S30v

I have found it to work fine for me-no complaints. My guess is that the majority of detractors do so, because social media told them to, rather than bad experiences. It's not todays hot, must have steel, so it must be bad. I seem to find most quality steels with a good heat treat to be fine.
 
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Out of my head I would say, that like 70% of all knives in the world are ,,stainless surgical steel“.
Compare this steel to S30V, and it will be godlike.

There is nothing wrong with S30V. Its a fine steel. Stop b.tching about it. Or start act like adult and say: Yeah, well, not my thing anymore. But dont say crap about it.

Its hard to sharpen! No, its not.
Its chips a lot! Did you chip it sometimes, or you just read it on internet?
Its not a new supersteel! Guess what, your 10 years old car can still take you to work, 1095 is way older then S30V and people complain less about it.
I like the knife, but I am not going to buy, cause is has S30V. No, then you dont like the knife at all.
 
I had one s30v blade that micro chipped the edge but several others I own haven’t and they are all Buck Bos ht. Mostly I get very good service from s30v and satisfied they will get the job done very well. I do have others in cpm154, 20cv, vg10 and of coarse 420hc. Each knife is designed for a type of use and I try to stick with that. Even the 420hc has a type of use that it does very well that I wouldn’t use s30v on because they have different characteristics and perform differently.

I have been wanting to try s35vn and will probably get one when I find that one that strikes me as a good setup. But I don’t plan to get shed of my s30v knives if I happen to like s35vn.

It’s a good thing we have new steels and new technology otherwise we might still be using rocks and sticks. Just think the first bronze knife was a super blade metal ! Lol, then some snob who thought bronze was weak and couldn’t hold an edge found some iron and was fortunate enough to carbonize it and forge it into a blade. Lol. Anyhow I know we all get to expecting a knife should be able to do anything and constantly perform in all and any ways possible. Like when are they going to make a knife that will carry like a peanut but perform like a machete and keeps an edge forever. Fully automatic of coarse and just as strong as a fixed blade. Lol.
 
S30v is the best steel I own.
Sure, I’d like something better but I just can’t justify the purchase.

The last folder I bought was a Spydrco D’Allara 3 in S30v. The going price was about two bills.
For S30v!!!! No way was I going to spend that sort of cash
for that steel. I just waited until the price dropped to almost half.

Someday I’ll get something better. The funny thing is that
the “best” knife on my wanted list
is only S35vn. Small Sabenza Insingo.
 
SharpPancake said:
Out of my head I would say, that like 70% of all knives in the world are ,,stainless surgical steel“.
Compare this steel to S30V, and it will be godlike.

There is nothing wrong with S30V. Its a fine steel. Stop b.tching about it. Or start act like adult and say: Yeah, well, not my thing anymore. But dont say crap about it.

Its hard to sharpen! No, its not.
Its chips a lot! Did you chip it sometimes, or you just read it on internet?
Its not a new supersteel! Guess what, your 10 years old car can still take you to work, 1095 is way older then S30V and people complain less about it.
I like the knife, but I am not going to buy, cause is has S30V. No, then you dont like the knife at all.
Click to expand...

I disagree with some of this. I love my 2011 KIA Sorento. It's loaded,does everything well, never breaks down.

But, if I were to buy a brand new one, 8 years newer, I expect newer, better stuff in it. Updated electronics, engine, etc.

But if they charged me the same or more for what I have now, 8 years old, I'm not going to buy it.

Steel has a much longer shelf life, but at some point, you gotta keep up with the times.

I buy what I buy, and I really don't care about the latest and greatest steel. Really, I wish there were more options in CTS-XHP that weren't sprint runs. It's my favorite.

At $130, I was willing to try the Ikuchi. I hope to have an experience with the steel more like my Yojimbo 2 and less like all the others I've had.
 
My Spyderco Para 3 is S30V. It seems to hold an edge for a long time, and is really slicey to boot. However, the edge seems almost as easily folded over as the AUS8 blade on my SOG Aegis. I use my knives for actual work such as stripping cable insulation, cutting zip ties, and plastic bands of containers, so bad stuff can happen to the edges on them, especially when I slip and bang them into structural steel. Stropping every few weeks and monthly resharpening are no big deal to me. It’s just part of maintaining a knife.
 
And I can't stand my wife's new KIA. It's not a bad car, I just don't like it. The ergonomics are all wrong. It's to low, the headroom is almost non-existent, and the seats...well, you get the idea. The one good thing is that it handles very well. Another is that my wife loves it and it fits her. That's what counts.

I'm much happier with my Jeep Cherokee. I like the ergonomics, have plenty of headroom, and don't have the same problems getting in and out of it as the KIA. I also have great visibility because it sits higher. Ergonomically, it fits me better and I don't have to take it to the dealer if there is something wrong. Most things I can fix myself.

I guess that I like my knives the same way I like my vehicles. Reasonably priced, easy to work on, with decent workmanship, and proven simple designs. After writing this I can see that I will probably never own the latest super steel. I guess S30v is just fine.
 
Before joining BladeForums: Oh hey, 440C and 8Cr13Mov, what's all the numbers mean? Who cares, it cuts tape and cardboard seemingly fine and has worked for the 10+ years I've owned these knives.:eek: :poop:

After joining BladeForums: I will accept nothing less than M390, S90V, or 20CV for all of my scotch tape cutting and Amazon box opening needs! :rolleyes:
 
This thread, among several things, really got me thinking. That usually is a bad thing. Once again, I've come to the conclusion that I'm an idiot. This happens frequently unfortunately.

I think part of my woes may be because I was asking too much of the knife. Like everything in life, there's a learning curve.

It has been difficult though. Before illness hit in 2016, I'd been a desk jockey for 15 years. It never really mattered most of the time what was in my pocket. Most of the time it was opening mail or boxes, cutting up small cheese, etc. But, there wwould be times when I now realize I was carrying the wrong knife.

A blade like the PM2 really wasn't suitable for cutting plastic straps of printer paper. The S110V version I'm sure would have faired better. At the time, I had other knives better suited to such tasks. ZT 0801, 0561, Gayle Bradley, Strider SnG, TSF Beast.

I even managed to put a chip in the TSF.

Now, I like light to medium use knives, and lightweight. I still have a few bruisers though. Again, right tool for the right job. Which is why the Ikuchi will be a lighter use knife.

Hey, everyone has random moments of brilliance. It's just that the light bulb above my head is one of Edison's early prototypes.
 
K.O.D. said:
This thread, among several things, really got me thinking. That usually is a bad thing. Once again, I've come to the conclusion that I'm an idiot. This happens frequently unfortunately.

I think part of my woes may be because I was asking too much of the knife. Like everything in life, there's a learning curve.

It has been difficult though. Before illness hit in 2016, I'd been a desk jockey for 15 years. It never really mattered most of the time what was in my pocket. Most of the time it was opening mail or boxes, cutting up small cheese, etc. But, there wwould be times when I now realize I was carrying the wrong knife.

A blade like the PM2 really wasn't suitable for cutting plastic straps of printer paper. The S110V version I'm sure would have faired better. At the time, I had other knives better suited to such tasks. ZT 0801, 0561, Gayle Bradley, Strider SnG, TSF Beast.

I even managed to put a chip in the TSF.

Now, I like light to medium use knives, and lightweight. I still have a few bruisers though. Again, right tool for the right job. Which is why the Ikuchi will be a lighter use knife.

Hey, everyone has random moments of brilliance. It's just that the light bulb above my head is one of Edison's early prototypes.
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I cut about ... 50-100 of that type of strap/week with S35VN, without problems. Often with 15dps edges. What am I missing?
 
It's the "cool to hate" phenomenon.

There are better premium steels out there now and people become steel hipsters/snobs.

Most people will never experience the difference between S30V to 20CV. But 20CV is the new kid so everyone wants to be friends w/ it.
 
Banter 247 said:
I cut about ... 50-100 of that type of strap/week with S35VN, without problems. Often with 15dps edges. What am I missing?
Click to expand...

Mine was S30V. I've yet to experience any issue with S35VN, except the TSF Beast, which got knocked off the table on to concrete. Minor chip, still works fine. It's a thick blade though.

I have 4 knives with S35VN, and am quite fond of it.
 
I still use S30V. It has the right balance of attributes for what I want in a blade steel on a folder. I have heard the arguments that this steel or that is better, but it seems that in actual use S30V does everything I want. The only problem arises when I start drinking kool aid and buy into the hype.
 
Banter 247 said:
I wish it were possible to quantify how much of the “S30V is chippy” talk originated from use on sharpened, as opposed to factory edges.
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Well Larrins article on burnt edges may explain that it's more likely to happen on a factory edge. I had some s30v, s110v and s90v that was chippy, then I re profiled with diamond and no issues. The ceramic stones weren't doing so well in keeping them from chipping for some reason. So must have got passed the burnt edges.

But regardless of that, 2019 is much different than 5 years or more ago where it wasn't done as well as it is done today. From rolling the steel sheets to heat treatment in mass production (always some defects of course).

I wonder why they mostly do s30v at 60hrc and m390 etc at 58hrc... Kind of weird.
 
I'm starting to show my age. I will admit I have not kept up on the new alphabet of steels that have come about over the last 10 years. Maybe it's the new Common Core they're teaching the kids.

I buy a knife based on design and fit/finish over most anything else. I also buy a knife based on the company and its standing with our community. Blade material is such a small part of what you are charged for on a knife. I will usually gravitate AWAY from a super hard super steel.

As I have said before, I like old school sharpening with a basic Arkansas stone and a strop. Truth be told, I want a knife that is repairable over one that holds a razor to butter knife of 250 rope cuts. I rarely let my knives get dull, but I have damaged quite a few edges hitting unexpected things or dropping them.
 
This thread has made me realize that while I ve thought m390 steel and comparable steels were my favorite, I do fine with my older knives of 154cm/ats34. So s30v/s35vn is certainly a great user steel.
Marketing can be a terrible thing.
 
Lesknife said:
I had one s30v blade that micro chipped the edge but several others I own haven’t and they are all Buck Bos ht. Mostly I get very good service from s30v and satisfied they will get the job done very well. I do have others in cpm154, 20cv, vg10 and of coarse 420hc. Each knife is designed for a type of use and I try to stick with that. Even the 420hc has a type of use that it does very well that I wouldn’t use s30v on because they have different characteristics and perform differently.

I have been wanting to try s35vn and will probably get one when I find that one that strikes me as a good setup. But I don’t plan to get shed of my s30v knives if I happen to like s35vn.

It’s a good thing we have new steels and new technology otherwise we might still be using rocks and sticks. Just think the first bronze knife was a super blade metal ! Lol, then some snob who thought bronze was weak and couldn’t hold an edge found some iron and was fortunate enough to carbonize it and forge it into a blade. Lol. Anyhow I know we all get to expecting a knife should be able to do anything and constantly perform in all and any ways possible. Like when are they going to make a knife that will carry like a peanut but perform like a machete and keeps an edge forever. Fully automatic of coarse and just as strong as a fixed blade. Lol.
Click to expand...
The little bit of niobium in S35Vn makes a big difference. It's finer grained than S30V and easier to sharpen, with no discernible difference in edge holding.
 
rogatsby said:
How much difference do you think there is between S30V and S35VN? If you didn't see the label, would you notice? I'm not sure I would. Certain "super" steels are noticeably different. ZDP-189 is hard as hell and is a bear to sharpen. But the difference between S30V and S35VN seems negligible to me.
Click to expand...

I disagree that ZDP-189 is hard to sharpen. The 68 HRC that ZDP-189 can attain, through its crystal lattice structure, is much softer than that of the Vanadium and Niobium Carbides that are added to many powder steels. I sharpen my ZDP-189 on Shapton water stones (Al2O3). The super steels get the Diamond treatment to avoid Carbide pull out.
 
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