Aus8 and 8cr13mov: Good, Bad, or Exceptional?

AntDog said:
Meh, if it takes longer to sharpen it usually stays sharp longer. That's how I look at it.
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I kind of look at it that way, too. But I'd portray it as kind of a false economy. One way or another, the effort has to be put in. There's still no free lunch, and "higher end" steels are for knife nuts/snobs who are interested in HRc numbers more as an academic exercise of for bragging rights.

In any event, AUS8 and 8cr13mov are both fine and capable steels that allow the cutting performance to be increasingly determined by other factors, such as geometry.
 
All good, just different...I heard some guy say that, he did know a little bit about steel and knives. :D
 
I had a Benchmade Vex in 8cr14MoV (gifted to my father a few years back) and currently have Cold Steel Recon 1 in AUS-8, both work fine for most everyday tasks (packaging, mail, ect) short jobs that don't require lots of edge retention, and at the end of a week of normal use they're easy to sharpen back up (2 min on a sharpmaker). However I sometimes do a lot of cutting up of materials at work (8 hours straight of denim, leather, canvas, ect) and these types of steels will only get me through about an hours worth of work tops. That is why I prefer to stick with steels such as M4, M390, S110V, K390, ect, and at the end of a month or two of normal use (packaging, mail, a box or two) they sharpen up fairly easily too (5-7 minutes on the sharpmaker).
 
So, this thread hasn't degenerated (yet) to budget steel lovers vs. high end steel lovers. The answer the OP (I think) was looking for is there.

Good steels for the money, 8cr13MoV is a little harder and thus more brittle. Sums it up.

As seems to be the consensus, AUS 8 *is* more gooder. I've always liked it in a work knife. 8cr13MoV ain't a whole lot worse though.

It's all good, it's all good, it's all good, it's all good
 
They are ok. If you have a good knife sharpening setup, they are just fine. One thing about Aus8? It takes a killer edge. Doesnt hold it as long as flavour-of-the-week steels, but it is serviceable enough.
 
It is pretty simple, really, at that price level VG-10 will come near increasing the price 100% and S30V closer to 400%.

Any businessman can do the math in his head.

I can see the point of making a few knives of a plus steel when possible.
 
shecky said:
In any event, AUS8 and 8cr13mov are both fine and capable steels that allow the cutting performance to be increasingly determined by other factors, such as geometry.
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Pretty much sums it up. They're both decent steels and I've never had bad experiences with either. The AUS8 on my Utilitac II has kept a decent edge for longer than I expected, and gets hair-popping sharp with minimal effort. The 8Cr on my Cryo and Injection also take an edge extremely easy, and hold it fairly well. Some people see a knife with one of these steels and roll their eyes. I see good users.
 
I only have experience with AUS8 from SOG and Cold Steel, but CS's AUS8 is amazing. SOG's is bleh. I won't buy a knife with 8cr period.
 
They are okay, Im just spoiled with these crazy steels that we now encounter regularly...

What I find ridiculous is the bashing of these steels. One of note on another 8cr opinion thread was a member saying that his edge chipped away while running his fingernails across it and proceeded to say that it is absolute crap. You find it insufficient? Fine. Prefer not made in China? Fine. But I had to tell the guy: BS, you are saying that your fingernails that are made of keratin is stronger than STEEL.
 
grownstar said:
Oh man, I remember that comment. Dude must be Clark Kent.
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He's got the intelligence quotient of steel as well. On par with Gerber's mystery steel for that matter.
 
I believe its a combination of a bag full of cats, testicles of a newt, 3cr, and 420j2.
 
Stays Sharp said:
They are okay, Im just spoiled with these crazy steels that we now encounter regularly...

What I find ridiculous is the bashing of these steels. One of note on another 8cr opinion thread was a member saying that his edge chipped away while running his fingernails across it and proceeded to say that it is absolute crap. You find it insufficient? Fine. Prefer not made in China? Fine. But I had to tell the guy: BS, you are saying that your fingernails that are made of keratin is stronger than STEEL.
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I remember that thread and I'll admit that I have my doubts.

But weird things do happen. The steel can be badly processed, burned while grinding, etc. I personally had a Cold Steel SRK in AUS-8 chip and roll doing light chopping on green wood with the factory edge. I sharpened it out and the problem never happened again. There was something wrong with the factory edge, but the problem resolved itself. On a more extreme note, I have seen a horribly mangled 13C27 kitchen knife that failed cutting cellophane. Horrible screw ups do happen when knives are made, but these are not the norm, and you really cannot judge performance based off anomalies.

In regards to Gerber's steel. Who knows. There are bigger problems with their knives than their steel, and that says alot. "Real" 440A gets a bad rap, though.
 
I like really good steel but who doesn't,you look at the price of the 8cr13mov and for the price you cant beat them.It's another case of you get what you pay for,i have hi end knives i like i have lower end knives i like just as much.My edc kershaw zing or crkt 111 cut anything i need them to.
 
AUS8 imo is the perfect steel to develope your first sharpening skills on, takes a razor edge by just looking at it intensely. Other than that I'd say it's an amazing steel as long as you don't actually cut stuff harder than gingerbread with it. When used on harder materials it's edge holding capability is comparable to oak.
 
aus8 is very tough,i have a outdoor edge magna with the synthetic handles. i used the thumb lugs & pocket clip for other things,used the knife as a real beater & has held up & resharpened pretty well.ive cut sheetrock,carpet,batonned 2x4's with it,no damage or edge rolling at all.i have a cs makinac hunter,my only other ausa knife, once again i cut carpet with it & it zipped through it pretty well. for tough brutal jobs its a great choice...
 
NetshadeX said:
AUS8 imo is the perfect steel to develope your first sharpening skills on, takes a razor edge by just looking at it intensely. Other than that I'd say it's an amazing steel as long as you don't actually cut stuff harder than gingerbread with it. When used on harder materials it's edge holding capability is comparable to oak.
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That hasn't been my experience at all. I cut up a coffee can for fun and my AUS8 Ontario actually beat out KAI and Buck S30V. It didn't do as good cutting rope though. I was still genuinely impressed. When I get the time, I think I'll repeat it with my 8CR and 9CR blades too.
 
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