Informal comparison of 13C26 and S30V

[ehhh]

Since I have a lot of boxes to break down after the holidays, I decided to test the cutting ability of my Kershaw JYD against my Spyderco Mini Manix.

This was a fairly short test because it's late, but there was enough cutting to get a feel for each knife. I took two medium sized USPS priority boxes and cut one up with the JYD and the other with the Mini Manix.

The Mini Manix, expectedly, stayed sharper through the cutting and I didn't really need to increase force by very much at all. The JYD required more force halfway through the box and near the end actually ripped the cardboard a couple times. No surprises here considering S30V is the higher end steel.

Examining the edges afterwards, the JYD's edge was very noticeably dulled, and ran across my fingernail with a couple rough spots. The Spyderco's edge was noticeably dulled and had quite a few more rough spots in the edge than the JYD. I also noticed the satin finish on the Spyderco picked up much more adhesive than the fine blasted finish on the JYD. It could be that the box I cut with the Spyderco simply had more tape, but the adhesive stuck to the blade quite a bit more and was harder to clean.

What surprised me was that the little handle on the JYD was more comfortable than the larger G10 handle on the Spyderco. Even though I was using less force with the Spyderco, I developed a hot spot on my pinky. No such problem with the JYD. It should be noted that I used the JYD first and the Spyderco second. This could have contributed to the hotspot, but the JYD was so comfortable I wasn't even thinking about ergonomics during the test. I think the relatively wide handle on the Spyderco is the culprit here.

Didn't get to compare directly to Kershaw's 440A, but judging from my previous experience, they perform very similar. I doubt I'd notice the difference between a 440A and 13C26 Leek.

 

[thombrogan]

Neat review! Thanks, ehh!

S30V has a much higher wear-resistance, so maybe that's what was shining through.

I love Spyderco brand lockbacks and Kershaw's treatment of 13C26 and Tim Galyeans blade shapes using that steel. Now if there were only a way to combine that Galyean blade design with Kershawed 13C26 into a Spydie-style lockback.....

 

[HoB]

Yeah, cardboard is one of those materials where S30V can really pull out all the stops. I don't have any blade in D2 but of the knives that I have used, there is really nothing that can compete with S30V on cardboard. That is of course at the usual edge angles that I am using, which are not nearly as small as some have profiled there knifes too. On pretty much anything else though, the difference is much smaller (have never really cut much carpet).

 

[Dog of War]

Nice review, your findings are consistent with what should be expected. For cutting abrasive materials like cardboard, S30V with its higher carbide fraction has an advantage in that the edge will see a great deal more microchipping and carbide tear-out than 13C26, producing a sort of "self-sharpening" effect and a more aggressive edge. For cutting tasks that can benefit from a very fine edge, and where the material is not so abrasive, 13C26 with a good heat treat is a very impressive performer, so I wouldn't dismiss it too quickly.

I've never handled the smaller JYD, but find the ergonomics of the larger JYD2 to be just exceptional. While I'm very fond of the JYD2, I agree with Thom, it would be nice to see Kershaw offer a robust lockback version.

 

[ehhh]

I was actually a little surprised that the S30V did so well, but I'd guess that the microchipping really allowed it to continue cutting without much change in force. After examining the edge with my thumb, I was surprised at how little bite there was considering it still cut through cardboard easily.

The satin finish on the Spyderco really did load up with gunk so fast that I had to stop and give it a good wiping 3 times. I cleaned the JYD once and it only took a couple quick wipes. Not only is a blasted finish non reflective (very important for deanimating boxes), but easy to clean it seems. Very good overall performance with the JYD for such an affordable knife.

 

[sodak]

Yeah, cardboard is one of those materials where S30V can really pull out all the stops. I don't have any blade in D2 but of the knives that I have used, there is really nothing that can compete with S30V on cardboard. That is of course at the usual edge angles that I am using, which are not nearly as small as some have profiled there knifes too. On pretty much anything else though, the difference is much smaller (have never really cut much carpet).

I just picked up a JYD2 over Christmas, and really like it. I can't wait to cut some cardboard with it. D2 also does well with cardboard with the following disclaimer...

For a while, I thought I had the ultimate cardboard cutter. It is a Queen 4180 hunter in D2. I drastically thinned the edge out, and it would zip through cardboard, and retain it's sharpness far beyond most of my other knives. Then I started using it for normal tasks, and found that I thinned it out too much. This is the damage that happened after cutting fuzz sticks in soft pitch pine.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q203/sodak_photos/p1010048.jpg

Not the knife's fault, I just found the limits of the steel. As long as I don't put any lateral forces on the blade, and it cuts soft media, it does great. I put a microbevel on it, and most of this damage no longer occurs. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the edge is thin enough that all this damage came out in about 3 minutes on a DMT blue stone.

Two other steels that also cut cardboard well are CPM10V and M2 at 66 HRC. Congrats on both of your knives, enjoy!

 

[msiley]

Just a thought.... 13C26 is a steel with high edge stability.
I'd like to see a test with the edge of the JYD2 at something like 10-12 degrees.

Maybe no difference maybe a big difference. I'd do the test but I don't have
an S30V knife or a lot of cardboard ;-)