Blade materials?

M

msh441

Joined
Dec 28, 2004
Messages
89
OK, my apologies for posting such a newbie question... but I'm having trouble running a "search" using my Pocket PC. So... no access to archives right now.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of a thread explaining and discussing the pros and cons or different blade materials?

I have a Micotech on the way. The MT site (as does the supplier I'm buying from) suggests the blade is "154CM Stainless RC 58-58". Other sites carrying the same knife suggest the blade material is RC30-V.

What do these abbreviations mean? What's the difference? Which is a better material?

Thanks,

Mike
 
Phew. The question of best steel is a tough one. Most of us have biased opinions.
Try the PDF below
Joe Talmadge wrote this FAQ on steel:
http://www.edcknives.com/pdf-files/Steel_v2.pdf (Updated one PDF)
http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsteel.shtml (Older- on the FAQ page)

A search will give you endless results, best to start with the FAQs and then ask. It could be that the knife in question is made with either 154CM or S30V steels. Some manufacturers make the same design in different steels.

RC30-V is unknown to me. It could be that you mean S30-V, which is another top-end steel.

The Rc 58 you speak of is a Rockwell hardness number which can be as high as 60+ for a hard knife, or as low as 50 for a very soft knife.
 
Another thing about Microtech specifically is that they'll often use different steels in the same knife. The LCC, for example, has been done in 154CM, S30-V, S90-V and some other steel, the designation of which escapes me. So RC30-V may be some weird Swedish steel or something. But it's probably a typo for S30-V. As to the question of quality, you'll never know the difference. Go for whichever variant you can get for cheaper. Or whichever combination of letters and numbers you like better. These are probably more intelligent criteria for your decision than the qualitative differences between steels in the "high-performance" niche.
 
Don't sweat it. Both of my MTs use 154CM and even if it's not the latest wonder steel it still holds an edge amazingly well. You're getting a MICROTECH, you can't do much better than that.
 
My mistake. It was the S30-V. Told you I'm new at this.

The Microtech will be my first higher-end production knife. Up 'till now I've stuck with a 10-year-old Benchmade CQC-7 as autility knife and distant backup to a Sig P229.

Looking foreward to trying somthing different.

Thanks.

Mike
 
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