questions about steel

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loki993

Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
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ok so I see all theses steels out there. the knives ive seen looking at have about 4 different kinds which one is better, I know there tradeoffs. sorry about the question, but the search is not working.

ive seen some benchmades in d2
ive seen kershaws in s30v and a guy had some s60vs for sale at a good price in FS section
154cm, cant remember which knives had this
aus 8 in some benchmades
and I think a couple were 440c

whats going to hold its edge best?? also arent the harder steels harder to sharpen and dont get as sharp as to softer ones, but they will hold their edge longer right?
 
Harder means harder to sharpen, but longer edge holding. They will get just as sharp as softer steels, they just take a little bit more time and effort. IMO it's worth it.

Of the ones you mentioned, my preference order follows:
S60V (rare, so I like it)
S30V (One of those super-duper steels everyone grades others against. Excellent edge holding with good toughness and great corrosion resistance.)
D2 (Excellent edge holding, just shy of a stainless steel. The trade off is worth it)
154CM (Good edge and corrosion resistance)
AUS-8 (tough steel, good edge. Great for beater knives)
440C (best corrosion resistance)
 
so lets throw this out there im looking at
1. s60v blur there selling in the FS section
2. avalanche s30v
3. a few benchmades that all use D2

will the s60v hold a edge longer?? ive been reading that there were issues with it being brittle so they had to back off the hardness in some knives, do you know if the kershaws are like this.
what would you think.
 
Personally, I'm a Spyderco fan. I'd recommend a Military in S30V or a Caly3 in VG-10.

Of those, I like the S60V blur the best. The problems with that steel have been fixed in S30V (a little less edge retention) and S90V (a lot more edge retention). If you plan on using this knife for non knife purposes, I would stay away from that and look for something in AUS-8.
 
non knife purposes like what?? like prying and as a screwdriver occasionally :). 98 percent of the time the knife will be used for cutting, plastic cardboard etc the usual.
 
No screwdriving with the knife. :mad: ;) One of the worst possible things you could do.

If you're going to usually use it, I'd say S60V wouldn't be a bad choice. It's discontinued, so it will be collectible later one.
 
I think we need make the differentiation between hardness and wear resistance here.
Harder steel is harder to sharpen, but not by that much. For example you can have 1095 at Rc 64 and it should still be fairly easy to sharpen. On the other hand you have CPM S60V, despite being hardened to Rc 56 it is still very wear resistant, and will take significantly longer to sharpen than 1095.
The advantage of harder steel is increased edge stability. The classic example is carving wood, where you need something thin and very sharp, but able to withstand lateral stress (for carving out curves).
The new super wear resistant steel is better for long bouts of cutting abrasive material, like cardboard or old rugs. These materials are full of particles that will erode an edge quickly, thus the high amount of super hard carbides in steel like CPM S60V will resist dulling much longer than your average low alloy steel.
In regular use wear resistance is usually more important than hardness, as paper and cardboard are some of the more common things that need to be cut.
Regardless of what steel type you get, a good diamond hone is highly recommended. Diamonds are hard enough that it doesn't matter quite so much which steel you put them to, and work fairly quickly on just about anything.
To avoid using your knife as a pry par and screw driver, get a good multi-tool. They come in handy so often it's well worth the purchase.
I recommend the Leatherman Skeletool with an extra set of screwdriver bits. It's light enough to carry easy, and still gives the functionality of a screwdriver and pliers.
If you're a little more ambitious the Charge has a very wide variety of tools.
 
i was just making an example of possible uses, I can probably count on 1 hand how many times ive used my knife as a screwdriver and every time I was careful because I was afraid I would break it. most used will be cutting, rope, paper, cardboard, whittling the usual. basically it will be pocket knife for any cutting I may need it for.

as for the collectability there the blems that are being sold in the FS forum, that would probably affect the value, but im not sure how much.
 
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