Blade Steels

154CM stays sharp for a LONG time, but IMO chips if you aren't careful. S30V has widely taken the place of 154CM.
 
Lets break this down a little more. These are my favorites and have worked best for me.

154CM in a Benchmade Ares
12C27 in a Benchmade BM42
AUS-6 in a Kershaw Vapor II
440C in Benchmade TSEK
1095 in a Schrade Peanut, before the bankruptcy
David Boye Dendritic 440C.

The 154CM chipped badly, but I was batoning the knife through 22 gauge sheet metal with the head of a broken axe. The 440C lost some of the tip while chipping a weld, and seems to have trouble with edge angles below 15 degrees. It chipped on some cardboard at an angle low enough to require removal of the thumbstud to sharpen. 20 degrees seems ok though. All are folders because, other than a $1.25 machete, I've never used a fixed blade really hard. The 12C27 is my favorite of the stainlesses. Boyes stainless held an edge for nearly forever though.
 
the best is whatever you like. i like ats34,154cm,s30v,d2, sr101, and most of all infi!!!!

those are the best steels.
 
Padawan said:
There is no "best", and that's the "best" answer you'll find. :)
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This is true.

That being said: After researching it, I decided I preferred 154CM, ATS-34 and VG-10. (We'll have to see how my choices turn out, as I now have two knives in VG-10, and one each in 154CM and ATS-34.) 440C and AUS8 are "acceptable" to me. I've been reading positive things about Sandvik 12c27 and about BG42. But the thing is: So much depends on the knife-maker's treatment of the steel in question. Bad heat-treat, tempering or grind will make the "best" steel perform poorly, whereas getting all of these right will make a "lesser" steel sing.

JMHO, and I'm no knife guru.
 
thombrogan said:
Best for what?
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Thom is right. Every steel is a compromise of properties. There is no one steel that has ultimate toughness, corrosion resistance, and edge retention.

To paraphrase Thom, "Define the tasks you need this particular blade to perform and under what conditions. Then figure out what set of properties the steel must have to perform those tasks. Then ask what steel has that set of properties."

Gosh Thom, you sure squeeze a lot into three words.:D
 
For small cutter - ZDP 189
For big chopper - SRS10
For both - 110x18MShD

Thanks, Vassili.
 
me2 said:
The 154CM chipped badly, but I was batoning the knife through 22 gauge sheet metal with the head of a broken axe. The 440C lost some of the tip while chipping a weld, and seems to have trouble with edge angles below 15 degrees.
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I don't get it. Are these new ways of testing quality knife steel? I must have been doing it all wrong. No, wait, I remember. Those tests were for tin snips and metal chisels. I'm missing something here.
 
These are acceptable for me :) (or in other words I'm willing to pay more than cheap for knife because of added value (where steel is among characteristics I consider as added value))
(carbon steels for fixed blades, SS for folders (and small fixed blades))
  • 5160, 52100, S7, O1, W1/2, 1095, A2, M2, (and I wouldn't hesitate to try out INFI and CPM-3V/9V/10V/15V :D)
  • VG10, S30V, S90V, 154CM/ATS-34, BG-42, ZDP-189, SGPS, H1 (if I need rustproof)
 
knarfeng said:
"Define the tasks you need this particular blade to perform and under what conditions. Then figure out what set of properties the steel must have to perform those tasks. Then ask what steel has that set of properties."
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That's more something Cliff Stamp would say. He's a physicist in Newfoundland and I'm a noc tech in the USA. My sister-in-law is from there, so maybe that's close enough?
 
bladeprince said:
I don't get it. Are these new ways of testing quality knife steel? I must have been doing it all wrong. No, wait, I remember. Those tests were for tin snips and metal chisels. I'm missing something here.
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Yeah, imagine that... The thin edge of a knife blade chipping while being hammered through sheet metal. :D

A few of my favorites - Spyderco's VG10, Bark River's A-2 & 12C27 Sandvick, Benchmade's 154CM.
 
bladeprince said:
I don't get it. Are these new ways of testing quality knife steel? I must have been doing it all wrong. No, wait, I remember. Those tests were for tin snips and metal chisels. I'm missing something here.
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Nope, not tests, just instances where the knife was all I had to do what I needed. For anyone who may have misunderstood, the chipping or tip breaking was not a knock on the steel. The geometry perhaps, but not the steel. The Schrade went through sheet rock on 2-3 occasions, and it was dull, but no damage. The other 2 wouldnt have made the cut. If the TSEK and Ares had not been reprofiled to about 15 degrees, then the damage may not have happened. I'm actually impressed that the Ares didnt just break, and the chips werent wider than the edge bevel. Weld slag is pretty hard, and the TSEK lost less than 1/16" or so, so the damage in both cases would have been easy to fix in a few minutes on a 1x30 sander. The Kershaw was used to scrape flakes off of cast iron pipe and the Boye was used to periodically cut insulation for about a year. None of these are impact based, so pretty bad dulling and some edge rolling on the Kershaw were the only damage. All in all, I'm pretty happy with all the above steels. 12c27 is my favorite because of the reasonable edge holding and the very sharp edge it would take. The little peanut has more than held its own, but I generally prefer larger blades.
 
The best knife steel is an all around steel IMO. BG-42 is the best all around steel for knives IMO. Too bad it is too expensive for knifemakers to buy anymore (reverse thrusters on jet engines are more expensive than knives).
 
Have to agree with Morimotom - Infi is insurpassable for all possibe tasks. Please check with Busse Combat or the company store. Show me a better steel and I will eat it! :eek: :thumbup:
 
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