Best knife steel in use today

Neo said:
I don't care if knives stain, it gives them character.
vanadis 4E and cpm4v have a nice combination of high toughness and wear resistance.

Toughness is very much under-appreciated these days while micro chipping is a major factor in dulling, more so than abrasive or adhesive wear.

http://alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelC-Vanadis4E.htm
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Depends on finial hardness and tempering, finding that optimal range is important.
 
1040, when I sleep

1055, when I'm awake

Yeah, I must admit that iron with the new HT ain't bad too.

The best I can thing of, because my needs are universally unique.
 
I am going to say, best BALANCED steel in a folder, ie, good to work with for the maker, not heavy on tools so cost effective, keeps a good edge for the end user and provides good corrosion resistance, not difficult to sharpen even at HRC62. Optimum Vanadium for good carbide formation and used by the late Bob Loveless and still being used by Bob Terzuola RWL-34 and CPM-154.
 
I am going to say, best BALANCED steel in a folder, ie, good to work with for the maker, not heavy on tools so cost effective, keeps a good edge for the end user and provides good corrosion resistance, not difficult to sharpen even at HRC62. Optimum Vanadium for good carbide formation and used by the late Bob Loveless and still being used by Bob Terzuola RWL-34 and CPM-154
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RWL-34 lists .20% . CPM 154 lists not more than .40% , or none depending on where you look. This isn't enough for vanadium carbide formation. Chrome and Moly carbides only. They are very nice at making knife blades, heat treat well, etc. Good stuff!

Joe
 
The Mastiff said:
RWL-34 lists .20% . CPM 154 lists not more than .40% , or none depending on where you look. This isn't enough for vanadium carbide formation. Chrome and Moly carbides only. They are very nice at making knife blades, heat treat well, etc. Good stuff!

Joe
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Joe

Sending you an email for you to read.
 
Ankerson said:
Depends on finial hardness and tempering, finding that optimal range is important.
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True, but once you find it results are astonishing. I got one, Fred Haakonsen Vanadis 4E Utility knife. Even at 66HRC and edge close to 12-14 per side, not a single chip for more than 2 years. Can't say I've tried to chip it, but cardboard, wiring, wood, plastic, etc, all worked fine. Add there high wear resistance and you have a winner, or very close to that. Although, rebeveling that knife was a real biatch.
 
Gator97 said:
True, but once you find it results are astonishing. I got one, Fred Haakonsen Vanadis 4E Utility knife. Even at 66HRC and edge close to 12-14 per side, not a single chip for more than 2 years. Can't say I've tried to chip it, but cardboard, wiring, wood, plastic, etc, all worked fine. Add there high wear resistance and you have a winner, or very close to that. Although, rebeveling that knife was a real biatch.
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Looks like a really nice one. :thumbup:
 
Best? Best for me thus far would be S30V, S35VN, Elmax, N680, and M390. The reason being that I didn't need extreme wear resistance so much as only decent edge holding, outstanding toughness, and excellent stain resistance. Not too crazy about CPM-154 at Rc 62 as it tends to chip before it rolls. I suspect I'd be fine with it at Rc 60 though.

Sometimes once you take the "supersteel" craze out of consideration, you might find that some overlooked steels like VG-10 and 14C28N would do just fine with what you need. It's also task oriented. Ever since I stopped cutting cardboard, none of my EDC blade steels had more than 4% vanadium.
 
Noctis3880 said:
Best? Best for me thus far would be S30V, S35VN, Elmax, N680, and M390. The reason being that I didn't need extreme wear resistance so much as only decent edge holding, outstanding toughness, and excellent stain resistance. Not too crazy about CPM-154 at Rc 62 as it tends to chip before it rolls. I suspect I'd be fine with it at Rc 60 though.

Sometimes once you take the "supersteel" craze out of consideration, you might find that some overlooked steels like VG-10 and 14C28N would do just fine with what you need. It's also task oriented. Ever since I stopped cutting cardboard, none of my EDC blade steels had more than 4% vanadium.
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VG-10 or N690 make excellent all around user steels.
 
FWIW i didn't intend to have most of the factors being discussed taking into account.

I was looking for the best steel to provide the best product to the end user.

I am utterly indifferent to how difficult it is for the knife maker to work with. It doesn't have to be something that the average knife maker CAN work with for that matter.

So far, Busse's INFI and SR101, along with L7 are the ones i've heard described at the top of the pile

For me, the only considerations are edge retention, and resistence to chipping, breaking or permanent deformation. Staining doesn't matter to me in the least. My knives are users.
 
BePrepared said:
FWIW i didn't intend to have most of the factors being discussed taking into account.

I was looking for the best steel to provide the best product to the end user.

I am utterly indifferent to how difficult it is for the knife maker to work with. It doesn't have to be something that the average knife maker CAN work with for that matter.

So far, Busse's INFI and SR101, along with L7 are the ones i've heard described at the top of the pile

For me, the only considerations are edge retention, and resistence to chipping, breaking or permanent deformation. Staining doesn't matter to me in the least. My knives are users.
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Depends on the knife and what it will be used for EXACTLY.
 
Okay, so let's make a list

Skinning pigs/deer... that's number one
Prepping wood for a camp fire. Batoning/shaving etc

Chopping vines, clearing brush, and general outdoorsy stuff
Whittling when bored.
KP duty. Chopping vegis, boning a chicken, hacking up a turkey

that's most of it

what does that tell you (other than that i need more than one knife )
 
The best steel is the one you like today.
 
BePrepared said:
Okay, so let's make a list

Skinning pigs/deer... that's number one
Prepping wood for a camp fire. Batoning/shaving etc

Chopping vines, clearing brush, and general outdoorsy stuff
Whittling when bored.
KP duty. Chopping vegis, boning a chicken, hacking up a turkey

that's most of it

what does that tell you (other than that i need more than one knife )
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More than one for sure.

Spyderco South Fork for the food stuff including the pig and a Machete for the rest.
 
Neo said:
knifesteel-522x590.png
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Is CPM D2 really tougher than M4 and A2? And are 154CM and D2 really equal in wear resistance? Those things surprise me.
 
I don't think the hardness of the alloys in that chart is identical, and on top of that, individual hardness is most likely what is recommended for particular tooling, not knives. As such, the graph doesn't really help to understand what'd happen if any of those alloys was used in a knife.
 
I don't personally put a lot of weight in those type of charts anyway. They are nice for a visual quick reference, but are way to simplified to do anything but get one in the ball park.
 
^ then you have the chart showing 440c being superior in both categories to 154cm and d2, and having better wear resistance than both in cpm form.
 
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