Budget Steels Your Good & Bad

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PirateSeulb

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So along the lines of the thread about Kershaw and their steel choices the question I am more interested in is what budget steels you avoid and what you find acceptable and I guess also what you view as a budget steel.

To me I put the cap on what I label as budget steel as any steel found in knives under $50. I know that beyond steel choice HT is what can really set some of the budget knives apart but some steels take a better HT.

I really don't care for the Chinese _Cr_MoV steels and it is less about the steel I think and more the HT as I feel that the 8Cr14MoV CRKT Swindle I own actually has a solid enough HT on ti to be a good usable knife. The CRKT Swindle is a good talking point as there is also a 12C27 version which is better though a noticeably higher cost to it.

Some of the steels I like and can find enough of in the sub $50 to consider them budget are 440C, AUS-8, 1095, D2, 12C27, & 14C28N
 
I'd add the Victorinox steel. It's mainly how they grind them but they cut far above their price.
 
Yes and edge geometry can make a noticeable impact as well and yes I think their steel is named/labeled something like 1.146 or along that is what I had heard somewhere.
 
I would add Buck's 420hc. With their heat treatment and blade geometry I've had it match the performance of knives in AUS-8 and 8cr13MoV. Speaking of 8cr13MoV, don't give up on it until you've tried it in a Spyderco, IMO they do it best.

I've never used it but I hear that D2 can hang with premium steels like S30V. A plain old carbon steel like 1095 can perform like some of the high end stainless steels out there, and they take an absurdly sharp edge really easily and hold it pretty well. For the most part carbon steels are not terribly expensive, and it's not as hard to take care of as everyone makes it seem.
 
The only experience I have with 8cr13mov is with a couple of budget priced kitchen knives.
It will get crazy sharp with very little effort and although it won't hold an edge as long as some of the "better steels"
my experience with it is pretty positive.
 
1095 and D2 are probably the lowest I tend to go. If I see anything farther down the chain than that, I'm out. Of course, you should take that with a grain of salt. Some of my favorite knives are primarily offered in 154CM (not CPM-154!!).
 
In my experience, D2 can be a very good steel, but it definitely has to be heat-treated correctly, and it technically isnt fully stainless. Given those two things are addressed properly, I typically consider it a higher-end steel.

As for low end, I've never been let down by AUS-8, 14C28N, or 440C. Anything lower than that, and I'm always wary or only buy for style points.
 
One of the best knives I've had was a big Chris in 440C. Stainless for the most part, easy to sharpen and took a great polish.
 
Quiet said:
1095 and D2 are probably the lowest I tend to go. Some of my favorite knives are primarily offered in 154CM (not CPM-154!!).
Click to expand...

Agree with point (1)...
Intensely disagree with point (2). Thanks to BM and their 154cm blades (even new replacements) which were not sharp, would not hold an edge, and just generally made me ignore that company.
 
I've had a few budget Spydies using BD1 steel and found them very capable.
Similar to N690 in the important properties we all admire IMO.
 
Sonnydaze said:
Agree with point (1)...
Intensely disagree with point (2). Thanks to BM and their 154cm blades (even new replacements) which were not sharp, would not hold an edge, and just generally made me ignore that company.
Click to expand...

Ah well, in the interest of disclosure, I'm talking about my Emersons. I have quite a few of them, and I love them all. Whatever he does to his 154CM, it just flat out works. I'm able to get them to a screaming edge using a simple Sharpmaker. Sure, most of the designs could stand to be thinner behind the edges, but they still handle my daily uses* just fine.

*Sadly, no sentry removal, just food prep, eating lunch, opening boxes, that sort of thing!
 
The best are
Bucks 420hc
Victorinox steel ( it just works I don't need to know what it is )
1095
Imperial carbon steel
Aus8a
 
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If a company hits the $50 mark and isn't using a steel like 14c28n or BD1, they are doing something wrong.
 
If we're talking stainless then VG10 and 154 CM are as low as I go on new knives much preferring S30 or better. I do like D2. You can keep the 440?, AUS 8, cr mov and sandvicks. Not necessarily bad just not for me. Love CPM20CV & M390.
 
I don't have a lower limit -- I DO like to know what is what, though, so I can take it into consideration when choosing the knife. So, actually, I guess my lower limit is mystery steel.
 
SpySmasher said:
I don't have a lower limit -- I DO like to know what is what, though, so I can take it into consideration when choosing the knife. So, actually, I guess my lower limit is mystery steel.
Click to expand...

Same here. I've generally had, at minimum, acceptable results with 8Cr13MoV from Kershaw, CRKT and the like. Problems always seem to arise when I've taken a chance on Gerber or other brands using 7Cr13MoV or "lower" steels, mainly an inability to hold an edge. The most impressive budget blade performance I've encountered is an older Kershaw One Ton, which is still on its factory edge after all sorts of cables, cardboard and zip-ties. It should have gone dull long ago.

Generally, I have had mostly good experiences with AUS-8, 420HC and whatever Sandvik flavor Kershaw uses these days on its US-made knives.
 
AUS-8 on my two SOGs does pretty well. It’s up to my light EDC tasks and takes a good edge easily, though I touch it up regularly (it only takes a few seconds to do). In my experience, it’s a tad better than Kirshaw’s/CRKT’s 8cr13, though I can’t exclude the posibility of bias.

These days I won’t consider anything below VG-10 or 154-cm for myself or AUS-8/8cr13 for a gift/disposable knife. Buck’s 420-HC is fine, and I would give BD-1 a try if it was on something I wanted.
 
I agree with Buck 420HC but that is so specific I left it off. I won't say I haven't had acceptable experiences with 8Cr13MoV but comparative to other options mentioned it definitely fell short. I know and expect the majority of us here don't really use the budget steels but we might gift them or recommend them when a non knife person is seeking a knife. I also look at is as what "upgrades" can brands like CRKT and Kershaw do without stepping out of their generally sub $50 market that some of us might actually look more favorably upon.
 
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