How does the S30V heat treat in the Spyderco Para 2 compare to other S30V

Wowbagger

Wowbagger

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in available, off the shelf, folders or fixed blades around three inch to four inch ?

I ask because it seems that S30V is in several categories in the Ankerson rope cutting steel durability tests.
I'm going crazy here.:confused::eek:

If heat treated on a good day it can compete with some of the best at edge holding or take it down a couple of hardness points and it is a different animal entirely.

Why make it less hard ? Too difficult to sharpen for newbies or does it fail in use or what ?

Who makes the killerest S30V edged knife (edge holding wise) . . . that is available to me to buy today ?

and I may as well ask :
Who made the best off the shelf S30V knife of all time ?
 
My s30v on my Para 2 has held an edge WAY better than the s30v on my (custom shop) Benchmade mini grip. Other than that I have limited experience with s30v. The guys on this forum can help you out better than I can, but I just wanted to share my experiences.
 
baliflipper02,

Thank you sooooo much.
That's encouraging and especially so since my experience with Benchmade in their steel heat treat has been really great.
 
IMO the S30V heat treat developed by Paul Bos for Buck is better than Spyderco's. Which is not to say that the Spyderco heat treat is no good.

I have no experience with Benchmade S30V.

I compared a Buck Vantage Pro to a Spyderco Military, both in S30V, side-by-side cutting manila rope. The Buck held an edge better.
 
Just my opinion from my experience...

I used to use S30V a lot, it was on every other knife that I liked, and there was really no getting around it.

The PM2 is a great example, as untill all of these "sprints" started that was the only steel.

I haven't used S30V in years. I stay away from it because I found it to be micro-chip mania.
I found Spyderco's S30V to be the worst, BM much better.

Maybe things have changed, but I am not interested in finding out.

I have no issues with steel that rolls or folds, but chipping is a trait I can't live with....
 
I like Spydercos in S30V. I have used at least 3 different models in S30V and none showed chipping with my use.
 
It is my understanding that S30v was designed as a blade steel. It was supposed to be the be all, end all steel when it first came out. Time taught us that it wasn't the cat's meow and that is why we now have S35 steel. Like I said, that is just my understanding. I may be wrong.

I am sure that many people are much more knowledgeable about S30v than I am. Hopefully, someone will post more history and info about it than I can.

I only own two knives made out of S30v. Benchmade 162 and Benchmade Volli. The 162 seems to hold up a little better than the Volli but I have not used either of them much. Who knows, my opinion may change.

I don't know why but the steel seems to be, for lack of a better word, gummy.
 
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sabre cat said:
It is my understanding that S30v was designed as a blade steel. It was supposed to be the be all, end all steel when it first came out. Time taught us that it wasn't the cat's meow and that is why we now have S35 steel. Like I said, that is just my understanding. I may be wrong.

I am sure that many people are much more knowledgeable about S30v than I am. Hopefully, someone will post more history and info about it than I can.

I only own two knives made out of S30v. Benchmade 162 and Benchmade Volli. The 162 seems to hold up a little better than the Volli but I have not used either of them much. Who knows, my opinion may change.

I don't know why but the steel seems to be, for lack of a better word, gummy.
Click to expand...

S35VN was designed to reduce wear on belts and tooling for manufacturers. It had nothing to do with improving the steel for the end user. That's what was said when it came out.
 
Fanglekai said:
S35VN was designed to reduce wear on belts and tooling for manufacturers. It had nothing to do with improving the steel for the end user. That's what was said when it came out.
Click to expand...

Really? That seems to be a reasonable thing for a manufacturer to do. I learn something new every day. Thanks for the fun trivia.

Can anyone tell me the difference between S30 and S35?
 
Fanglekai,

Three different Spydies . . . that's a good bit of info.
Much use ?

Any with the DLC coating (good / bad at reducing friction in say . . . cardboard).

Thanks everyone . . . incase I have not mentioned your post; all are really helping !
 
Wowbagger said:
Fanglekai,

Three different Spydies . . . that's a good bit of info.
Much use ?

Any with the DLC coating (good / bad at reducing friction in say . . . cardboard).

Thanks everyone . . . incase I have not mentioned your post; all are really helping !
Click to expand...

I prefer uncoated blades so I can't speak to how coatings hold up. Reducing friction would be more about geometry I would think.

I've used a military and Sage 2 off and on for around 5 years. The third knife was a recent purchase but it's performing similarly. My Military zips through everything I need to cut. Cardboard isn't an issue. I had a job where I broke down dozens of boxes during every shift. The Military didn't have any issues staying sharp.
 
The S30V on my para2 is the worst S30V I have
I think is it due to my particular model but it is way behind ZT or even BM


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
 
Fanglekai said:
S35VN was designed to reduce wear on belts and tooling for manufacturers. It had nothing to do with improving the steel for the end user. That's what was said when it came out.
Click to expand...

http://www.crucible.com/PDFs\DataSheets2010\dsS35VNrev12010.pdf
From the Crucible data sheet on S35. They claim improved toughness and improved resistance to chipping with no reduction in wear resistance.

CPM S35VN is a martensitic stainless steel designed to offer
improved toughness over CPM S30V. It is also easier to machine
and polish than CPM S30V. Its chemistry has been rebalanced
so that it forms some niobium carbides along with vanadium and
chromium carbides. Substituting niobium carbides for some of the
vanadium carbides makes CPM S35VN about 15-20% tougher
than CPM S30V without any loss of wear resistance. CPM S35VN’s
improved toughness gives it better resistance to edge chipping.
Because both vanadium and niobium carbides are harder and more
effective than chromium carbides in providing wear resistance,
the CPM stainless blade steels offer improved edge retention
over conventional high chromium steels such as 440C and D
Click to expand...
 
I have no complaints about the S30V on my Spyderco PM2. No chipping, great edge retention and it takes a killer edge on leather strop, very easy to maintain. All it needs is a few strokes on the black and green compound to bring it back to a hair shaving sharpness. But I bought mine recently, maybe Spyderco improved their Heath-treat?
I like it even so much, that I consider a second one!
 
knarfeng said:
IMO the S30V heat treat developed by Paul Bos for Buck is better than Spyderco's. Which is not to say that the Spyderco heat treat is no good.

I have no experience with Benchmade S30V.

I compared a Buck Vantage Pro to a Spyderco Military, both in S30V, side-by-side cutting manila rope. The Buck held an edge better.
Click to expand...
I had the opposite experience with the same knives. My military held an edge longer and the vantage seemed to chip easier. Hmm maybe i should put my paradigm up againts the millie as a second test.
 
I'm happy with the S30V in my para2s. Honestly imho, sharpening skills trumps concern for blade steel nowadays when dealing with reputable companies like Spyderco. Depending on the media you cut most often even the angle of your edge can make a big difference .
 
Wowbagger said:
Fanglekai,

Three different Spydies . . . that's a good bit of info.
Much use ?

Any with the DLC coating (good / bad at reducing friction in say . . . cardboard).

Thanks everyone . . . incase I have not mentioned your post; all are really helping !
Click to expand...

I have the DLC coated PM2 and It is my favorite coating. Its very durable and will last forever if you take care of it. The only downside is that it does not stop rust, but I have found that coconut miracle cloths take any and all rust off without damaging the coating whatsoever. (http://amzn.to/2aVrzVq)
 
The only HT of S30V that I've seen better than Paul Bos was by Shirogorov. After that I would say Spyderco, benchmade then Kershaw/ZT. Personally, I think BM and Kershaw have horrible HT of S30V, very soft and with performance not much better than AUS-8.

That said, I find S30V to be the most inconsistent steel of them all. Even from the same maker I see noticeable differences from knife to knife. I know even my Spydercos with this steel are not exactly solid performers, constant micro chipping and an unbalanced level of tough to sharpen followed by underwhelming performance. Even with that I still consider spyderco S30V better than most available.
 
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