Hi, Loki. A quick look at S110V can be had by searching the forum. There are a couple of good threads going on the steel itself. To my knowledge, the Shallot has been the only production knife (though limited) using this steel.
I have the Shallot in S110V. My PERSONAL thoughts on the S110V Shallot in the Cliff notes version:
- The blade geometry means that while you can get this nasty sharp, it still won't be a great slicer (great cutter, though)
- The steel is NOTHING to be afraid of; it sharpens well and stays sharp
- The blade on this knife works better if the edge is reprofiled a bit, and taken back a few degrees. Mine came pretty dull, which was surprising, but since I reprofiled the edge anyway it didn't matter
- The blade on the S110V seems (hold them side by side) thicker than the ZDP. Comparison pictures on this forum bear this out. This thicker blade gives this knife an excellent, solid feel, and also makes it feel really secure when using it
- Some have made comments about lack of corrosion resistance. This has not been my personal experience. Down here in South Texas it has already been in the 90's a couple of days, and I have been working on removing and rebuilding a roof structure. I have soaked sweat all the way through my clothes (this time of year, add 15 degrees to the ambient air temp and you will have your roof temps) and while the Shallot was in my pocket the whole time, no sign of corrosion - not even any discoloration
A word on edge retention. It doesn't stay sharp forever, but certainly maintains a usable edge longer than my Benchmades, Browning or others. It is so far ahead of my poor old Buck folder it is sad...
Since I am in hands on construction mode these days, this knife gets used. I don't cut up boxes, open mail, clean my fingernails or maintain this knife on the ready to be used if the shredder is on the fritz. I use it to cut wood, fiberglass banding straps, strip wire, cut PVC, remove old paint, etc. Everything a work knife should do.
So far, out of all the knives I have owned over the last 36 years or so in the trades, this one is the best. After using the hell out, I finally had to touch up the blade after a month's use. I was stripping some large copper cable, and repeated cuts into the copper finally dulled the blade - but about 5 minutes on the Lansky fixed it right up.
The utility value of this knife makes it worth the extra $$ to know I have a sharp blade in my pocket when I need it.
Just my 0.02. YMMV.
Robert
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