Elmax or S35V ?

Razor

Razor

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 8, 1999
Messages
3,975
I know this has been probably been decussed dozen of times, but how do you think they compare? I know my 560 will get scary sharp and seems to stay that way. I hope S35V is better than S30V which I don't really like. ZT's and spyderco's S30V seems to be the best. I like 154CM better than S30V. S30V is at the bottom of my list for knife blade steel. I think I like AUS80 better.
 
S35V is marginally better than S30V. S35V is supposed to be easier to machine and sharpen and that's about it. S30V is a fine steel in my book, not the greatest but much better than AUS8. I like Elmax a lot. From my experience is a great all around steel, probably my favorite. It seems to be a little better than S30V across the board. It has a nice balance of toughness, edge retention, wear resistance, and excellent corrosion resistance. I like it enough that I ordered my grail folding knife a little bit back and I chose Elmax as the blade steel.
 
Better is subjective to the task at hand. So it would probably be good to state why you don't like S30V, to help figure out if you would like S35VN at all. In my experience S35VN seemed to sharpen a bit easier than S30V. It is supposed to be tougher than S30V.
 
I can get S30V sharp, but it seem hard to get it razor sharp. I use a sharpmaker. It seems to hold a edge purity good. So far I like elmax alot.
 
A lot obviously has to do with the heat treat too. All S30V is not created equal. Strider is going to have better S30V heat treat than many for example, so you may have better experiences with a steel from company X than company Y. Same goes for Elmax and any steel for that matter.
 
I like s30v a lot--I have a military and para2, and I get them shaving sharp. I have a sharpmaker, but prefer to use my dmt diamond stones, then the spyderco golden stone, then a leasther strop... All free-hand.... My 0561 gets equally sharp, but seems to stay sharper a little longer ( more or less the norm, I think ); I have not had the pleasure of trying s35vn, but can say that I like the others better than 154cm and even D2 ( on my Bm's rift and 15020-2 )... Maybe a little more aggresive sharpening is necessary for your s30v to get to the level of sharpness you desire (different angle and sharpening materials)... Good luck man.
 
I've had s35vn rust on me, (I work in a hot factory building cars) and sometimes we come out and we are soaked in sweat and I've never had s30v blade, or elmax blade rust on me, I even carry cpm-m4 and it didn't rust but s35 did, so I tried to steer clear of it until i found another 550 for the low low brand new so i bought it just never carried it to work, It sharpened up to a mirror polish on my edge pro with the least effort of any steel I've sharpened, but I didn't get a chance to see how long it would hold that edge, i sharpened it and it sat at home until i sold it 2 days ago...
 
You sold a 550. Shame on you. Well I did too, but I have one now and it is not getting sold. Fits my hand perfect. So far I really like the steel. I strop it a few times, and it will bite you if you don't watch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top