CPM-S110V - What do ya think?

[BilboBaggins]

You're a liar. You paid $180 for a knife and now feel like you have to lie about it because you paid so much money for a knife you don't use.

As is the man in the video. The knife clearly chipped out because it stopped cutting the paper the moment the area of the blade that popped the penny apart came in contact with the paper, after which he stopped cutting and ended the video, because he knew he just proved himself wrong.

S110V has among the highest amounts of vanadium and carbon in any steel, with generous amounts of other alloying metals. It is very, very, very hard, and you can't have very, very, very hard without having an equal trade off elsewhere.

So it is absolutely untrue that S110V is hard to sharpen relative to other steels, and it is absolutely untrue that S110V is expensive and brittle, but it has "limitations." And it is "difficult to work with," as in hard to grind. Do you know what sharpening is? You're grinding the knife steel against an abrasive. How is it difficult for you to grind when forming the steel, but it is somehow easy to grind later on, with far finer abrasives? And it is absolutely untrue that very hard things are not also brittle, because.....they just aren't, or Spyderco puts special sauce in the heat treatment.

Basically everything you said is contradictory. You said it because you're mad that I didn't unquestionably praise s110v, you've invested your ego in the steel and now your feelings are hurt.

FWIW I found the S110V and S90V Spyderco factory edges to be poor on sharpness and very burnt. It is a problem to have the factory edge so burnt, not surprising when you consider how hard the steel is and the economy of scale required to sell, because normal people won't be able to re-form the edge very well to get the dead steel out of the way and will make sharpening such a hard steel even harder for them.

If RJ Martin is right about S110V, then I'm not sure how Spyderco is able to sell those things.

Nice selfies, but I think the issue is really one of semantics. If something is taking longer to do that effectively means it is harder to do, otherwise it would be done faster, generally speaking. You'll probably deny this but I just wanted to clarify my point.

It depends on how much money you want to spend and what kind of edge you're looking for.

Really, if you just want sharpness and don't worry about showing off in knife selfies, a Norton crystolone stone or India stone and some Lansky medium ceramic will get the job done all the way to hair popping sharpness for about $35. The India stone will smooth out over time, so depending on how hard you use it, you'll have to "condition" it, as in ripping away all the wore out abrasive on the top. It can be a minor pain in the ass.

The place where S110V is hard to sharpen is on the fine ceramics, and to a certain extent on the medium ceramic. As you go finer with the abrasive, the massive carbides of the steel are no longer "dug out" by the coarseness of the abrasive but start to directly grind against the abrasive. You're then trying to cut pure vanadium, which is actually harder than the stones you're using. That's why so many people use diamond on s110v. Which is fine, if you like diamond. I used to use it extensively back when I used ZDP-189, but a diamond edge really is a kind of damaged edge when you think about it, because the diamond cuts so deeply in the steel and because of "grit contamination" on the finer DMT stones (beyond 600 grit).

Welcome to BladeForums!

 

[Carboniferous]

S110V obviously has a ton of carbide volume, but it also has a pretty fine/uniform grain structure. You can't say that one steel harder than another is also automatically more brittle, nor can you say one steel that's more wear resistant than another is automatically more brittle than another.

 

[navman]

I don't care what steel you use, so...go for it. If you prefer S30V, use it. I like the edge holding and stainless abilities of S110V.

Now, as for your claims:

1. Yes it is harder to sharpen than most steels...but not impossible.

2. S110V barstock is a bit more expensive than more common steels, but no prohibitively so.

3. Brittle...no. Not in my experience or quite a few others. As I said, I would not make a chopper out of it, but then again I wouldn't want a smaller EDC in S7 either. At 62-63 RCit is hard but by no means brittle. Check out Bluntcuts data for really hard steel.

4. In its annealed state S110V is harder to work with than MOST other steels, having said that I have made, conservatively, 30 blades from it, using files, a 2x42 craftsman grinder, sandpaper...with no issues. does it use belts quicker than AEBL...well, yeah. but still not unexpected. Now that I am using a 2x72, I get much better belt life...but that's another topic.

5. Yes, I do know what sharpening is...I actually prefer to free hand sharpen on a DMT flat stone, and that works quite well for me.

Were you attempting some sort of passive aggressive insult...cause, meh. Mad, I am not. If you don't care for the higher carbide steels, that's cool. I personally prefer 20CV and 10V, as well as S110V, which seems to get an undeserved bad rap, and I like S90V To me it seems like you have a problem with these steels as run by Spyderco. Custom knives are a whole different planet.

If your going to simply state that a steel is brittle and unusable based on your experience and disregard the evidence placed before you, well that's what biases are. Back when S30V was first introduced, users said it too was chippy, as compared to 440C and BG42.

Would it surprise you to know I use and carry quite a few different blades ranging from 154CM and VG10 to my own S110V?

Don't get angry. Use what you like, enjoy the different steels available today, appreciate the differences between them.

 

[bearfacedkiller]

Nice selfies, but I think the issue is really one of semantics. If something is taking longer to do that effectively means it is harder to do, otherwise it would be done faster, generally speaking. You'll probably deny this but I just wanted to clarify my point.

Those aren't selfies, unless taking a picture of my foot counts as a selfie.

I disagree about it being semantics. Time and difficulty are different. Putting a full keg of beer in the back of my truck is difficult but not time consuming. Making a prime rib is not difficult but it is time consuming. Two different things.

I find steels at high hardness less likely to develop stubborn burs and also easier to debur. This has also been my experience with S110V. It is wear resistant and takes a little time but getting the edge the way I want it at the end of that time hasn't been too difficult.

 

[Tommy-Chi]

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[Rhodies]

I thought Chicago and Cook County had a legal limit of 2.5 inches. Maybe it's just Chicago.

I am a Line-Haul driver for FedEx. As you enter the yard at the "HUB" there is a sign that states no guns or knives greater than 3" allowed on the property. The whole blade length (Cook/Chicago)controversy is sketchy at best. A lot has to be proven that you have intent on doing bodily harm. In the type of work I do, the knife would, in my opinion, be used as a tool an I do abide by the 3" Limit set forth by FedEx. I just don't think that I would be hauled into the Cook County Slammer for carrying a Delica or Para 3. Of course, I could be all wrong in my thinking?

 

[BubbaGump]

Heat treatment is just as important as steel when you talk about quality, durability, etc...Buck Knives uses 420HC in their 110 but they do a good job with their heat treatments and I think it outperforms some higher end steels in terms of edge retention and durability. I also have had S30V/35/90 etc that didn't perform that well.

 

[Scott321]

I thought Chicago and Cook County had a legal limit of 2.5 inches. Maybe it's just Chicago.

As far as I can know, Chicago has a limit of 2.5". I don't think the rest of Cook County has any such limitations.

I don't know what the policies are for government buildings though.

 

[bigguyforyou]

S110V obviously has a ton of carbide volume, but it also has a pretty fine/uniform grain structure. You can't say that one steel harder than another is also automatically more brittle, nor can you say one steel that's more wear resistant than another is automatically more brittle than another.

>finer/uniform grain structure

This is a fairly meaningless generality. The PM process breaks down carbide sizes and makes the size more homogeneous, but that doesn't mean the carbide no longer exists. The assumption is that with the "distributed" carbide size, chips will be less catastrophic but no less frequent, and the difference between the two will decrease as the carbide content of the steel increases.

 

[bigguyforyou]

Hardcore man, but question is? Can you prove it or are you just going to regurgitate everything you read and heard? Yawn, boring.
You have a camera on your phone, everybody does, so prove it. No excuses.
Show us what your talking about. Not someone else, YOU, your video. Ready! Go!

>show me the money

I recently sold all my Spydercos through Ebay because I don't want to be associated with a money-grubbing, predatory, corrupt company, and also to fight back against Spyderco by stealing customers away from them. Now I'm starting all over. I recently gave Buck a chance with the Vantage Force Pro. The s30v seemed to be good after two months but I did a spine whack test after letting the liner "break in" and nearly cut my finger off. Basically the Vantage is a real piece of shit, even if the s30v is decent. So the QC rumors about Buck are true, I won't be trying anymore of their knives. I think my next stop is a Cold Steel code-4 in XHP for around $60 off Amazon. Normally I would only choose American made but now I feel that "made in America" is just another marketing lie used to swindle people out of their money. Buck is "made in the USA" and they're objectively garbage. Cold Steel it is.

 

[PirateSeulb]

You say Spyderco is corrupt and predatory and money-grubbing and you say Buck is garbage... you have pretty much solidified yourself as having no credibility.

 

[skyhorse]

>show me the money

I recently sold all my Spydercos through Ebay because I don't want to be associated with a money-grubbing, predatory, corrupt company, and also to fight back against Spyderco by stealing customers away from them. Now I'm starting all over. I recently gave Buck a chance with the Vantage Force Pro. The s30v seemed to be good after two months but I did a spine whack test after letting the liner "break in" and nearly cut my finger off. Basically the Vantage is a real piece of shit, even if the s30v is decent. So the QC rumors about Buck are true, I won't be trying anymore of their knives. I think my next stop is a Cold Steel code-4 in XHP for around $60 off Amazon. Normally I would only choose American made but now I feel that "made in America" is just another marketing lie used to swindle people out of their money. Buck is "made in the USA" and they're objectively garbage. Cold Steel it is.

WOW, think maybe this hobby may not be for you?

 

[bearfacedkiller]

Hey Trips, , so the move from Spyderco to Buck isn't working out for you?

 

[bigguyforyou]

You say Spyderco is corrupt and predatory and money-grubbing and you say Buck is garbage... you have pretty much solidified yourself as having no credibility.

because I hurt your feelings? That's not how it works, sorry.

Yes, the rumors are true that Buck has poor quality control. And Spyderco openly colludes with knife retailers to fix prices to help establish a monopoly. That is textbook corruption.

 

[bigguyforyou]

Hey Trips, , so the move from Spyderco to Buck isn't working out for you?

Negative, I fear the rumors about Buck are true. Horrible quality, though the s30v seemed legitimate. Shame that an old America company has fallen so low.

On to Cold Steel. Until then, I have this ancient Puma "gas station" knife. Maybe you can cheer me up with a few selfies?

 

[bigguyforyou]

WOW, think maybe this hobby may not be for you?

I offended you? Can't say I'm sorry.
You'll learn that I am the anti-circlejerk, you'll definitely keep hating me.

 

[PirateSeulb]

I own and enjoy knives by both Buck and Spyderco yes but I am no fan boy to them but you are just a mad dog foaming at the mouth with out reason just fueled by some sense of injustice done against you triggered by who knows what you couldn't afford that Spyderco you were drooling over you had one bad experience with Buck.

 

[skyhorse]

I offended you? Can't say I'm sorry.
You'll learn that I am the anti-circlejerk, you'll definitely keep hating me.

Ive be perfectly honest, you have only offended your own credibility.

 

[bigguyforyou]

Ive be perfectly honest, you have only offended your own credibility.

>muh credibility

taking yourself way too seriously, my dude.

I own and enjoy knives by both Buck and Spyderco yes but I am no fan boy to them but you are just a mad dog foaming at the mouth with out reason just fueled by some sense of injustice done against you triggered by who knows what you couldn't afford that Spyderco you were drooling over you had one bad experience with Buck.

You own and enjoy them, but you probably never used them, that's why you can't tell the difference.

 

[PirateSeulb]

I use all of my knives I don't own any safe queens I will admit my average use is just that average use cutting paper, cardboard, and food. That is as stated average use I have used some, not all, of my knives on harder task such as having to cut into various types of wood. I have done the tasks with folders and fixed and for folders I have used locking and non-locking the only time I have had the blade close was on a non-locking and do to improper use on my part being young and stupid.