Best "Budget" Steel

Lee D said:
I seem to remember a video going around years ago showing off a Rat 1 in AUS8 that had been sent back from Afghanistan, and it survived everything a soldier had thrown at it, so I guess I don’t understand the hate. The average Joe buying a “budget folder” isn’t gonna have much fun sharpening D2
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My feeling with AUS8 blades (and the heat treated AUS8A) from Kershaw, Coldsteel and CRKT knives I took on different occasions camping + hunting + staying outdoors hiking. Thanks god I always carry my backup Benchmade Barrage 581 with m390 steel or Spyderco Endura 4 with ZDP-189 steel - now these guys got the job done every time vs AUS8 or any other steels.

I found myself sharpening AUS8 after cutting wood sticks and wood (to cook, set fire, make utensils) several times during the trip and did not enjoy that. I tried carving on wood lightly to mark a date year on a wood and tip bended right away. On second occasion Cold Steel lasted longer just because it had much thicker blade, but I still needed to have it sharpened after getting back. On third occasion I used my Kershaw minimally only cutting food and meat. It did fine, peeling potatoes, cutting through boneless meat, veggies... But to test it - I went ahead and put my m390 Barrage 581 on a frozen turkey at home and just hammered it through. I tried doing the same with my AUS8 blade LOL... I did have to send my Benchmade it to LifeSharp for resharpening (two small dings on the blade), but I was able to cut frozen turkey's back horizontally at 90 degrees clean!!!! I could not accomplish any of this with AUS8/AUS8A.

I do have few collection display knives with AUS8 and no problem, they will never see use, but I think that still is OK at best, AUS8A is better than Chinese 8cr13Mov in my opinion but not as good as 9cr, which comes closely to D2 in characteristics as I think in my limited (I have not conducted intensive testing, just a regular use) experience.

If we assume that the blade grind is good + heat treating was done well AUS8 is still an OK and descent budget blade, it is not bad at all, however there are plenty of other better choices within the price range. There is no hate here, just a suggestion to try something that would maintain sharp edge longer and last longer before it needs sharpening. My honest & best advice I can give and of course we all have our own ideas and views, that's why are all here having fun with this discussion topic :):thumbsup:

P.S. Somebody mentioned that video earlier and I'd love to see... Very surprising. It's like seeing a Prius drag race and beat other cars...
 
I don't know if I agree with the assessment. D2 is a great steel, but I have a RAT 1 in AUS-8 and while it doesn't have the same edge retention, it's tough, resists corrosion, and is easy to sharpen in the field. All steels will dull eventually, sometimes edge retention is not the highest priority. The RAT 1 is designed as simply as possible to be a wilderness folder, the AUS-8 version's HRC is claimed at 55-56, so it should be tougher than your average blade. A bent blade can still cut, a broken blade is almost useless.

It seems like there's a lot of flip flopping on steel recommendations. First 8cr13MoV a minimum and AUS-8 is crap, next AUS8A is fine and is better than 8cr13MoV. Everyone overthinks this all the time and most of the time it's undetectable if there are no major changes in alloy composition. There have been whole debates over steels that would make about .5% difference in performance when improving edge geometry would make it cut twice as well. If you gave Paul Bos a bar of AUS-8 and a bar of 8cr13MoV, you'd never know which was which when he was done with them. Truth is, 420HC is a pretty crummy steel on its own, only reason it's any good is because of exceptional processing and good geometry.

When it comes to inexpensive knives the biggest thing to watch out for is a budget heat treatment.
 
Most production blades, even more exotic alloys, are usually a couple of RC points below optimal as a by-product of large batch sizes. Shoot for 61RC, accept 59RC. D2@61RC is a thing of wonder, 59RC is little better than 420HC with a toothy edge. You get what you get. Most of these lower tier 'budget' steels were not specifically designed for cutlery, but as tool-and-die steels, they make perfectly acceptable blade-ware. The Sandvik alloys, however, were specifically formulated for cutting tools. They are clean steels, fine-grained, take a really good edge without a lot of work, exhibit more than acceptable corrosion resistance, and are optimized for machine production. 14C28N is about perfect for folders and small to medium fixed blades, in my opinion. In overall performance, it's going to be similar to VG-10.
 
Lee D said:
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Awesome! Thank you for the video. I am very surprised by the content that the knife pretty much he depended on and used it in variety of ways. I do not know exactly how he used it, however I would like to buy a new Rat 1 in AUS8 and put it through few tests, document on video and see how it performs. I think this way we could put some myths to rest. Now I'm very intrigued by this video! Thank you!
 
Yeah, but the OP was asking specifically about folders, and in modern folders, 1095, or any carbon steel, for that matter, is uncommon. Also, he was asking for the 'best' folder steel. In my opinion, a stainless alloy is best for folders, for the majority of users.
 
ex Vento said:
What's wrong with D2 made in Austria or Germany?
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I think American heat treated D2s perform better. Just a personal opinion. I think Greg Medford and others do super job in heat treating and grind.
I did not find Chinese steels labeled as D2 to perform as well as the American made ones.
 
Not necessarily junk, but the consumer must be a little more careful. Knives are big business, tho. If you want to keep money coming in, the best way is to keep customers happy. The best way to do that is to give them what they are expecting. Or, depending on business model, just a point below what they're hoping for, but good enough to keep them coming back in their search for perfection.
 
Wouldn't argue that, ever. I just think 14C28N is a little bit better in most categories, enough to tip the scales. And still be cheap enough to be called a 'budget' steel.
 
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