would have liked to have stayed with :spyder: , but I am under the impression that the byrd has better steel than AUS-6.

[Jimmy_Dean]

For all I know, Swiss Army knives use a steel similar to AUS-6 and nobody gives it a second thought.

AUS-6 is good enough for most people but we don't really qualify as the average knife users, do we? :)

[Michael Cook]

I fear we are most of us chart people. We look at the numbers and get hung up on rockwell numbers and the like.

[wotanson]

Most modern stainless steels properly heat treated should hold an edge pretty well, some are better than others. I like S30V alot, Spyderco uses a company that does an excellent heat treat, or does it themselves (don't know which, but something tells me they have someone else do it). I would much rather have a properly heat treated blade of Aus-6 than a crappy heat treat on a blade of S30V, if you know what I mean. I think Spyderco uses Aus-6 to keep cost down, it's not a "bad" steel just a couple of generations out of "style" with :spyder: nuts! It's not my favorite, but better imho than what some companies use like 420j2 which doesn't have enough carbon to hold an edge at all, yet some companies (which shall remain name less to protect the guilty) use that as there blade steel. Spyderco uses it as handle material iirc. Hope that helps. Hail Odin!! and Cheers! Rob

[rikkitik]

I don't hate AUS-6. I like AUS-6. In fact I passionately like AUS-6. Forum guidelines prevent me from saying just how much. As to the comparison to Swiss Army steel... I've seen Swiss steel bounce back quick from some terrible abuse, but I've never got it as sharp as this lil meerkat and I'm good with a stone.
I hope steels don't become a class issue. Them VG-10, us AUS-6. If it does, try,"It's a mere entry level steel, hardly worth your notice. However, I do hope you will be amused by it's presumption." :spyder:

[Jimmy_Dean]

I like AUS-6. In fact I passionately like AUS-6. Forum guidelines prevent me from saying just how much.

That sounds funny! Why? You make it sounds like there's pornographic content in there :D

[Mr Blonde]

To most Knifeknuts, AUS 6 is not desirable because it dulls faster than say VG-10 or S30V. I am sure that most knifeknuts dislike it because it is 'old'. For collectors the new thing, is often the thing to have.

AUS 6 is good steel though, it sharpens up really nicely. Which is not too weird because it dulls fast, so it is easy to shape into a nice keen edge too.

Wouter

[gordonk]

I would agree with Mr. Blonde on this as well. For most of the EDC things I do, and I would suspect many others, AUS6 is more than adequate. Unless I'm cutting a lot, like knocking down cardboard server boxes or lots of cable ties (that when it gets "fun" to do a comparison :D ), I've never really noticed it that much. Usually it's just a few cuts here and there and normally not hard stuff where the durablility really shows itself. One thing that I have noticed, is that the correct blade shape/grind for the job makes life much easier - more reason to carry multiple folders - never know what you are going to encounter :D

- gord

[i.v]

i personally like aus6 better than aus8... it takes a wicked edge & really bites into things... true, it dulls quickly, but it sharpens up even quicker.
it's pretty tough too & has good flexibility.. there are aplications in which it can br prefeable to the newer & better steels.

[Fisher of Men]

Thanks for the education. Those are the kinds of things I wanted to know.

:)
David

[psimonl]

AUS-6 is pretty good for your average office cutting (snack prep', enveloppe, cutting article in magazines,...) But a little heavier jobs like box cuttings, plastic, thin layers of metal (soda cans alike) and it will get dull after a cut or two...
Yes, it's easy to sharpens, but I'd say a little bit too easy: Its easy to take off too much metal particules and after a couple of months, your Merrkat looks like a Laguiole :eek: :D
But hey, it's the entry level of a first grade kind of knife...

As for the :spyder: knuts, I fell a lot of us, once zdp-189 is out, will feel cpm-s30v and vg-10 is not that great anymore... We always aim for the best on the market...
****, before I got bitten, I thought 12C27 was the ultimate steel... :p

Simon

[STR]

I don't think it is that everyone hates AUS6. It is just that they like the other choices better.

AUS6 is certainly better than 420 steel which I think everyone pretty much agrees is weak. (I'm being kind)

Frankly it puzzles me why a company would insult themselves by using a steel like 420 or even the 440 A when there are much better steels available now that just out perform these steels in every way.

Really from that stand point. I'd rather see Buck and Kershaw and some of the other companies guilty of using the 420 steels and 440A steel in their blades start using AUS6 or AUS8 instead. At least use 440 C but they keep selling the public these pieces of crap made with the worst stainless available.

[Childe Roland]

This brings up another question I've been wondering about. Now, I appreciate a good quality steel like VG-10; I don't like having a knife go dull halfway through a cutting job, but I have to wonder if edge retention is the only benefit to the newer expensive steels. I, personally am willing to trade a bit of edge retention for easier sharpening. For instance, I would probably rather have a blade of 440C than one of D-2.

[crahen]

I don't think it is that everyone hates AUS6. It is just that they like the other choices better.

AUS6 is certainly better than 420 steel which I think everyone pretty much agrees is weak. (I'm being kind)

Frankly it puzzles me why a company would insult themselves by using a steel like 420 or even the 440 A when there are much better steels available now that just out perform these steels in every way.

Really from that stand point. I'd rather see Buck and Kershaw and some of the other companies guilty of using the 420 steels and 440A steel in their blades start using AUS6 or AUS8 instead. At least use 440 C but they keep selling the public these pieces of crap made with the worst stainless available.

Well said

After sooooo many years of using the "lower grade" steels I feel like I'm driving an expensive sports car when I use a Spyderco :D When I got a taste of the "good stuff" there was no going back!

That being said, If I'm going to use a "lesser" steel, I'd rather use Spyderco's AUS-6 than other companies "lesser" steels.

Spyderco has spoiled me.

[ghostrider]

I think the quality of various heat treatments is a significant factor. For example, I have a Buck 110 that stayed shaving sharp through butchering three deer. I am not real sure what steel they use, but Buck calls it 420 High Carbon. My Kershaw Whirlwind with 440a took and held an edge much better than either of my CRKT’s in AUS-6. I thought that Whirlwind’s steel was the bee’s knees until I tried VG-10. Now I’m spoiled with VG-10.

My knives get used breaking down cardboard boxes. I didn’t used to think that I would ever notice a difference in the performance of different blade steels. When I used to use the Whirlwind on the boxes, I would occasionally need to touch up the blade (this done with fine ceramic), but after a couple days at the most have to re-sharpen, usually after a day. When I tried the AUS-6 on the boxes, I found that the blade needed re-sharpening every day, and most often couldn’t make it through a job without it. When I tried VG-10 I found that the blade wouldn’t even need a touch-up until after a couple days. The VG-10 blade might (depending on use) need sharpening every two weeks to a month, and sometimes not even that.

There are probably other factors such as grind and edge bevel that also play into the scheme of things. The thing is, most people are going to (through trial and error) find what works best for them, and go with that.

[JDEE]

It is not only the steel that makes a good blade but the heat treatment, the profile, the edge etc. I normally rate steels by the amount of carbon as it is the one element that is important to all steels, that are heat treated, and the more carbon in a steel the better chance you have of good edge retention which for me is one of the main factors in rating a knife.

For a serious EDC or hunting blade EG I do not recommend any steels under AUS8, which is a borderline steel IMO, and therefore exclude the 440A and B steels and AUS6 which make fine kitchen/butcher knives because of the perceived need of the user to have a blade that is easy to sharpen and the fact that the profile lends itself to this type of steel.

I have owned and used and reviewed many knives with AUS6 and have yet to find one that will hold an edge, of course they are easy to sharpen but who wants to be sharpening all the time and of course the more sharpening you do the more steel you take off and the sooner you have to consign the knife to the WPB. Also increased sharpening means the more chances there are of stuffing up the blade.

In this day and age when we have so many fine steels available why waste money on a AUS6 blade when you can buy a blade of 440c, VG10, N690, ATS34, AUS10 which is going to perform better and last longer NB you don't have to go into the super steels like S30V to get good performance the steels just mentioned will provide excellent performance for even the above average knife user.

[JD Spydo]

It's very simple David. It's just not very good compared to others that Spyderco offers. I have used 2 knives made with AUS-6 and one of them was not a Spyderco and the other one was. I was spending more time sharpening them than I was actually using them. Now I see there are those who like or don't even mind AUS-6 but I respectfully differ with them. If you are going to get a premium knife like a Spyderco then why do you want one with kitchen grade steel in it. It's like buying a Corvette and putting cheap tires on it. That's my take on it :spyder: