Overrated Steels

For my own part, I am not calling D2 "junk." It's just used in all sorts of blades I will probably pass on if a reasonable alternative is available.

I have a sort of decision tree based on my experience:

Fixed blade=carbon steel with very limited exceptions. >$200 1095 or 1095 CroVan, or 1075 for beaters. <$200 CPM3V, A2, O1. I will consider 52100 and other less common types based on who is doing the knife.

Folder=stainless with limited exceptions. Oddly, price is irrelevant as long as the steel is better than AUS-8 or its equivalents. Call me crazy, but I prefer 154CM, but am also fine with S30V, H1, and VG-10 if Spyderco is involved. Oh yeah, no D2.:p
 
Bob Leedy said:
From my experience zdp189 is brittle and chips far too easily. Case in point: I've used knives of all kinds for decades to open tin cans when I can't find a dedicated opener. Never had a problem. I recently tried to open a can of tuna with a zdp189 blade from a trusted maker. It caused small chips on the leading edge on the first plunge. Did I abuse the knife? Maybe, but my conclusion is that zdp189 is great for cutting packaging, food prep, toenails or whatever but is suspect as a steel for a general utilitarian knife. Except on a "gentlemans" folder, I'd leave the zdp189 at home.
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I carry a ZDP-189 blade 90% of the time and find it great for whatever I'd expect out of a folder. I own a can opener, so I wouldn't enlist my folder to do that task, but I do scrape paint and cut heavy strapping with it, and find it holds an edge 10X better than S30V (which chips the worst of the lot). I use a 800 grit belt grinder to put a convex edge on it and change to over to a leather strop on the same grinder to finish it off. Takes about a minute to keep it sharp.
 
Infi.

I like this steel, but people act like it's adamantium. Not knocking the steel, it could use less ratings.
 
TrojanSteel said:
3v.

I don't get to use my knives too often, mostly just on camping trips i go on every few weeks. Recently obtained my first 3v blade. I don't think many steels get more hype than this one. My example is hardened to 58-59. Just from some wood processing I have a chip, a few micro chips, and some serious rolling. I have a blade in PD1 that's undergone similar use and is still hair popping sharp... Just my limited experience though.

I have read that sometimes the edge can become brittle due to initially sharpening. Maybe I'll amend my impression after I get this factory edge sharpened.
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Yeah, must be something wrong with your heat treat... I have pounded my Survive! GSO 4.1 in CPM-3V harder than any other knife I've owned and the edge remains uber sharp. A quick cleanup of the gunk and schmutz and some quick strops on a belt and it goes back to hair popping.
 
Ive used lots of different steels on many knives: D2, 1095, 02, A2, s30v, s35v, 154 cm, zdp 195 in one or more knives. Honestly, I probably enjoy 1095 the most because it is cheaper, easy to sharpen and I like the patina it gets. I also quite like a2 for the same reasons. I like some of the stainless on folders but its all a whatever thing for me. I honestly dont really care all that much about blade steels as long as they are heat treated decently. I care much more about geometry and the handle and such. In my experience blade steel is just overrated in general.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
1095 is the most overrated I know of. It's good stuff, but some people will tell you about how they used their prize 1095 blade to pry open their old oak door on their way to cut a few thousand feet of bailing wire, hammered in into a tree to use as a foothold so they could get some low hanging beehive for the honey, batoned through a 3 foot thick log and then spent 4 hours whittling it on down to a tinder bundle so they could have some toast with their honey, then headed home and used that very same edge to shave their face before they go to bed.
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Not true Sir! I don't eat honey!

Anyways, I find it that with blades, so much is dependent on the manufacturer of both the steel and the blade that any of the popular steels are prone to be considered overrated by someone. Take D2; I have and have owned several knives in D2 and some of those knives are phenomenal and some just plain frustrating. Luckily for me, I found the better knives first!
 
I have never heared that one would describe 1095 as 'super steel' in the first place. It is a very simple carbon steel with 0.95% C and 0.5% Mn - thus somewhat similar to white#1. None of these steels will take your breath when it comes to edge holding, they however can be very tough. For edge holding something like super blue will run circles about the white#1, but that should come as no suprise. Which one you choose depends entirely on the purpose.
 
15N20 I hate nay HATE 15N20 the fault I must however admit is all my own and norhing to do with the steel I just cant ever seem to ht it properly.

Shaun
 
Kershaw's Chinese steels, can't stand them. The only Kershaw I own is an American made Leek composite with D2 steel. I sold a friend a "catch and release" Skyline which he loved. Awesome ergos but it must have had a bad heat treat because that steel couldn't have been that bad at holding an edge. You could nearly swing it through the air and the wind resistance would dull it. :D
 
Thalestin said:
Ive used lots of different steels on many knives: D2, 1095, 02, A2, s30v, s35v, 154 cm, zdp 195 in one or more knives. Honestly, I probably enjoy 1095 the most because it is cheaper, easy to sharpen and I like the patina it gets. I also quite like a2 for the same reasons. I like some of the stainless on folders but its all a whatever thing for me. I honestly dont really care all that much about blade steels as long as they are heat treated decently. I care much more about geometry and the handle and such. In my experience blade steel is just overrated in general.
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I do agree that 1095 is excellent, I certainly wouldn't call overrated since it is more of a value steel to begin with.
 
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