PD-1 is 3v is Z-wear, basically. Different manufacturer's.
All are good steels and descended from Vascowear through Cruwear. 3V has a slightly different composition giving the very high toughness. Z wear, PD-1 and the parent, now called Cruwear should respond better at higher hardness's without losing as much toughness. Of course they don't start with as much toughness as 3V.
They (Cruwear, Z wear, and PD-1) are designed as an upgrade for D2 where more wear resistance and greater toughness is desired. They all do very well up to rc 62 and aren't chippy until they get to RC 63. Of course any steel at any hardness can be run too thin but I'm talking reasonable angles and thicknesses.
I haven't had PD-1 yet but I do have knives in Vascowear, Cruwear, and Z wear. 15 years experience with Vascowear, in fact.
Compare what CPM 154 is to 154cm, and that's what PD-1 and Z wear are to Cruwear. They are powder steels, and clean.They have a better, smaller grain and carbide than the Cruwear Ingot steel so they can take finer edges, are slightly tougher, and IMO, easier to sharpen at the same hardness ( IMO, that is a powder steel thing though some would disagree with me). The powder steels also seem more affected by the heat from grinding and benefit more from sharpening it a time or two to remove steel before it's real wear resistance and toughness are felt. I noticed this first on S30V and think most powder steels are like this more than the same steel in ingot version. That is not a proven fact, just my opinion and some disagree. My point being that you won't see what it can really do until you begin using it and sharpening it. My Z wear went from CPM 154 type wear resistance to almost CPM M4 ( like the Benchmade Contego I've been using) in feel and sharpening.
They make great knife blades if you don't need high corrosion resistance and don't mind doing some maintenance. Cruwear is known for pitting under red rust so if you do get one of these and find it rusting, do your job and clean and maintain it. If you do that you have one of the better hard use folder steels available on the market equal to in some ways, slightly behind in some ways CPM M4 (HC). I prefer the steels run at around rc 62, except 3V, which I prefer rc 58 ( large knives) to rc 60 ( folders).
Cruwear especially has a biting edge like the one that has made Dozier D2 so popular amongst hunters and guides. Notice CPM D2 hasn't pushed D2 out of the way. I've had a couple knifemakers tell me they like the larger carbide structures for hunting , skinning knives and ingot D2 does this better than the powder process D2 ( CPM D2 , though it is a good steel and in some ways better than ingot D2).
It's similar with Cruwear, and the powder steel versions. It depends on what you want, or prefer.
Also remember some people disagree with my ideas and conclusions and only speak for myself.
My opinion though is it's tough to go wrong with Z wear or PD-1 or Cruwear as long as what you require and expect is what the steels are. They are NOT as wear resistant as S90V. They are not quite as tough as 3V, or S1/S7/Infi. They are not stainless. They are a tool steel designed for toughness and wear resistance and it is tougher than S90V. It is more wear resistant than INfi, S1, S7, and 3V at rc 58.
It is what it is like any other steel and good at what it's designed for.
Joe
