How much do you care about steel?

If a guy wants to baby or ruin his knife, it's his choice. I have beaters and I have knives that I have never used. A couple of limited editions, I may use sometime in the future, and some I might try to resale.
I don't pretend to think the steel is everything, but it's interesting to some of us. If it wasn't a science, you'd be using copper or a rock as a tool. Maybe the R&D in the super steel arena will lead to better knife steels.
As far as price, I paid $50-$60 more for a Bark River Custom Highland Special in CPMS35VN than for the original in A2. It was a limited run, thicker spine, and a larger handle. Sounds pretty fair to me.
 
Especially in a folder edge holding/cutting ability are the most important things for me in most folders. Therefor I prefer full flat grinds and steels that have edge holding over toughness, ease of sharpening, or even corrosion resistance. For me the main job of a knife is for cutting and edge holding/high quality steel aids in that, while toughness ease of sharpening is an added bonus if I can get that too, but definitely secondary. I don't pry with my folders or use them as screw drivers (have a SAK or MT for that) therefor I don't buy folders with steel with less edge holding than 154cm/VG-10/N690Co. Which is one of the main reasons Cold steel folders like the American Lawman or AK-47 that many like here have never appealed to me. I have had folders with 8cr13mov, aus-8, 13c26 and did notice a difference in edge holding and didn't like having to sharpen them after each and every extended use, sure they were slightly easier to sharpen, but I see these steels as having a hummer in a formula 1 race sure the hummer can run into the wall and get in a crash with another car and keep racing, but they're gonna have to pit stop every lap or two to refuel. In fixed blades on the other hand toughness is right up there with edge holding, which is why I prefer CPM-3V or 52100 for fixed blades.
 
I like to try out the steel of the day, but it's not an obsession.

I truthfully have never "worn" a knife out, nor used one so hard that I could make an honest report about the steel performance.

I am appreciative of the people here who make an honest attempt at trying to quantify steel performance.

I will stay away from mystery steel.
 
michaelm466 said:
Especially in a folder edge holding/cutting ability are the most important things for me in most folders. Therefor I prefer full flat grinds and steels that have edge holding over toughness, ease of sharpening, or even corrosion resistance.
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In my experience a high hollow grind will run circles around a FFG on a blade with the same width and thickness.
For instance I used to carry a FFG Endora in VG-10, my AUS8 Cold Steel American Lawman will out cut it by a long shot when cutting in card board. The FFG would bind in the card board and the edge would chip when cutting very thick heavy duty card board. The AUS8 blade has neither problem.
You might want to try out one of these "hummer" knives before assuming they won't keep up with your "race car" knives
 
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i love steel. i like having a variety, and i like to try new stuff when its available.

not saying i can always tell the difference, mostly everything i have cuts what needs to be cut. only "issue" i have had was with cold steel aus8. it's not bad by any means, but i rolled a couple edges on some wood. i just know i have to keep them sharpened at a more obtuse angle than i am accustomed.

but i'm a knife collector, and part of the fun for me is getting knives in different steels.
 
I use my knives for only light tasks, and I like resharpening, so steel is very low on my list, far, far behind how the knife feels in the hand. I do like 1095, however.
 
For me, knowing the steels, how they perform and how they differ, is part of the addiction. So, to me it is important to know what steel is in the knife I am using.

That being said, I've never found a steel that didn't have some feature that I really liked. And if it just comes to a good EDC blade, most will do just fine.

So, while it is important to me to know the steel of which the blade is made, I'm not all that fussy about exactly which alloy it is.
 
"How much do you care about steel?"

Simply, it is not the most important consideration I have in selecting which tool to use. Basically, shape is.
The alloy merely determines the relative efficiency of tools with identical shape, but does not determine if the selected shape is effective enough to suit the task at hand for a suitable length of time.
For instance, I could make a letter opener out of mild steel sheet metal and never be dissatisfied with it's ability to perform the task of opening envelopes. Would an S30V letter opener be that much better?
 
ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
In my experience a high hollow grind will run circles around a FFG on a blade with the same width and thickness.
For instance I used to carry a FFG Endora in VG-10, my AUS8 Cold Steel American Lawman will out cut it by a long shot when cutting in card board. The FFG would bind in the card board and the edge would chip when cutting very thick heavy duty card board. The AUS8 blade has neither problem.
You might want to try out one of these "hummer" knives before assuming they won't keep up with your "race car" knives
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Wow, Im suprised to hear your hollow ground AUS8 blade worked better in cardboard than a FFG VG-10 blade.

I do love my high hollow ground blades for skinning and butchering, I never found them them to be the best when cutting materials like cardboard.




Big Mike
 
ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
In my experience a high hollow grind will run circles around a FFG on a blade with the same width and thickness.
For instance I used to carry a FFG Endora in VG-10, my AUS8 Cold Steel American Lawman will out cut it by a long shot when cutting in card board. The FFG would bind in the card board and the edge would chip when cutting very thick heavy duty card board. The AUS8 blade has neither problem.
You might want to try out one of these "hummer" knives before assuming they won't keep up with your "race car" knives
Click to expand...

I do plan on trying a high hollow grind in the near future, but why go with AUS-8 when I can try the HH in Spyderco's CPM-M4?
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
They have never sold a knife using VG-10.

They switched to VG-1 from AUS-8, and tried to market it as an improvement as opposed to the cost cutting measure it was.
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Must've been a typo in their catalog. It wouldn't be the first time that happened. I'm positive it said VG-10. Don't recall seeing what was etched on the knife though.
 
michaelm466 said:
I do plan on trying a high hollow grind in the near future, but why go with AUS-8 when I can try the HH in Spyderco's CPM-M4?
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Spyderco Gayle Bradley - $140
Cold Steel American Lawman - $60

Also one is stainless and the other rusts from my fingerprints.
 
knarfeng said:
For me, knowing the steels, how they perform and how they differ, is part of the addiction. So, to me it is important to know what steel is in the knife I am using.

That being said, I've never found a steel that didn't have some feature that I really liked. And if it just comes to a good EDC blade, most will do just fine.

So, while it is important to me to know the steel of which the blade is made, I'm not all that fussy about exactly which alloy it is.
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took the words out of my fingers.
 
I do find stainless steels more practical, but care less about the specific variety than the blade-shape and grind.
 
Design and build quality are more important than the steel to me, assuming the steel is of a halfway decent performer. It would have to be a REALLY interesting design for me to buy something made from AUS4 or 440A, but one of my favorite working knives (Beretta Loveless Hunter) is made from 'lowly' AUS8. I can do an entire season's worth of deer processing without having to resharpen it, so any additional 'high-performance' would likely never even be noticed.
 
geometry come first for me, a thick knife made from a super steel won't cut much
a good heat treat, thought geometry and design are much important

my GECs in 1095cryo work better than many knives in more modern steels I have tried, because of HT and "cutting aided" geometry

I wouldn't say NO to a GEC in RWL34 at 60-61hrc,I would be happy to own one!
Maxx
 
I'm of the heat treat over steel debate...I dont care what steel it is, if an amateur or sub-standard company puts the steel into a crappy state its not for me, I'd rather a chunk of 1095 heat treated by one of the advanced smiths on here over a piece of super steel with an average heat treat any day.

In fact, 1095 is my fav steel...I want a sebenza in 1095 please. :)
 
Robert.B said:
I'm of the heat treat over steel debate...I dont care what steel it is, if an amateur or sub-standard company puts the steel into a crappy state its not for me, I'd rather a chunk of 1095 heat treated by one of the advanced smiths on here over a piece of super steel with an average heat treat any day.

In fact, 1095 is my fav steel...I want a sebenza in 1095 please. :)
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Right on the money! Blade steel with the right heat treat for the shape and tasks it will perform, that trinity is what's important.

One knife cannot be the measure of a steel. My Ontario RD4 in 5160 chipped while cutting through a golf ball. My Bruce Culberson 12" 5160 Bolok can chop hard woods cross grain and still shave hair, and have no blemishes on the edge. Although both listed as 5160, they have been treated quite differently, and the blade geometry is not the same.
ESEE makes everything from 1095, and does a certain heat treat. A custom maker could go harder or softer depending on the intended use, we can't judge 1095 soley on one knife or maker.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
They have never sold a knife using VG-10.

They switched to VG-1 from AUS-8, and tried to market it as an improvement as opposed to the cost cutting measure it was.
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:confused:
VG-1 is the little brother to VG-10, only a little more durable and a little less wear resistant. It's a good overall improvement over AUS-8 if you actually cut things with your knife. I don't see why people keep saying it's a cost cutting measure.
 
I don't give a damn about what type of steel my knife is as long as it cuts well without dulling too quickly...(I'm not a "steel snob".).
 
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