Good spyderco blade steels

I'm no expert, and haven't had a chance to try M4 or P-Elmax, but ZDP-189 has truly impressed me on my EDC. This technical world we live in has a lot of aggravations, but the newer, high-tech premium steels almost make the technical hassles worth it!
 
ICCW said:
I'm no expert, and haven't had a chance to try M4 or P-Elmax, but ZDP-189 has truly impressed me on my EDC. This technical world we live in has a lot of aggravations, but the newer, high-tech premium steels almost make the technical hassles worth it!
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Zdp holds a razor edge longer then elmax for me .
 
Noctis3880 said:
Agreed. S30V is the best all-rounder they offer. Since the OP didn't mention any particular properties of steel he wanted, I would go for that one by default. S90V is only good if you can sharpen it. If you can sharpen it easily, even that might not be enough.
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How about CPM s30v?
 
If I had the choice I would prefer VG-10 over S30V, but I'm probably in the minority. I really think you should worry about design and ergonomics before you worry about the blade steel. Spyderco doesn't offer any of the low quality steels (though I wouldn't choose the Chinese steel of the Tenaceous or its kin if I had other options).

You'll appreciate good ergonomics more that you'll appreciate a premium steel if you're like most knife users. I know I do.
 
It all depends on how much you're willing to shell out for a knife. With Spyderco, you get great value really no matter what you pay. What I mean is, if you want a $30 beater, the Tenacious is a great option with good steel for what you pay, nothing more, nothing less. If you wanna go a bit higher and get, say, a Delica or Endura, you'll get very reliable VG-10, which IMO is an excellent steel. If you want a really good steel, like the aforementioned M4 or S90V, you're going to have to increase your budget a bit. Although in my experience you can't really go wrong with Spyderco, their knives are all well-designed with functionality and reliability in mind and the company cares about its customers.
 
After having several in SxxV, and a few others that Spyderco doesn't use anymore, my vote is for VG-10. It's far easier to to
sharpen than the SxxV steels, doesn't seem to chip nearly as easily, and holds an edge extremely well.

My thing is that eventually, you need to sharpen it. If it takes too long to sharpen (like the SxxV steels), then I don't view it to be as "good" of a steel. VG-10 only for me, after 10 years of owning lots of Spydies.
 
I'm partial to vG10. Edge holding is fine for what I put it through, and easily/quickly sharpens to a hair popping edge on the sharpmaker.
 
There are "better" choices with Spyderco, but no bad choices. Sal doesn't ship knives with so-so steel. :thumbup:
 
JNewell said:
There are "better" choices with Spyderco, but no bad choices. Sal doesn't ship knives with so-so steel. :thumbup:
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i agree with this statement.

even though i have personal preferences for steel, i've never encountered a spyderco i didn't like/love for it's intended purpose.
 
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For me, as important as the steel, is the heat treatment, design and overall quality. Spyderco makes excellent knives and uses good steels (even the cheaper line 8Cr13MoV is a good steel). Pick the knife that you like most, the steel is going to be OK...
 
Spyderco makes knives in different ranges for different uses and fits the best steel to be used for each model based on extensive testing.
 
I love the S30v of my Manix and Citadel and the VG10 of my Endura is pretty good also.
 
edb said:
After having several in SxxV, and a few others that Spyderco doesn't use anymore, my vote is for VG-10. It's far easier to to
sharpen than the SxxV steels, doesn't seem to chip nearly as easily, and holds an edge extremely well.

My thing is that eventually, you need to sharpen it. If it takes too long to sharpen (like the SxxV steels), then I don't view it to be as "good" of a steel. VG-10 only for me, after 10 years of owning lots of Spydies.
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With regards to sharpening, there are fairly cheap ways to quickly sharpen any blade steel with power tools. So with little expense and a short practice time, sharpening ease can become a non-issue. Of course field sharpening is a factor but that's why we have multiple knives. :) I love S90v.
 
I like H-1 and their S30V but I've had chipping issues on a single S30V blade and their ZDP has chipped and pitted on me. Knowing that ZDP is much less corrosion resistant than typical "stainless" I've let it slide, but the pitting leaves me questioning the composition uniformity.

All things considered, they do a great job w/ S30V and H-1 stands alone for its qualities.
 
Two pages an no one has offered a response that actually answers the OP's question.

He asked what are the pros and cons of the different steels Spyderco uses.

I think he was looking some something along the lines of what are the performance differences between VG-10, S30V, and 154CM. Maybe a couple others.
Differences like wear resistance, brittleness, rust resistance etc.
 
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