Best bang 4 buck steel(s)?

Assuming good heat treatment, any of these will serve the regular user very well..

154CM / ATS34
14C28N
52100 (non-stainless)
 
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Read this current thread first for perspective.

What does the blade steel actually cost?

I'm trying to find comparative knife steel prices, like for pieces of 6"x2"x1/8" of every type of steel. I keep hearing that the type of steel can make big $ difference. Show me how much a blade sized piece actually costs! I can't find that one anywhere. Yeah, I know that machineability and such...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
People suggest AEB-L, but they are rarely used and quite expensive on those few available. Aside from its toughness/blade stability, it is not great in the wear resistance department. The few knife offered like the Bradford knife asks for 100$ for a little fixed blade, the same price can get you a fairly 154CM/VG10 or other of the same class.

Something like 1.4110, 1.4116 and 12C27 are widely used across the world, good stuff at for budget section
440C class (1% carbon stainless) and D2 are good for near 100$ section
S30V/S35VN are usually available for a little over 100$ and are proven "high tier" steel.

But as other people said, processing the steel into knife is the where the bang gets more quiet.
 
Civivi does the Nitro V very well. I have had Viper Knives D2 which was outstanding…. and some other brands that performed like crap.
 
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I've had good experiences with ATS-34, and 154CM. I also had a Kershaw with "alphabet soup" steel that held an edge way longer than I was used to.

I would say the heat-treat is more important than the steel. Sure, a proper high-alloy has the potential to hold an edge longer than 1075, but you still need time and temperature.

There's D2 and there's "D2". Not every country participates in international standards, so you can't always be sure whose "D2" you're talking about. I've personally seen the results of a heat-treat and quality control process that leaves much to be desired when it comes to how sharp you can get a blade, and how long it will hold that edge. I stopped buying from that company, and I stopped advocating their knives as a good "entry level" choice, because about one out of twelve (across their entire product range) just would not get sharp! And my sharpening skills don't suck that badly!
 
Bang-For-Buck?

I guess that means cost effectiveness. In working through that, I think that much more than the dollar cost of the steel must be weighed against the performance of as finished knife.

In another thread, the difficulty of working any specific steel and the wesar on cutters wsas as significsnt fstor in determining the cost of using asny one steel in cresting s knife.

Typically, higher performance has meant more difficulty in working the steel and more complexity or sophistication in getting as good heat treatment. . . .all adding to cost, but bringing better toughness, and cutting ability . . .and whatever other parameters you find important.

This is why the trendy new "CPM Magnicut" formulation is the current industry darling. While the steel itself is pricy, the abiklity to work it into a premium kn ife is said to be less costly in terms of shop time and the underlying expenses of keeping sll the tools sharp.

So, it offers a bigger bang (performance) foe what is said to be easier (Llsse pensive) production.

We will just have to wait and see if this is true.
 
VG10, used in many Japanese cutting tools, has been around for a good while with decent success. The Japanese have used various types of steel with good success for many years with VG10 being used the most.


 
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Based off of what is readily available, reasonably priced, and done well enough by multiple manufacturers, I would say the best bang for your buck would be 80crv2, 420hc by Buck, 1095, 12c27, S35VN, S30V, VG-10, 14c28n. This is off the top of my head.

If we are talking about our favorites that would be a bit different. I have grown to love XHP, Cru-wear, nitro-v. But I also really like MagnaCut, LC200N, and H1(or H2) for carefree use. Caveat is that I like fairly tough, easy sharpening, middle of the road stuff.
 
9Cr18MoV is not bad either, the Civivi Vagabond in that steel has held an edge surprisingly long. But D2 at $10 bucks is unbeatable like that Walmart/Ozark Bugout inspired knife
 
D2 (Ontario)
CPM154 (Kershaw)
S35VN has also been more affordable to get lately, and it’s one of my favorite steels regardless of price.
 
VG-10, the Sandviks 12/14C28 w/e are really good. AEB-L is extremely underrated because manufacturers rarely run it at higher hardness where it truly shines.

I wouldn't call CTS-XHP "budget", Cold Steel definitely made it seem that way because their knives in that "era" were still very good value. I had a Code 4 and still own a Recon 1 in that steel, idk what they did with it, but It was better than S30V. And S35VN truly feels like a downgrade, they did XHP really well.
 
D2, 1095, and 14c28n are way out ahead of everything else for bang for the buck.

AEB-L is slightly lower performance than 14c28n but tends to cost more for some reason. 154cm, 440C, and VG10 are great all around steels, but D2 compares favorably to them and is available at a much lower price. Part of that is probably because D2 doesn't have to be brand name; there are Chinese manufacturers making steel that's compliant to D2 specs and avoids import tariffs for Chinese knife makers. Also 440C really fell out of fashion and knife companies learned to avoid it if they want to sell knives. The main adherents to the steel now are priced higher and seem to be the Germans mostly, who will just tell you that your opinion about 440C is wrong. 52100 and O1 are great value steels but they're pretty close to 1095 and don't come near the dirt cheap prices you can get 1095 for.
 
To add on that point about 440C, I'd argue that bang for the buck is less about the properties of the steel and what you can achieve with it, and more about everything else a brand does to make their knife competitive.

For folders, the best value is going to come from Chinese manufacturers that are highly attuned to the American knife market and our preferences, and can design their knives accordingly. These are the companies that keep their prices reasonable but have milled clips and backspacers, steel inserts on their titanium framelocks, custom hardware, etc. They know that they can cut costs in other areas as long as they throw in the features we see as indicators of value, despite the fact that there are plenty of high end American knives that have none of these features but feel high end in ways that are difficult for most people to identify.

Companies like that know that 440C isn't a compelling selling point for a knife and that 9cr13mov is going to make people think "cheap knife." But D2 is not expensive to make and conjures up associations with expensive knives like Medfords, Striders, and restricted Benchmades. 14C28N is also inexpensive but it's a brand-name European steel that makes the product seem more legitimate. So the best bang for the buck folders often come in those two steels.
 
Just discovered yesterday, Larrin Larrin has an article on this: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2020/06/15/what-is-the-best-budget-knife-steel/

For stainless, his conclusion is 14C28N, and AEB-L is pretty close if I understand right.

For non-stainless, A8mod and Cruwear; he didn't test Sleipner, but suggests it might be close.

Funny, 4 of the 5 are among my top 5, budget or not. Don't have enough experience with 14C28N. My other favorite is 3V, but not considered budget, I guess.
 
kane22 said:
AEB-L
14c28n
Both seem to have good reputations, but I rarely see either of them used
Click to expand...

Mora uses 14C28N in the Garberg and Ruike also make several folders and fixed blades in that steel as well. I wish it was more widely used too. It's almost as tough as 3V and it's stainless.
 
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