Current King of Edge Retention?

Apophis said:
Ceramics. :p
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Haha as long as you're careful... my parents have a couple ceramic kitchen knives and each time I visit they look more and more like hacksaws.

OP, this might be of interest to you:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope

There are other steels like REX 121 that display crazy edge retention, but whether or not they're actually reasonable options is another story.

It also depends greatly on how you sharpen the blade, what you're cutting, etc.
 
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It really does depend on what you are looking for in terms of edge retention.
For example:

1. Do you want a toothy or polished edge?
2. Do you want stainless or does it matter?
3. Will this knife be cutting paper or working on heavier task?
4. How are you going to be cutting ie. chopping vs. slicing?
5. Are you talking about "steel" or "blade material", because there are several materials that are better at holding an edge than steel.
6. What do you define as "staying sharp"? Some materials will cut even though they do not have an apparently "sharp" edge (traditional, fine-fold, damascus is an example)?
7. Is edge retention the only factor that you are looking for, or do you want the blade to be able to perform in other categories as well?

Too many variables and issues for this question to be easy to answer. Ankerson's thread about testing different steels is certainly a good place to start for you, but keep in mind that he is testing on mainly one type of media to cut, and is using steels at different hardness and with different heat treats, ground to different thicknesses behind the edge and with generally either a toothy or polished edge on a V-ground bevel, which is certainly not the only way to have any of that set up.

In terms of knives I've owned and handled, if you want edge retention, get a Rockstead knife. Excellent fit and finish in a knife that will hold an edge longer than anything else I have ever seen. But you have to keep in mind, both the ZDP-189 and the YRX7 that they use will be prone to chipping, even though they do take serious steps to prevent this with their grinding method and their heat treatments.

A material other than steel that holds an edge very very well and comes to mind quickly is SM100. Very rare, but when done properly, will hold an edge longer than most steel ever will, while still maintaining good toughness, and a level of tensile strength and elasticity that you will never see in comparable steel. It is also basically never going to corrode, which is a big plus, as it is an alloy of Titanium, specially bonded and formulated generally for military use. The downside of it is, like I said, that it is very rare, and is not something that you will see outside of the custom realm at all. Even then, not many custom makers really know how to use it.

S125V is probably the king of stainless steel edge retention, but there is some debate over that. It is also extremely expensive compared to most steel, and is very very hard to work and finish. It will destroy machinery, and takes an immense amount of time and effort to get to the point of a finished and functioning blade. Not to mention, that extreme edge retention comes with a steep price when trying to sharpen it...good luck with that.

Essentially, there are way too many factors into what "the best edge retention" is for there to be a simple answer in my opinion, or really even just one answer for the question at all.

The simplest answer is that all of the steels you have posted originally have great edge retention, but are outclassed at some point by another material, either steel or not.
 
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Depends on how it is heat treated, ground and sharpened. 😊 in Ankersons test you can see a law carbide steel AEB-L perform similar to an Elmax blade because of geometry.

Geometry cuts.

It also depends on what you mean by edge retention. Edges dull by micro chipping and edge rolling. Sharpness, edge stability and wear resistance combine to give you good edge retention.

Unfortunately people tend to confuse wear resistance as the sole means of identifying edge retention.

For higher edge apex steels 10-20 degrees per side and coarse edge finishes I think s90v is good followed closely by M390 and ZDP189

For lower edge angles 5-10 degrees per side with a higher grit finish AEB-L, Infi, 14c28n.

Keeping to the stainless steels and given they are all properly heat treated.

My 2 cents.
 
lobo9er said:
Who is the king as of feb 2015? s90v? M4? 390?
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It depends is the best answer that I can give due to the variables.

In general in quality production blades with like geometry it will generally be S90V > M4 > M390.

Can't go wrong with any of those steels though as they all do very well and in real use it could be hard to tell the difference between them.
 
For me it's zdp-189 as heat treated by William Henry.

To be fair, it's not just the steel, but the heat treat as well.
 
interesting I read ankerson's thread but wondered is since 2010 had anything new sprung up with testing. great thread by the way.
 
The Rosta-frei, made by Jamacan smiths in a secret location in the mountain jungles of the island. Nothing beats Rostafrei!

Nothing.

Japanese Ginsu steel is runner up.
 
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jackknife said:
The Rostafrei, made by Jamacan smiths in a secret location in the mountain jungles of the island. Nothing beats Rostafrei!

Nothing.

Japanese Ginsu steel is runner up.
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I got in trouble as kid carrying a rastafrei piece. Never again... Russ
 
When you factor in Heat Treating, and the variable RC's these steels are run at, it's a tough question to answer....
 
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