s30v vs. CTS-XHP Alloy vs. 154 cm

You will have to be a lot more specific about your needs. There are many threads here on this. Google is your friend.
 
I personally like the S30V on my Spydies. They're fairly easy for me to sharpen, hold a good edge and is tough enough for everything I've thrown at them.

I don't own a Spyderco 154CM but my BM knives in this steel have been pretty good also. It's a bit easier to sharpen and also takes a good edge. I don't carry them enough to give a fair impression about edge holding though but my guess is less than S30V. I have no experience with the CTS-XHP yet. :) I hope to pick this particular Manix2 up also. And the Mule too.
 
Go with the green. The only way you'll get a blue is at a ridiculous price, and the reg will be around for a long time.
 
My dealer here in the Philippines has given me a quotation for the blue that is just ten dollars more than the green. maybe i'll just get a regular manix 2 and another knife for the price of one.
 
singularity35 said:
My dealer here in the Philippines has given me a quotation for the blue that is just ten dollars more than the green. maybe i'll just get a regular manix 2 and another knife for the price of one.
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Unfortunately your dealer probably doesn't know how popular those blue ones were and that they are all gone unless he happens to know someone sitting on one. Most likely the only way you will get a blue one is off these forums but I guess you can try. If you want it I would call him right now because every minute that goes by the chances of there still being one in the distribution pipeline goes down.
 
Well, i do think you're right. i was so hoping :). I don't like the looks of a green manix as much as the blue. and yes the geometry is quite as important as the steel. so maybe i will try to resign myself to just getting the regular manix 2 plus another one to comfort myself with.
 
singularity35 said:
Well, i do think you're right. i was so hoping :). I don't like the looks of a green manix as much as the blue. and yes the geometry is quite as important as the steel. so maybe i will try to resign myself to just getting the regular manix 2 plus another one to comfort myself with.
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If you want one of the sprint run Manix 2 then I would not pass on the CTS version because of the color. It looks like it will be darker so it shouldn't be real loud and show dirt quite as well as the blue. It will also have a full flat grind which is pretty nice and looks much better than the hollow grind on the regular one, at least to me.

It sounds like the CTS should be a good steel and should be a step above 154CM. 154CM is pretty good but I like to try out all the 'super steels' because they usually get sharper and stay sharp for longer in my experience. It must be pretty good if Spyderco is planning on using it more in the future and if Rick Hinderer is putting it in his highly sought XM18.

It might be worth a look and they are going to be very popular so you can always get most of your money back. I would pre-order one now if you want it because the stores that will pre-order are all ready full and not taking more orders.
 
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Based on all the threads I've read, the new Carpenter sprint is likely to be a better performer than either S30V or 154CM, leaving aside the issues of heat treat and the different grind on the 154CM Manix 2. I would expect the Carpenter sprint will be even more sought after than the blue sprint.
 
It should be pretty similar to CPM D2. Some liked that better than S30V, some liked S30V better. I wouldn't put it in the "super steel" category, like S90V, or ZDP 189. It's in the D2 class.
 
have to go along w ith mastiff . some of these steels really show only a 5 or 10% performance boost.i have zdp cpmd2 & others but a well sharpened vg10 will do fine for most chores. i'm like many nuts because i buy these new alloys out of curosity but some of the old timers work just fine.
 
kinda like asking whats better, a chevy V8 or a ford V6.

Check out:

http://www.jayfisher.com/Blades.htm#How_do_I_pick_a_steel_type_


From what I gather and have read, S30v has a higher vanadium content, and a lower carbon content. So therefore it has a higher hardness (able to take a sharper edge and hold it) yet it is more brittle because it has less toughness than a higher carbon steel. Also it is harder to field sharpen. All in all, I think a lot of these steels like 154, Vg10, s30v etc are extremely similar in average usage. It would seem that proper heat/cooling treatment of the steel, tempering etc. makes a much bigger difference. Basically, if the manufacturer is treating the blade steel per the proper specifications for the steel, all of these steels should be fairly similar in performance.

-Freq
 
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i would also say that if I got a knife with a super steel that it would only be a matter of personal satisfaction on my part. I'm sure I couldn't even tell the difference between say vg-10 and zdp 189. but I just wanted some input from people who know how these steels stack up against each other. As also mentioned in an earlier post, that heat treat is as important as the metallurgy and so is blade geometry.
 
It depends on the heat treat but S30V has the higher potential. Doesn't mean that a knife in S30V will outperform CTS-XHP or 154CM.

The 3 steels should have similar corrosion resistance. Maybe CTS-XHP will be the best in this category. S30V and 154CM both have around 11.5% free chromium (440C has 13%+), not sure how much free chromium CTS-XHP has, and how much of that is in the form of carbides. I'll run some computer simulations when I get a chance.

S30V is tougher than 154CM and CTS-XHP as it has lower carbide volume and finer grain if heat treated from the annealed condition. Small differences in heat treat can easily offset this however.

S30V is more wear resistant than 154CM and CTS-XHP. S30V may have fewer carbides, but they are harder vanadium carbides. Initial edge retention depends on hardness but if you keep cutting after it's somewhat dull the difference is very noticeable. S30V simply stops dulling after a point, whereas 154CM and D2 continues to dull. In my cardboard cutting S30V outcut 154CM twice over before it started ripping instead of cutting. CTS-XHP will probably perform somewhere in between the two.
 
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I have the 154CM, D2, VG10, and S30V. S30V gets my nod as best all-around pocket knife steel...but that's because it's Wednesday. Tomorrow, I might say VG10 or SGPS.
 
singularity35 said:
i would also say that if I got a knife with a super steel that it would only be a matter of personal satisfaction on my part. I'm sure I couldn't even tell the difference between say vg-10 and zdp 189. but I just wanted some input from people who know how these steels stack up against each other. As also mentioned in an earlier post, that heat treat is as important as the metallurgy and so is blade geometry.
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I think you would be surprised and would notice a pretty big difference between the 2 steels. The ZDP gets realllly sharp depending on the equipment you have and will stay sharp for a lot longer. Even if you just use it to open the mail everyday I think you would notice a difference.
 
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