S30v vs s110v

[Surfingringo]

Given some of the rumors and speculation that are floating around (based on some comments on British blades) I thought it would be interesting to get people's opinions on how these two steels compare. I don't have anything in s110v but I have always found s30v to be a good all around steel. If I had one complaint it would be that I experience some occasional (very minor) microchipping in the edge. Fwiw, I have experienced similar behavior from s90v. How about s110v? How does it stack up on edge retention, toughness, strength, edge stability etc?

[Ankerson]

That's going to vary a lot depending on how it's Heat Treated, it has a rather large usable hardness range from 58-65 and even more HT formulas.

S110V is just one of those steels that needs to be experienced, it's just different going on my own personal experience with it over the years and in a wide hardness range, geometry and HT protocols.

Spyderco seems to do a good job with it in their Manix 2, it's at 62 RC and worked fine for me at the stock .025" and the reground .005" geometry. Also the Native 5 in the same range and the Mule team that was at 60 RC seemed to be fine at the stock thickness.

That's not getting into the customs as they are a different animal.

[Donut]

From what I've read, S30V was designed to give additional wear resistance when toughness is not needed. The fact that your only negative is chipping, it is performing as designed.

Since that is what S30V offers, I don't know why people would make S30V outdoorsy type fixed blades.

[Ankerson]

From what I've read, S30V was designed to give additional wear resistance when toughness is not needed. The fact that your only negative is chipping, it is performing as designed.

Since that is what S30V offers, I don't know why people would make S30V outdoorsy type fixed blades.

A few Companies have had a great deal of success using S30V over the years in the outdoor harder use type fixed blades. :)

It all comes down to HT and geometry in the end.

[Donut]

From what I've read, S30V was designed to give additional wear resistance when toughness is not needed. The fact that your only negative is chipping, it is performing as designed.

Since that is what S30V offers, I don't know why people would make S30V outdoorsy type fixed blades.

A few Companies have had a great deal of success using S30V over the years in the outdoor harder use type fixed blades. :)

It all comes down to HT and geometry in the end.

I don't have any sources, but I'm pretty sure that companies have had success using chinese butter knife steel for harder use fixed blades, too. :p

[Ankerson]

From what I've read, S30V was designed to give additional wear resistance when toughness is not needed. The fact that your only negative is chipping, it is performing as designed.

Since that is what S30V offers, I don't know why people would make S30V outdoorsy type fixed blades.

A few Companies have had a great deal of success using S30V over the years in the outdoor harder use type fixed blades. :)

It all comes down to HT and geometry in the end.

I don't have any sources, but I'm pretty sure that companies have had success using chinese butter knife steel for harder use fixed blades, too. :p

I was talking about Strider and Chris Reeve Knives. :)

[Donut]

Those are the companies that I don't understand. :)

[Ankerson]

Those are the companies that I don't understand. :)

They have some smart people running them that aren't rookies, they know what they are doing. :)

[Surfingringo]

So, nobody has any input on how s110v compares to s30v in areas like edge retention, toughness, strength, edge stability etc?

[bearfacedkiller]

I use an S110V mule in my kitchen daily and it works well. It stays sharp for what seems like forever to me but that is hard to say because the rest of my kitchen knives are cheap junk and the wife is kind of hard on them. All my S30V knives are pocket knives and see very different use than a kitchen knife. I have one folder in S110V and that is my Forum Native and it has seen very, very little use. It is difficult for me to make any comparisons for this reason.

I can comment on grindability. They are noticeability different in that regard. When trying to achieve a very fine edge I find it much easier with the S30V. It is easy enough to apex both edges with the diamond rods but when moving through the ceramic rods you can see a difference in how long it takes. For this reason I usually just sharpen S110V on the brown rods and call it good. Works well for a kitchen utility knife.

It might be a slight understatement to say that I am frugal and I can be a bit of a penny pincher. Gotta pay for those Spydies some how. The monkey doesn't feed itself. I buy my meat in bulk and butcher it myself. Here I used my S110V mule to trim up a pork loin before using my Santoku to cut it into chops and stew meat.

[edge-e]

I have used S30V for quite some time and have less experience with S110V but some.
If both steels have upper range hardness and geometry alike, S110V should have higher strength, wear, edge holding but lower impact toughness then S30V. Edge stability is greater in lower carbide steels as long as the hardness is in the upper range. IMO..in general .

[Johnnie1801]

Personally I prefer s110v over s30v. I have the s110v lw Manix and the standard s30v PM2. Sharpening the s110v takes me a bit longer than the s30v but the former keeps a great edge for much longer and a longer time period between sharpening.

One night in the kitchen I dropped my Manix and as it fell I knew it was going to hit the tip. I thought it would break on the tiled floor but when I picked it up it was just folded over ever so slightly, a couple of minutes on a medium stone and it was back to normal. it's a tough steel.

I think for an edc blade s110v is a slightly more useful blade than s30v. For outdoor work I would prefer something else like cruwear or m4.

The lw Manix is a hard knife not to carry, it only weighs 81 grams and with the s110v it is a great knife. It's no wonder the forum voted it the knife of 2014.

[Evil D]

So, nobody has any input on how s110v compares to s30v in areas like edge retention, toughness, strength, edge stability etc?

Lets see....I feel pretty confident in saying that I have used both steels well enough to have a fair understanding of all of those areas, except for perhaps strength since I don't go around splitting wood with my folders. I haven't done any crazy cutting tests beyond cutting 2k+ strips of double wall corrugated with my Manix when I first got it, and I cut some various plastic bands and zip ties and such. I would say that basically anything 30 can do, 110 will do on such a higher level, and to such a degree better, that for me it was like the difference between "department store steels" and when I first started using S30V. That's how big of a difference it has been in my uses. I haven't experienced any chipping whatsoever, and the only down side I can think of would probably be sharpening difference, but I honestly don't think 110 is any harder to keep sharpened than 30. They're both wear resistant enough that reprofiling them takes some work, but it's nothing that some quality stones can't cut through.

[wrdwrght]

I recall Sal saying S30V is no slouch, or words to that effect, while talking about steels reputedly more super.

But I do notice that my Native5 in S35VN is less inclined to microchipping than, say, my Sage1. The difference is not stark, however. After all, Spyderco HTs with care.

Still, any introduction of toughness to an EDC blade that I'm liable to use aggressively to get a job done is a good thing, IMO.

I do worry, I must confess, about chipping my Native5 and Manix2 LW in S110V in some unexpectedly weird EDC task for want of the toughness my first-mentioned Native5 seems to have.

[Ankerson]

So, nobody has any input on how s110v compares to s30v in areas like edge retention, toughness, strength, edge stability etc?

What was it you where thinking about using it for?

In my experience S110V will hold an edge for a longer period of time than S30V and by a noticeable amount.

I haven't had any issues with S110V personally.

[Surfingringo]

So, nobody has any input on how s110v compares to s30v in areas like edge retention, toughness, strength, edge stability etc?

What was it you where thinking about using it for?

In my experience S110V will hold an edge for a longer period of time than S30V and by a noticeable amount.

I haven't had any issues with S110V personally.

Just normal stuff Jim. Kitchen and food. General edc. Some occasional fish work. I think its pretty much the consensus that s110v is going to hold an edge longer. I guess my main question is will the edge be more resistant to chipping than s30v. I hate asking it like that because it sounds like I'm saying that s30v is "chippy". I don't find s30v bad at all in that regard but it does seem to be a bit more prone than the m4 I'm using for example. Guess I just wanted to know how s110v performs in that area. Similar to s30v? Better? Worse?

[Ankerson]

So, nobody has any input on how s110v compares to s30v in areas like edge retention, toughness, strength, edge stability etc?

What was it you where thinking about using it for?

In my experience S110V will hold an edge for a longer period of time than S30V and by a noticeable amount.

I haven't had any issues with S110V personally.

Just normal stuff Jim. Kitchen and food. General edc. Some occasional fish work. I think its pretty much the consensus that s110v is going to hold an edge longer. I guess my main question is will the edge be more resistant to chipping than s30v. I hate asking it like that because it sounds like I'm saying that s30v is "chippy". I don't find s30v bad at all in that regard but it does seem to be a bit more prone than the m4 I'm using for example. Guess I just wanted to know how s110v performs in that area. Similar to s30v? Better? Worse?

I haven't seen S30V chip on me so I can't really say, or S110V for that matter. :confused:

I use S110V in the kitchen and have for awhile now and the knife I use is thin behind the edge at .005" and very hard at 65. I have cut through chicken bones with it, joints etc and haven't had any issues for what that is worth.

So I have to go by my own experiences with it in a pretty large number of blades over the years.

[elena86]

Different animals.Metalurgy and chemistry are so boring.Let's talk real life.S30V is a good allaround steel, it keeps a good working edge for a decent amount of time but it looses the shaving sharp edge quite fast.What I like about S30V is that it's very aggresive when it bites into the material(probably due to the microchips).For "usual stuff" S110V will maintain a shaving sharp edge for a long time.Very long....And it's quite tough.Being a Cruwear guy I don't care for any of these steels.I am surprised to hear that you do not have anything in S110V.I own two Manix2 LW in S110V and one of them is collecting dust.It's a shame.From now on it is written Lance all over it.Just say when and where.Let's say that the little duck you saved was a friend of mine :)

[bdblue]

I do worry, I must confess, about chipping my Native5 and Manix2 LW in S110V in some unexpectedly weird EDC task for want of the toughness my first-mentioned Native5 seems to have.

You might need some Elmax, or 3V.

[Surfingringo]

Different animals.Metalurgy and chemistry are so boring.Let's talk real life.S30V is a good allaround steel, it keeps a good working edge for a decent amount of time but it looses the shaving sharp edge quite fast.What I like about S30V is that it's very aggresive when it bites into the material(probably due to the microchips).For "usual stuff" S110V will maintain a shaving sharp edge for a long time.Very long....And it's quite tough.Being a Cruwear guy I don't care for any of these steels.I am surprised to hear that you do not have anything in S110V.I own two Manix2 LW in S110V and one of them is collecting dust.It's a shame.From now on it is written Lance all over it.Just say when and where.Let's say that the little duck you saved was a friend of mine :)

That is an amazing gesture Elena. I will graciously accept under the condition that I pass along one of my own to someone who will take joy from it. I have just the person in mind. :)