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How important is the Blade Material to you??

TheBadGuy

TheBadGuy

Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
5,868
I know allot of folks are obsessed with what type of steel is used with your knives. With all the innovations in steel types, how much is enough?? Personally as long as a blade will take an edge, I am happy and I feel my lack of concern for steel type has been more of a benefit to me than anything else. Because of it, I do not discriminate, I get to enjoy some great knife designs by makers such as CRKT that use what some consider sub standard materials.

So let’s hear it, how important is blade material to you???
 
Important enough so that I don't have to constantly sharpening them.
AUS6 isn't bad, it's just that CRKT haven't heat treated them hard enough IMO.
 
Very! I have ordered a few customs and paid extra to get the best material (I say material instead of steel because I have opted for Talonite or Stellite on a couple of occaisions) possible...that having been said, I have been willing to make an exception when a better steel is not offered (e.g. I have a Mad Dog Panther on order in 0-1)

RL
 
I'm moderately concerned about blade material. I'm not such a steel snob to require the newest supersteel, but I'm not going to buy a knife with 440A blade steel either! I have been very happy with both ATS34/154CM and VG-10.
 
with the design. Is it comfortable to hold? Does it sit well in the pocket? Is it lefty friendly? I'd rather not have 420J2 but I don't have to have BG-42 either.

Frank
 
I am not much of a knife purchaser but here's my opinion...

If it comes down to a production knife, there is a definite heirarchy of steel "qualities" that exist. Steel A beats Steel B in this, this, and that. There is some level of fluidity but in general, bg-42 will normally be considered "above" ats-34 (just as an example). In the context of production blades, it is nice to get the best materials possible, even if the differences are barely noticeable in conventional use. There's just a warm fuzzy feeling associated with that.

When it comes to the custom world, however, the fluidity is much more prevalent. Some makers are making spectacular knives with simple steels, and other makers are making spectacular knives with high alloy new steels.

The quality to me always seems to come down to the maker, and most all of the makers I would want to buy a knife from believe in experimentation and practice to develop the best blade they can first and foremost, regardless of material bias. If top performance is guaranteed and one maker likes W1 while another likes S30V, I'll choose my purchase based on aesthetics or cost before I'll give the steel any real consideration.

That's just me though.
 
I feel the same way as TheBadGuy. I am not a steel-afficionado, don't know much about them, and I'd be hard-pressed to really see a difference between the performance of one steel and another in my knife. I am much keener on design than materials (but won't tolerate crap materials, either). I have knives with ATS-34, GIN-1, AUS-8 (aren't two of those the same, anyway?), 440C... I don't use the knives hard enough to really tell the difference between one steel's performance and another.
 
When I go to purchase a knife I want the best steel there is to offer in the knife that I am currently considering. I don't rule out any knives because of only blade steel but I do like to get the best that is availible.
 
I admit it, I'm somewhat of a steel snob. I love the way my CRKT M16 looks and the way it flings open with minimal effort. But the blade is just plain sucky. It's practically a tactical butter knife. To me the quality of the steel is everything. A blade that offers corrosion resistance for the humid NorthWest, and a slick teflon coating like Benchmade offers makes my geewilly boogey bop scooby doo wap the bop she bop. But if a snazzy knife with a perfect design and a not so high quality blade (design or material) comes about I'll probably still keep it in my collection.

The Colt Cobra comes to mind: It doesn't hold an edge very well and it has that police (or criminal with a vest) positive stair step notch on the top of the blade. Other than that it's a great German made knife with super tight CNC machining. Except the serrated models with the weird CNC "easy sharpening" blades. I had one where all the serration notches were flawed, they were all jagged and deformed. It looked like they tried to machine the serrations while high on LSD. And the serrations do more of a 'grab' than a slice when cutting textured things such as rope and hoses. It's a horrible horrible serration design. They're no longer making the red Fire Fighter model with the CNC "easy sharpen" serrations anymore. All the new ones have traditional style serrations, picture fire men trying to cut rope and hoses with a knife that just kind of latches on and stays there when they're trying to saw with it.
 
I wouldn't say that steel type is the overriding factor in my knife purchasing decisions, but it is fairly important to me. I am not a fan of the CPM steels. I know they offer very high performance, but I don't like sharpening them.

I tend to prefer steels like 52100, 1095, 1084, etc. In stainless steels, VG-10 is definitely my favorite, though I like AUS 8 pretty well too.

Design and ergonomics are probably the most important things I look at in deciding what new knives to buy.
 
If it's not 440 I won't buy it(joke) Anyway It really don't matter to me what the steel is as long as it is a decent grade or above, although I do have a few cheapies that while they are crappy steels are neat to play with and look cool so I enjoy them as much a high ender. In my EDC knives I do prefer VG-10 or 154cm if they come in it if not no big deal either. As long as the blade cuts well, sharpens easily enough, and holds a edge for longer than one or two cuts Im happy.
 
That's a very good question. I have the BM 710 with the 154cm blade steel, and was wondering if I should buy another 710 with the M2 steel just to have the better steel?
From reading this post it seems the 154cm is a descent steel!?!?
 
If I really like the knife, then I'm probably not going to be put-off by the blade steel.
I've got knives in 440C, ATS-55, ATS-34, VG-10, 420HC, AUS-8, AUS-6, AUS-6M, GIN-1, 1095, and some others that I just don't know what steel.
Some require sharpening a little more often than others, but there's really not much actual "real world" everyday performance difference due to the steel.
And the longer it holds an edge, the harder it is to sharpen.

I think most of the difference in cutting ability, from one knife to the next, has more to do with blade and knife design than blade steel.

Good luck,
Allen.
 
ditto allenc!
The knife's overall design/build quality(this includes heat treat too) far outweighs the steel used.
 
1) Who made the knife (production or custom)
2) Grinds/Edge Profile
3) Heat treat
4) Steel flavor

I'm quite happy with my Aus6 CRKT Mirage, as I am with my D-2 Doziers, and my 5160 Evans Bowies.

BR Hughes said in the 12/02 KI:
"Choose your knife maker, not your steel."
Makes sense to me.
:D

Edited fer spillin'
 
I used to have a 'pet-peeve' about steel snobs who always seemed to be yapping about the latest and greatest steel to hit the shelves. I must confess, with my penchant for using knives 'hard', and being educated by some of the more knowledgable forumites I have developed a definite preference for VG-10 and ATS-34. These steels IMHO are not perfect as VG-10 seems to have no scratch resistance whatsoever and ATS-34 has some issues with tarnishing, but with good grinds and heat treats (Spyderco and Benchmade)these two blades will take quite an impressive edge and hold it through a long workday. That being said look at the steel used in a Buck 110 and you have to admit this knife is an incredible performer with what many would call a second tier steel. Give me a good steel with a good grind and the right heat treat and I'll be a happy camper.
 
As long as the steel is not junk.., I don't tend to get snotty about the "Designer Steels". I think I do have a preference for carbon steels in a big knife.., but for general purpose knives I look much more at the design, handling dynamics, etc.


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
My attitudes on blade steel have changed quite a bit over the past couple years.

Nowadays my attitude is: the only time I really care about blade steel all that much is when a knife is in a steel I DON'T like (e.g. AUS6M, ATS-34/154CM, CPM440V), these are steels I've tried where I've been unhappy with them for one reason or another, while a knife in one of these steels might not necessarily be an immediate thumbs-down from me because of this, it's something that enters my consideration.

Far more important to me these days than blade steel is blade FINISH.
Better translated: Satin=Good, Mirror=Sweet, Bead-Blasted=:barf:

EDIT: and, oh yes, I don't buy uncoated Carbon/Alloy Steel knives (I hate rust!)
 
Steel is very important, IMO, if you want to get the most out of your knife.
Blade style and geometry play an important role, but the steel determines what kind of geometry is practical in actual use. A knife with the thinnest edge, and best grind in the world is no good if it chips or rolls every time it gets used because the steel isn't up to the task.
They all work together to make a knife what it is.
Sometimes the difference in steels is small, and not enough to matter, but for customs, I'll always go with the best steel (IMO) available, regardless. Don't know if it's so much "steel snobbery"...just feel like if you can have the better steel, why not have it?
 
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