Are people influenced too easily when it comes to knife steel?

[damib]

I am almost material engineer and I can say that there is not anything like better material for something. It is always better in one way or the other. Everything has it's pros and cons everytime also even though some material becomes more and more used in certain areas. Think about it this way. Will we suddenly stop printing books when we can have all of them in digital version? Or did we stop using bikes when car was invented? Some characteristics of materials also can't be easily compared by numbers.

And when it comes to knife steel. Use what steel suits you or what steel you like. Same as sometimes using wood can be way better for certain uses than using high-end composites. So called super steels are good in these three circumstances below in my opinion.

1) EDC that you don't want to think about when it comes to sharpening.
2) Some steel could be "best" in one way, so it's best for some types of use.
3) When you really need high edge retention because of cutting materials that would make edge on other steels unusable after couple of cuts.

 

[LostCause]

I don't know where you'd meet someone who would directly text you things like D2 steel is brittle but I'd love to know so I can be sure to avoid that sort of "knife enthusiast".

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Some people get few Vanadis customs and suddenl they see everything else as shit

I'm sure the average Roman soldier had a "crappy steel" knife by our standards but had much more use, and needs for type of use (slicy, tough work, repeated constant use, detail work ect.) Every single day. Not saying there's no use for modern steels, hell I love owning them. But taking that into consideration, knocking someone else's use of an infinitely better steel than that soldier just because it isn't the absolute latest is kinda bullshit.

Exactly that. Those guys would kill for modern 1095 steel. That purity, consistency and HT was unlikely to achieve back then.

 

[ace]

I have nothing against them, I just already have 1095 knife and I doubt I would notice too much difference if I bought a more expensive knife. It never went dull on me in single day of use, it's extremely easy to sharpen, and I had no rust issues so far.

Biggest difference I'd notice is my wallet being lighter, and I'd maybe even be scared to really use something I paid that much.

I don't have 150€ to spend at the moment

Point of this thread is that they are trying to talk me into buying another EDC knife because there are way better options than 1095, while 1095 is good enough for me.

Striving for better is what is driving this industry, but we as regular people have to know when our desires and capabilities aren't really matching.

Being happy with small things really is a good thing if you are broke

But, the point of this thread is how people are quick to dismiss old steels completely over something they see or read online.

No doubt modern "super steels" are way better than old steels, but you still don't have to spend a fortune to have a good knife that will serve you well.

At the end of the day, a majority of people would always have newest and greatest super steels if they could afford them (myself included). But as I don't have spare money at the moment, I cannot justify splurging on a better knife that will bring me basically no noticeable difference in day to day use.

This is why I agree with your premise. If the knife works for you then it works and there is absolutely no need for anything else, even if it is better. Not spending money on performance you can't see is always better. Whomever tells you to buy a new knife you can't afford when the knife you have works perfectly for you is an idiot.

This in no way translates to some steels not being better or worse for knives. It is true that different steels have different compromises, but some of these compromises are irrelevant to us as end users of knives. For example, AEB-L is clearly better for a knife than 1095. AEB-L might be more difficult from a manufacturing standpoint, but as an end users we would only care if that translated into a more expensive knife or a knife that is more difficult to sharpen. If the differences in these are marginal, then we wouldn't care.

All of the examples of people in the past or in other places using inferior knives for more than we do today are also irrelevant. People used bronze knives and stone knives too, you use what you have and if you use it a lot you get good at it. Steel knives are better. Modern steels are better for knives.

 

[killgar]

When I was a kid back in the 1970's I had no idea what steels my knife blades were made of, other than "rusts" and "doesn't rust". And although I preferred "doesn't rust", I never noticed any lack of cutting ability. And I did my share of cutting when I was a kid, both camping, and at home, back when carrying a knife was still a relatively new thing for me and I went around looking for stuff to cut.

The PRIZE knife of my childhood was my Buck 110 (below). It wouldn't be until two decades later (when I got internet) that I learned what steel it was made of. I never cared. It cut great. Never once, with all the camping, whittling, rope cutting, etc, did I ever say "Damn, this thing sucks! It just won't cut!".

In the early 1980's the only steel "name" I ever knew was "surgical stainless", and my friends and I would say "That's the GOOD stuff! It's the stuff they use for surgery!" (hey, we were dumb kids).

It wasn't until the later 80's that I started seeing 440C, and then "Carbon V" in Cold Steel magazine adds.

Like I mentioned earlier, it wasn't until I got internet, and in particular, joined this forum that I started learning about all kinds of steels.

But I was blissful in my ignorance. And even today, with all I've learned after nearly 20 years of reading on this forum, I still really don't care all that much what my blades are made of. As long as they have a good heat treat, and can cut decently, I'm good.

The most modern knife steel I own today is S30V, but if my old Buck 110 were the only folding knife I could have, even if lost in the middle of a forest, I wouldn't have any problem with that.

 

[3D Anvil]

I love sharpening and have a metric s*tload of sharpening gear, but I also have a super steel fetish, which is a bit like loving super cars but not driving them because you have a thing for great fuel economy.

As far as being hard to sharpen ... nothing is hard to sharpen if you have the right tools. Diamonds are a boy's best friend.

 

[Puukko1]

I can see it from their point of view if they don't know how to sharpen a knife. That knife is as sharp as it will ever be,and with use its all down hill from there. Personally if I had to choose between one made from a butter knife with a duct tape handle and a sharpening stone or a super steel knife with no way to sharpen it,I'd take the former.

 

[Puukko1]

When I was a kid back in the 1970's I had no idea what steels my knife blades were made of, other than "rusts" and "doesn't rust". And although I preferred "doesn't rust", I never noticed any lack of cutting ability. And I did my share of cutting when I was a kid, both camping, and at home, back when carrying a knife was still a relatively new thing for me and I went around looking for stuff to cut.

The PRIZE knife of my childhood was my Buck 110 (below). It wouldn't be until two decades later (when I got internet) that I learned what steel it was made of. I never cared. It cut great. Never once, with all the camping, whittling, rope cutting, etc, did I ever say "Damn, this thing sucks! It just won't cut!".

In the early 1980's the only steel "name" I ever knew was "surgical stainless", and my friends and I would say "That's the GOOD stuff! It's the stuff they use for surgery!" (hey, we were dumb kids).

It wasn't until the later 80's that I started seeing 440C, and then "Carbon V" in Cold Steel magazine adds.

Like I mentioned earlier, it wasn't until I got internet, and in particular, joined this forum that I started learning about all kinds of steels.

But I was blissful in my ignorance. And even today, with all I've learned after nearly 20 years of reading on this forum, I still really don't care all that much what my blades are made of. As long as they have a good heat treat, and can cut decently, I'm good.

The most modern knife steel I own today is S30V, but if my old Buck 110 were the only folding knife I could have, even if lost in the middle of a forest, I wouldn't have any problem with that.

killgar what's the purpose of the concave bolster? Ah I just took out my 110 and held it looking at the pic. I'm going to say improved grip. Good job. Or for better grip retrieving it from a sheath?

 

[killgar]

killgar what's the purpose of the concave bolster? Ah I just took out my 110 and held it looking at the pic. I'm going to say improved grip. Good job

I scalloped them out at one point to make the knife lighter and more practical for pocket carry, as well as grinding off little bits here and there around the butt of the knife. But as a side benefit it also made it easier to pull from a belt sheath with gloves on.

I also scalloped out a section of the wood handles on both sides at the front edges to make it easier to grab the blade during opening with gloves on.

And thanks.

 

[Spats McGee]

I’m still in the learning/experimenting phase when it comes to steels & sharpening. That means I want to try out some of these spiffy new steels. So I am probably one of the easily-swayed crowd. With that said, I don’t really want to spend hours and hours trying to sharpen a super-hard steel.

 

[Puukko1]

I scalloped them out at one point to make the knife lighter and more practical for pocket carry, as well as grinding off little bits here and there around the butt of the knife. But as a side benefit it also made it easier to pull from a belt sheath with gloves on.

I also scalloped out a section of the wood handles on both sides at the front edges to make it easier to grab the blade during opening with gloves on.

And thanks.

I swear I was editing my post to add removing from sheath before I saw your reply I was also around back then and the 110 was the knife to have. Or the sharade bear claw was an acceptable second.

 

[RugerNurse]

I’m still in the learning/experimenting phase when it comes to steels & sharpening. That means I want to try out some of these spiffy new steels. So I am probably one of the easily-swayed crowd. With that said, I don’t really want to spend hours and hours trying to sharpen a super-hard steel.

Start with the good classics and work up from there. I’m new to sharpening also, I prefer to use easily sharpening steels.

 

[Sonnydaze]

I like high carbon at high hardness. I'm a sucker for the longest-lasting steels.

 

[Puukko1]

I’m still in the learning/experimenting phase when it comes to steels & sharpening. That means I want to try out some of these spiffy new steels. So I am probably one of the easily-swayed crowd. With that said, I don’t really want to spend hours and hours trying to sharpen a super-hard steel.

Diamond stones as they cut quick and stay flat. Even the cheap ones from harbor freight work great. And don't stay at it for to long at a time. Take a break. One mistake I see someone new to sharpening is tell spend to much time on the stone in one shot trying to get it sharp and their form just gets worse and worse. Take your time.

 

[not2sharp]

After enough years you realize there are no magic steels and that everything comes down to working with whatever you have.

n2s

 

[Ajack60]

Thank goodness there’s a good variety of knives and steels to choose from to satisfy everyone’s needs and perceived needs.
Personally, I like the modern steels over the turn of the century steels.

 

[dano]

Stuff was being cut way before Benchmade and Spyderco started marking blades and using it as a selling point...

 

[Chronovore]

Like we were talking about in the thread on needing to take a pocket sharpener on vacation, a wider margin on going dull can be a good thing. Having more time between needing to strop or sharpen is valuable to me, even if it does take longer to sharpen when I do.

It's sort of like differences in corrosion resistance for stainless steels. More resistance means a higher hedge. In my case, I'm okay carrying semi-stainless D2 with minimal maintenance three seasons out of the year. Once summer rolls in with consistent temps above 85F and humidity above 85%, sweat becomes a fact of life. D2 can spot in my pocket. Steels like 14C28N, N690, and M390 remain low-maintenance.

I guess that's not much of an issue if you're used to carrying 1095.

 

[Monofletch]

Sure….. a Chevy Spark will get you to work …. But you feel a little more cocky pulling up in a Ford Raptor!

 

[Quiet]

So, I haven't read the whole thread, but figured I'd jump in to respond to the OP.

First of all, what's wrong with wanting "new shiny"? We're arguably in a hobby where a significant portion of it is obtaining the new shiny, in a wonderful variety of steels, from one end of the spectrum to the other. We have more choices today than we've ever had, and choices are always good. The term "influenced" in the title implies a negative connotation towards not just being satisfied with D2 or 1095, and calling it a day. What's wrong with wanting CruWear, D3V, Nitro-V, and so on? Will it cut your sandwich better than the good ole, good ole? Nope, and it's ok, because that doesn't matter to most of us.

The good thing about this hobby is that you can enjoy it on your terms and no one way is better than the other. I have quite a lot of steel of all types in my collection, and do I use them all in the specific ways that those steels were designed for? Heh, hardly. They're just nice to have. I wasn't influenced, I just like having choices, rather like most of us, I imagine.

Sure, you can lug out a Becker 9 in good dependable 1095 for your camping excursions, but where's the harm in taking along a CPK Behemother in D3V just in case you run across a cinder block you need to turn into gravel? Hell, if you're a knife guy, you take both!!!

 

[NeedItCheaper]

Same as dude that was texting me yesterday about how brittle D2 is and how dumb are people who think it's actually good steel...
While I could hear hits from the kitchen as my mother basically batoned D2 leatherneck through pork spine at the same time as I was reading texts about how chippy D2 is

Actually, I've had D2 steel chip rather easily while chopping wood. Could've just been the knife (Kershaw I think, this was a good 15 years ago).

I agree to some extent, and to some extent not. My favorite steel is SK5 and if I could replace all my 1095 steels with SK5 I would. Sharpens fast, and it always seemed to get sharper. Holds an edge well enough. For backpacking trips, the move to 3V was well worth the extra $$$. I don't need to sharpen or even worry about sharpening while on my trip. Not like there's a reason to sharpen any knife back to a hair whittling edge while processing wood for a camp fire anyway. And the extra time sharpening at home I find relaxing. I also have a tendency to abuse my knives. I'm getting better about it, but given that I've broken 1095 blades of the same thickness of 3V, but never a 3V blade... I'd rather have the extra protection.