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

I’ve tried numerous steels, and have found what works for me. I don’t really pay too much attention to the latest and greatest steels, but I’m always happy to hear about forward progress in metallurgy.

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420HC, 1095CV, and Sleipner. Those are the steels my four favorite knives feature. I’ve used all of them extensively, and have used the 420HC the most (by far). I’ve used other steels as well, but the knives they were featured on got sold as I didn’t like em enough. Not because of the steel, it was due to other factors.

I like Buck’s 420HC a lot. It is probably my favorite steel. It has a good blend of various attributes that make it great for me. I never have to mind it when the heavier rains roll in, it’s never a chore to sharpen, it stays sharp for a decent amount of time, and it’s tough. I’ve been hit with serious rain storms while hiking / camping / hunting and Buck’s 420HC has never developed even slight corrosion. It’s also a big benefit in the kitchen.

The 1095CV on my Becker is excellent. It’s tough enough, holds an edge for a reasonable amount of time, and like the 420HC always sharpens up quickly. Only real downside to it is that I’ve had it rust on me in the rain. It doesn’t take much time at all for rust to develop, and within 30min of fairly light rain it’s sure to have a slight layer of rust.

The Sleipner my Gollik features easily has the best edge retention of these three. It stays sharp for a very long time. It has fair corrosion resistance, although not as good as the 420HC. Only downside is that it takes a massive amount of time to sharpen it.

None of these steels are trendy or “hot” but I like them. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Find out what you like, and use it!
 
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I $100% agree with every word you just said. People really are way too invested in their hobbies. They shouldn’t feel the need nor the right to try to share their “learned information“ and “experience” with other people. I think that everyone should never strive to attain anything except the bare minimum necessary to suit their needs, and NEVER take the advice of anyone but themselves. Because, after all, no one knows what you need better than yourself, and if YOU know that a certain steel works for you, then NO ONE ELSE could possibly offer you any advice of value when it comes to suggesting alternatives that are “better.” After all, cheaper is always better, that’s what I always say. Spending more money than you absolutely need to is preposterous, and no one who is truly invested in a hobby would ever do such a thing.
LostCause said:
I've got in touch with more knife enthusiasts (which is both, good and bad depending how you look at it).
And they've all started trying to talk me into retiring my current EDC for something better, something in M390, Elmax or other high end steel as apparently 1095 sucks, especially on small fixed blade...
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I sure know how I look at it…I look at it as bad. Very, VERY bad. You should immediately cut contact with anyone who may try to offer you advice that contradicts what you already know to be objective fact. Some might ask ”who are all these people recommending M390 for a fixed blade? I thought that was more of a trend in folding knifes. Wouldn’t most people recommend steels like 3V, CruWear, and MagnaCut for fixed blades?” And to them I say “phooey.” I too hear these fools try to suggest this all the time. In fact, I have never talked to a “knife fan” who didn’t try to convince me to buy no less than two dozen M390 fixed blades on the spot!
LostCause said:
1095 retains it's edge good enough for me and gets scary sharp in less than few minutes, even on pocket sharpeners. I love that, and it can handle hard use too.
So, why fix something that's already working?
Waste of money... but youtubers said so 🤣
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Well said. In fact, let‘s take that even further. When even buy a knife at all when you could find an old pair of scissors and split them apart. Now you how two perfectly good knives, and anyone who says that they could possibly be better or that I would have an easier time with something I would have to “spend money” on is clearly a delusional. And 1095 truly is a perfect steel. In fact, there is absolutely no flaw in it whatsoever. Some might say that “1095 will rust if you look at it while thinking of a glass of water, and it’d probably lose its edge in the process too.” Which is of course pure nonsense. You can’t rust a knife by looking at it. Corrosion resistance is a positively useless trait. All you need to do is to never ever get your knife wet, which is easy as pie. Who would ever need to use their knife in wet circumstances to begin with?
LostCause said:
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 😂

And another dude who had a knife he used for like a year and then sold it for super cheap as he saw JoeX video about it and it broke "too easily" on that particular video...
He lost all his trust in his knife he had over a year just because one video...


Old steels aren't to be underestimated, and it'd be a lot better if people put their things to use more.

That's just my opinion tho...
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What complete and utter buffoons. These two idiots are concrete proof that no one else has anything of value to offer you, they’re ALL idiots. You’ve got this, champ. You were lucky enough to find the perfect steel on your first try, and should never even think about trying another. After all, the motto of every knife fan is to only ever get one knife and never any more because they only need one. Am I right, or am I right? (I am right!)!
 
I think many people (myself included) thought that M390 was “the best” when we first started reading up on steels, and collecting knives.
Then as you use them more and sharpen them, etc, THEN you will know what you like best.
For me, I need stainless most of the time, so that limits me to about 50% of steels right there. Long story short, I found that S35vn and Elmax were a little better for my needs instead of M390. (Tougher and easier to sharpen). So yes, I think it’s easy to get caught up in the M390 hype, or whatever the new steel might be.
 
I've many steels in tools/knives and have worked with tools most of my adult life so you do have your favourites and yes although not "scientific" you can tell if something has been well made (HTed) and different steels in constant hard use, something that many don't do with their knives when it's not a part of daily work. I've got my favourites which are what most here would call lower/budget steels why because they work in hard use and are all easy to sharpen quickly (all important to me).

I firstly go for a reputable maker and go from there rather than a "great" steel.

Oops didn't see it was an older thread, interesting none the less.
 
In all seriousness, yeah, I totally agree. It’s easy for those new in the knife world to get caught up in the hype of whatever is being touted as the new best thing in knife steels. M390 sure was everywhere for a little while too. Still is, but that seems to be a less prevalent trend than before. Still though, it’s not a horribly expensive steel, you can find inexpensive knives with that steel easily, and 20CV is the cheapest steel option offered for the Creely Mako. Not saying OP needs to get a knife in that steel, but it’s just mind blowing to me to hear that he apparently just doesn’t want another knife. That’s certainly the first I’ve heard a knife fan say that.

Also, it looks like CPM-MagnaCut might be the next BigThing™️, but I definitely wouldn’t mind that. That steel looks like it genuinely could be the “best” steel out there, or at least one of the very best for a lot of applications. I am one of those people who are really into knife steels, but I’m interested in what works best for different applications, and how they are all made, how different components of the steel interact to affect its attributes, etc. I’m especially interested in steels where something has been done to make that steel “break the rules” and have attributes contrary to what is normally possible or what would normally occur with similar chemical makeups. And that’s why I’m so excited for CPM-MagnaCut, it looks like the biggest leap forward in knife steel technology and at the very least it deserves its spot in the sun for a little while.

As for those who buy into the hype with flashy new, expensive, and/or trendy steels, I don’t really see the problem that OP does. It’s something most people go through when first jumping into the hobby. Everyone wants to be the resident knife expert when they first start to learn about it, and it’s not until they gain the experience that they learn that experience is necessary before any level of “expertise” can be attained. It can be annoying, but so is adolescence, it’s just part of the growing process. That said, you also won’t get that kind of experience by just sticking to one thing for the rest of your life either. Just my $0.02.

Oops, oh wait, what I meant to say is that I only like what I see Nick Shabazz and Metal Complex talk up on YouTube haha I have no thoughts of my own and I immediately dismiss anything that is old and inexpensive lol I sure hate D2, that’s why I wouldn’t even consider owning multiple Civivi Elementums.
 
Greggy said:
Super steels appeal disproportionately to the collector segment of knife consumers. Those whom focus on using knives as opposed to collecting them are less concerned. Then there is a third segment: collectors of budget knives. I fall into this last category. About 50% of my interest derives from use, and the remaining 50% is collector related. At some point I will probably break down and buy a CPM s35VN knife, but not sure when. Out of curiosity for the most part.
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FWIW, I think your curiosity will be well rewarded. When I got my first S35VN blades that actually get used regularly, I was quite pleased, and still am to this day. Flat ground Spydercos that I reground to zero with small microbevels, and they stay sharp a long time in my use, are very easy to touch up on strops or SharpMaker fine stones, and not a spot of corrosion despite summertime pocket carry or kitchen use.
 
I think most people are too easily influenced by many forms of "status quo", "popular opinion", or propaganda, and knife steel preferences are just one of them. I acknowledge that many different steels work for many different people in their personal uses, but I have come to the following opinions:

I like well balanced steels because to me a knife should be ready for anything. To me balance includes not only acceptable edge retention, but the ability to resharpen easily. AEB-L at higher hardness is well balanced in my opinion, being able to take a super fine edge, more than acceptable in edge retention, extremely easy to resharpen, acceptable in corrosion resistance, and absolutely stellar in toughness. I would say it does nothing "badly" at 60+ RC and the right geometry.

MagnaCut does everything very well, with better edge retention and corrosion resistance than AEB-L, and although lower in toughness, is not so much lower that it would be manifest in most knife uses. It is not a specialty steel when it comes to high edge retention or toughness, but it is definitely a corrosion resistance specialist, being only one rung below the absolute best performers in that area. MagnaCut is also surprisingly easy to resharpen given its boost in edge retention over AEB-L.

And for carbon steels, I like 8670 and 15N20 the best because both take very fine edges, are exceptionally tough, and as carbon steels go, don't seem as prone to corrosion as other common steels like 1095, 1084, or O1. They hold an edge well enough (again at the right geometry) and are very easy to resharpen.
 
Yep there’s a lot to consider besides just selecting a specific steel, this fixed blade from the Ukraine has 1066 and sharpened up nicely and has kept its edge for a while now, here’s a video that I made showing cutting down through free standing receipt paper, not an easy task



G2
 
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I like to think I’m immune. But then I’m thinking about some purchase and it’s like “maybe I could get slightly better performance at the same price,” and that’s where it starts—it starts to lever my decisions. Lately I’m trying to think more about function, features, design, etc. But I still find myself looking down my nose at 8Cr or whatever even though I know my grandparents would have been amazed by the stuff. (To be clear, most of my stuff is still midrange steel, and it more than serves my needs.)
 
SomebodySomewhere said:
S35VN seems like the sweet spot to me. Ticks all the boxes without being over the top. (For a well-rounded everyday steel.) But I’m sure I could still be using the first 8Cr knives I bought if I had actually needed to, and apart from sharpening more often, I probably wouldn’t have suffered any.
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Agreed. And I'd say MagnaCut is like S35VN, but up a notch.
 
Definitely have been influenced by the steel. I’ve passed on knives that I otherwise liked because of the steel, where the steel used would probably have easily sufficed for my light-duty usage. I’ve bought at least one knife (Hogue Deka magnacut, just off the top of my head) because of the steel (and a decent price), which I ended up liking a lot. I’ve also bought a few cheapies despite the ‘lower end’ steel, and most have been up to any task I’ve put to them. So I know I don’t need exotic steels, but some of them are just cool to have … in the right knife.
 
It’s called conspicuous consumption of discretionary income. And it’s not just knives and steels……. Do not ask me how I know. I’m taking the 5th.

Bottom line get and experience the things you enjoy (that you can afford) and don’t inconvenience those nearest and dearest to you. Life is short.
 
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