CTS XHP vs S30V

When you google cts-xhp vs s30v, you come up with lots of good stuff. For instance, a direct comparison test by Jim Ankerson...who says this as a conclusion...

"After a lot of use at work of the two knives above I noticed that S30V did in fact hold an edge noticeably longer than XHP and that's the reason why I wanted to do this test to see how big the difference really was with the non polished edge. Now granted I cut mostly cardboard, plastic and shrink wrap so experiences for others might vary from mine."

It is worth reading his test results at this link...
http://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?t=59149
 
I've had multiple knives from multiple companies in s30v and every one had chipping issues.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
Oh boy, I'm afraid I'm going to have to eat a big serving of crow...

Just as I said it's easy to get confused in all this alphabet soup... The steel I meant to be talking about was CTS-BD1, not CTS-XHP.

I apologize. XHP is much, much better than BD1, and much more on par with S30V. Maybe marginally better.

Sorry for the confusion guys. I just didn't have my steels straight. The stuff I said WAS true, but it all applied to CTS-BD1.
 
Not to get off topic but I wish we would see more smaller fixed blades in Xhp.
 
I no longer have any s30v knives (due to designs not steel)

But I've sharpened and used plentifully amounts of s30v (Manix 2, BM bushcrafter, buck vantage, zt 0350 etc)

Also, I have a cold steel broken skull CTS XHP and a zt450 in CPM s35vn

S30v outcuts CTS XHP.

Hold a longer working edge.



CTS XHP is easier to sharpen and more responsive to honing and stroping.

S35vn is in between

Hope that helps
 
AntDog said:
Oh boy, I'm afraid I'm going to have to eat a big serving of crow...

Just as I said it's easy to get confused in all this alphabet soup... The steel I meant to be talking about was CTS-BD1, not CTS-XHP.

I apologize. XHP is much, much better than BD1, and much more on par with S30V. Maybe marginally better.

Sorry for the confusion guys. I just didn't have my steels straight. The stuff I said WAS true, but it all applied to CTS-BD1.
Click to expand...

That makes more sense. I still wouldn't have been surprised if you had heard that about XHP though, the internet being what it is :)

I kind of want to try CTS-BD1 for the sheer hell of it.
 
i find XHP easier to get to a nice edge than s30v, but feel that their edge retention is similar if not better for s30v. In any case, I'm a fan of XHP between the two.
 
I own one example of each, though the XHP is from Cold Steel so I can't speak to the Spydie heat treat.

From my experience with Cold Steel's XHP and a number of knives in S30V, including a couple of Spydie, I'd take the XHP all day long.

Holds an edge much longer, no rust and I don't recall it taking any longer to sharpen. With diamond stones anyway.

That said, I'd still prefer they just use VG-10 or CPM154 and charge me less for the knife.
 
I have pm2 with s30v and spyderco chapparal with xhp.
I don't hesitate to cut cardboard with both of them and have yet to see any scratches on xhp that see on s30v
Chaparral just looks brand new. It probably has greater hardness.
 
One of things that happened that frosted some folks was that they left the "can" on the steel so makers/suppliers had to grind off a fair bit of steel to get to the good stuff. Of course, they got charged for the can when the steel was priced out per pound.
AntDog said:
XHP took a huge beating when it came out. I don't know what happened, but I'm assuming it has got into a lot of users' hands and didn't perform poorly?

Back when it first came out, it was described as a more stainless version of 440B. Yes, that's right, in between 440A and 440C at the upper end. (IIRC, it wasn't even as good as 440C, and wasn't intended to be.)

In the midst of all this alphabet soup it's easy to get confused. I have never used XHP specifically because of all the stink that got thrown on it early on. I was led to believe it was barely a step above aus 8. Some said it was almost a lateral move at best.

I wouldn't think there is any way it would be able to compete with S30V. I have used that steel extensively, and it performs well. It's almost like D2 to me. (Takes a crappy edge and holds it forever. But, I don't have much problem getting a good edge on it. Just takes a while.)

I'm no steel expert, just my $.02. If you look up XHP, it wasn't exactly "lauded" when it came out...
Click to expand...
 
S30V is a great user steel, so long as you have the know how and tools to sharpen it. It holds a working edge for a very long time. That said, it is awful to the occasional use knife nuts who like their show-off sharp edges, because it loses the razor edge like nobody's business. XHP on the other hand functions a lot more like a normal steel, where the edge retention is more of a linear scale, it won't lose its razor edge super fast then keep the working edge forever. If you only sharpen to a very coarse toothy edge with little refinement, you may actually see better edge retention from S30V, but if you refine the edge to starting to get a shine then you will likely see far better performance from XHP.
 
It is hard to make good comparisons, since most of us have samples of these steels from different manufacturers, with differing edge geometries and heat treatment. Nonetheless, I'll recount my sloppy experience.
I have used many knives in the kitchen and outside with S35V and S30V. I also have a number of knives in VG10 and only one in XHP.
The knife in XHP is a petty with a thin blade. It is used for just about everything and sometimes gets used in place of a boning knife. I have a Chaparral in S30V that gets used daily. I also have many knives in VG10.
The hardest use for a knife has been quartering chicken or splitting lobster tails, and I use a Tojioro in VG10 for that. It holds up great and rarely needs sharpening...it is the edge geometry. When I used an Old Hickory in 1095 for this kind of work, It needed to be sharpened after every use
I find little difference between S35V and XHP. The pocket knives in S30V don't cut the same stuff, so a comparison is difficult. I found much better performance from S35V than VG10 in fishing, but this was comparing Warther in S35V versus Fallkniven. My sole knife in XHP doesn't chip when hitting bone, but this is also the case for the S35V.
I seem to find, as with others, that the XHP is similar to S35V in edge retention, and somewhat better than most of the VG10 I have, but this also depends on edge geometry and blade thickness.
I would rather have a blade in S35V for fishing than one in XHP, but I don't think that there would be a huge difference in edge retention. XHP is a good steel, as is S35V, and I have no complaints about my experience with S30V. If stainless steel is important, you are likely to see better resistance to corrosion from S30V or S35V than XHP. I have 2 early production Chaparrals in S30V, and I have not been tempted by the newer ones in XHP. I haven't had the chipping problems that some report, but my tendency is to baby pocket knives and use fixed blades for more difficult cutting.
 
jdm61 said:
One of things that happened that frosted some folks was that they left the "can" on the steel so makers/suppliers had to grind off a fair bit of steel to get to the good stuff. Of course, they got charged for the can when the steel was priced out per pound.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to clear this up...

That post of mine you quoted, I was mistaken. I meant to be talking about BD1, not XHP. I had the two steels mixed up.
 
I own the Spyderco techno in CTS XHP, the Spyderco native 5 in s35vn and the Spyderco paramilitary 2 in s30v and I think CTS XHP is far superior in edge retention. It does take a bit longer to get hair shaving sharp than s30v. But I can get it much sharper than s30-35vn. And the edge lasts longer (by a week or two in my experience )
 
I have a few blades in S30V and only one in ctx-xhp (cold steel american lawman). My s30v blades seem to wear out WAY faster than the cold steel does. So far I am very impressed by the xhp's edge retention, I've really beat on this thing, hasn't chipped either unlike my s30v edges. Think I'll be buying more of these cold steels (love the finish toughness on these things too).
 
I haven't seen chipping with either. They're similar in use. The XHP might be a touch easier to sharpen.
 
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