Is it really the steel it's claimed to be?

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waughstreet

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Is the knife you bought the steel you think it is? What are some of the ways you satisfy yourself that you weren't ripped off? My own rules simple and basic: don't pay too much, look at reviews, buy only from reputable sellers/makers/manufacturers - what steel do they say it is, does the knife do what I expected it to do, and can I sharpen it? Or in short, I'm not buying the steel (being unable to judge it) but the usability.

So far, I'm well-served by "old Krupp carbon steel" - 1075-85-95? (YP Taonta, Finland), pretty much anything from Mora or other Scandinavian makers, and my old Swiss army knife "Soldier" with Inox. A lot of other knives have come and gone. If I ever upgrade, S30V or S35VN look good - but would I be able to detect the improvement?
 
waughstreet said:
Is the knife you bought the steel you think it is? What are some of the ways you satisfy yourself that you weren't ripped off? My own rules simple and basic: don't pay too much, look at reviews, buy only from reputable sellers/makers/manufacturers - what steel do they say it is, does the knife do what I expected it to do, and can I sharpen it? Or in short, I'm not buying the steel (being unable to judge it) but the usability.

So far, I'm well-served by "old Krupp carbon steel" - 1075-85-95? (YP Taonta, Finland), pretty much anything from Mora or other Scandinavian makers, and my old Swiss army knife "Soldier" with Inox. A lot of other knives have come and gone. If I ever upgrade, S30V or S35VN look good - but would I be able to detect the improvement?
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I have no reason to doubt the blade steel composition of any knife I buy.
I buy knives made by reputable manufacturers from reputable on-line knife dealers. No short cuts.

Whether you would see an improvement in switching from 1075 to S30V depends on what properties you are seeing and on your sharpening equipment.
You would see a decrease in toughness/impact resistance with the PM steels, but a massive increase in edge retention. You will require diamond hones to get the best performance out of PM alloys.
 
Even if it is the steel they say it is, you have to have faith that the heat treat is correct.

So the bottom line is performance. The knife either performs or it doesn’t.

Buy only from companies you trust or get a pig in a poke.
 
Delgadonine said:
What is your budget?

What use do you have with a knife?

Why do you depend upon a knife?
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Hi. My budget is what it would be for any good tool. My main usage is minor utility. And I depend on a knife for a quick fix that without the knife in hand would take longer/be more difficult. But my question is not about budget or use or need: it was, how do you, if you're buying a knife based on the steel, satisfy yourself that you got the steel you paid for?
 
knarfeng said:
I have no reason to doubt the blade steel composition of any knife I buy.
I buy knives made by reputable manufacturers from reputable on-line knife dealers. No short cuts.

Whether you would see an improvement in switching from 1075 to S30V depends on what properties you are seeing and on your sharpening equipment.
You would see a decrease in toughness/impact resistance with the PM steels, but a massive increase in edge retention. You will require diamond hones to get the best performance out of PM alloys.
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Amen to all of it, and I appreciate your comment on sharpening. I have a diamond steel, but I sure prefer it when a knife sharpens relatively easily - and they all have to be sharpened sometime. But as I believe you yourself have noted many times, the best knife is the one that works the best for the person using it.
 
waughstreet said:
Is the knife you bought the steel you think it is? What are some of the ways you satisfy yourself that you weren't ripped off? My own rules simple and basic: don't pay too much, look at reviews, buy only from reputable sellers/makers/manufacturers - what steel do they say it is, does the knife do what I expected it to do, and can I sharpen it? Or in short, I'm not buying the steel (being unable to judge it) but the usability.

So far, I'm well-served by "old Krupp carbon steel" - 1075-85-95? (YP Taonta, Finland), pretty much anything from Mora or other Scandinavian makers, and my old Swiss army knife "Soldier" with Inox. A lot of other knives have come and gone. If I ever upgrade, S30V or S35VN look good - but would I be able to detect the improvement?
Click to expand...

I want to say YP is silversteel, but I'm unsure of the american equivalent. Finnish typically means Lauri blades and yes those are krupp 80crv2 (one of my favorites as well).

It's all trade offs. I prefer carbon steels with the exception of AEB-L and it's varients like 14c and nitro v. Instead of steel, consider focusing on geometry (it's much more fun).

Convex something, blend those shoulders... edge retention will follow.
 
waughstreet said:
Hi. My budget is what it would be for any good tool. My main usage is minor utility. And I depend on a knife for a quick fix that without the knife in hand would take longer/be more difficult. But my question is not about budget or use or need: it was, how do you, if you're buying a knife based on the steel, satisfy yourself that you got the steel you paid for?
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Expectation.

That's what you are directly asking about.

Expectation and price range are inherently related.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
I want to say YP is silversteel, but I'm unsure of the american equivalent. Finnish typically means Lauri blades and yes those are krupp 80crv2 (one of my favorites as well).
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Silversteel is 115CrV3 or 1.2210 in other parts of the world.
Lauri also uses X50CrMoV15.
 
Among some of the handmade knives I've bought for my collection, I ended up with one that I thought I would use but I didn't know what steel it was or if the maker was trustworthy enough to use a good steel and a good heat treat. I've seen people do cardboard cutting tests so I thought I would do that. It doesn't matter what steel it is as long as it performs so I did a test and determined that it used a reasonable knife steel and was heat treated. It wasn't the best steel but it was reasonable considering what I paid for it.
 
eveled said:
Even if it is the steel they say it is, you have to have faith that the heat treat is correct.

So the bottom line is performance. The knife either performs or it doesn’t.

Buy only from companies you trust or get a pig in a poke.
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Bought a pig or two, kissed a couple too. And they're ok, if you know they're pigs, or if the cost/benefit is in your favor either way - eBay is a good place to look for pigs
 
waughstreet said:
But my question is not about budget or use or need: it was, how do you, if you're buying a knife based on the steel, satisfy yourself that you got the steel you paid for?
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After some 65 years of carrying and using knives, and about 19 years of playing around with higher end alloys, I would know the performance difference if I received the wrong alloy or a poor heat treated alloy.
 
Unsolicited opinion. AEB-L is one of the best steels in any price range.. and it happens to be affordable too. You’ve got a lot of makers to choose from using it as well. If I was in the market for a stainless knife and didn’t want to spend too much - AEB-L, 14c28n or Nitro V would be my preference over the competition.
 
Arathol said:
Silversteel is 115CrV3 or 1.2210 in other parts of the world.
Lauri also uses X50CrMoV15.
Click to expand...

Is that X50CrMoV15 their stainless?

I always thought the american counterpart to silversteel was something like 1075.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
Is that X50CrMoV15 their stainless?
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Yes, its equivalent is 1.4116 or 440A I believe.
SwissHeritageCo said:
I always thought the american counterpart to silversteel was something like 1075.
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Nope, silversteel is a steel unto itself. There are 2 variants of silver steel that have slightly different alloy content. BS1407 is the British Standard definition, 115CrV3 / 1.2210 is the European equivalent with vanadium added. 1075 has considerably less carbon content, like .7% vs 1.1%
 
waughstreet said:
Is the knife you bought the steel you think it is? What are some of the ways you satisfy yourself that you weren't ripped off? My own rules simple and basic: don't pay too much, look at reviews, buy only from reputable sellers/makers/manufacturers - what steel do they say it is, does the knife do what I expected it to do, and can I sharpen it? Or in short, I'm not buying the steel (being unable to judge it) but the usability.

So far, I'm well-served by "old Krupp carbon steel" - 1075-85-95? (YP Taonta, Finland), pretty much anything from Mora or other Scandinavian makers, and my old Swiss army knife "Soldier" with Inox. A lot of other knives have come and gone. If I ever upgrade, S30V or S35VN look good - but would I be able to detect the improvement?
Click to expand...
I mostly buy from only reputable , proven name brands and sellers that I know won't deal in clones .

They have too much too lose by misrepresenting what they sell .

If you go on Ebay , or even Amazon in some cases, and find fantastic bargains for premium materials , be suspicious .

Non Chinese big name brands , being sold out of China on the cheap ...just take a moment to think about that ! :rolleyes:

I like to read lots of reviews , again from trusted sources .
 
waughstreet said:
Is the knife you bought the steel you think it is? What are some of the ways you satisfy yourself that you weren't ripped off? My own rules simple and basic: don't pay too much, look at reviews, buy only from reputable sellers/makers/manufacturers - what steel do they say it is, does the knife do what I expected it to do, and can I sharpen it? Or in short, I'm not buying the steel (being unable to judge it) but the usability.

So far, I'm well-served by "old Krupp carbon steel" - 1075-85-95? (YP Taonta, Finland), pretty much anything from Mora or other Scandinavian makers, and my old Swiss army knife "Soldier" with Inox. A lot of other knives have come and gone. If I ever upgrade, S30V or S35VN look good - but would I be able to detect the improvement?
Click to expand...
It depends on what your using your knife for. I thought S30V was a meme steal back in the day when it was the hottest upgrade out there but edge retention and toughness compared to 1095 and inox is obvious if you use your knives enough to dull them.

I have previously EDC'd knives in 1095 and Inox and it felt like they got dull just sitting in my pocket. Juxtaposed to the humble S30V which feels like I can go months of heavy use in-between sharpening.
 
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