Favourite Steel

[telemeister]

Firstly, I have to say that I am not very knowledgable about the subtle (and not so subtle) differences in the steels used by Spyderco, particularly from a practical point of view (cutting, durability, sharpness, sharpening etc).

Having got that admission out of the way, I would like to know more. So, what are your favourite/preferred steels for blades, and why.

I am interested in the practical side of the equation, rather than 'this steel has 3% carbon, and this only has 1%'.

I hope this is not too silly a question?! :eek:

[dalefuller]

Not silly at all. User experience/opinion is often more valuable to a layman in choosing something than a technical analysis.

My favorite folder steels are S30V & VG10 (tied for #1) and 154CM in third place. I have folders in all 3 steels and I use them for EDC chores from time to time. My EDC tasks range from opening mail, blister packs, heavy bags, and light pruning around the yard. At work in the warehouse, I cut everything from cardboard to nylon strapping to heavy zip ties. Relaxing means hiking/camping with the dogs, so there are chores in the woods that my EDC has to do. I add a larger folder for heavy stuff, but my normal EDC knife is still in my pocket.

I've never had a problem with anyone's S30V (Spyderco, Benchmade, CRK, Strider) and it sharpens up quite nicely for me. Holds the edge a good while, too. I can usually get by with a light stropping once or twice a week. Flat-ground S30V blades make the best slicers I have ever used.

VG10 is much the same as S30V as far as being easy for me to sharpen, dependable doing hard chores outside, and very corrosion resistant. I've also never chipped a VG10 blade, even running into steel posts at work. And I've had a VG10 D3 at the beach (Atlantic) for a week, even under water a bit, with no corrosion issues. All I did was rinse it good in fresh water and dry it when I got back to the cabin. When I got home, I rinsed it again and put more Militec on the blade. Never no problem with it.

154CM has also treated me well, although I have less of that than I have VG10 or S30V. What I have from Benchmade gets very, very sharp on my Sharpmaker. I do have to touch it up more than either S30V or VG10 to maintain the same level of sharpness, however. Again, no corrosion or chips with 154CM.

[bh49]

My favorite folder steels are S30V & VG10 (tied for #1)

I am second what Dale said. All my current EDCs have VG10 or S30V and I like them a lot. Fairly easy to sharpen and holding edge well. I am using Sharpmaker (in addition to standard rods I have x-coarse, coarse, and UF). The only difference in sharpening, that I am not using UF rods on S30V, somehow it works better for me. In the past, I had EDCs with 440C and AUS8, easy to sharpen and AUS8 takes very nice edge, but edge retention is not as good as VG10 or S30V.
I sharpened for friends blades with AUS10 and 154CM, no problem to sharpen, but cannot tell you anything about edge holding.

[Wharnie]

Hello Telemeister! Passing along couple of things I have learned during my stay here.

One type of blade steel won't necessarily get sharper than another. You can get a low grade and a high grade cutlery steel equally sharp. However a difference between low and high grade steels is how steep an angle the steel can hold and how long the edge will stay sharp. A better blade steel (such as the ones mentioned above: VG-10, 154-CM, S30V, D-2, ZDP-189, etc) can take and hold steeper blade angles (many say less than 15 degrees per side) whereas a cheaper steel (such as 420 or 440A) could be sharpened to that same angle, and would feel just as sharp on initial testing, but the edge would crumble under use and need frequent resharpening. So a 420 or 440 blade should be sharpened at a more obtuse angle, maybe around 25 degrees per side or so (angles are hugely debatable of course), making for a useable edge that would seem less efficient when cutting due to the more obtuse angle.

The other thing to remember as you shop for "the perfect steel" is that cutlery steel is a compromise of three attributes: (1) edge holding ability (2) toughness, and (3) corrosion resistance. For example, ZDP-189 excels at edge holding ability, but is not as corrosion resistant or tough as some other steels. 440C is tough and corrosion resistant, but won't hold an edge as long as some other steels. H-1 is rust proof and tough, but won't hold an edge like ZDP-189 or S30V. (All these statements are debatable, of course.) Point being, as you learn about steel, you start to match the steel to the task. You might prefer ZDP-189 in a thin slicing blade (think Stretch II), and H-1 in a hard-use knife on your boat (a Salt), and S30V for a backpacking blade (like a Manix), etc.

Steel's fun...and opinions abound...so have fun!

[itxploded]

vg10, s30v 154cm and 440c all are greeat steels :D

[Michael Cook]

:spyder: I love s30v over all other steels. I hate zdp-189, I highly value resharpening ease over edge holding. YMMV. :spyder:

[DainBramage]

Does anyone have an opinion on/experience with the 8Cr13MoV that they are using on the Byrd line... what are its pros and cons?

[Vicarious Reality]

What's the practical difference between ZDP and s90v?

[Michael Cook]

What's the practical difference between ZDP and s90v?

:spyder: The practical difference is s90v knives say "made in Golden CO Earth." :spyder:

[MANIXWORLD]

In this order VG10 my fave by far,its everything i want from a bladesteel.S30V second-all American,and cuts like American bladesteel-supergood and D2 third.

[Senate]

i found S30V to be the best compromise in every aspect, good edge retention and sharpness with ease of sharpening, never had rust problem with almost no maintenance...

[Joshua J.]

S90V is usually run at Rc58-60.
ZDP-189 at Rc64-66.

The result is that ZDP-189 will hold a thin edge much better (just the way I like them).

Other than that they should be very similar in most ways.

[WOTANSON1]

I like S30V, ZDP-189, and VG-10, heck even AUS-8 if it's properly heat treated. The edge holding on ZDP is incredible, I've had my BRG SE Endura since May, haven't had to touch it up yet. I find S30V to be a tough steel, easy to touch up and it's edge holding is second only to ZDP. You couldn't go wrong with any of the above named steels.
Cheers,
Rob

[Shike]

All the common steels used for knife making (440C, 420, 154cm, ATS34, S30V, VG10, etc.) are very good. What makes a steel is mostly, proper heat treating and tempering in order to maximize its attributes. Some seem to hold an edge better because they can be tempered to a higher Rockwell hardness, but this could make a blade brittle. The trick is to achieve a high Rockwell hardness while maintaining toughness. For example 440C at 62 Rockwell might hold an edge as good as 154CM but it will be brittle. Seems like this is where the new supersteels do shine. However for a tough knife that holds a super edge and is fairly easy to sharpen nothing beats a forged blade. But then you have the worry of rust :rolleyes:

Shike

[Left Hand Path]

My favorite steel is VG-10 because most of my favorite knives use it!

More objectively, VG-10 is a really good all-around steel for an EDC knife that is used for a lot of random tasks. It has good edge retention, easy to sharpen to a fine edge, and good corrosion-resistance. It also tends to resist chipping very well.

H-1 is another favorite, especially in SE, because of its rustproof nature. It is also very easy to get super-sharp, and resists chipping very well.

Spyderco doesn't really use any steels that I dislike. With that said, I have not managed to sharpen ZDP to a fine edge nearly as well or easily as other steels. I don't think I am sharpening or using this steel to its full potential yet. This one has a tendency to stain easily, but it can also be cleaned fairly easily with Flitz. Exceptional edge retention.

I have limited use and no complaints with ATS-55, AUS-8, 440C, and 8Cr13MoV - they are all solid performers. Both AUS-8 and 440C get really sharp quite easily. S30V is a cool cutlery-specific steel that I would like to use more of. In my limited experience I found it stained more easily than VG-10, but nothing too serious and can be cleaned with Flitz.

[bladese97]

:spyder: :spyder: :cool: :spyder: :spyder: My favorite flavored Spydersteel is a tie between CPM-S30V, and ZDP-189.....I love my Stretch2 :cool: :D

[grg]

I like BG42 steel,a paramilitary,or caly3 in that steel would rock.

[yablanowitz]

I'm a bit more mission specific about my steel than most folks. I work building maintenance for a small town housing authority. The newest apartments we have were built in 1981, so there is a fair amount of labor involved in keeping them up and bringing them back up to 100% between renters. That means I end up doing a lot of different things with my knives, from carpet removal to tile replacement to drywall repairs. We also have a lot of wind out here on the plains, so very fine sand gets into everything (including that carpet, under the tile and in the cracks in the drywall).

My favorite knives are the ones that hold an edge the longest in the things I do. Right now, that means S90V is leading the pack. I have used ZDP-189 and S90V side by side, and the edge lasts longer on the S90V in my work. 440V and CPM D2 are close behind the first two, with S30V and VG-10 next in line.

I do most of my sharpening freehand on diamond hones, so ease of sharpening is pretty much a non-issue for me. I'd rather spend half an hour after work restoring the shaving sharp edge on my S90V Military than spending ten minutes each on half a dozen VG-10 and S30V blades that got totally dulled doing the same amount of work.

[D-Roc]

CPM 440V here...edge retention, toughness, and most of my all time favorites being offered in the past in that steel helped as well.

[Wharnie]

Recently there was a good thread on steels. It was short and to the point, but went beyond mere opinion. I recollect it was a sort of "spydipedia" posting on steels, that included a lot of different forumite's impressions on various steels.

Ah, here it is:

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

It does a good job of specifying what is a particular steel's strong points.