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

Surfingringo · #1

I'm starting to think this is a great steel for me. I find it takes an extremely sharp and aggressive edge on medium grit stones. I think I am liking the steel so much because it keeps me from getting carried away with my sharpening. Once I've got a good primary bevel, I hit it 2-3 minutes on the brown sharpmaker stones and I've got an awesome, hair popping working edge. If I try to refine it much more I think it actually loses some of it's bite. I like that because it keeps me out of that neurotic OCD sharpening mentality. :D

I have a few knives now in various "super" steels and to be honest, I think I'll stick with the likes of s30v, h1, and vg10 for now. What do you guys think? Anyone with similar experience?

M80 · #2

I don't have much experience with s30v but i do have experience with VG-10 and i love it :D

sinkerslider · #3

Spyderco's S30V is the best I've used. It takes a brilliant edge and is just a joy to use. The PM2 becomes a real cutting machine.

Syncharmony · #4

I find that if I do some real light passes on the fine stones of my Sharpmaker after the medium stone, that gets me my best edge with S30V. But I mean, barely even the weight of the knife light.

Evil D · #5

It's a great steel IMO. I have no problem with it being the "standard steel" from Golden. I like it with a 400-600 grit edge, typically at 30 degrees inclusive.

xceptnl · #6

Surfingringo wrote:I'm starting to think this is a great steel for me. I find it takes an extremely sharp and aggressive edge on medium grit stones. I think I am liking the steel so much because it keeps me from getting carried away with my sharpening. Once I've got a good primary bevel, I hit it 2-3 minutes on the brown sharpmaker stones and I've got an awesome, hair popping working edge. If I try to refine it much more I think it actually loses some of it's bite. I like that because it keeps me out of that neurotic OCD sharpening mentality. :D

I have a few knives now in various "super" steels and to be honest, I think I'll stick with the likes of s30v, h1, and vg10 for now. What do you guys think? Anyone with similar experience?

I share your feelings about S30V. As a working steel requiring minimal edge polishing it is tops among the standard Spyderco steels. I don't go beyong the brown stones either for my S30V, even in other brands. VG-10 is my prefered Spyderco standard steel because I can go polished or toothy.

jtoler_9 · #7

I'm with the OP. i also enjoy using and sharpening S30V. I have a few folders in this steel and they all work flawlessly for my use. Course I don't get a chance to run them hard much. The most use they see is camping with the fam in the summertime.
I will say the only rival for me to S30V would be M390. I found it to hold an edge better than S30V and has been very surprisingly easy for me to sharpen. And I am not sharpening master. I use the tri-angle sharpener for all my blades. Including our kitchen knives.

Blerv · #8

It's good stuff :) .

Holland · #9

great steel, but as far as sharpening goes, I find M390 to be just as easy to sharpen and its a better overall steel, and M4 is significantly easier to sharpen and i find the properties of M4 to fit my needs the best :D

Evil D · #10

Holland wrote:great steel, but as far as sharpening goes, I find M390 to be just as easy to sharpen and its a better overall steel, and M4 is significantly easier to sharpen and i find the properties of M4 to fit my needs the best :D

I'd have to pretty much agree with this. I wouldn't ever expect to see M4 become a standard production steel since it isn't stainless, but I wouldn't mind at all if M390 became the standard Golden production steel.

Fancier · #11

Evil D, would you settle for CTS 204P instead? I suspect that the Golden standard production steel is going to remain a USA product.

_centurio_ · #12

Hey, on my experience S30V works very well with a toothy edge (f.e. I use 1200 grit Eze Lap or DMT Diamonds). It shaves armhair easily, but it is also very very agressive. Polish up such types of steel is not necessary/useful because they can't take an extremely keen edge like Vg10 or Carbon Steels. The second point is that such steels lose this polished and keen edge very quickly. They are meant to be good slicers. The last point is, that in my opinion toothy edges keep sharpness longer (sharpness with which you can do daily tasks, no things like shaving and so on...).

Oliver

Surfingringo · #13

Fancier wrote:Evil D, would you settle for CTS 204P instead? I suspect that the Golden standard production steel is going to remain a USA product.

Mmm, that 204p is one of the steels that frustrates me! I can fool with that steel for hours, polish it and obsess over it and get it quite sharp but I have never been able to get it to treetop hairs as good as my s30v finished on the medium sm stones. I'm kind of over it.

As far as m4 goes, I had a Gayle Bradley for awhile, but didn't work with it enough to have a truly meaningful opinion. I do remember being able to get it quite sharp.

_centurio_ · #14

Mmm, that 204p is one of the steels that frustrates me! I can fool with that steel for hours, polish it and obsess over it and get it quite sharp but I have never been able to get it to treetop hairs as good as my s30v finished on the medium sm stones. I'm kind of over it.

Extreme amount of carbides. So a Ferrari is not made to drive off-road races.

Such steels are not meant to be treetoppnig sharp. So easy it is.

Surfingringo · #15

Which has an extreme amount of carbides? 204p?

DeathBySnooSnoo · #16

Holland wrote:great steel, but as far as sharpening goes, I find M390 to be just as easy to sharpen and its a better overall steel, and M4 is significantly easier to sharpen and i find the properties of M4 to fit my needs the best :D

I pretty much agree with this. As a standard go to type steel is is more than fine, it is great. As far as a steel that I would want to have on most every knife...M390 and M4 are tops for me.

_centurio_ · #17

Yes CTS 204P. Extreme amount of carbides.

Jazz · #18

I like H1, VG10, S30V, and ZDP 189. Beyond that, I don't pay attention to the new steels because those 4 are super steels to me still.

Pockets · #19

S30V is currently my favorite steel. My las three purchases all have it: Sage 1, ZT 0350, and Para 2.

sinkerslider · #20

_centurio_ wrote:Hey, on my experience S30V works very well with a toothy edge (f.e. I use 1200 grit Eze Lap or DMT Diamonds). It shaves armhair easily, but it is also very very agressive. Polish up such types of steel is not necessary/useful because they can't take an extremely keen edge like Vg10 or Carbon Steels. The second point is that such steels lose this polished and keen edge very quickly. They are meant to be good slicers. The last point is, that in my opinion toothy edges keep sharpness longer (sharpness with which you can do daily tasks, no things like shaving and so on...).

Oliver

This hasn't been my experience. I don't know how you define a keen edge, 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. Regardless, I agree with Jazz, the S30V is so good that I don't really need the newer super steels, though I have them anyway. :D