Favourite Steel per Category?

Budget: 14C28N
Premium: S90V
Carbon: 52100

There's a lot in between, though, for general purpose S35VN is a great value or Magnacut a little higher end. 154CM/RWL34/ATS34/CPM154 and D2/K110 are still very versatile and serviceable. And M390/20CV/204P are a great premium steel as well.
 
Carbon steel: 80CrV2
Tool steel: 3V
Stainless: MagnaCut
One steel for life: 3V

Unfortunately, not all the knives I like are made from the steels I mentioned above.
 
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I like and am interested in a lot of steels, but my favorite is AEB-L. It's my favorite because it is easy enough for me to work with, and can be used to make an excellent knife for just about any role, except for the most specialized roles like dedicated carpet cutters, or dive knives.

I may have eschewed naming favorites from time to time, but AEB-L has been very good to me.
 
I honestly don't know.... I'd have to break it down a little further I think.

Carbon/non-stainless steel: Either Cru-Wear or 3V depending on my priority for that blade. Balance or toughness.
Stainless: Magnacut, AEB-L or LC200N Again, balance or toughness.
Budget: Is 154CM or CPM 154 a budget steel now?
One steel for life: Uhhhh..... ummm..... Probably Magnacut. Maybe.
 
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XtianAus said:
What's your favourite?

Carbon steel: (For me) 3V
Stainless: Magnacut or LC200N
Budget: 14c28n
One steel for life: because I am not great at sharpening, probably 14c28n
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Note:
3V is not a "Carbon Steel". It is a "high alloy, non-stainless steel".
The 1000 series (1095, 1085, 1050) are "Carbon Steels". By AISI definition, "carbon steel" can only contain controlled amounts of iron, carbon, manganese, silicon, sulphur and phosphorus. Any other elements that are present are considered accidental contaminants.


I kind of don't have any particular favorite steels. For me there are types of usage, and a list of steels that I immediately think of when I think about each usage. But whether a steel is appropriate for a particular usage also depends to a great extent on how the knife designer designs that knife (geometry of the blade). So there are too many variables to name a single alloy for each usage.
 
knarfeng said:
Note:
3V is not a "Carbon Steel". It is a "high alloy, non-stainless steel".
The 1000 series (1095, 1085, 1050) are "Carbon Steels". By AISI definition, "carbon steel" can only contain controlled amounts of iron, carbon, manganese, silicon, sulphur and phosphorus. Any other elements that are present are considered accidental contaminants.


I kind of don't have any particular favorite steels. For me there are types of usage, and a list of steels that I immediately think of when I think about each usage. But whether a steel is appropriate for a particular usage also depends to a great extent on how the knife designer designs that knife (geometry of the blade). So there are too many variables to name a single alloy for each usage.
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Ahhh yes I always mix that up
 
Leaf springs make good knives in carbon steel.

I have a CRKT M18 in AUS-8 that I am not loving. I have a Leatherman Wave+ that I think has D2 blades that seems OK. Last year I bought and giddied a Large Sebenza 31 in AMgnicut that is a hit with th recipient.

Twenty plus years ago, I bought and gave a Randall #16 in whatever their stainless is (440C?). The owner has much less faith in it than the Chris Reeves "Green Beret" he got at the same time . . .in the then standard S30V.
 
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This thread died out way too fast!

Stainless: S90V
High alloy tool steel: K390/10v
Toughness: 4v

One steel for life: K390
katguy said:
I really like Japanese AUS8 and the Chinese version (8Cr13Mov) when they are well done by companies such as SpyderCo and Civivi. They are tougher than Mangacut, easy to sharpen and are mostly stainless. Under-rated steels IMO and often referred to as trash/garbage.

It's a great EDC steel. Cheap, stainless and tough.
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I'd have to agree. I've owned so many knives in 8cr13mov over the years and they've always performed well. Companies that use it a lot have a lot of experience with the heat treat and have really dialed it in. At 60hrc (which isn't uncommon with Spyderco or Kershaw) it performs very well. It's also fantastic to sharpen, gets super sharp and deburrs with almost no effort at all.
 
Carbon steel: CPM M4 & CPM Delta 3V
Stainless: MagnaCut
Budget steel: AEB-L

Steel for life: Don’t know, getting closer each year but not dead yet 😳
 
Tool: CPM-M4
Stainless: M390
Budget: Least expensive i own is s30v, and TBH it’s MUCH better than I was willing to admit.

Steel for life? Can I get a san-mai with an M4 core and M390 jacket? No? Id probably choose M4 then.

I’ve got my first Magnacut blade on order, we’ll see if it can supplant M390 as a favorite stainless or not.
 
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My favorite steel is the one with the best heat treatment..

I’ve tried some makers 01 that put other makers magnucut to shame ( in every way besides corrosion resistance ).

I won’t say names
 
Non stainless: 15V
Stainless: Magnacut
Budget: S30V...seems budget these days?
One steel for life: toss up Cruwear/Magnacut
 
I’m not a big follower on steel anymore.
As I’ve used different steels it really doesn’t make a gigantic difference on whether or not a knife appeals to me as it once did.
It does matter but within reason, I can look beyond this.

I do enjoy a good tool steel- m4 hap40.
Stainless lc200n.
A for all around performance- cruwear s30v
 
Carbon steel: 6150/50crv4/50HF
Stainless: N690
Budget: 8Cr14MoV
For life: 6150/50crv4/50HF.
 
luethge said:
My favorite steel is the one with the best heat treatment..

I’ve tried some makers 01 that put other makers magnucut to shame ( in every way besides corrosion resistance ).

I won’t say names
Click to expand...

A little play on words.....My favorite steel is the one with the best Geometry.....😁
 
Carbon steel: CPM M4
Stainless: Magnacut
Budget: Not a lot of difference, to me, in most of the budget steels, so pick one.
One steel for life: CPM Cruwear.

One steel for life, SHTF: Cruwear
One steel for life, S does not HTF, and a pragmatic choice: Magnacut. Good in the pocket, the yard, the swamp, and the kitchen.

Honorable mention if I have time and patience to sharpen it: 3V. And if the above mentioned steels did not exist, along with A11 class, M390 class, etc. I could be happy with 3V for ever and ever, amen. It's really quite good.

Gotta say, and not to start a fight here, but I hate, HATE the term "Carbon Steel." Carbon and iron are steel. Take the carbon out and you are left with iron. It ain't steel. Add enough chromium and the "carbon steel" becomes stainless, but it still has carbon.

I'm not usually this picky, but sometimes the demons from high school chemistry show up and take over. Our chemistry/biology teacher worked on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, and he made sure that some things stayed with us.

I'm not a neologist, but someone smarter than I am, which is to say, almost everyone else, needs to come up with a better term.

Dr. Larrin, do you have any spare time for this project? <grin>
 
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