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Edge retention of stainless.
- Thread starter Whisper21
- Start date
The majority of carbon steels today are blown away in edge retention by modern stainless steels.
Like said above, it really does depend on which specific steels are being compared.
The most common carbon steels are:
1055-1095-5160-O1-A2
Those I'd say represent the majority of carbon steels today, they are destroyed in the edge retention department in comparison to a high end stainless steel such as M390.
Like said above, it really does depend on which specific steels are being compared.
The most common carbon steels are:
1055-1095-5160-O1-A2
Those I'd say represent the majority of carbon steels today, they are destroyed in the edge retention department in comparison to a high end stainless steel such as M390.
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Yup. There are many steels with very, very good edge retention in either category. I think the more commonly found carbon steels maintain their popularity more because they are relatively inexpensive, tough, easy to sharpen and familiar than because of any advantage in edge retention.
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M4 is probably one of the best carbon steels and is a little more corrosion resistant then others like 1095, steel like zdp-189 being ultra high carbon stainless will give M4 a run for its money, they both hold up exceptionally well in just about any condition.
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The key phrase there is "high end."
Carbon steels are still very strong, tough and cheap. High end stainless steels are strong, tough and VERY EXPENSIVE. I have an Ontario Marine Raider that will fell a small tree in minutes. No one would want to do that with a high end stainless. In fact, the best stainless steels are overwhelmingly available in only small knives. You're not going to get a 7.5-inch blade made of S30V; however, you can get a variety of fairly large knives made of AUS8. For chopping and edge retention, I don't have any practical experience in outdoor uses. I will say that good AUS8, such as made by Cold Steel and other decent knife companies, have blisteringly sharp blades that will cut paper sheets into clean strips. It's also easy to resharpen.
SOG produces its Super Bowie, a very large knife with an AUS8 blade. It can be used for chopping and batoning, and a lot of people have great things to say about it. Ka-Bar puts out a lot of carbon steel knives that have outstanding reputations.
In small folding knives, there aren't many that have carbon steel blades. High end stainless knives can be quite reasonable in price and they have great edge retention. But when they do need resharpening, they don't need just a few swipes on a good knife sharpener; they need a little time and effort. I like the Cold Steel Voyagers because they're super strong and sport 5- and 6-inch blades made of AUS8 stainless. When it loses its edge, it takes less than a minute to make it hair-popping sharp again. I have a number of S30V knives that I really like, but it's rare that I ever carry them.
SOG knives (top to bottom): Super Bowie, Agency, and Tech Bowie. The ti-ni finish on
the Agency is worth the price alone! All have AUS 8 stainless blades.
Cold Steel Voyagers come in many configurations and are easy to sharpen. They, too,
have AUS 8 blades.
The Cold Steel Rajah is probably the strongest folding knife ever made. It's a great
survival knife and, again, it has an AUS 8 blade.
The Buck Alaskan series, at Cabela's, is made from S30V stainless. These are
good hunting knives, and reviewers say they'll process far more game than the
standard Buck 420HC stainless. They're also gorgeous!
Carbon steels are still very strong, tough and cheap. High end stainless steels are strong, tough and VERY EXPENSIVE. I have an Ontario Marine Raider that will fell a small tree in minutes. No one would want to do that with a high end stainless. In fact, the best stainless steels are overwhelmingly available in only small knives. You're not going to get a 7.5-inch blade made of S30V; however, you can get a variety of fairly large knives made of AUS8. For chopping and edge retention, I don't have any practical experience in outdoor uses. I will say that good AUS8, such as made by Cold Steel and other decent knife companies, have blisteringly sharp blades that will cut paper sheets into clean strips. It's also easy to resharpen.
SOG produces its Super Bowie, a very large knife with an AUS8 blade. It can be used for chopping and batoning, and a lot of people have great things to say about it. Ka-Bar puts out a lot of carbon steel knives that have outstanding reputations.
In small folding knives, there aren't many that have carbon steel blades. High end stainless knives can be quite reasonable in price and they have great edge retention. But when they do need resharpening, they don't need just a few swipes on a good knife sharpener; they need a little time and effort. I like the Cold Steel Voyagers because they're super strong and sport 5- and 6-inch blades made of AUS8 stainless. When it loses its edge, it takes less than a minute to make it hair-popping sharp again. I have a number of S30V knives that I really like, but it's rare that I ever carry them.
SOG knives (top to bottom): Super Bowie, Agency, and Tech Bowie. The ti-ni finish on
the Agency is worth the price alone! All have AUS 8 stainless blades.
Cold Steel Voyagers come in many configurations and are easy to sharpen. They, too,
have AUS 8 blades.
The Cold Steel Rajah is probably the strongest folding knife ever made. It's a great
survival knife and, again, it has an AUS 8 blade.
The Buck Alaskan series, at Cabela's, is made from S30V stainless. These are
good hunting knives, and reviewers say they'll process far more game than the
standard Buck 420HC stainless. They're also gorgeous!
Stacks of small folders use carbon steel blades, just take a visit to the traditional forum.
Hi end stainless is used in big knives, its just not that common. Steels like S30V & S35VN are tough, & hold up well to tough use.
It might be useful to consider a hi end tool steel: 3V. Great toughness & edge holding, just as expensive as S35VN.
I think these new generation steels are harder to work. A lot of the hi volume manufacturers aren't tooled up to work with them. Go custom if you want one.
3V is probably my favourite for "beating", but you won't go wrong with S35VN. Bring on the new technology!
Hi end stainless is used in big knives, its just not that common. Steels like S30V & S35VN are tough, & hold up well to tough use.
It might be useful to consider a hi end tool steel: 3V. Great toughness & edge holding, just as expensive as S35VN.
I think these new generation steels are harder to work. A lot of the hi volume manufacturers aren't tooled up to work with them. Go custom if you want one.
3V is probably my favourite for "beating", but you won't go wrong with S35VN. Bring on the new technology!
Ankerson
Knife and Computer Geek
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440C isn't mid range....
Carbon steels are the 10XX series...
Don't mistake the non stainless higher alloy steels like 01, 52100 etc into thinking they are carbon steels.
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I wouldn't consider 440 series stainless to be mid grade. More like low grade.
Would it compare to a carbon steel? To answer that we must know what carbon steel you want to compare it too.
1095 carbon steel.
Ankerson
Knife and Computer Geek
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Typically given the typical hardness range we see the steels at in production knives 440C should have better edge retention than 1095...
That's taking into count like knives with comparable edge and blade geometry...
Both are lower end steels though.
Ankerson
Knife and Computer Geek
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The biggest mistake I see in this thread is what people think carbon steel is....
Just because a steel isn't stainless doesn't make it a carbon steel....
There are high alloy non stainless steels.... CPM M4, CPM 10V, CPM 3V, CPM 15V, M4, D2..... etc...
There are low alloy non stainless steels.....
The low alloy non stainless steels as in the 10XX series... 1095, 1080 etc are what is carbon steels, that's LOW ALLOY non stainless.... Or simple low alloy non stainless carbon steel.
High carbon 10XX is a joke also because there are stainless steels that have over 3X the carbon content than the 10XX series steels do.....
Just because a steel isn't stainless doesn't make it a carbon steel....
There are high alloy non stainless steels.... CPM M4, CPM 10V, CPM 3V, CPM 15V, M4, D2..... etc...
There are low alloy non stainless steels.....
The low alloy non stainless steels as in the 10XX series... 1095, 1080 etc are what is carbon steels, that's LOW ALLOY non stainless.... Or simple low alloy non stainless carbon steel.
High carbon 10XX is a joke also because there are stainless steels that have over 3X the carbon content than the 10XX series steels do.....
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- Apr 14, 2013
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Just go with a light saber, great edge retention, never need to sharpen, tough as it comes and the technology is out of this world.