Best Steel

B

blackbaron427

Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
22
Hey everybody, I have a question I hope you can help me with. i will soon drop some serious coin on a custom blade, what i need to know is what is the best steel for such a blade? it will be used to cut limbs or cain, maybe an arm or two, :rolleyes: (just kidding) i love Damascus but dont want to spend a lot of money on a knife that the edge chips or turns with use or one that will not last. Thanks, :)
 
I would probably say in this order-Busse's INFI, Survive Knives' CPM3V, Swamp Rat or Scrapyard's Coated SR101. This is just my opinion after owning all three. Survive Knives are very hard to get though.
 
There are no such thing as "absolutely best steel" but there are probably the best steel for each spectrum of performance.

Vanadis4E
A11
CPM-3V
INFI
S90V
AEB-L
52100
L6 (Bainite)
Elmax
Z-Finit

Each steel listed has their place that can be considered to be the best of their type... just depend on what you looking for.

If you like Damascus and have big $$$ to spend, there are quit a number of competent makers who made high performance Damascus from proper steel like 1084/15N20 or O1/L6 combined with professional heat treat.
 
Please don't be fooled by all of the different steels available these days when the vast majority of the usability of any blade is not determined so much by the type of steel used as it is how accurately it is heat treated.

I am a full time knife maker and have made thousands of blades over the years and can say confidently that in most cases you are better off to let the custom knife maker (as long as they are competent) use the steel that he/she is most confident in rather than to ask them to use something else. Spent your time researching the maker more than the steel and you will be better off.

Gary
 
I'd get the steel best suited for its intended use and size.

It's all tradeoffs anyway, if you gain something by using a certain steel you lose something in the way of corrosion resistance, toughness, abrasion resistance, edge stability, the list goes on.
I haven't tried the 80CrV yet or any of that "new" steel created expressly for making knives just a couple years ago.
Somebody help me with this steel's name ? Roger and/or Matt Gregory may know ? I think Roger has one in his collection.

Doug
 
Gary Mulkey said:
Please don't be fooled by all of the different steels available these days when the vast majority of the usability of any blade is not determined so much by the type of steel used as it is how accurately it is heat treated.

I am a full time knife maker and have made thousands of blades over the years and can say confidently that in most cases you are better off to let the custom knife maker (as long as they are competent) use the steel that he/she is most confident in rather than to ask them to use something else. Spent your time researching the maker more than the steel and you will be better off.

Gary
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Perfectly stated.
 
Doug C said:
I haven't tried the 80CrV yet or any of that "new" steel created expressly for making knives just a couple years ago.
Somebody help me with this steel's name ? Roger and/or Matt Gregory may know ? I think Roger has one in his collection.

Doug
Click to expand...


Alas, Doug, I fear you refer to Crucible CruForgeV. WONDERFUL steel. One of my favorites. The brainchild of the metallurgists at Crucible Steel and knifemaker Dan Farr. It was released just about the same time that Crucible was entering receivership, and it scared most away from considering it as an option, and was effectively stillborn. There's still some folks that use it, myself included, from time to time.

Best suggestion to the original poster, though, is to find the knife he wants and allow the maker to decide what material is best to use. Who better to know the performance characteristics through experience than the maker?
 
blackbaron427 said:
Hey everybody, I have a question I hope you can help me with. i will soon drop some serious coin on a custom blade, what i need to know is what is the best steel for such a blade? it will be used to cut limbs or cain, maybe an arm or two, :rolleyes: (just kidding) i love Damascus but dont want to spend a lot of money on a knife that the edge chips or turns with use or one that will not last. Thanks, :)
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are looking for a working chopper. IMO one of the best for that is Bill Siegle and his 5160. His prices are reasonable and his knives designed for use. Look him up, he has his own sub-forum here.
 
Doug C said:
I'd get the steel best suited for its intended use and size.

It's all tradeoffs anyway, if you gain something by using a certain steel you lose something in the way of corrosion resistance, toughness, abrasion resistance, edge stability, the list goes on.
I haven't tried the 80CrV yet or any of that "new" steel created expressly for making knives just a couple years ago.
Somebody help me with this steel's name ? Roger and/or Matt Gregory may know ? I think Roger has one in his collection.

Doug
Click to expand...


Could be thinking 80CRV2 ?
http://newjerseysteelbaron.com/shop/80crv2/


Let's not forget about arguably the most important performance factor. Edge geometry. You can have the "best steel" with the optimum heat treat, and performance will be dismal if your edge geometry is outta whack.

Darcy:)
 
I believe Lin Rhea used 80CRV2 in his competition Bowie for the Arkansas show a couple weekends back. Maybe he could chime in with some comments on it's usefulness.
 
blackbaron427 said:
Hey everybody, I have a question I hope you can help me with. i will soon drop some serious coin on a custom blade, what i need to know is what is the best steel for such a blade? it will be used to cut limbs or cain, maybe an arm or two, :rolleyes: (just kidding) i love Damascus but dont want to spend a lot of money on a knife that the edge chips or turns with use or one that will not last. Thanks, :)
Click to expand...

You might want to do a little research on Damascus steel before making that assumption. Some of your sharpest and most durable blades out there are made of Damascus steel.
In fact, an ABS Mastersmith applicant's test knife has to have a Damascus steel blade and pass all the rigorous testing criterion.

Gary Mulkey said:
Please don't be fooled by all of the different steels available these days when the vast majority of the usability of any blade is not determined so much by the type of steel used as it is how accurately it is heat treated.
I am a full time knife maker and have made thousands of blades over the years and can say confidently that in most cases you are better off to let the custom knife maker (as long as they are competent) use the steel that he/she is most confident in rather than to ask them to use something else. Spent your time researching the maker more than the steel and you will be better off.
Gary
Click to expand...

Another in agreement with Gary's post.
 
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I think the principled search for the best steel is very similar to investigation for wooden iron. :D
 
S110V.......S90V.......M390........Sanmae ats34+ZDP189......Elmax.
Best Regards,
Pasquale
 
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