Anyone else been dissapointed by S30V?

Soilarch said:
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?
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What knife? What are you doing with it?
 
I like it. No chips. No problem getting it scary sharp.

I cant quite get it to a mirror finish, but its damned close.

I have an s30v Blur with a 30 degree inclusive that you cant even feel when you cut yourself on accident. (I know...:o)
 
Hauser said:
What knife? What are you doing with it?
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Spyderco Native

Cutting...cardboard, cutting and splicing wires, there's some funky type of pipe insulation I cut today, apples, zip ties....

....that's about all I can think of for the last couple days. (not ALL those things in one day, that cardboard and insulation stuff would wear on anything.)

It really wasn't meant to bash S30V, just to find out if I was a one-in-a-million that got a bad knife from Spydie (does that even happen? lol), or if I fell prey to marketing and gossiping hype, or if I wasn't sharpening it correctly, etc.
 
It sounds like you're putting it through some heavy use on the job, so 2 days before sharpening sounds reasonable to me for any blade. I put my Leatherman's little S30V through a lot of the same paces for a few days this spring helping my father-in-law with a reno, and I definitely felt it losing its edge by the end of the day. That being said the blade sharpened easily to a wicked edge which I think is a greater strength of S30V than edge retention (but steel experts please chime in).
 
Smash05 said:
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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I've have the same good luck with D2 and S30V both. I had an old skirmish with a bad original grind; every other knife from the new skirmish to the manix have been great; pro hunter, T2, all of the them. Very long lasting edge. I have a 710 and a maxx in D2, also a great steel.

Definitely see much better edge holding than, say 440c. Better than VG-10, but that one is easier to sharpen and I'm happy with the VG-10 in my Shuns.
 
vwb563 said:
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.
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Totally agree. Whether you will see a difference will depend a lot on your cutting/sharpening habits.

There was a lovely thread a while ago in which some young fella asked "Now that I bought a D2 blade, what does it do that other steels won't?" The answer: "Go longer between sharpenings."

If you sharpen frequently, you will not see a difference in the performance.
 
I've been happy with S30V from Spyderco and Buck. No edge damage during normal use and I've found it easy to sharpen the knives to a hair whittling sharp edge. I'm happy with the edge holding and corrosion resistance of my S30V blades.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3kT5zIAptbc
 
If you resharpen your knives everyday, then yes, S30V is not going to seem "amazing". Perhaps you should just stick with a steel that is easy to sharpen and gets pretty sharp, like AUS-8, 13C26, or even 154CM. There's a variety of steels for a reason, there's a variety of needs.

I like my S30V and CPM-D2. I don't sharpen my knives every day (more like every week), all i do daily is a quick strop. IMO S30V and D2 keep their edges much longer than other steels, but yes, take a bit longer to sharpen.

There is no "super" steel.


Except INFI of course :foot:
 
It took cutting the burrs off of conduit with my Native to chip the edge. S30V is tough stuff. The only knife Ive had issues with chipping have been my Spyderco VG10 Yang, but its a really hard steel with a very thin blade, and someone *cough wife cough* doesnt take very good care of the high end kitchen cutlery.

My only beef with S30V, UNTIL I GOT A SHARPMAKER, was that getting it sharp was a PITA. I no longer have any problems, and my S30V/G10 Leek is my favorite EDC, over some much pricier options in my collection.
 
Buhbuhbonky said:
There's 420, 440, and the rest is hype IMHO.
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So what part of out cutting 420 and 440 in controlled edge retention tests is hype?

Does Buck offer an S30V version of their 420HC Buck 110 solely to service people who have been deluded by hype?

Does Spyderco use S30V throughout half their line of folders to appease hype?

Does Kershaw offer it as a premium on some of their models, just so people can pay more for hype?

Could you elaborate past IMHO?
 
I've got an s30v Graham Razel and I have a hard time getting it shaving sharp, but I can get it as sharp as I need for what I use it for which is around the house/yard utility.

I'm not the best sharpener either.
 
Buhbuhbonky said:
There's 420, 440, and the rest is hype IMHO.
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I would almost bet money on Buck 420 steel in an edgeholding contest against most other steels including s30v. Seems to me that heat treatment, edge thickness and grind angle are more important than steel type. I'm not a great Buck fan either but the truth is their knives do hold a fantistic edge and cut like a laser straight from the box! And all this performance from a steel considered by most to be cheapo steel! Personally I just think to much hype is made over steel type when other factors are much more important!,,,VWB.
 
vwb563 said:
I would almost bet money on Buck 420 steel in an edgeholding contest against most other steels including s30v. Seems to me that heat treatment, edge thickness and grind angle are more important than steel type. I'm not a great Buck fan either but the truth is their knives do hold a fantistic edge and cut like a laser straight from the box! And all this performance from a steel considered by most to be cheapo steel! Personally I just think to much hype is made over steel type when other factors are much more important!,,,VWB.
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You would lose.

The differences in edge retention are well documented.
 
vwb563 said:
Seems to me that heat treatment, edge thickness and grind angle are more important than steel type.
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Quite true, a point many seem to forget.

You really can't judge S30V, or any other steel IMO, until you have sharpened it multiple times and given it an optimized edge for the it's intended role. Even then you have to keep in mind that 1 sample isn't conclusive of an entire line of knives.
 
knarfeng said:
You would lose.

The differences in edge retention are well documented.
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If both blades were identical in every way then s30v probably would win, IF they were identical. What I'm saying is some companies turn out knives with improper heat treatment and thick edges and steep gring angles which lead to poor edgeholding results for the consumer. It makes no sense to use a premium grade steel and improperly heat treat and grind it when some companies, Buck for example, have mastered their steels heat treatment and have geat understanding of proper edge geometries which makes their knives out perform most others in the edge holding department.,,,IMHO,,,VWB.
 
vwb563 said:
If both blades were identical in every way then s30v probably would win, IF they were identical. What I'm saying is some companies turn out knives with improper heat treatment and thick edges and steep gring angles which lead to poor edgeholding results for the consumer. It makes no sense to use a premium grade steel and improperly heat treat and grind it when some companies, Buck for example, have mastered their steels heat treatment and have geat understanding of proper edge geometries which makes their knives out perform most others in the edge holding department.,,,IMHO,,,VWB.
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Heat treatment, edge angle, and blade profile are important. But all factors need not be identical to see performance differences between knives with different steels.

I have seen differences in edge retention just in the steel in my own cutting tests, and I see the same pattern of performance in my everday cutting activities.

Certainly the Buck blades have been profiled and edge to excel at CATRA tests, which is essentially cutting cardboard. But if you are not cutting cardboard, but rather some substance that does not bind on the blade after being cut, then the profile is less important. In my cutting tests, a Buck blade did not outperform AUS8, did not outperform 440C, did not outperform N690...etc. That is because I was not cutting cardboard.

I am not knocking Buck Knives. I have several and carry one frequently. But your generic statement that "I would almost bet money on Buck 420 steel in an edgeholding contest against most other steels including s30v." is incorrect.
 
knarfeng said:
Heat treatment, edge angle, and blade profile are important. But all factors need not be identical to see performance differences between knives with different steels.

I have seen differences in edge retention just in the steel in my own cutting tests, and I see the same pattern of performance in my everday cutting activities.

Certainly the Buck blades have been profiled and edge to excel at CATRA tests, which is essentially cutting cardboard. But if you are not cutting cardboard, but rather some substance that does not bind on the blade after being cut, then the profile is less important. In my cutting tests, a Buck blade did not outperform AUS8, did not outperform 440C, did not outperform N690...etc. That is because I was not cutting cardboard.

I am not knocking Buck Knives. I have several and carry one frequently. But your generic statement that "I would almost bet money on Buck 420 steel in an edgeholding contest against most other steels including s30v." is incorrect.
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My my life's personal experiences are what I go by, not someone elses! I you dont agree with my statement thats fine. And it maybe incorrect to YOU, but not to all! I stand behind what I say!,,,VWB.
 
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