8cr13mov: one of the best steels ever?

neffarious said:
You can't just look at cost. Super steels take lots more time and such to work into a blade than a softer 8cr or aus8.
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I agree. I edc'd a military for a long time, and I loved the s30v. 8cr13mov is just so much easier to sharpen. Maybe a different title would have been appropriate, but I think that even steel snobs can still agree that it is one if the better user steels.
 
And just to make a point that super steels aren't necessarily harder to sharpen. You use the same technique but it just takes longer. I guess theres more room for error the longer it takes to finish but with patience and good technique you can sharpen most any steel.
 
I personally think it's a garbage steel from my experience, but I guess it depends on your uses.
 
I really hate 8cr. It's never held an edge very well for me. It gets really sharp in a short amount of time but it loses that sharpness very quickly. I also try to shy away from chinese products as much as I can which is pretty easy to do with knives.

I think CPM-154 or S30V would be better suited for one of the best steels ever. Hard to go wrong with either.
 
SPXTrader said:
Everyone knows Rosta Frei is da best steel, Mon!

:D
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I t'ink Rosta Frei be de bes' steel, mon. 'Specially wit' de hemp micarta scales. Everyt'ing be irie when you be rollin' wit' de Rosta Frei, mon! :D

8Cr13MoV steel the best? Nah. With my somewhat limited experince with it so far, I'd say it's more like a decent low-cost steel that's perfectly serviceable for general use by most people and is an appropriate choice for knives in the price range in which it's typically used. I have a lot more experience with AUS-8, and the analogy that is often made between the two seems pretty accurate, imho. :thumbup:
 
I guess it's fine for the price, and perhaps one can't ask for more in a budget oriented knife. But even with good blade geometry and heat treatment it's far from impressive.

I've only got two knives in that steel, a Tenacious and a Mule. I bought the Tenacious as a beater was a bit put off but how fast it got dull (cutting some pretty abrasive stuff, I admit it). It performed pretty much like my SAKs (and we all know the steel on those isn't great), and in my very un-scientific tests AUS-8 (an American Lawman) did a bit better.

It also depends on what you're used to. A couple of friends who work at a ranch and had been using cheap butcher knives for most of their working lives bought some Spydies in 8cr13mov and love them to death, they are a big improvement from the super soft blades they were using (and which are the basic rural working knife in my country).

I'm sure 8cr13mov, in a decent package like a Tenacious, is quite enough for most folks' EDC needs. I somehow survived using only SAKs for quite a few years before I started reading about new steels (and I didn't lead an urban lifestyle).
 
Personally I think it is an amazing steel. For the exact reasons the OP mentioned.
I end up stropping or touching up my knives every night that I use them enough to take the hair popping edge so in my use, I can't see a difference between my Kershaw Chill and my Para 2 or mini ritter grip edge retention wise. Now I have a microtech utx70 in s35vn, that I see a difference in. I used it one day at work to trim the flashing from the inside of about 4000 plastic thingers. I don't know what they were, didn't care enough to ask. The day before I used my CRKT M16 in 8CR14, at the end of the day the s35vn could still pop hairs off my arm and the 8cr wouldn't cut notebook paper well at all.

So what, it's not the greatest steel ever created performance wise, but looking at the whole picture taking everything into consideration, it is wonderful. It is probably the best EDC steel and its a damn good one, not the best, for beater knives. It rolls and dents instead of chipping like the harder stuff. Easy and fast to fix and takes a superb edge just like the higher end stuff.
It took me 2 hours to get my new UTX-70 screamin sharp, it took me 10 minutes to do the same to the M16. That says something to me that I like.
 
I personally have had bad experiences with it. Every time I use it I seem to be in need of a sharpening and that just annoys me. I would rather use a S30V or 154CM any day. Honestly I did not notice any difference in sharpening. It was the same as the steels I just mentioned in my sharpening however they lasted the entire day as 8CR was not even close. The perfect steel? Nobody will ever know it, however 8CR is not even close.
 
deerhunterp said:
It's cheap, easy to sharpen, and with a good heat treat it can stay sharp for a decently long time. What more can you ask for?
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I am glad the OP identified a steel he enjoys.

Objectively, 8cr13mov is an underwhelming steel that is either surpassed or equivalent to a number of other lower-end "budget" steels (AUS-8, 440C, and Sandvik 14C28N come to mind). 8cr13mov's primary flaw is that it is manufactured in China. Money spent toward 8cr13mov could be directed at a number of other budget steels that are manufactured in Japan, Europe, or America. Throwing money at abysmal labor and economic conditions when given a choice is not desirable, especially when alternative budget steels are common and perform better.

I blame 8cr13mov's relative popularity on a certain, "tacitool cool bro, need moar gear, lololol" knife 'reviewer' on youtube who is known for his boat-sized ego, hilarious political/philosophical rantings, and poor understanding/valuation of the production knife market.
 
Oakengroves said:
8cr13mov's primary flaw is that it is manufactured in China. Money spent toward 8cr13mov could be directed at a number of other budget steels that are manufactured in Japan, Europe, or America. Throwing money at abysmal labor and economic conditions when given a choice is not desirable, especially when alternative budget steels are common and perform better.

I blame 8cr13mov's relative popularity on a certain...'reviewer' on youtube who is known for his boat-sized ego, hilarious political/philosophical rantings...
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You just have to see the irony! :D
 
TotalDbag said:
For an American steel.
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It doesn't necessarily have to be an American made steel. Bohler makes some incredible steels like M390 and the Vanax 75 that's in your TiLT and a handful of others and they are just one of the few great steel makers outside the US. I do see where you're coming from though.
 
When I consider how good the fit and finish is on so many Chinese knives, I feel that 8cr13mov is one of the best deals around. For example, you can buy three Cryos for less than half the price of one Techno, and although I know the Techno has far superior blade steel, I'm pretty sure that three Technos will last longer than one Cryo. For a Nutnfancy sort of person who like knives, but tends not to want to spend big bucks on them, 8cr13mov blades over a lot more bang for the buck.
 
Uhm, joke? Chinese steel.. BOOOOO, used best in Spyderco knives, Kershaw and Sog knives also uses it... That says a lot right there. So I guess if you like those knives, you'll like the steel.. just seems that's how people are. If their cheap knife used CPM154m they would say it is the best.
 
Oakengroves said:
8cr13mov's primary flaw is that it is manufactured in China. Money spent toward 8cr13mov could be directed at a number of other budget steels that are manufactured in Japan, Europe, or America. Throwing money at abysmal labor and economic conditions when given a choice is not desirable, especially when alternative budget steels are common and perform better.
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So if you're not an anti-China bigot, 8cr is actually quite good, then? Also, implying Sal has no qualms about exploiting foreign workers to make his Spydies. Tsk.
 
DeepFriedDoom said:
So if you're not an anti-China bigot, 8cr is actually quite good, then? Also, implying Sal has no qualms about exploiting foreign workers to make his Spydies. Tsk.
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Actually quite good is a generous description of 8cr when it does not out perform a range of other budget steels that are not made in abysmal labor markets that directly challenge domestic manufacturing by artificially lowering production prices by treating workers like animals.

8cr is popular right now not because of its qualities but because it is a cheap steel used in several popular folders. It is unfortunate because these folders could be made from similar priced Japanese, European, and American steels.
 
Yeah, I think the only reason 8cr is popular is because a large amount of cheap budget folders use it. It's really nothing special at all IMO. Definitely not one of the best steels ever.

Like I stated before. Steels like CPM-S30V, CPM-154, M390 and other steels like that deserve the title of best steel ever. But that would just be for folders. Fixed blades are another story.

That's just my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me. Everybody has their preference.
 
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