Blade steel is becoming less important to me

JTR357

JTR357

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Blade steel was once my top priority when selecting a knife. However, with the advent of highly refined super steels, it's become a minor concern. I'm equally content with a knife made from S45VN, Magnacut, or 20CV as they share many similarities. Still, I'd balk at paying over $100 for a blade made of AUS8—ALMar, for instance—I'd consider less than $75 a fair price. Does anyone else share this sentiment? The distinctions among super steels appear to be diminishing to the point of irrelevance.
 
Creeping incrementalism is the greatest threat to Western civilization. Stop it now...for the children.

(I'll admit that I like having some of the latest and greatest, while still enjoying the old carbon steel classics. There's room for all, IMHO, but yeah, there's a lot of good steel out there which will satisfy the needs of 99% of us.)
 
Blues said:
Creeping incrementalism is the greatest threat to Western civilization. Stop it now...for the children.

(I'll admit that I like having some of the latest and greatest, while still enjoying the old carbon steel classics. There's room for all, IMHO, but yeah, there's a lot of good steel out there which will satisfy the needs of 99% of us.)
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I agree. I still like having carbon steel traditionals, but I have a few with super steels too. I came to this realization when I was getting a SHF. I honestly didn't care whether it was with S45VN or Magnacut.
 
JTR357 said:
Blade steel was once my top priority when selecting a knife. However, with the advent of highly refined super steels, it's become a minor concern. I'm equally content with a knife made from S45VN, Magnacut, or 20CV as they share many similarities. Still, I'd balk at paying over $100 for a blade made of AUS8—ALMar, for instance—I'd consider less than $75 a fair price. Does anyone else share this sentiment? The distinctions among super steels appear to be diminishing to the point of irrelevance.
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I wouldn’t say ‘irrelevance’, but the gaps have certainly narrowed to the point that it’s much lower on the checkbox list than it used to be. So many good steels to choose from now.
 
DrubieG__MimicKnives said:
I’m with you in the sense that having the latest and greatest is not of concern to me anymore. But I still have preferred steels for certain tasks and favorite steels to use.
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Absolutely, for example, I wouldn't take Maxamet to work due to its likelihood of chipping under heavy use. However, if my task involved cutting soft to medium materials throughout the day, Maxamet would be my choice. I'm in construction, BTW.
 
Materials vs price is what I'm weighing when I try to figure out if a knife is a good deal or not. Blade geometry, ergos, and action are mainly what I look for. When I like one, I don't consider buying until I know what it's made of and how much it costs. Knives are not cheap, so minimizing the chances of having buyer's remorse is only prudent
 
For me, it depends on what you use the knife for. Once you retire and don't do as much as you used to, just about any decent steel will work. It allows you to enjoy sharpening more. The super steels are fun to play with but not all that necessary anymore. I wish I'd had them back when I was cleaning deer and skinning deer and hogs. Now, you are just chasing dreams with all the choices out there. You have to remember that many of us older guys may have spent decades using one carbon steel 3 bladed stockman or something similar. Today, it is like a candy store out there. Soon, you learn self control and enjoy what you have. We are all different.
 
I have recently acquired a few blades in M390 and S45VN, and I have to say that after using them at work, they are not my favorite steels. They just chip too easy.

I have had much better experience with S35VN. It may be my favorite steel for a working blade at this point. Even if it’s not the latest and greatest.

I’ve also been pretty impressed with Cruwear.
 
To put this in perspective, CPM 10V was first patented in 1978....CPM S90V was patented (as CPM 420V) in 1996....neither are latest and greatest, both are top tier for edge holding, which is important to me.

edit to add: Geometry cuts...chemistry tells you how long.
 
navman said:
To put this in perspective, CPM 10V was first patented in 1978....CPM S90V was patented (as CPM 420V) in 1996....neither are latest and greatest, both are top tier for edge holding, which is important to me.

edit to add: Geometry cuts...chemistry tells you how long.
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That's right about the time that the late "Kit" Carson built my first custom knife...and he chose to use CPM 420V for the blade steel. Kit knew a thing or two about knives and building them.

(He also liked 440C and D2. He wasn't a steel snob...he just knew what worked.)
 
80crv2, aebl, and 14c28n for me. When all is accounted for, I actually don't view supersteels as a net positive for my taste.

I want easy to sharpen, easy to strop, and easy to reprofile when damage is concerned. In this way I wont be scared to use it.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
I agree with you once I got into decent tool steels. I like good D2, M2/M4, Cruwear. For simple stuff I really like 15N20, 80crv2, and 8670.
1095, and 5160 never did anything for Me.

Stainless, I Love AEB-L and her sisters
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Blasphemer!!!


Actually, your post made me chuckle.

I was scrolling down the page, about to get to the bottom and type, "I could go the rest of my life with just 420HC, 1095, 5160, and 3V.", when your post completely took the wind outta' my sails. 🤣
 
Blues said:
That's right about the time that the late "Kit" Carson built my first custom knife...and he chose to use CPM 420V for the blade steel. Kit knew a thing or two about knives and building them.

(He also liked 440C and D2. He wasn't a steel snob...he just knew what worked.)
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Both of those Are pretty awesome steels.... If done right, and I'm sure they were!
 
Alone said:
Blasphemer!!!


Actually, your post made me chuckle.

I was scrolling down the page, about to get to the bottom and type, "I could go the rest of my life with just 420HC, 1095, 5160, and 3V.", when your post completely took the wind outta' my sails. 🤣
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Sorry... :(
If it makes you feel Any better, I'm going to try to like some 1V later this year, when I make a few more Beaters.....
 
I was buying mostly Magnacut for a year or so, because I already had a lot of excellent knives and did not see much point in buying another knife that was just excellent without some distinction. Now I have three great fixed blades with Magnacut and a couple great folders with Magnacut, so I'm looking for other aspects of distinction in great knives and not coming up with much.
 
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