CTS-XHP ?

Not all makers have perfect heat treats all the time, but in general it is a great, balanced steel. I have three Chaparrals, and a Swayback in XHP, and no issues.
 
Great steel, like a fine-grained D2 on steroids. My CS American Lawman in CTS-XHP takes and holds a terrific edge, and is easier to sharpen than S30V, very close toS35Vn.
 
Here is Larrin:

“The edge retention of XHP is good, matching S30V and S35VN. The toughness is good as well, likely being similar to other powder metallurgy stainless steels, though independent testing has not yet been performed. XHP can attain rather high hardness for a stainless steel, about 65 Rc, which gives it some versatility in heat treatment. Despite the results of corrosion testing by Carpenter, I have reason to believe the corrosion resistance of XHP is relatively low compared to other stainless steels. XHP should be easier to finish than other PM stainless steels with high vanadium contents, giving it a good balance of ease in finishing and edge retention.”

(https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/07/29/xhp-steel-history-and-properties/)
 
I can only speak to Spyderco’s XHP.
It’s awesome.
IMO it looses nothing to S30/S35 and in my feeble hands it takes and holds a fine razor edge easier/longer. Toughness is fine. *Perhaps-maybe* the working “toothy” edge doesn’t hold up quite as long, but XHP strops-back like a champion. For me and my purposes it gives the best maintenance to performance ratio of anything I’ve used. I love it.

Personal opinion above. 😉



It seems to me I’ve read that XHP’s corrosion resistance isn’t as good as S30/S35. Someone else might be able to speak to that. I haven’t noticed a difference…but I don’t stress my knives in that regard.
 
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ferider said:
Here is Larrin:

“The edge retention of XHP is good, matching S30V and S35VN. The toughness is good as well, likely being similar to other powder metallurgy stainless steels, though independent testing has not yet been performed. XHP can attain rather high hardness for a stainless steel, about 65 Rc, which gives it some versatility in heat treatment. Despite the results of corrosion testing by Carpenter, I have reason to believe the corrosion resistance of XHP is relatively low compared to other stainless steels. XHP should be easier to finish than other PM stainless steels with high vanadium contents, giving it a good balance of ease in finishing and edge retention.”

(https://knifesteelnerds.com/2019/07/29/xhp-steel-history-and-properties/)
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Thanks.
 
One of my XHP Arii is my work beater. Has held up great, tough enough for my not so delicate use.

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I have been eyeballing an old Wayfarer in CTS-XHP, this thread isn't that old so figured I'd add a few data points before it gets too old....
Objectivity aside, I wonder how many people get turned off right away because 440C and D2 seem to always get mentioned in the same breath as XHP. I know that's a ridiculous reason to get turned off by it, but there was definitely a point in time where I knew a little about high end steels, way more than the average person but not enough to know there are much more important things than just the steel type. Subjectivity is a bad thing in choosing steel.

Just be aware if you follow the link to Larrin's work (above), it's not the powder version (i.e. CTS), just regular XHP (as far as I can tell)

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There are much more important factors like heat treat, grind, etc. but given the above I wouldn't pay a premium for an extremely expensive daily use knife made using CTS-XHP. I wouldn't necessarily avoid it, but given the option at the same price from the same maker (an unlikely scenario), I'd probably opt for a different steel.
 

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Only PM XHP is available. It was known as 440XH at one point where it was apparently also available conventionally but that was a long time ago. I have only tested powder metallurgy XHP.
 
I have two kitchen knives in XHP by Northwoods. I got them from the place that ships free. One is a paring knife and the other is a 5” petty. The petty gets used for cutting up small stuff, including onions. Sometimes I have used it for boning as well. I also have kitchen knives in S35V and VG10. I can’t see any difference between the XHP and S35V, and both have good edge retention and resist chipping when properly sharpened. I would give the toughness to XHP, but that could be because I had paring knife in S35V that was ground at too fine an angle. It was fine after I sharpened it.
 
ElementalBreakdown said:
Just be aware if you follow the link to Larrin's work (above), it's not the powder version (i.e. CTS), just regular XHP (as far as I can tell
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I'm almost sure there is no non powder steel version of CTS XHP. That used to be called 440XH ( non powder version of what we now call XHP which was available first ) It's definitely good stuff and solves some of the problems with D2. Namely it keeps the good wear resistance while improving toughness and edge stability a bit.
 
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