Ideal Serrated Edge Blade Steels of Spyderco's

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In the past few years I've personally done a lot of side by side testing of several of Spyderco's great serrated edge knives ( culinary and mainline models). It's been said that H-1 to date is Spyderco's top blade steel for Spyderedges and they did a thorough test to determine that. I must say I was surprised when I first heard that because I found H-1 not so great in plain edged use.

But what I'm trying to determine are all the common denominators that may comprise a top notch blade steel for Spyderedges , or any other serration pattern for that matter. I've personally been surprised by other blade steels I've found to perform exceptionally well in my own tests. I've found that the following blade steels in my own personal usage to be quite good for Spyderedges. They are>> 440V ( S60V), AUS-8, ATS-55, ATS-34, AUS-10, GIN-1, MBS-26, VG-10 and of course H-1 just to name a few that I've had great results with in SE.

So let's talk about Spyderco's best blade steels for Spyderedges. Which of the newer blade steels do you anticipate to be good for SE? Which blade steels have you personally had great luck with in SE?
 
I want to try out LC200N in SE, though I have no real guess as to how it will perform. H1 has been my go to and what I've had the most success with. My SE Pacific Salt has been beaten on since I first got it and has always performed admirably. One of my favorite folders period.
 
I want to try out LC200N in SE, though I have no real guess as to how it will perform. H1 has been my go to and what I've had the most success with. My SE Pacific Salt has been beaten on since I first got it and has always performed admirably. One of my favorite folders period.

I'm glad you brought that up. Because we were just talking about that over at spyderco.com forum this morning. Because apparently they now have the Carribean model in LC200N in Spyderedge now available. I'm still wishing that they would start to offer that TUSK model which also has LC200N in SE>> because I really, really do want a TUSK model in SE and why they never offered a knife designed for Marine/fishing use in SE to begin with really has me baffled. But yes I'm really anxious to see how LC200N does in Spyderedge and I'm also wondering what other Nitrogen based steels will be like in SE as well.
 
I don't have a ton of experience with serrated edge knives, but agree with the sentiments expressed by Insipid Moniker Insipid Moniker above. My serrated Pacific Salt is my yard work knife and is a complete beast that sharpens back to "S" cutting phonebook paper with very little effort on the sharpmaker no matter how hard I've used it. Plus, I can just rinse all the dirt and grime out under the sink and then not worry about it. Excellent, excellent knife.
 
I don't have a ton of experience with serrated edge knives, but agree with the sentiments expressed by Insipid Moniker Insipid Moniker above. My serrated Pacific Salt is my yard work knife and is a complete beast that sharpens back to "S" cutting phonebook paper with very little effort on the sharpmaker no matter how hard I've used it. Plus, I can just rinse all the dirt and grime out under the sink and then not worry about it. Excellent, excellent knife.
Yup. I actually bought mine because it's lightweight and the bright, friendly, yellow handle doesn't bother people much, but I never expected it to be the beast that it is. I have a lot of 'nicer' large folders, but for serious or dirty work I reach for me Pac Salt more than anything else.
 
Not much experience with SE. Never had a full SE, only combo edges. Mainly 8cr13mov or some other variation of that steel(3cr,7cr,etc.). Also, 420hc(Buck’s BOS). That said, it’s clear I’m less than experienced with SE.

I would however like to see CPM CruWear in either a full SE or combo. Since it has such a good reputation for a nice balance of toughness and edge holding. I think CPM154 and RWL34 would be a nice contenders as well.
 
Not much experience with SE. Never had a full SE, only combo edges. Mainly 8cr13mov or some other variation of that steel(3cr,7cr,etc.). Also, 420hc(Buck’s BOS). That said, it’s clear I’m less than experienced with SE.

I would however like to see CPM CruWear in either a full SE or combo. Since it has such a good reputation for a nice balance of toughness and edge holding. I think CPM154 and RWL34 would be a nice contenders as well.

That's interesting because I have given thought to the possibility of CRUWEAR being a possible good steel for serrated edges. Because before I discovered that 440V ( S60V) was indeed a good steel for Spyderedges it was the farthest thing from my mind and I was actually surprised when I discovered it's good performance in SE.

I had a feeling that XHP was also going to be a good blade steel for Spyderedges. And it was actually the Cold Steel knife company who first used XHP in two of their serrated models.
 
I haven't had a ton of experience with different steels in SE, mostly AUS8 and of course h1 (some ats34). The AUS8 was from SOG and they use to do a very good heat treat on their AUS8 (not sure how it is now). That said, it holds up nothing like h1. With the work hardening and rust proof, I find h1 to be the best steel for a tough use SE knife.
 
I haven't had a ton of experience with different steels in SE, mostly AUS8 and of course h1 (some ats34). The AUS8 was from SOG and they use to do a very good heat treat on their AUS8 (not sure how it is now). That said, it holds up nothing like h1. With the work hardening and rust proof, I find h1 to be the best steel for a tough use SE knife.

That's an interesting observation on other heat treatments for AUS-8 in particular because I've noticed that myself that there is a wide range of different results out there for that blade steel. But I will say that I do believe that Spyderco and the older Cold STeels were both good in their days with their heat treatments of AUS-8. It also amazes me how many commercial knife companies still use AUS-8 on many different models to this day ( PE & SE). Because I don't think Spyderco has done a blade in AUS-8 since they did that fixed blade LUM model back around 2004 or thereabout. But Spyderco's heat treat of their Spyderedged blades in AUS-8 is great IMO.

I've never tried or even tested any of SOG's blades in AUS-8>> I was aware that they did use and I do believe they might be one of the companies that still uses it.
 
That's an interesting observation on other heat treatments for AUS-8 in particular because I've noticed that myself that there is a wide range of different results out there for that blade steel. But I will say that I do believe that Spyderco and the older Cold STeels were both good in their days with their heat treatments of AUS-8. It also amazes me how many commercial knife companies still use AUS-8 on many different models to this day ( PE & SE). Because I don't think Spyderco has done a blade in AUS-8 since they did that fixed blade LUM model back around 2004 or thereabout. But Spyderco's heat treat of their Spyderedged blades in AUS-8 is great IMO.

I've never tried or even tested any of SOG's blades in AUS-8>> I was aware that they did use and I do believe they might be one of the companies that still uses it.
Sog still uses it on some of their blades, the more classic designs still made in Taiwan but the number of those is decreasing every year as they move to more Chinese production.
 
Sog still uses it on some of their blades, the more classic designs still made in Taiwan but the number of those is decreasing every year as they move to more Chinese production.
It's kind of funny in a way because I've sold or traded a lot of Spyders that had certain blade steels but with ATS-55 and to some degree AUS-8 are two I just don't want to depart with. Particularly that old, full Spyderedged AUS-8 Catcherman is truly a permanent fixture in my set of knives I've been using in the kitchen and for volunteering at Church and other places were we fix a lot of food. That AUS-8 Catcherman oddly enough holds a serrated edge about as good as M390 holds a plain edge in all my uses of it.

Again it is interesting of all the old blade steels of the 90s in particular that you just don't see much anymore. You hardly ever see an ATS-34 blade being used or being bragged about>> you can say the same about GIN-1 (G-2)>> but for some strange reason AUS-8 just won't go away. It must be that they have found better heat treatments for it. You don't even hear much about AUS-10 anymore either because I really liked the two Spyderco models I had with that steel and now wish I had not traded them.
 
The only two steels that I have much experience with in SE are VG-10 and ZDP-189. All being equal, I think the geometry of the blade is more important to me than the difference in steel. SE is pretty easy to maintain with a sharp maker and if done regularly needs just a few passes put the blades right. My FFG Caly 3 SE easily out cuts the thicker grind of the VG10 Delica or ZDP189 Endura. They do feel more substantial than the Caly and seem like they can handle rougher treatment. What makes one steel better than another is well beyond my pay grade.
 
The only two steels that I have much experience with in SE are VG-10 and ZDP-189. All being equal, I think the geometry of the blade is more important to me than the difference in steel. SE is pretty easy to maintain with a sharp maker and if done regularly needs just a few passes put the blades right. My FFG Caly 3 SE easily out cuts the thicker grind of the VG10 Delica or ZDP189 Endura. They do feel more substantial than the Caly and seem like they can handle rougher treatment. What makes one steel better than another is well beyond my pay grade.
I've always found VG-10 to be a great steel for Spyderedges>> it's also a pretty fair steel for plain edges as well. And there are some profound differences in blade steels used with serrated edges>> but also I've found that different blade grinds tend to contribute to the overall success of how good the blade cuts with a Spyderedge.

For instance one of the very best serrated/Spyderedged models I ever had was the old C-54 big Calypso model which was a full flat grind which I've found to be about the best blade grind for serrated edges. Now I've also found that some folders tend to do well with a belly on the blade>> example being the C-60 Ayoob model>> that's another model that really works well with a Spyderedge IMO. It's a hollow grind but I do believe the curvature of the blade tends to provide a better performance. Both runs of the C-60 Ayoob were VG-10 blades
 
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