440v/s60v

Ben Dover

Ben Dover

Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
2,809
I am being given a folder made from 440V/S60V in a trade.

I have no personal experience with this steel.

For those of you who do:

Will it accept a 15 degree per side edge withpout problems?

Is it fine grained enough to benefit from a 15 K sharpening and submicron stropping?

Thank you in advance,

Ben
 
I have no experience with this steel, but you might find some interesting reading about it in Joe Talmadge's 'Steel FAQ' sticky, such as this:

Quoted text excerpted from this thread ---> http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/368828-Steel-FAQ
"S30V - S60V (CPM T440V) - S90V (CPM T420V)
Two steels that hold an edge superbly, world class type edgeholding,
but it can be difficult to get the edge there in the first place.
These steels are made with Crucible's particle metallurgy process, and
that process allows these steels to be packed with more alloying
elements than traditional steel manufacturing methods would allow.
Both steels are very high in vanadium, which accounts for their
incredible wear resistanceg. Spyderco offers at least one model in CPM
S60V. Spyderco, one major user of S60V, has cut back hardness
down to 55-56Rc, in order to keep toughness acceptable, but that
sacrifices strength so there is a tradeoff. S90V is CPM's
follow-on to 440V, and with less chromium and almost double the
vanadium, is more wear-resistant and tougher than S60V -- and, in
fact, is probably more wear-resistant than any other stainless
steel used in the cutlery industry. As such, S90V
is in the running with steels like BG-42 as among the best
general-purpose stainless steels; however, S90V is even more expensive
and difficult to work than BG-42, so it's strictly in the realm of
custom makers currently.."
Click to expand...
 
I have a Kershaw Avalanche in S60V, and I've used it a handful of times to cut paracord, open up priority boxes, simple stuff not what I would consider hard use. Apart from some use marks on the DLC coating, the edge is still pristine and remains one of my sharpest knives. I know that isn't much to draw any type of significant user experience from, but it's what I've got.
 
I have had a number of Spyderco's in that alloy. I have taken it through the Sharpmaker grits - Diamonds, Coarse, Fine, and Extra fine with good results. I have also used the steel with a coarse grit that had the burr removed with green chrome rouge which left a very usable toothy working edge.
 
I have ground and built several knives using that steel, back when it was available. I agree with Joe's comments. It was a Real bear to grind and shape in the annealed state. Then I only cared to finish it to 4-500g leaving it with a satin finish. Its a good stainless, heat treating can be tricky, watch for burrs during sharping and climbing that high on the grit ladder. But since I was more into edge retention I only sharpened it up to 250g (x-coarse diamond). At this level it takes a nice smooth cutting edge and holds it well. Using one of these knives I gut, skinned and quartered a large 850lb. steer and began processing some of the cuts (a hind quarter)before the edge needed touching up. Even then I only touched it up on a coarse diamond and it easily finished off the remaining quarters. I sharpened it using a 16-17* edge. I didn't notice any edge curling or chipping. Nor, did I take much care during use to avoid hitting bones. I wanted an accurate representation of its capabilities. Its edge holding abilities are good but I was more impressed with how smooth it cut vs. other steels sharpened to like manner. DM
 
gooeytek said:
I have a Kershaw Avalanche in S60V, and I've used it a handful of times to cut paracord, open up priority boxes, simple stuff not what I would consider hard use. Apart from some use marks on the DLC coating, the edge is still pristine and remains one of my sharpest knives. I know that isn't much to draw any type of significant user experience from, but it's what I've got.
Click to expand...

Interesting... The S60V in my Avalanche didn't hold a great edge at all.
 
maybe the Avalanches are at different hardnesses, the production companies lowered the working range after they got complaints of brittleness.
 
I've sharpened a coworker's Boa in S60V to about 20 degrees per side to a mirror finish. It did take an edge sharp enough to whittle hair, but whether it will keep that edge long is another story. Though if it follows the behavior of the other CPM-SXXV series, it will lose the razor edge quickly and take a working edge for a long while.

Don't know much more about it other than that it wasn't as difficult to sharpen as I would have expected, though maybe I've been working too long with 9% vanadium steels like S90V, S110V, CTS-20CP to be fazed by a puny 6% vanadium content:D.
 
Thanks to all of you, gentlemen! :)

The knife will be a Mantis, hardened to only 55-66 HRC. :confused:

Such a steel, treated to a relatively "soft" HRC should prove to be an interesting "test mule" at the very least. :p

I will update this thread if there are any "unexpected or unusual" discoveries! :D
 
Ben Dover said:
Thanks to all of you, gentlemen! :)

The knife will be a Mantis, hardened to only 55-66 HRC. :confused:

Such a steel, treated to a relatively "soft" HRC should prove to be an interesting "test mule" at the very least. :p

I will update this thread if there are any "unexpected or unusual" discoveries! :D
Click to expand...
Uhh, not to burst your enthusiasm, but there's been serious doubt as to whether or not Mantis actually uses S60V, mostly because they have a reputation for lying about their blade steels, and also because S60V has been discontinued for a while now.
 
I think s60v is suppose to excel at abrasive type material like cardboard,rope etc....whereas it might not be the best choice for media that demands a finer cut?
 
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