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Favorite Steel

Zidfeldts said:
I really like 52-100 in custom knives that is heat treated according to Ed Fowler. It is nice to have the confidence to do almost anything to your knife and know it will come through with flying colors.
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Same here. I love 52100 on medium sized fixed blades. For larger fixed blades I like 5160. On modern favour flat ground S30V blades, although there are other steels I like as well. For traditional slipjoints something like 1095 is great.
 
S110v, M390, N690, M4. Are all great S30v and com154 are always good choices and more affordable. D2 is one of those steels that is love or hate it seems but I tend to like it as I have not found anything wrong with it and it holds a good edge.
 
I have tried Opinel carbon steel, 440C, 420HC, S30V and M390.

I like the S30V that I trust to be very strong, even for hard use, but my favorite is definitively the M390.

The edge I get from M390 if IMHO completly superior!
I can make a ZT0350M390 a better slicer than a S30V paralimitary2.
Very impressive from my point of view.

I haven't tried ELMAX so far but I will be very interested if someone can make a ROI on ELMAX vs M390.
 
There's nothing tougher then 1095 and I like hard use knives which you can trust your life on.

Keep it clean and oiled - no rust.

Anyone think there's a more reliable steel which is less likely to chip / break / crack ???

I'm all ears

:)
 
Have not many steels, but so far my favorite is D2. Pretty stain resistant and as indestructable as I will ever need.
Edge retention and ease of sharpening keep a good balance in that one.

H1 if your knife will get in contact with lots of humidity, saltwater/sweat and/or blood much.

Looking for knives in CPM D2, CTS-XHP and Sleipner next to test those "evolutions" of D2 ;)
 
For fixed blades I like 1095 (blades under 5 inches) and 52100 (blades over 5 inches)
For folders I would be able to live the rest of my life with Spydercos VG10.
 
First of all, I'd like to thank all of ya'll that came out of the closet in favor of Aus-8. I like it too. You put yourself up for ridicule and didn't back down. I'd also like to commend the members who didn't laugh, ridicule and be an all around mean person to the folks that made that admission.

Although I like aus-8, it is not my favorite. My favorite is a custom in 52100 I bought recently from a knifemaker here. Helped process a couple of deer recently and it cuts and skins better than anything I've ever used.

Currently:

52100
1095
5160
440-c
Aus-8
 
I have to say, I was mistaken. My favorite steel is 3cr.
 
If you ask 5 knife enthusiasts what their favorite steel is you will probably get 5 different answers. It would be interesting to do a poll on this to see which of the steels mentioned has the most votes. All the modern high alloy stainless steels will perform well (compared the those of the past). Some will hold an edge better than others but are usually harder to sharpen.

I really like CPM S35VN for it balance of edge holding and sharpen-ability. I have found its predecessor, S30V hard to sharpen. S35VN is quite a lot easier to sharpen with out sacrificing anything noticeable in the edge holding or toughness departments.

-mike
 
North Arm Knives said:
If you ask 5 knife enthusiasts what their favorite steel is you will probably get 5 different answers. It would be interesting to do a poll on this to see which of the steels mentioned has the most votes. All the modern high alloy stainless steels will perform well (compared the those of the past). Some will hold an edge better than others but are usually harder to sharpen.

I really like CPM S35VN for it balance of edge holding and sharpen-ability. I have found its predecessor, S30V hard to sharpen. S35VN is quite a lot easier to sharpen with out sacrificing anything noticeable in the edge holding or toughness departments.

-mike
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Results so far, 1st place:

1095

2nd place would be very close, call it a tie between:

m390, s30v and 52100
 
My fav is Elmax simply because it has served me well. Sharpens easily and stays sharp for awhile.... Resistant to edge chipping.... Highly stain resistant.

As of now, I choose Elmax over M390:-- tricky to heat-treat properly. No steel can reach its potential without good heat treatment.

I choose Elmax over CPM S30V since the edges of some S30V blades I have owned have shown a tendency to chip easily at the edge.

That being said, 154CM has also proved trouble-free.

Still waiting for Udderholm-Boehler's Vanax.
 
For fixed blades, I prefer 1095.
In folders, my favorites are, in order:
S35VN
S30V
154CM

I really can't stand AUS-8. Not sure why it's so popular, other than its price. It's got subpar wear resistance and it rusts almost as readily as carbon steels in my experience.
 
Some companies do better is AUS-8 than others. Cold Steel's is pretty impressive.
 
depends.

opinel steel (1075?) for getting a ridiculous edge quickly.

cpm m4 for just never having to maintain it. that stuff will keep on slicing through the most abrasive cutting.

super blue is like a mix of the two: it responds really well to sharpening, loves low angles and razor edges just as much as coarse edges. the high hardness and wear resistance being much improved over the opinel for edge holding.
 
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So basically any steel in any of the more expensive knives offered by the big name companies is what this thread tells me. Or rather, I can tell which companies and price points people have dabbled in. And anything by Busse or BRK for fixed blades.

People's experiences are rather limited, huh?

Let's see, Benchmade and Spyderco at the top of the list, followed by KAI, followed by CRK and some Hinderers for folders.

Busse and BRK clearly at the top, followed by some custom made or homemade knives for fixed blades.

I think those knives cover pretty much every post in this thread. Just an observation.
 
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