chill

[ballofcontusion]

I am pretty new to knives and am wondering what the difference between my kershaw chill and other production knives similiar in shape and size are. I love my chill and think the flipper is smooth and blade is pretty sharp..are other steels really that much better or is it really just the "demand"determining the price? Signed, confused in pdx.

 

[ncbcymtechie]

Haha! Sure, there are plenty of differences in steels. I'm no expert myself (by any means), but I can tell you that other steels will hold an edge better, be harder as measured by the Rockwell scale, be more rust-resistant, so on and so forth. The amount and combination of elements in the steel determine the steel's characteristics. As for the 8Cr13MoV, it won't hold an edge forever, but it'll be pretty easy to sharpen. (That is, it's softer than other steels.) And it's more prone to rusting, so I would recommend thoroughly drying it off when it comes into contact with water. For now, I'm sure you'll find that the steel in the Chill will suffice you plenty for the light to medium duty tasks that you'll do on an everyday basis. Replies that follow this one will elaborate on the virtues of other steel, I'm sure; you could also do a search on the forums for threads on steels (of which there are plenty).

I've got a Chill myself and I think it's a fantastic knife. Enjoy!

 

[neuron]

The previous poster nailed the basic points. 8Cr13MoV is a very good "value" steel that takes a good edge, holds it reasonably well, and is fairly stain resistant. But other steels out there do give significantly better performance due, again as already mentioned, to their differences in composition.

For example, 154CM is a notch or two above 8Cr13MoV in terms of wear resistance (edge holding), due primarily to its higher amount of carbon and significantly larger amount of various alloying elements (esp. 4% Molybdenum, .4% each of Vanadium and Tungsten, and .5% Manganese). And CPM-S30V is a notch above 154CM in terms of wear resistance, due in large part to its having a much higher percentage (4% vs. .4%) of Vanadium, which forms very hard carbides. It'll also have a finer and more uniform grain structure due to its being a powder steel.

For a good primer on knife steels and the contributions of various alloying elements, check out the Steel FAQ.

 

[whetrock]

It's not the all end all folding knife but IMO it is a great value for the money and would make a very nice entry level knife 8CR13MOV isn't a super steel by any means but it is more than servicable for 90% of EDC task.