Favorite steel?

I have a real fondness for 1086M (its very similar to W2) and I also like W2,AEB-L and CPM3v
 
valknut said:
That's interesting. I've head ALOT of good things about 3v so IF z wear is better it might be pretty amazing. How does it grind?
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Fresh ceramic belts are a must. It's similar to 3v in that respect. It's got a bit more alloying than 3v, but 3v has over 2% vanadium to start with.

I'm doing an edc for myself, and a shinny kitchen knife to test it out. I'll report back in 6 months or more to share my impressions. I might start using 3v more too. Possibly M4 too.


https://www.alphaknifesupply.com/zdata-bladesteelC-ZWear.htm
 
HSC /// said:
Hitachi laminated white steel... :-) LOL
I'm laughing out loud because there's another thready going here in shoptalk somewhat related

also like W1, O1, 1084

don't have too much experience with any stainless. don't really care for it too much.

but I wouldn't consider myself a pro
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Is there any reason you prefer white over blue?


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As for me I really like 1084 for most knives because it's simple to heat treat, easy to work with, and performs very well. I also like 1075 and W2 for hamon and I really like CruforgeV for something that really needs to hold an edge. The only thing I don't like about cruforge is how long it takes to grind/sand [emoji28]

My favorite steel that I've used? ZDP-189 hands down


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A couple points:

1) The Z-Wear, Specwear, CruWear, etc steels do have better edge holding than 3V, but they are not as tough.

2) If you like 15N20 and want thicker material, try 8670. It has the toughness of 15N20 but is available in more thicknesses.

We are still testing 8670. Here are our impressions:
• Excellent toughness
• Very good edge holding
• Easy to heat treat
• Do not over temper (gets soft quickly)
• Hard to grind after heat treat
• Very affordable

We have not forged a knife yet. All the testing has been with stock removal knives.

Chuck
 
Awesome info guys. I will not be doing my own HT so ease of HT isn't a concern for me. I've talked about this before but since I'm in florida and alot of my knives are gonna go to family and friends I'm gonna probably start off with stainless. But prior to starting this thread everything I've read in really like the sounds of AEBL, 52100 and 3v. So it's very interesting to hear pretty much a completely different response.
Edit: chuck I'm glad you responded cause your the man I'll be ordering my steel from.
 
8670 is a good steel, I think it would have caught on more had it not got caught up in Admirals "switch-a-roo" about 10 years ago..See for a while admiral was selling it as real L6, which it is not..Its a fine steel and has some moly in it but a lot of guys who used it in their O1/L6 mix figured out fast that it didn't etch the same..Like I said, great steel people just got mad because it wasn't what they bought it as..if Im not mistaken Admiral didn't even know it was not L6, their vendor had told them it was.
 
So is 15n20, 80crv2 etc are they good for just an EDC blade? How do they sell? The reason I'm asking is i know there is alot of steel snobs out there that only want the latest greatest. Wondering if someone had a hard time selling a knife because of steel type before
 
Nearly all of the knives I've sold have been 1084 and I know there are plenty of we'll know makers that make a lot of 1084 blades with no problem selling it. I feel like most people care about the design and maker more than the steel...to an extent that is.


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HSC /// said:
valknut, you made reference to the general forum guys,
curious if they are talking about and buying production knives or benchmade (handmade) knives?
seems like out in the general forum, toughness is valued.
For me toughness is a lower consideration
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It was a little bit of both honestly. Most were production bUT a handful said they had a custom is XYZ steel because they loved it.
 
1084 and A2 for carbon steels, for cost and ease of heat-treat, and solid performance (prefer to avoid the kiln/foil/oil combo)
CPM154, S35VN, and AEB-L for stainless. I'd like to pick one of CPM154 or S35VN, but amn't sure which way to go. Certainly S35VN is more sellable.

I've dropped O1 and 154CM, and will not buy any more once I use up my stock. They make fine knives, but the others are better for my needs & capabilities.
 
For me it would be A2. I also like S7 as one of the strongest/toughest steels I've ever worked with.
Scott
 
As a toolmaker I love S7 too. I used to have to make dozens of A2 pin punches, .937" dia with a 1.25" head that pushed the cores out of die cast rotors. They'd break them left and right even at 55-56 RC. Switched to S7 at 56 RC and they'd go weeks and weeks on a single pin. It's incredibly tough stuff.
 
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