Best steel?

[Ravaillac]

Depends, if you consider "common" "all purpose" steels:
I would rate VG10 first, than
S30V
154CM/ATS34
D2

Now if you throw exotic or more specialized stuff in add:
ZDP89
Cowry X
BG-42
SGPS
S90V - 420V
3G
M2
...

 

[Silverdagger]

I know this question has been asked a hundred times before,but here goes again, what are the top 3 or 4 types of stainless steel for a folding knive blade.

Probably 420HC, 440A and AUS 4 or 6, in terms of popularity. Is that what you mean by top 3? Sellers?

My guess is 420 HC outsells all the other stainless individually and maybe in aggregate. Think of all the Buck, Case, and Kershaws that use it. It's good steel and if one doesn't frequent this place, they won't know the difference. Truth be told, I'll never get to see the advantage of high end steels, as I'm anal about sharpening my S30V and 154 CM and other stuff even after a good use. I'm addicted to sharpening these things, so 420 HC is good enough.

If it's good enough for Survivorman on his 119, and considering he uses even less steel on his leatherman and Swiss, it's good enough for most anyone here who half way knows how to sharpen a knife.

420 HC isn't used by all these massive popular knife companies for nothing. It's cheap and good enough for the average human.

 

[Twindog]

That's a nice point, Silver. Sharpening skills -- as well as keeping blades sharp and properly profiled -- are almost always more important than the type of steel used.