5 or More Steels Every Collection Should Have???

Accelerator

Accelerator

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Now that I have enough knives to consider having somewhat of a collection, I started thinking about which steels should be represented in any serious collection. I currently have the following steels, S30V, S35VN, A2, and D2. I have some lesser steels on my SAK, a couple old CRKT's from 10 - 15 years ago, and a couple no name knives that aren't worth mentioning. The good ones however were purchased in the last couple of years and it didn't take long to realize the superior qualities of a fine steel as opposed to a basic stainless for example.

Anyway, as the title suggests, in your opinion, what steels should every decent collection have? Furthermore, if you feel so inclined, which knife/knives best represent those particular steels?
 
A steel from each major tier of steel quality, ideally, with an international flair. If all collectors owned (and used) each of these steels, 75% of collectors would not be able to notice a difference in performance [and another 10% would notice a difference as a placebo].

(1) Mythical Tier - 3V (Spyderco Tuff) [other steel choices: SV110; K390];

(2) Really Super American Steel that Rusts Only if You Leave it in the Ground - CPM-M4 (Spyderco Gayle Bradley);

(3) Super European Steel - M390 (Benchmade 710) [other choices: SV90; CTS-204P];

(4) Good Samurai Steel - ZDP-189 (Spyderco Caly 3.5);

(5) Badass steel that has been killing Nazis since 1950 and retains an edge just as well as steels 1-4 for 99% of users - D2(Benchmade Adamas);

(6) Benchmark American high-quality steel that steel snobs scoff at - SV30 (Sebenza) [other choices: S35VN];

(7) Exotic viking steel - ELMAX (ZT0551); [other choices: sandvik 12c27]

(8) AMERICAN SUPERSTEEL CIRCA 1995, USA USA USA - CM154 (Benchmade Grip);

(9) Redneck Uncle's Knife Steel - 420HC (Buck 110);

(10) "Junk" Japanese steel that actually works really well - AUS-8 (Cold Steel Voyager L Clip Point).

Well folks, enjoy your steels. Meanwhile, 99.99% of the population could not tell AUS-8 from 3V. Apologies, Chinese steels do not make said list.
 
^^^Excellent Response, thank you Oakengroves. This is the kind of info that I was hoping to find. As you may have surmised, I'm not new to knives per se, but new to some of these super steels and certainly new to high end knives. This is certainly food for thought.
 
1095- slip joint BF 2012, Tobin smith
S30v- small Sebenza from 2006
Ats34- several custom slip joints (Davison and Coats) and 1995 small Sebenza, older lightfoots (actually probably my fav steel!!)
D2- dozier folding hunters
154- Emerson knives and eddleman flipper
Damascus (carbon and stainless)- Alan davis and Mike Irie
S35vn- newer sebenzas, Tobin smith
Bg42- Lightfoot magnum
I just ordered a knife in carpenter steel, I like variety in my collection! Happy collecting:)
 
Surgical stainless - because everyone should own a Case.
420HC - because everyone should own a Buck.
440B or O1 - because everyone should own a Randall.
INFI - because everyone should own a Busse.
S35VN (or S30V) - because everyone should own a Sebenza.
D2 - because everyone should own a Dozier.
 
Accelerator said:
Now that I have enough knives to consider having somewhat of a collection, I started thinking about which steels should be represented in any serious collection. I currently have the following steels, S30V, S35VN, A2, and D2. I have some lesser steels on my SAK, a couple old CRKT's from 10 - 15 years ago, and a couple no name knives that aren't worth mentioning. The good ones however were purchased in the last couple of years and it didn't take long to realize the superior qualities of a fine steel as opposed to a basic stainless for example.

Anyway, as the title suggests, in your opinion, what steels should every decent collection have? Furthermore, if you feel so inclined, which knife/knives best represent those particular steels?
Click to expand...


Something with high wear resistance like S90V, S110V, 10V.

Something in the Middle Range like S30V, CPM 154.

Something in the lower range like AUS-8.

A Simple Carbon Steel like 52100 or A2.

As far as the knives go, well that's up to individual opinions, mine would be more inline with Customs and Production knives like Spyderco.
 
D2, S30V(or S35VN), BG42, S90V(or similar high wear steel), 1095.
 
I like bld522s response.
INFI
S30v
D2
1095
M390
At least those are my 5 favorites.
M4 is another, but i haven't put my Contego through the proper paces just yet.
 
Here are the ones that interest me the most. I have 5 out of the 7.
Of course I have all of the standbys such as 440c, 154cm, ats34, s30v.

S90v
M390
M4
D2
Elmax
S3v
1095
 
1.) cpm3v because it's amazing how long these blades maintain a usable sharpness plus these blades (a proper heat treatment provided) take an absurd amount of abuse.
2.) a simple carbon steel, since this is an American forum I'll go with 1095 because they get very sharp and stay that way very long (thinking about my Izula there)
3.) 5160 because I love knives that I can also use as a prybar and there isn't much to mess up for an experienced maker (my handmade from Ben Tendick is a nice example)
4.) SB1/Niolox: google it, it's amazing stuff, Niobium seems to be the "secret" ingredient that makes it so tough, sharp and durable

that's it, I can't come up with 5
 
well, I guess you're all set. Get out your billfold.
Lots to pick from, friend.
Sonny
 
1095- best user friendly carbon steel that I personally handled.
S30V- first steel ever made for cutlery.
H1- rust free steel. Nuff said!
CPM M4- top perfomance. Best tool steelnyou can probably find, without breaking your bank.
ZDP-189 - hard as a rock! Made in Japan! Supa-japanese-samurai-steel!
 
s30v should be the staple of a knifeaholics diet,
other steels I could not live with out include
154cm, 1095,D2, zdp-189, elmax, super gold 2.
 
Steels I have in my accumulation:
s30v
s35vn
CTS-XHP
CPM-154
CPM-M4
N690Co
8cr13mov
AUS-8

About to lose the CPM-154 and get:
D2
154CM
VG-10
 
glubse said:
1.) cpm3v because it's amazing how long these blades maintain a usable sharpness plus these blades (a proper heat treatment provided) take an absurd amount of abuse.
2.) a simple carbon steel, since this is an American forum I'll go with 1095 because they get very sharp and stay that way very long (thinking about my Izula there)
3.) 5160 because I love knives that I can also use as a prybar and there isn't much to mess up for an experienced maker (my handmade from Ben Tendick is a nice example)
4.) SB1/Niolox: google it, it's amazing stuff, Niobium seems to be the "secret" ingredient that makes it so tough, sharp and durable

that's it, I can't come up with 5
Click to expand...

glubse, I was considering buying a knife in Niolox to try it out but I could find next to nothing about it. Does it have decent corrosion resistance? Is there a steel it is comparable to?
 
to my knowledge, it's mainly used in the German custom market, quite a lot makers here use it. The corrosion resistance is really good for a non stainless steel. I left my little SB1 fixed in the sink for 2 entire days and all it had were little rust spots that I could easily grind out. there are some very extensive articles on a couple of German sites explaining why this is such a great knife steel. In the end it comes down to rust-resistance, toughness, ease of sharpening and strength, google noaknives or Schanz Messer, these are the two that use this steel almost exclusively, even in very big blades.
 
Here we go.....in random order:
BG42- Tim Britton uses this steel I think
TALONITE/STELLITE 6K- Jim Harrison of Seamus knives
AEB-L STAINLESS - I think Les George uses this on some folders
S90V- Phil Wilson of Seamount Knifeworks
CPM 10V- Phil Wilson of Seamount Knifeworks
 
glubse said:
to my knowledge, it's mainly used in the German custom market, quite a lot makers here use it. The corrosion resistance is really good for a non stainless steel. I left my little SB1 fixed in the sink for 2 entire days and all it had were little rust spots that I could easily grind out. there are some very extensive articles on a couple of German sites explaining why this is such a great knife steel. In the end it comes down to rust-resistance, toughness, ease of sharpening and strength, google noaknives or Schanz Messer, these are the two that use this steel almost exclusively, even in very big blades.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! I am considering the DpX HEFT 4 for camping and bush craft. I was interested in the stonewash version that uses Niolox, so I wanted to make sure it would stand up to batoning and some hard use, as well as be corrosion resistant and hold a decent edge. Sounds like Niolox will have all those bases covered.
 
S30V and 154CM - mainly because they're the gateway drugs, almost everyone who gets into high end knives passes through the mid-range knives where S30V and 154CM are so popular.
VG-10 and 420HC - These are mainly for the knives they're used in. I can't imagine having a large collection and not having something from Spyderco in VG-10 and something from Buck in 420HC.

Beyond those I think it really depends on what you're collecting. A slipjoint collector probably doesn't need to have something in 3V and someone who collects choppers probably doesn't have much use for ZDP-189. Since I mostly collect (okay, accumulate) lid-size locking folders my steel choices will usually be different than both of them. My choices above are based on my uses. I'm also choosing my knives for other reasons in addition to the steel used.
 
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