OT: Not all stainless steels are created equal

Sylvrfalcn

Sylvrfalcn

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Jun 4, 2002
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Got a good German straight razor sent to me by a nefarious gentleman down in south Florida. Never had one before, all my straight razors are antiques with blades of excellent quality carbon steel. Decided to put this stainless booger through a bit of testing. Here it is day ten, without so much as re-stropping, and still shaving clean. Have to re-think my prejudices towards stainless steel. Did some digging and found that most manufacturers of high end cutlery in Europe utilize stainless steel from Sweden. Conclusion, if you've been eyeing a puukko, etc., from over in Scandinavia, but feel "iffy" about stainless steel, don't sweat it, go ahead and get the knife. This latest experience, combined with past exposure to "Swedish Steel", has me convinced that it performs on a par with most carbon steels.

Sarge
 
That stainless blade you sent me is the dayumedest thing I've seen in a long time. The wife says it just doesn't get dull. Of course she doesn't mistreat it but she uses it on all the meat she cuts now. It gets cleaned and a bit of cooking oil applied after each use. :)
 
I recently got a Fallkniven in VG-10 and it is one of the sharpest knives I have. It has been holding the edge too. We shall see how hard it is to resharpen though.
 
Maybe that's why Saab springs are a favorite with the kamis albeit they are not stainless and next to impossible to find.
 
do make good sharp well profiled steels with stainless properties, incluging a nice blend of carbon steel sandwiched btwn 2 slabs of stainless...best of both worlds.
 
I never ever understood why so many people here only had bad things to say about stainless steel. It was as if we were living in different worlds. And I guess we do when it comes to knives.
 
I never ever understood why so many people here only had bad things to say about stainless steel.
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The answer is simple Eik, Sandvik stainless comes very close to acting like carbon steel when it comes to edge holding and ease of sharpening. Many of the stainless steels used by knife manufacturers over here are frustratingly difficult to get a good edge on, and they reward all that hard effort by going dull as soon as you do much cutting with them. I suspect many of the manufacturers focus on appearance and ease of maintenance (i.e. they stay shiny even if neglected)to sell knives to uninformed urbanites who will only use the knife infrequently anyway. Besides that, there's a certain nostalgic/traditional feel to blades that turn dark and rust, that can't be matched by blades that stay unnaturally shiny and rust free.

Sarge
 
There is nothing sadder than a nicely made pocket knife with the words "420 Stainless Steel".
 
I like high end stainless for folding knives, but never for big choppers.
S30V stays real sharp for a long time.
 
Part of the problem may be how manufacturers heat treat their stainless steel. That is the only explanation I can come up with for the fine performance of my Cold Steel folder of 440A. It resharpens very fast with a kitchen steel, and therefore I pardon it for getting dull slightly quicker than some of my other knives which cost four times as much.
 
Originally posted by Mr.BadExample
I like high end stainless for folding knives, but never for big choppers.
S30V stays real sharp for a long time.
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S30V is being used for big choppers now. Makers find that its toughness is on par with A2.

Downside, expensive.
 
Originally posted by Sundsvall
S30V is being used for big choppers now. Makers find that its toughness is on par with A2.

Downside, expensive.
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I'd like to see some tests. Cliff? :)
I'm sure S30V is tough, but I'd like to see how well the edge holds up. Who is making choppers with it? I'll go look.
 
I have to admit that I have become much more interested in knives since I joined the forum. But everyday is a learning experience. I don't that much about the different steels. I know the difference between carbon and stainless...sort of ends there, though. Can you all tell me about A2 and S30V? Are these new metallurgical combos? I appreciate the knowledge.
 
I have used many quality stainless blades both in the custom and production market. Make a khukuri out of them and you will find that stainless steel is bad just like make a fillet knife out of 5160 and finding that corrosion is
so high that the edge holding and cutting ability is poor.

The stainless used in the puukkos at Ragnars Forge is really nice for light use blades. It sharpens easily and stays sharp well. I am now using a Mora 2000, a nice solid utility knife. Cut a 5 lbs salmon up into stakes the weekend, didn't even remove the razor edge (though it did blunt it down from hair popping to just shaving). The spring steel used on the Gransfors Bruks axes is also very nice as well.

As for S30V, the toughness isn't close to A2, it isn't significantly better than D2 as per the crucible spec sheets. The ductility is very low as well I have seen it break. I would also put A2 as the bare minimum of toughness required for large choppers, not as the standard which would be something like A8 (or CPM-3V, 5160, L6, 1045 etc. ).

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp

This is slightly off the threads topic but do you have a opinion on S7? Thanks for any comments that you have.
 
Have not used it, but it should be a great steel for heavy knives. S5 is used by Epsilon, who posts on the Shop Talk forum.

-Cliff
 
Fallkniven is now offering a few of their blades for sale. All's that is needed is to attach the handle of choice and make yourself a sheath and you can have a custom knife that will outperform most anything out there.
 
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