Best steel for blades?

saylorbrand said:
RC of 62-65 is not good for chopping, batoning, or light prying because it is to brittle. 1095 is easier to sharpen and handles chopping, batoning, and light prying. The RC 62-65 are better suited for folders or kitchen knives.
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Yes it can chop at 62-65 because I have such a knife in 1095. It's less brittle than my 154CM knives at 59-60 which get chips during chopping. In my experience 1095 (and the similar 52100) at below 60 hrc doesn't have good edge retention, it's easy to sharpen but you have to sharpen more often.
 
Jaben620 said:
Come on man. Im new.;) Dont be a @#$#@.:thumbdn:
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Now that the thread has progressed a bit, would you look at that, surprise surprise, 30 different answers!

It's almost as if there is no right answer to this question!

Maybe I came off a bit harsh to a newbie, but seeing the same unanswerable threads posted day after day gets annoying.

What's the best blade steel?
What's the best handle material?
What's the best knife under $50
What's the best knife under $100
What's the best knife under $200
What's the best EDC knife?
What's the best knife for self defense?

These questions do not have an answer!!!

Give us a meaningful question and we can give you a real answer. Most importantly, what you will be using the knife for.
 
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Jaben620 said:
I want steel that takes an edge like a champ and is super tough for the hardest jobs.
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It is a more difficult question than you may think. But if you don't need stainless, you could go with either 3V or M4. M4 will hold an edge better, but 3V is a little tougher. Both are extremely tough steels. Infi is good, too, but you're limited to Busse. I also like 52100, which is tough and takes a great edge.

But in reality, there are a lot of good steels that will no doubt do everything you want, and that understanding will free you to choose from a much wider range of knives and features, such as size, grind, edge profile, handle, etc., that will be much more important to you in the long run. Bark River does a great job with A2 and it has an amazing variety of different knives. Lots of people do a great job with 1095.

Sometimes a specialty maker will do especially well with one kind of steel, like Busse with Infi or Dozier with D2 (semi-stainless) or Crusader Forge with S30V (stainless).

Good luck.
 
Unoptainium is THE BEST Knife(fb,folder) steel ever created-PERIOD






:p
 
For an allaround nice bushcrafter/hunter/working knife that isn't going to destroy your wallet I suggest 1095. It is a low maintenance high carbon steel that tends to absorb shock from rough use work yet still retain a strong, sharp edge that is easy to sharpen. I'd suggest a blade width between .15 and .175 inches with a grind angle of 15-22 degrees. RAT Cutlery or the Kabar Becker series is a good place to start for a very high quality well designed blade that will suit your purposes. Otherwise I suggest you hit the maker's forums and see what fixed blades are for sale right now. There are many fine custom knives that can be had for less than many factory knives. Stainless steels tend to be more brittle and when it comes to general field use are prone to chipping. In my opinion it's not worth it, 1095 is so easy to maintain that price and performance outweigh the benefits of stainless.
 
Look at the steel last, look for the knife you like the most first and then look at the maker. Read some reviews see what others are saying, think about how the blade shape will effect you intended cutting tasks then narrow it down to about 2 or 3 different knives you really like. Then maybe after that start to think about the steel, but even with that there many things to think about, toughness, edge holding, sharpening....

There are millions of knives and everyone likes something different.
 
Dekz said:
Now that the thread has progressed a bit, would you like at that, surprise surprise, 30 different answers!

It's almost as if there is no right answer to this question!

Maybe I came off a bit harsh to a newbie, but seeing the same unanswerable threads posted day after day gets annoying.

What's the best blade steel?
What's the best handle material?
What's the best knife under $50
What's the best knife under $100
What's the best knife under $200
What's the best EDC knife?
What's the best knife for self defense?

These questions do not have an answer!!!

Give us a meaningful question and we can give you a real answer. Most importantly, what you will be using the knife for.
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I was unaware that there was so darn many! :o
 
Isn't there a sticky about blade steels and heat treatment that noobs can be referred to? If there isn't, there should be. ;)
 
Welcome to BFC, sorry about some of the responses you’ve gotten but your question has no answer and gets asked a lot (people seem to be loosing patience).

Take a look at the Steel FAQ ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368828 ) it gives a lot of good information on most every steel on the market.

In case you haven’t noticed from the responses you’ve gotten there isn’t a single “best”. Every steel is going to be a mix of attributes, some good for chopping some not so good.
 
J.Mattson said:
Welcome to BFC, sorry about some of the responses you’ve gotten but your question has no answer and gets asked a lot (people seem to be loosing patience).

Take a look at the Steel FAQ ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368828 ) it gives a lot of good information on most every steel on the market.

In case you haven’t noticed from the responses you’ve gotten there isn’t a single “best”. Every steel is going to be a mix of attributes, some good for chopping some not so good.
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Thanks for the helpful explanation.:thumbup:
 
Everybody has their favorite or best for their puposes(not many line up togeather). Try a variety of steels and use them for all your cutting chores then you will form your own openions. If you know how to restore an edge that will definately help on your views!
 
Jaben620 said:
I was unaware that there was so darn many! :o
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Again, perhaps I was a bit harsh to somebody new to the forums, my apologies. Do stick around, this place has a ton of great information :thumbup::D

Give it a few months and then you can start yelling at newbies too ;)
 
1. decide on how much you have or want to spend on a knife
2. pick a brand from benchmade, buck, kershaw, spyderco
3. pick a knife style that looks and feels good to you
4. buy it. use it.
5. repeat 2-3 times


...only then will you know if you want to delve deeper into knife steels, selection and collection...you may just discover that a knife is...just a knife...

or maybe not; then you're hung up on sites like this...
 
Jaben620 said:
Im a noob.:D

What steel is considered the best knife blade steel? Who uses the best steel as far as commercial knives?
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Why this question elicits the "sigh" response is that this is a never ending debate which has no real answer, at least not how you worded the question. There is no "best" steel for a knife -- there is only (argueably) the best steel for a specific purpose. Different steels have different qualities, such as hardness, toughness, flex strength, corrosion resistence, etc.. Here's a link to a basic discussion:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368828

Plus, other factor besides steel play a major part in the performace of a blade, such as the heat treating procedure.
 
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