110 from CS...S30V or 420HC

J

JD Bear

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Hey guys. I'm going to be ordering my first custom Buck and I was hoping you could share some opinions on the steels. I know S30V is a highly regarded steel, but Buck's 420 is as well. My dilemma is this... I have two jobs and don't have much free time. What little I have is spent with my wife and young kiddos. So I won't have an extra hour or two to spend on the sharpmaker bringing an edge back to S30V as opposed to a few minutes on 420. Basically I'm asking if it's worth it to not sharpen as often or to sharpen more frequently in less time. I appreciate any input fellas. My first custom is very important to me...
 
If it takes you an hour to sharpen S30V on a Sharpmaker something is BADLY wrong. I wouldn't want to try reprofiling the edge of an S30V blade using a Sharpmaker, but touch ups and basic sharpening on it honestly won't take much longer, if it takes longer at all. If money isn't an object spring for the S30V. It will hold a nice, functional working edge for probably 5-6 times longer than the 420HC under conventional use. The only reasons I would go for the 420HC is if you find yourself doing a lot of field sharpening or repairing chipped edges (and even then I carry diamond cards in my wallet ;).)
 
It doesn't take me that long, but it is longer than softer steels. I was just throwing that out there. Bad time table obviously, but hopefully you get my drift.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
If it takes you an hour to sharpen S30V on a Sharpmaker something is BADLY wrong. I wouldn't want to try reprofiling the edge of an S30V blade using a Sharpmaker, but touch ups and basic sharpening on it honestly won't take much longer, if it takes longer at all. If money isn't an object spring for the S30V. It will hold a nice, functional working edge for probably 5-6 times longer than the 420HC under conventional use. The only reasons I would go for the 420HC is if you find yourself doing a lot of field sharpening or repairing chipped edges (and even then I carry diamond cards in my wallet ;).)
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By the way, thank you. That's exactly the info I was looking for. It's greatly appreciated
 
JD Bear said:
By the way, thank you. That's exactly the info I was looking for. It's greatly appreciated
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Happy to help. :) I find freehand sharpening on PM steels like S30V has a nasty initial learning curve, but the Sharpmaker is a great tool that mostly eliminates that particular pain.
 
I'm more of a traditional guy so I don't have the much experience with the super steels. The only S30V blade I have is a PM2 and that rarely gets used. So maintenance will be new to me.

I'm going to stick with the clip point for now. I'd want to see the drop point in person before I went that route...
 
I have a very old Lansky sharpener set, and it is not the Diamond set. The S30V blade takes no more time for me to put a hair popping edge on than the 420HC blade. So the cost of the Buck S30V is well worth the money!

JB
 
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Wear resistance in is wear resistance out. The longer it takes to sharpen, the longer the edge will last. I prefer the higher end steel because I don't have to get the sharpening equipment out as often.
 
S30V gets my vote too.

If you have a regular knife maintenance plan S30V is well worth it in your example.

I guess what I'm saying is the worse you let the S30V get, the longer it takes to bring it back. Every 2 or 3 weeks I set my Sharp Maker up and hit all of the knives I've been using; kitchen knives, fixed blades and folders.

I can almost guarantee you'll ultimately regret not getting the S30V on your custom.
 
The price is right for the S30V upgrade and worth it. My only CS has the 420HC with Black Oxide finish though. I went with cool looks and I'm okay with that.
 
BuckShack said:
The price is right for the S30V upgrade and worth it. My only CS has the 420HC with Black Oxide finish though. I went with cool looks and I'm okay with that.
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No doubt. When I get a second one it'll be with the black blade...
 
There is such a huge performance difference between S30V and 420HC that they are not even in the same ball park. I would absolutely go with the S30V.

On a side note, I wish Buck would gravitate to a 154CM class of steel (it is just as cheap as 420) as their basic steel. (Spyderco and Benchmade both offer this class of steel in their regular knives). Buck is such a great company and I think a good America steel like 154CM or something similar would be a great thing.
 
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I would go with s30 v ,it's not bad,neither is 420 either with the proper edge on t.i prefer the convex edges on my hunting knives,my 110 s that come hunting with me all have a convex edge ground on them,for hunting I've yet to have a hollow grind or flat grind even come close to the performance I get out of a properly convexed edge.
 
I have 501 in S30V from the Custom shop. I also have a Vantage Pro in S30V. Buck S30V is a treat. I would absolutely go with that. The Bos heat treat for S30V brings out the best of that alloy. It performs better than S30V I've tried from other manufacturers.

I also agree that it's not hard to touch up on a Sharpmaker. With a Buck blade there is never a need to re-profile.
 
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DocT said:
On a side note, I wish Buck would gravitate to a 154CM class of steel (it is just as cheap as 420) as their basic steel. (Spyderco and Benchmade both offer this class of steel in their regular knives). Buck is such a great company and I think a good America steel like 154CM or something similar would be a great thing.
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Not happening. They'd have to change their manufacturing techniques, and their prices would skyrocket. 420HC can be fine blanked. That is a fast, efficient and relatively inexpensive process. No way to do that with 154CM.
 
If you can wait a few weeks, SKBlades110s in CPM 154 steel with G10 Inlays will be available.
 
[Link to live ebay auction removed.]

Can't beat the price...
 
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As BuckShack says... I didn't know they had that steel in mind. I really like the CPM 154 steel. It's the best of both worlds. Easier to sharpen than S30V and holds it's edge the same length of time. If you're not wanting a particular blade shape then wait on that steel. Otherwise get the blade shape you desire with what ever steel was offered for that model. Good luck on your choice. DM
 
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