Is hardness different between 440C and S30V?

[Lavan]

Looking at a Ritter RSK1 and Benchmade 551 Griptilian.
BOTH say 58-60 hardness.
What would be the advantage of S30V if the 440C is heat treated to same hardness?

 

[Artfully Martial]

Well, hardness is just one factor. And is not necessarily indicitive of edge retention. There's a lot of other factors also, for instance, how thin the edge can be without worrying about chipping or rolling. Relative brittleness of the blade in general is an issue. I'm sure Cliff will wax edge-o-sophical for us in a little while and explain everything.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

What would be the advantage of S30V if the 440C is heat treated to same hardness?

A much higher wear resistance which can be of value in edge retention on some materials, depending on the type of material and the manner in which it is cut. For example cardboard cut on a slice is strongly dependent on wear resistance and you can see differences in steels at similar hardness levels. Cut the same material on a push and deformation tends to dominate so it it mainly about hardness. In regards to durability, there have been a fair number of complaints about S30V in that regard, some of which have been solved by resharpening, others by returning. 440V doesn't seem to get the same reports, but it also wasn't promoted for extreme toughness and isn't used as much so the feedback probably just isn't there.

-Cliff

 

[paulwesley]

i havent tried to cut any metal etc but my zdp189 holds up real well against almost anything ive compared it too.nothing like 440c

 

[TheFacts]

What would be the advantage of S30V if the 440C is heat treated to same hardness?

There really shouldn`t be any difference if we assume that ALL things are kept equal (i.e: blade design, heat treatment, edge geometry, etc...). The rule of thumb is the harder the steel, the more brittle it becomes (lacks shock resistance).

 

[Cliff Stamp]

There really shouldn`t be any difference if we assume that ALL things are kept equal (i.e: blade design, heat treatment, edge geometry, etc...).

Steels can vary widely in terms of corrosion resistance, impact toughness and wear resistance at the same hardness.

The rule of thumb is the harder the steel, the more brittle it becomes (lacks shock resistance).

In general, the relationship of hardness and toughness is more complex, as you harden a steel up past spring temper, the fracture toughness will increase with increasing hardness until it peaks and then it decreases, the peak hardness varies from one steel to the next, some of them have it at fairly high HRC values, 58/60 HRC.

-Cliff