Need steel advice, s35vn or s110v?

[PWatkins]

Hey, I'm new to the forum and apologize in advance if this thread is in the wrong place. I'm looking to get into higher end knives and I've settled on a pm2 for my new work knife. I'm an electrician by trade and use my knife on a daily basis for opening boxes, cutting cardboard, stripping wire, cutting rope etc. Right now the pm2 is available in both steels for the same price and I was wondering what you all thought would suit my needs better. Keep in mind the blade will come into contact with aluminum and copper wire and sometimes steel should I cut into a box of emt fitting to deep. Would one steel be more likely to chip than the other? Which is harder to sharpen? And anything else I may need to know about. Thanks for your help.

 

[Twindog]

If you're going to be hitting steel, S35VN would be the better choice.

S110V will hold an edge a lot longer, but it's not as tough as S35VN. Tough means resistance to chipping and breaking.

S35VN will be easier to sharpen, but it won't hold an edge as long. With diamond sharpening systems, S110V is not hard to resharpen.

 

[NJBillK]

S110V will take longer to sharpen, it will take longer to dull when cutting abrasive materials, (compared to S35Vn) it is more prone to chipping and is less tough.

S35Vn will sharpen faster, but lose its edge faster. It can still chip (I have a CRK with two chips in the blade right now evidencing that), but it will take a bit more punishment than S110V before it gives up.

If you can do with a "semi-stainless" option, look for a PM2 in Cruwear. It is similar to 3v, but slightly less tough, but more wear resistant.

Cruwear would be similar to S30V in wear reaistance, but much tougher. I had a Manix 2 in Cruwear and it didn't stain from environmental affects and hardly did from protein (meat) contact.
To attest to the toughness of the alloy; once when I was cutting open a box at work, a coworker bumped me with a case of bone-in pork loins (around 80lbs). My knife came out of the box with some force and hit our steel pallet rack at speed. It left a nick in the rack about half the height of the primary bevel (sharpened area) and the edge only had a slight roll that I was able to work out with a Butchers steel.
-eta, I will see if I can get a pic of the nick tomorrow while I am at work.

If you need an alloy that sharpens easily, takes a Very keen edge and holds it fairly well, and has a lot of toughness, look for a Cruwear PM2, Manix 2, or Military.

 

[whp]

S110V will take longer to sharpen, it will take longer to dull when cutting abrasive materials, (compared to S35Vn) it is more prone to chipping and is less tough.

S35Vn will sharpen faster, but lose its edge faster. It can still chip (I have a CRK with two chips in the blade right now evidencing that), but it will take a bit more punishment than S110V before it gives up.

If you can do with a "semi-stainless" option, look for a PM2 in Cruwear. It is similar to 3v, but slightly less tough, but more wear resistant.

Cruwear would be similar to S30V in wear reaistance, but much tougher. I had a Manix 2 in Cruwear and it didn't stain from environmental affects and hardly did from protein (meat) contact.
To attest to the toughness of the alloy; once when I was cutting open a box at work, a coworker bumped me with a case of bone-in pork lions (around 80lbs). My knife came out of the box with some force and hit our steel pallet rack at speed. It left a nick in the rack about half the height of the primary bevel (sharpened area) and the edge only had a slight roll that I was able to work out with a Butchers steel.
-eta, I will see if I can get a pic of the nick tomorrow while I am at work.

If you need an alloy that sharpens easily, takes a Very keen edge and holds it fairly well, and has a lot of toughness, look for a Cruwear PM2, Manix 2, or Military.

Good information. I ll start to use my Cruwear Military at work. I ve been worried about corrosion.

 

[NJBillK]

Good information. I ll start to use my Cruwear Military at work. I ve been worried about corrosion.

Don't forget that, even though Cruwear has been fairly resistant to staining (in my personal usage and experience), it is not a true stainless like the other two alloys.

Though, if your Military is a user, go ahead and find out how it holds up. If you are content with the stain resistance that it does have, you might find a gem sitting in your storage container.

 

[midnight flyer]

If you're going to be hitting steel, S35VN would be the better choice.

S110V will hold an edge a lot longer, but it's not as tough as S35VN. Tough means resistance to chipping and breaking.

S35VN will be easier to sharpen, but it won't hold an edge as long. With diamond sharpening systems, S110V is not hard to resharpen.

This really mirrors my experience exactly.

I have both steels in two different work sized knives. As a working contractor, I too use my larger work knives a lot during the day, and occasionally for things you shouldn't use a knife to do.

As an EDC that doesn't get too much work, the S110V will hold and edge very well and you won't be sharpening much. But it is fragile; cutting cardboard caused a couple of very small chips on the blade that I haven't sharpened out. The S110V was a bear to rebevel and sharpen, but easy to maintain.

The S35VN is a dandy steel, installed on my ZT Les George 0909. These knives are discontinued and that is a real shame. It just screams work knife. The S35VN is easy to sharpen, holds an edge surprisingly well under all conditions that I have put it to, and has proven to be almost completely stain proof. The stain proof includes rust resistance, which is big to me. I sweat all the way through my blue jeans many days down here in hot south Texas and have enough acid in my system to a car battery. The knife is regularly soaked with sweat and has only developed a few TINY spots of rust after a few days of carry with no cleaning. The spots come off readily with a pencil eraser with no sign of pitting. It also has good resistance to chemicals that I access and all manner of other nasty stuff.

S35VN is my new favorite steel, although I wouldn't want to live on the difference between it and my Spyderco Valloton in S30V in practical use.

Robert

 

[fielder]

S35VN - a good all round steel.

 

[PWatkins]

This really mirrors my experience exactly.

I have both steels in two different work sized knives. As a working contractor, I too use my larger work knives a lot during the day, and occasionally for things you shouldn't use a knife to do.

As an EDC that doesn't get too much work, the S110V will hold and edge very well and you won't be sharpening much. But it is fragile; cutting cardboard caused a couple of very small chips on the blade that I haven't sharpened out. The S110V was a bear to rebevel and sharpen, but easy to maintain.

The S35VN is a dandy steel, installed on my ZT Les George 0909. These knives are discontinued and that is a real shame. It just screams work knife. The S35VN is easy to sharpen, holds an edge surprisingly well under all conditions that I have put it to, and has proven to be almost completely stain proof. The stain proof includes rust resistance, which is big to me. I sweat all the way through my blue jeans many days down here in hot south Texas and have enough acid in my system to a car battery. The knife is regularly soaked with sweat and has only developed a few TINY spots of rust after a few days of carry with no cleaning. The spots come off readily with a pencil eraser with no sign of pitting. It also has good resistance to chemicals that I access and all manner of other nasty stuff.

S35VN is my new favorite steel, although I wouldn't want to live on the difference between it and my Spyderco Valloton in S30V in practical use.

Robert

Midnight flyer, did the s110v chip from cutting the cardboard itself or did you hit a staple or something? I would think any blade steel should hold up against cardboard without chipping.

 

[NJBillK]

Midnight flyer, did the s110v chip from cutting the cardboard itself or did you hit a staple or something? I would think any blade steel should hold up against cardboard without chipping.

There have been a few folks that have had faulty S110V, but not many. I think @Wowbagger was one of them.

Those that have experienced unnecessary chippiness were able to send them in for a warranty replacement.

The alloy is not one to be considered "brittle", but due to the high carbide volume, there is only so much space for a matrix to glue them into place. That is not to say that alloys like Maxamet are not able to take advantage of a Super high carbide content (bordering on potentially considering it part solid/cemented carbide), and not be considered strong enough for daily usage.
All it comes down to is what your usage is.

 

[Mo2]

Cruware, m4, or maxamet. I have a maxamet mule and it goes through everything. Gonna get the pm2 maxamet when it comes out soon. Have an m4 and love it. I have a mule that's similar to cruware too. All three are great.
They do need a bit of oil on the blade now and then and just dry them off if they get wet.

If you go with s110v put a micro bevel on it, should reduce possible chipping.

 

[emjay4248]

Hey, I'm new to the forum and apologize in advance if this thread is in the wrong place. I'm looking to get into higher end knives and I've settled on a pm2 for my new work knife. I'm an electrician by trade and use my knife on a daily basis for opening boxes, cutting cardboard, stripping wire, cutting rope etc. Right now the pm2 is available in both steels for the same price and I was wondering what you all thought would suit my needs better. Keep in mind the blade will come into contact with aluminum and copper wire and sometimes steel should I cut into a box of emt fitting to deep. Would one steel be more likely to chip than the other? Which is harder to sharpen? And anything else I may need to know about. Thanks for your help.

If you can afford it buy both. They are both great knives that hold their value. Rotating the knives also extend the life of you edge and when one is dull you wont be without a knife. If you plan on sharpening yourself get a Strop block and spend a few minutes everyday, it will extend the usable edge life by a lot and when you go to resharpen it won't take so long. If I were in your place I would carry a second less expensive knife with a decent steel and use that on for cutting through steel. I always carry 1 nice one and 1 hard user such as the Spyderco Gayle Bradley ll. Super tough tool steel and very strong blade, much more suited for hard use. That's exactly what it was designed for. Hard decisions to make. I couldn't decide myself so it is needless to say that I have too many but it's fun.

 

[PWatkins]

If you can afford it buy both. They are both great knives that hold their value. Rotating the knives also extend the life of you edge and when one is dull you wont be without a knife. If you plan on sharpening yourself get a Strop block and spend a few minutes everyday, it will extend the usable edge life by a lot and when you go to resharpen it won't take so long. If I were in your place I would carry a second less expensive knife with a decent steel and use that on for cutting through steel. I always carry 1 nice one and 1 hard user such as the Spyderco Gayle Bradley ll. Super tough tool steel and very strong blade, much more suited for hard use. That's exactly what it was designed for. Hard decisions to make. I couldn't decide myself so it is needless to say that I have too many but it's fun.

Emjay4248 thanks for the reply and info. The knife won't be used to cut steel but the box's i open often have tightly packed steel parts in them and the blade may accedently hit them sometimes, that's why I was worried about chipping. I want to start collecting knives again although I'm not one to let them sit on a shelf I like to use my knives. My wife jumpstarted this idea when she bought me a bm 940-2 last month for or anniversary. I don't want to buy doubles of any model right now, I'm looking at the pm2 and a few knives from zt, Kershaw , okc, to get me started.

 

[palonej]

Great aniversary gift from the Mrs!!
That one is a keeper......the wife AND the knife!
Joe

Emjay4248 thanks for the reply and info. The knife won't be used to cut steel but the box's i open often have tightly packed steel parts in them and the blade may accedently hit them sometimes, that's why I was worried about chipping. I want to start collecting knives again although I'm not one to let them sit on a shelf I like to use my knives. My wife jumpstarted this idea when she bought me a bm 940-2 last month for or anniversary. I don't want to buy doubles of any model right now, I'm looking at the pm2 and a few knives from zt, Kershaw , okc, to get me started.

 

[microtech85]

I was going to recommend the 940 is s30v as a good knife for electrical work. I am not an electrician, but i do work with electrical wires in car or home on occasion for myself and family and friends. The 940 works really well for it. I do not like the wider handles when trying to strip a wire, so a knife like the sage 3 does not work well for that task. I would also highly recommend the kershaw leek. The leek and 940 both permit a very nice grip when cutting electrical tape or wires with your knife especially if you don't have very large hands. In fact, i go over cutting electrical tape in some of my knife reviews that i make. If i cannot cut electrical tape easily with a knife, it doesn't really cut it as a top knife for me. the sandvik 14c28n steel on the leek takes a very fine edge and holds it well and cuts through wire insulation so easily due to its thin edge and hollow grind. But their is also a carbon fiber version of the leek with cpm 154 steel which is very comparable to s35vn. It has a slightly more substantial grip and i would suggest taking a look at it. If you intend to keep your knives very sharp, i would give an advantage to the s35vn and 14c28n and cpm 154.

 

[McFeeli]

I'll mimic what some others have stated and say S35V is likely your best bet. The S35V PM2 is a great value too. Maybe $10-15 more than the standard S30V model for a steel that has the same wear resistance, yet tougher and easier to sharpen.

If you start looking into the other sprints and exclusives, the price will only rise. I'm loving CruWear thus far, amazing steel, but the price hike will be high going from S35V to CruWear.

 

[GatorFlash1]

I would not recommend either steel for an electrician in a pocket knife. There are better tools specifically designed for that electrician's job that perform much better than any pocket knife which are better in so many ways, insulations, etc. etc.

Like it has been said, either will be very good as an EDC steel. I like my EDC Gayle Bradley with M4 steel for general use around the shop, yard, house, etc. It has a little more beef than my PM.

 

[NJBillK]

I would not recommend either steel for an electrician in a pocket knife. There are better tools specifically designed for that electrician's job that perform much better than any pocket knife which are better in so many ways, insulations, etc. etc.

Like it has been said, either will be very good as an EDC steel. I like my EDC Gayle Bradley with M4 steel for general use around the shop, yard, house, etc. It has a little more beef than my PM.

While I would love to suggest a GB1 or 2, M4 may be a bit reactive for someone that spends summers in a crawl space, attic, or other low ventilation, high temp area.

This is why I suggested the Cruwear.

 

[PWatkins]

I would not recommend either steel for an electrician in a pocket knife. There are better tools specifically designed for that electrician's job that perform much better than any pocket knife which are better in so many ways, insulations, etc. etc.

Like it has been said, either will be very good as an EDC steel. I like my EDC Gayle Bradley with M4 steel for general use around the shop, yard, house, etc. It has a little more beef than my PM.

I don't just strip wire with my knife. I have a variety of tools for that but I mostly do commercial/industrial electrical work. I deal with 500mcm to 1000mcm on a regular basis. If your not familiar with them those wires are about 1 inch in diameter for a single wire give or take a little. A knife is the easiest and fastest way to strip them when your terminating for a service

 

[DocT]

I would not buy the S110V for that kind of work. Once it gets dull you will hate that you bought it (though it looks better with that Midnight Blue) and your cursing vocabulary is likely to get a good workout. I would go with the S35VN as it is a great steel and it is much easier to sharpen and will stand up to hard use.

 

[PWatkins]

Looks like s35vn is the way to go. I prefer the brown g10 of that model anyway. Thanks for all the replies and great advice.