Ats 55?

K

Knifeclerk

Joined
Jul 16, 2004
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I have been thinking about picking up one or two Spyderco Bob Lum folding tantos. The blades only come in ATS 55. I was talking with my coworker, and he told me that it is inferior to ATS 34, although we were to busy to talk about why. So how does this steel perform? Edge retention and sharpenability are my ONLY concerns. Corrosion resistances be damned. (I work at a knife store. I pretty much have a lifetime supply of flitz.)
What other steel could this be compared to? It is indeed superior to AUS 6, is it not? 8? 10?
Aside from alloy specs, does anyone have some solid experiance with this material?
Thanks for the help.
-KC
 
Definitely inferior to ATS34.

You can get it sharp, but it wont stay that way for very long.

David
 
I have to disagree - a friend of mine has done horrible, horrible things to his Lum folding tanto, and the only things that still distinguish it as a Spyderco are 1.) the hole, and 2.) how sharp it still is. The razor edge is gone, but it'll still do pull cuts through heavy cardboard. As for how frequently it is sharpened, anywhere from 2 to 3 months will go by before he lets me break out my sharpening stones for it.
 
OwenM said:
You'll probably never know the difference in actual use.
Click to expand...

absolutely, i had a spydie lum folder and it was a fine knife, easy to sharpen, and stayed sharp too as long as any other GOOD steel, i would say.

ATS34, ATS55, 154CM is all good, the normal user would NEVER know the diff imho.

now AUS6 is another story, but it too is fine for knives, just gotta sharpen more often, most of us like to do that anyway, i am always fooling around with my knives might as well be sharpening lol.

not one bit of corrosion probs either w/the '55
 
I have several knives with ATS-34 and I also have quite a few Spydercos in ATS-55.
IMO, the ATS-55 is better than the ATS-34.
I can get the ATS-55 blades sharper and they seem to hold an edge just as long as the ATS-34 blades.
However, as far I know, only Spyderco uses ATS-55.

My final advice is to choose the knife that you really like and don't shop for a specific blade-steel.
In everyday tasks, you will not see much difference between the higher grade steels (ats-55, ats-34, 154cm, aus-8, 440c, vg-10, s30v)

Good luck,
Allen
 
I have an old SS Police in ATS55. It has been severely used and abused. There is surface rusting, but no pitting at all. This was carried by a firefighter and EMT for many years and was in a tool box after that.

I didn't know until recently that the ATS34 was better than the 55.
 
I think ATS55 is perfectly serviceable - BUT - there was a version in VG10 as well (i had one for a while that I got on trade from COPFISH)
 
If you don't need to slice the base of Mt. Everest off in a single stroke ( now THAT would be an impressive sight in a COLD STEEL video ! ) or go 99 months without sharpening AST-55 by Spyderco is fine steel. I suggest once again we take a deep breath and remind ourselves : "it's not so much about the steel.......its about the heat treat and the grind ! ". All us knifenuts have or have had at least one knife made from what "steel snobs" consider to be inferior steel.......and yet somehow that "inferior" knife managed to cut beautifully. The older I get then more I am convinced that "steel snobs" are just too lazy or simply just don't know how to properly sharpen a blade !

-regards
 
Thank you for the replies. I was just wondering about exactly where this steel lay on the spectrum, and I think you have all done an excellent job informing me. I knew that Spyderco has used some not-so-hot steels (Aus6) and just wanted to be sure that this one was longer lasting as far as edge holding.
I'm not 'steel shopping.' I have a Spydie Lum fixed blade and I'm super happy with it! I saw the folding Lum, and thought that this would be an excellent addition to my Spyderco collection. I just wanted to be sure that I would enjoy this product as much as my others.
-KC
 
I have to say that based on my ATS55 Delica performance edge retention is not as good as my Benchmade ATS34 blades. I sharpen my Delica about every three days to keep a shaving sharp edge.
 
Hunt around for the VG10 version of the Spyderco Lum folder. There are still some out there somewhere.
 
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