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Favorite Bladesteels?

M390 family for smaller fixed or folders where edge retention is key.

Carbon steels or 3v for larger blades that require more toughness.
 
For me it has to be CTS-XHP, Cru-Wear, or CPM-154. Tossup between them, I love the properties of then all.
 
For stainless
-ZFINIT/LC200N.
Exellent toughness and ultra stain resistant. Takes one hell of a fine edge too!
-CPM 20CV.
Great edge holding. Very tough. Very stain resistant. Sharpens up really well too, holds fine edge for a long time. Great steel for folders and kitchen knives.

Carbon
-CPM 3V.
Its tough as all hell and then some, and holds a pretty damn good edge too. My favorite overall steel. You can go with max toughness, or a regular 60HRC, or even go higher with a modded HT for better edge holding and corrosion resistance.

-Z-Wear/CPM Cru-Wear.
A great tough steel, exellent edge holding. Seems to hold a fine edge for a long time. Gets stupid sharp and holds it. Almost as tough as 3V. Great at 62HRC and higher (upt to 64HRC). Pretty decent corrosion resistance. 7.5% chromium.
 
Here's another vote for Spectrumwear. Excellent edge retention, surprisingly easy to sharpen, and tough.
 
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S110v bro.
 
M390 & XHP. Recently acquired Cruwear & ZDP-189; liking them both quite a bit with my limited time with each steel.
 
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M390 would be my favorite steel.
D2 is my favorite bang for the buck steel, especially paired with one of the Rat's or a Queen traditional.

I chop with hatchets and pry with a pry bar so basically I can like a lot of steels as long as the knife has good cutting geometry. Toughness is not an issue. 154CM, CPM 154, S30V, Lam.Cos, 3G, AUS-8, 1095. I haven't tried some of the latest steels mostly because I haven't found one in a knife I like.

What I don't like are the old like steels 420HC, 440A , CV, and Chinese budget steels.
 
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