best steel 3"BLADE

Buy about any decent knife and you will get a decent blade.
Buy the knife that you like to hold, look at and use.
If you want something truly exceptional then that seems to mean a custom knife or something from one of the top makers who put that "little" extra into heat treating that makes tons of difference and also in the way they grind the blades.

These days though you can get lots of really decent blade materials from many steel makers.
all though . . . pay a cheep price get a cheep knife.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope
 
I do not understand the question at all. It is ambiguous at best. Plus, the term "best" needs to be defined. What "best" are you talking about? For what kind of uses? No steel is "best" for everything. Additionally, you do not say if this is for a folding knife or a fixed blade. This matters.
 
It doesn't matter. Anything above S30V/VG10 is probably good enough for my applications. At the higher echelons of steel, not many users will truly notice the difference, imo. Of course you can do rope cutting tests and what not, but honestly, what's another 500 cuts on rope to the average user? It's unusual if I use my knife for 10 minutes a day, much less make a couple thousand cuts on rope. Anyway, if you are a knifemaker, I think it is more important to consider what steel is easiest for you to work with and heat treat first. A well-made and well heat treated knife beats out a super steel any day in my book.
 
Looking for an opinion on a small knife steel
I'm planning on cerakoting the bladeSo not too worried about rust . Slicing blade
Full flat grind or hollow ground
I'm going with 52100
What's yours
Just an opinion
 
N690co for a high polished edge precision push cutter, S35VN or one of the M390/204P/20CV triplets for big vanadium carbides to make a semi-toothy tomato and veggie slicer.
 
I have recently fallen in love with K390. Amazing stuff!! CPM 10v is not too bad either. 3V is amazing, but for a small knife I'd go for K390, then 10V if you can't get that, if I had the choice. Real easy to sharpen, gets very very sharp, and holds an edge like crazy! Not too bad when it comes to toughness either!

K390, not M390. (Not saying m390 is bad) Edit: sorry, just saw how old this thread is.
 
For flat out performance I would go with CPM 10V, but then I already made that choice for myself a number of times. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top