decided to do a cutting test with s30v sebenza

cofade2black

cofade2black

Joined
Dec 16, 2009
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hey guys and girls, I was having fun this thanks giving and decided to test me sebenza out. I cut nylon tether cord, hard rubber, cardboard,nylon rope. I remember a test with s35vn and I wanted to see how my s30v would stand up. I wanted to say that s30v is some dang strong steel. after cutting all this not even a burr, in fact I was getting tired. picture below only shows a fraction of what I cut. Tell me what you think.
DSC04551.jpg
 
I think you should wide angle out and give us a shot of all of it! :D

I think S30V is a much harder steel than the current offering of S35VN. I believe that tables and numbers indicate that that the S35VN is marginally better in edge retention only but I also remember reading that it's easier on knifemakers' equipment and easier to work with sharpen etc..

Steel afficianados, feel free to correct me. There's so much to learn, and I may have it mixed up.

So what does this mean? I have no idea except I think S30V is better steel. :thumbup:
 
I've had a few S35vn sebs but never had a chance to use them. I'll be receiving an umnum tomorrow with S35VN and this
time I'll make sure to test it out. Maybe see how many foot long cuts through cardboard I can make until the edge is dull.
 
S30V is definitely harder than S35VN. Harder to sharpen too. S35VN takes a better edge in my experience but not sure which has better edge retention.
 
PAZach said:
S30V is definitely harder than S35VN. Harder to sharpen too. S35VN takes a better edge in my experience but not sure which has better edge retention.
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S30V is only "harder" than S35VN if it is heat treated to a higher RC level. Different steels aren't inherently "harder." I believe you are confusing hardness with wear resistance.

Also, CRK treats both steels to the same HRC range (58-59) which makes them the same hardness. :)
 
I was going to post the same thing, and then wasn't sure whether the post :confused: meant "harder to sharpen," in which case perhaps S30V is "harder" than S35VN - but even there, in my experience it's only harder to get a high-polish finish, not harder to get a wicked good cutting edge. ;)

CrimsonTideShooter said:
S30V is only "harder" than S35VN if it is heat treated to a higher RC level. Different steels aren't inherently "harder." I believe you are confusing hardness with wear resistance.

Also, CRK treats both steels to the same HRC range (58-59) which makes them the same hardness. :)
Click to expand...
 
So what's up on these two guys? Does either hold an advantage to the consumer over the other and would the new 35VN stay hard and not chip if bumped up on the heat treatment to say 60 - 61 HRC?

What is the advantage of S35VN, if there is one and to whom, the user or the maker? Thanks. :)
 
cziv said:
So what's up on these two guys? Does either hold an advantage to the consumer over the other and would the new 35VN stay hard and not chip if bumped up on the heat treatment to say 60 - 61 HRC?

What is the advantage of S35VN, if there is one and to whom, the user or the maker? Thanks. :)
Click to expand...

From what I've gathered, the whole point of the greater toughness with S35VN is that it allows the steel to be ran harder which improves edge holding, all while still being tough.

It seems like when CRK runs it at the same hardness as the S30, they aren't taking advantage of the steel's attributes.
 
If S35VN is (slightly) tougher at the the same hardness, (slightly) easier to sharpen due to reduced Vanadium, (slightly) easier to machine/polish and still has the same edge-holding compared to S30V, then I would say that it is overall a (slightly) better steel. Of course one could harden it more but it will always be at the cost of one of the other attributes (e.g. toughness/ sharpenability). So I believe Chris Reeve when he states that it is a "small yet significant advance" in steels. I'd like to see some comparisons in edge-holding though!:thumbup:
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
From what I've gathered, the whole point of the greater toughness with S35VN is that it allows the steel to be ran harder which improves edge holding, all while still being tough.

It seems like when CRK runs it at the same hardness as the S30, they aren't taking advantage of the steel's attributes.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's just the answer I was looking for. :thumbup:
 
My take on this, from the information Crucible has published, is a little different from the post above, but I may be mistaken, too. Anyway, FWIW, the primary advantage of S35VN appears to be for the knifemaker: less time and less materials is required to obtain a better finish on the blade than with S30V. However, the other distinction is higher "toughness," but when Crucible refers to "toughness" they are referring basically to resistance to lateral (cross-blade) pressure, not axial (in-line) pressure..."toughness" does not refer to edge-holding but basically to resistance to chipping by those who edge-pry with their blades (example: some woodcraft work).

I hope that's clear and I think that's right but I'm discussing, not issuing decrees. ;)

cziv said:
So what's up on these two guys? Does either hold an advantage to the consumer over the other and would the new 35VN stay hard and not chip if bumped up on the heat treatment to say 60 - 61 HRC?

What is the advantage of S35VN, if there is one and to whom, the user or the maker? Thanks. :)
Click to expand...
 
JNewell said:
My take on this, from the information Crucible has published, is a little different from the post above, but I may be mistaken, too. Anyway, FWIW, the primary advantage of S35VN appears to be for the knifemaker: less time and less materials is required to obtain a better finish on the blade than with S30V. However, the other distinction is higher "toughness," but when Crucible refers to "toughness" they are referring basically to resistance to lateral (cross-blade) pressure, not axial (in-line) pressure..."toughness" does not refer to edge-holding but basically to resistance to chipping by those who edge-pry with their blades (example: some woodcraft work).

I hope that's clear and I think that's right but I'm discussing, not issuing decrees. ;)
Click to expand...


I didn't mean for my post to imply that greater toughness equals greater edge retention.

I was meaning that the steel can be ran harder (which increases the edge retention) while still being tougher than S30V. (less prone to chipping)

I feel like since the steel is inherently tougher, it only makes sense to run it a little harder to increase the edge retention. I'm not a knife maker of course, so what do I know. Haha
 
I *think* that when Crucible says "tough" they mean only resistance to lateral force...I could be wrong, I am not a knife maker or a cutler or any of that. :D
 
S35VN is easier to machine and probably alot more cost efficient. As far as performance I doubt you would be able to tell the
difference in a real world setting.
 
Fferrell1 said:
why is BG-42 so sought after?
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Because it is the universal rule of human existence that we want what we can't have...really.

That and the fact that CRK ran the BG-42 blades a couple of points harder on the Rc scale so edge retention is better, though sharpening takes longer.
 
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