Anyone else been dissapointed by S30V?

S

Soilarch

Joined
Oct 15, 2007
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It's only been a week, but I'm really let down by my S30V...love the knife the was hoping for more from the steel. Perhaps I was just expecting too much? 1095, AUS-6/8, Bucks 420, and one of those 9cr13movojigga-what steels are the only "better" knives I have. To be honest, my impression of it is "better" than" the AUS. But I'm shocked that it doesn't leave it in the dust and take it too a whole new level. It's a 2-day edge for me, no more. (If it won't take hair off I'm going to strop and or hone it.)

Maybe it's got a sneaky wire-edge tendency?
 
Same here! I cant tell much (if any) difference in s30v as say my Benchmade Pikas or my Spyderco Tenacious. But everyone tells me it will keep cutting long after the others have quite and given up as in cutting cardboard or similar. The only problem for me is I always resharpen my knives once they loose their hair shaving edge so I dont get to see any real improvement in s30v over the former mentioned. And it is a bear to resharpen compared to the others mentioned.,,,VWB.
 
I also keep my knives in a sharp condition all the time. Too much trouble to let them get dull have then have to do a full resharpening job. If the real truth were know S30 may or may not be any better than some of the other good steels that have been around for a while. The S30V I have had has been fine, no problems, same for D2 I like 154CM, fairly easy to sharpen and easy to touch up. I even like 1095, good stuff.
If the knife makers didn't come up with the latest and greatest steels they probably would not sell as many knives as they need to.
 
Maybe you shouldn't be wasting your time sharpening to shave hair ! Use it as a real knife.It is a superior steel when it comes to wear resistance .Not a problem to sharpen ,an occassional light touch up with a diamond sharpener brings it back to a nice micro-serrated edge which I think is best for the steel. I carry a Sebenza every day and would never give it up.
 
It's a great steel, but it doesn't make your knife a lightsaber.
You're in the wrong galaxy if you were expecting a lightsaber.:D
It's still steel, afterall.
 
Nope. I've only had good experiences with S30V. Its my preferred folder steel. (But what do I know? I really like 440C steel too.)
 
S30V---no complaints. And 440-C, when done right, is an excellent steel.
 
It's possible to have a good experience with a steel, and still be disappointed.

I find it very difficult to distinguish between various steels when they are at similar hardness. Run at such similar hardnesses, the differences become mostly academic for most folks. I'd be willing to bet most of us could never tell the differences among stainless steels all hardened same. Same for tool and carbon steels.

And even when we could tell a difference in performance among various knives, guessing which steel is which would be exactly that: guessing. I think the drive for new magic steel in the knife industry is mostly driven by marketing, not by realistic specs.
 
I have two S30V folders, and love 'em both. I find that a highly refined, brightly polished, hair splitting edge serves my needs better than a toothy edge. But that's me, YMMV.

I find it easy to sharpen, and about like D-2 for edge holding.
 
shecky said:
It's possible to have a good experience with a steel, and still be disappointed.

I find it very difficult to distinguish between various steels when they are at similar hardness. Run at such similar hardnesses, the differences become mostly academic for most folks. I'd be willing to bet most of us could never tell the differences among stainless steels all hardened same. Same for tool and carbon steels.

And even when we could tell a difference in performance among various knives, guessing which steel is which would be exactly that: guessing. I think the drive for new magic steel in the knife industry is mostly driven by marketing, not by realistic specs.
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EXACTLY! :thumbup:,,,VWB.
 
I think S30V is an excellent blade steel, based on my experience with blades from Lone Wolf, Buck, and Spyderco.

It takes an unusually sharp edge and holds it for a good long time.
 
shecky said:
It's possible to have a good experience with a steel, and still be disappointed.
Click to expand...

This is correct. I'm not bashing the steel, I'm basically trying to make sure this is "typical" of the steel. I think it's really just a case of expecting way to much...looking for magic.

As to wasting my time sharpening.......lol.....I enjoy sharpening knives more than I do using them. If my goal was to shave hair as someone assumed I'd have a collection of nothing but 1095. Nearly all my knives, the exceptions being a skinner and ONE EDC blade are sharpened to the standard 40 degrees inclusive.

Just seeing if anyone else had fell for the hype and then found it was just another good steel in a long list.
 
I would love to do a Pepsi Challenge with knife steels. For me geometry, heat treat and how I think I should use the knife all contribute as much as the steel itself.
TC
 
My greatest surprise with S30V, was that I was lead to believe it would be tough to sharpen. It has not been in the least.
 
Smash05 said:
My greatest surprise with S30V, was that I was lead to believe it would be tough to sharpen. It has not been in the least.
Click to expand...

I totally disagree. I can sharpen most steels to the point of being able to shave a shaving off of a hair shaving in a short period of time! LOL! But s30v has been rather difficult for me to sharpen. Dont get me wrong I can sharpen it, its just takes a lot longer and a lot more patience!,,,VWB.
 
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I've only had great experiences with S30V.
I've got some Buck 110's with various blade-steels (420HC, BG-42, CPM154, ATS-34, and S30V)....and since they all have the same blade design, grind, and geometry they're perfect for comparing.
So far I like the S30V the best.
It seems that I can get it sharper than the others.
And it holds its edge for a good amount of work....although the others are not bad in the least.
 
vwb563 said:
I totally disagree. I can sharpen most steels to the point of being able to shave a shaving off of a hair shaving in a short period of time! LOL! But s30v has been rather difficult for me to sharpen. Dont get me I can sharpen it, its just takes a lot longer and a lot more patience!,,,VWB.
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I've had the same experience with s30v. Not brittle and prone to chip like some have reported, no more than any other ss that I've used anyway, but it has been a pain to sharpen. I'm going to dust off my dmt diamond stones and give them a try as mete suggested above.
 
My dodo is a box eating machine! And although I don't really need to do it, every now and then I break out the sharpmaker and after a few swipes it's back to being a box destroying light saber.

Maybe the steel performs better with certain blade geometrys than others.
 
Honest my Native and my Para-Military get shaving sharp with the prescribed 20 strokes per side on the Sharpmaker. Same goes for my D2 mini grip.
 
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