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Another quick steel comparison: 154CM vs S30V
- Thread starter ehhh
- Start date
If you haven't seen any chipping, then don't worry about it. Personally, I think this "chipping S30V" issue is way overblown. Sure, there have been some blades with issues, but lots of what you see on this and other forums is written by folks who are only repeating what they have heard (which in many cases is from others simply repeating what they have heard). Few of them have actually seen chipping in person.
There have been some blades that chipped significantly, probably due to heat treat problems. And there have been others (the majority?) that have chipped in a minor way, likely due to the way they were sharpened at the factory. In those cases, the problem goes away after a couple of sharpenings and you get past the heat affected zone at the edge, or cut off the burr that was left behind at the factory. I have one that fit this latter category. The factory edge exhibited some chips after cutting hard hickory and cardboard. But it took a 20X magnifier to see them, and even then they were just barely visible. The only reason I looked was to inspect the edge to see what it looked like - there was no apparent effect on performance. This was one out of 4 S30V blades that I have. The others haven't even exhibited this very minor level of chipping. I would guess that many other steels (D2, 154CM, etc.) chip to this degree at times, but since the owners do not normally look at the edge under a microscope they never know it.
And S30V likes a refined edge. If you leave a "toothy" edge, you are more likely to see problems.
There have been some blades that chipped significantly, probably due to heat treat problems. And there have been others (the majority?) that have chipped in a minor way, likely due to the way they were sharpened at the factory. In those cases, the problem goes away after a couple of sharpenings and you get past the heat affected zone at the edge, or cut off the burr that was left behind at the factory. I have one that fit this latter category. The factory edge exhibited some chips after cutting hard hickory and cardboard. But it took a 20X magnifier to see them, and even then they were just barely visible. The only reason I looked was to inspect the edge to see what it looked like - there was no apparent effect on performance. This was one out of 4 S30V blades that I have. The others haven't even exhibited this very minor level of chipping. I would guess that many other steels (D2, 154CM, etc.) chip to this degree at times, but since the owners do not normally look at the edge under a microscope they never know it.
And S30V likes a refined edge. If you leave a "toothy" edge, you are more likely to see problems.
Cobalt
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 1998
- Messages
- 17,851
excellent review.:thumbup:
Part of the difference in cutting could have been the more obtuse blade geometry of the BM. It is sabre ground so the edge is much thicker at any one point than the very nicely flat ground spyderco. Also, coatings do create more drag than satin finishes. I have witnessed this with fixed blades.
So these may be some factors in the difference. The only reason why I say this is because I use to have a military in ats34, two in 440v, and one in s30V. My 440V held it's edge the longest and the ats34 and the s30V showed no difference, but when I looked closely at the edges, the s30V had more microchipping than ats34. ATS34 and 154CM are pretty much the same steel, I think.
The toothy edge you speak of may have been the problem with S30V. I never thought of polishing it up to a high polish. But I think most steels would benefit from that as you reduce the micro-stress risers that lead to chipping.
Part of the difference in cutting could have been the more obtuse blade geometry of the BM. It is sabre ground so the edge is much thicker at any one point than the very nicely flat ground spyderco. Also, coatings do create more drag than satin finishes. I have witnessed this with fixed blades.
So these may be some factors in the difference. The only reason why I say this is because I use to have a military in ats34, two in 440v, and one in s30V. My 440V held it's edge the longest and the ats34 and the s30V showed no difference, but when I looked closely at the edges, the s30V had more microchipping than ats34. ATS34 and 154CM are pretty much the same steel, I think.
The toothy edge you speak of may have been the problem with S30V. I never thought of polishing it up to a high polish. But I think most steels would benefit from that as you reduce the micro-stress risers that lead to chipping.