ELMAX vs. ZDP-189 vs. s90v

[SpyderManBH]

I'd be skeptical that you can learn much of anything about a custom maker's knife by buying production knives with the same steels. The custom maker, if he's good, will give you a better heat treat than you're likely to get in a run-of-the-mill production knife, especially if the custom maker has lots of experience with the steels he uses.

In addition, the geometry of the edge and blade will make as much or more difference in the knife's performance as the steel used.

Spend more time checking out the reputation of the actual knife maker you plan to use. If you find a good knife maker, everything else will take care of itself. If you don't find a good knife maker, you'll be wasting your money regardless of the steel used.

I know that if I go with a bad knife maker ill end up with a less than perfect quality, I just wanted to know which of these steels people preferred.
Thank you for the insight though!

 

[Brisket]

I have knives in all 3 steels and I prefer S90V by a good margin. That being said I would not consider having a custom made in S90V unless the maker has experience working with S90V regardless of how good of a maker I may think he is.

 

[SpyderManBH]

I have knives in all 3 steels and I prefer S90V by a good margin. That being said I would not consider having a custom made in S90V unless the maker has experience working with S90V regardless of how good of a maker I may think he is.

The guy Im having make the knife has worked extensively with the three metals. These three are the metals he uses the most, if he didn't know how to work with these i'd go with vg10, to keep the cost down a bit, and i love vg10.