S30V after 7 years. Comments?

singularity35

singularity35

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Mar 1, 2010
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So S30v has been around for 7 years or so(As I've read here). What is the general consensus of this steel now? How does it really compare with the other steels commonly being used like VG-10, 154-cm, ZDP-189?
 
MoreToasties said:
It's not the best in any category, but it's a brilliant all-rounder, which is why it is so commonly used.
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+1.

Hits the desired toughness, edge holding, stainless, and wear resistance properties beautifully for me.

Though it looks like we have several new steels up and coming hoping to improve even further including S35VN and CTS-XHP.
 
Out of curiosity, is there anything that CPM 154 or 154CM is better at than S30v, ignoring costs?

According to Crucible's website, it says s30v is basically just plain better than 154cm, I can't figure out if it is saying its better than its own CPM 154 in the same manner.

For what its worth, I own more s30v folders than I do other materials combined.
 
richw said:
Out of curiosity, is there anything that CPM 154 or 154CM is better at than S30v, ignoring costs?

According to Crucible's website, it says s30v is basically just plain better than 154cm, I can't figure out if it is saying its better than its own CPM 154 in the same manner.

For what its worth, I own more s30v folders than I do other materials combined.
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CPM-154cm and 154cm are the same composition except the former is a "powder metal" like CPM-S30V. The powder process makes it a better mixed alloy with more homogeneous carbides. S30V will hold an edge longer and take longer to sharpen. All in all, S30V has proven itself to me. It is my favorite steel.
 
99.9% of my knives are S30V, VG-1, VG-10, AUS-8, D2, 440C, 1095, (1) INFI - I think that about covers most of 'em and they'll all cut like crazy. Sold a Grip in CPM-154cm, very sharp.

Sometimes I think that companies and collectors want more and more blends of steel than is really neccesary to produce good blades. Probably just to come out with "something new."

Oh yeah, forgot a couple of Spydies with weird designations of alpha-numerics like on the Tenacious & Persistance - still cut like heck. :)
 
I like S30V. But I have no concrete evidence or experience to show that it is substantially better than - let's say - 440C. I know all the facts, all the theory, but in daily use of two very similar knives (ZT 0300 and Boker Resurrection) I find they need to be touched up after much the same use. They never chip or suffer any other damage. They don't rust (and the ZT has a coating of course). I have lots of knives in lots of steels, and it's only AUS8A and 4116 Krupp that really require more maintenance. Even most of the Chinese steels do well considering their price level.

So S30V, I can't fault it. But perhaps it's too expensive for what it delivers compared to much cheaper steels.
But I'll always take it if I have a choice. :D
 
AUS8A and 4116 Krupp that really require more maintenance.
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Isn't the AUS-8 or AUS-8A a proprietary steel that Cold Steel owns or maybe their Japanese suppliers own?

My question is why more maintenance? Is it soft or something? I read here somewhere that it produces a burr really easy and can be tough to keep that burr from flipping sides instead of coming off. :confused:
 
Philwar, I would attribute your experience with S30V vs 440c to Bokers legendary heat treat, nothing more. Your average non-Boker 440c won't hold up nearly as well.
 
Its proven to be a great steel. I have many types of steel, but feel S30V may be the best all around steel of them all.

It may not be the best in any one application, but may be the best at being very good in most all applications.
 
cziv said:
Isn't the AUS-8 or AUS-8A a proprietary steel that Cold Steel owns or maybe their Japanese suppliers own?

My question is why more maintenance? Is it soft or something? I read here somewhere that it produces a burr really easy and can be tough to keep that burr from flipping sides instead of coming off. :confused:
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I don't think either steel is CS proprietary, they just use AUS8A a fair bit.
As far as maintenance, it just dulls more quickly then VG-1 or VG-10, let alone S30V.
It's easy to sharpen though.
 
MoreToasties said:
Philwar, I would attribute your experience with S30V vs 440c to Bokers legendary heat treat, nothing more. Your average non-Boker 440c won't hold up nearly as well.
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That's possible, I only own 440C knives made by Boker (except a BM 551 but no real experience with that yet). Nevertheless, the argument still holds. 440C is 'old', ubiquitous and cheap. And it can be made to perform much like S30V.
To tell you the truth, I would probably not be able to tell them apart from performance alone. Unless (like I've read in other posts) the true strength of S30V shows when it's pushed beyond a point where others start failing.

I just never let it get that far.
 
Its a very good steel but the HT is still inconsistent and needs to be refined more. Besides that I think its some good steel when you need high wear resistance.
 
The big reason that S30V is better than CM154 and CPM154 is the presence of about 4% Vanadium carbides. Vanadium carbides are among the hardest carbides that are soluble in steel coming in at 82 HRC (Hardness on the Rockwell C scale). When you put tiny bits of VC at 82 HRC in a steel at 60 HRC, you greatly increase the wear resistance. The bits don't effect the hardness of the steel because the diamond pyramid of the Rockwell tester pushes them aside. It's like putting small hard stones in cement to increase abrasion resistance even though the hardness of the cement itself is not changed.
 
I really like my S30v knives. I think it is my favorite stainless knife steel with 154cm a close second.
 
i like my S30V blades, i am also glad that in the last 7 years the price has come down, letting people experience it at a lower cost. i remember when putting S30V in a knife made it at least $100 more expensive.
 
gundude73 said:
i like my S30V blades, i am also glad that in the last 7 years the price has come down, letting people experience it at a lower cost. i remember when putting S30V in a knife made it at least $100 more expensive.
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Yep, and now you can get a Buck Hartsook in S30V, with Bos HT, for less than 30 bucks. Tiny blade, but considering what it would have cost several years ago, it's cool. I really like S30V. The only chipping issues I have had were on factory edges, and disappeared once user sharpened. :thumbup:
 
I never feel under-steeled with S30V. Not whatsoever. Not bad for being around for about 7 years in a hobby/interest that expects a "steel of the year" every year.
 
philwar said:
That's possible, I only own 440C knives made by Boker (except a BM 551 but no real experience with that yet). Nevertheless, the argument still holds. 440C is 'old', ubiquitous and cheap. And it can be made to perform much like S30V.
To tell you the truth, I would probably not be able to tell them apart from performance alone. Unless (like I've read in other posts) the true strength of S30V shows when it's pushed beyond a point where others start failing.

I just never let it get that far.
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I would tend to agree about 440C compared to S30V. A properly treated 440C blade is a joy to use and fairly easy to sharpen compared to S30V. As has been mentioned, S30V is a great, all around 'working' steel.
 
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