S35vn vs 1095

Depends. My original Blackjack Campanion in 1095, 1/4" thick, was tested by one reviewer by sledge-hammering it through the trunk of a Buick, no damage to the edge. It would be my go-to knife in dire situations, such as a hurricane. S35Vn, speaking of my Sebbie21, takes a very fine edge and is noticeably easier to sharpen than S30V and will hold an edge longer than 1095, but due to its blade geometry and a few other concerns, like the cost, I wouldn't want to cut apart a Buick with it. Great knife for camp chores or in the kitchen, though.
 
I make kitchen knives out of Nitro V and every thing else out of S35VN and M390. I keep reading how difficult those metals are to sharpen. Use diamond stones and they sharpen just as easily as Rc58 1095. So please, all you people who don't have the right stones or don't know how to sharpen PM steels, stop perpetrating the myths about how difficult they are to sharpen. OK, I'm off my soapbox.
 
I have a few knives from reputable makers in each. I appreciate both for what they are. S35 holds an edge really well but, as has been mentioned, if you allow it to dull, it can be a serious pain to sharpen. Sharpening 1095 is a breeze.
 
My CRK Insingo (from 2015) and Inkosi (from 2016) knives in S35VN are very easy to resharpen. Luckily, they came out of the box with good edge geometry already, so no need to reprofile. It usually only takes me a couple minutes on my Sharpmaker. It's one of the easiest steels for me to sharpen. Slightly OT, but I've also resharpened Spyderco blades in S30V in the same manner fairly easily, as well. I've never used diamonds on them, and I consider myself only a decent knife sharpener.

Jim
 
To James Y - as was stated earlier in this thread, most factories leave their knives at about Rc 57-58 to make them easier to resharpen. Custom knife makers, however, will usually run S35VN up to Rc 60-61, which is considerably harder. At that hardness you may find that diamond is quite a bit faster. Remember, you are sharpening 3% - 4% of vanadium at Rc 80-85.
 
I like using knives and prefer to keep them sharp rather than returning them to sharp after they get too dull; I also am not the best at sharpening - not bestowed of great patience. I like 1095!

The 1075 CroVan (or whatever name it went by or otherwise goes by) suits me just fine in all areas save for corrosion resistance - which I am aware of and treat the knives accordingly.

The not much I would hesitate doing with a Becker BK-2 ... not much at all.
My old Cold Steel Master Hunter in Carbon V as well as my beloved Becker BK-5 and knives that I could not be happier with for their intended purposes.

All that being said, I am in and around salt water a good but and have a bunch of H-1 blades.
Stainless steel is fine, evidence my EDC Emersons and passion for D2 (a good compromise) but the so-called super steels scare me. They are expensive, brittle or chippy and supposedly hard to sharpen; did i mention expensive compared to "regular" stainless steel knives?

I know I can buy diamond stones and/or spend more time sharpening, but 1095 in fixed blades and 154CM or even AUS-8 has kind of spoiled me.

Then again, I'm a Budweiser guy and not fond of most IPAs.
 
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tim37a said:
To James Y - as was stated earlier in this thread, most factories leave their knives at about Rc 57-58 to make them easier to resharpen. Custom knife makers, however, will usually run S35VN up to Rc 60-61, which is considerably harder. At that hardness you may find that diamond is quite a bit faster. Remember, you are sharpening 3% - 4% of vanadium at Rc 80-85.
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Thank you.
I don't know what Rc Spyderco uses on their S30V, but my two S35VN CRKs I mentioned above are at Rc 59-60 (they bumped up the hardness a bit several years ago). But I get what you're saying. However, I've read where some people say that steels like S35VN and S30V always require diamond sharpeners, not necessarily referring to custom knives.

Jim
 
This thread prompted me to order a set of diamond rods for my Sharpmaker and my super steel knives. This place is great. :thumbsup:
 
SALTY said:
I like using knives and prefer to keep them sharp rather than returning them to sharp after they get too dull; I also am not the best at sharpening - not bestowed of great patience. I like 1095!

The 1075 CroVan (or whatever name it went by or otherwise goes by) suits me just fine in all areas save for corrosion resistance - which I am aware of and treat the knives accordingly.

The not much I would hesitate doing with a Becker BK-2 ... not much at all.
My old Cold Steel Master Hunter in Carbon V as well as my beloved Becker BK-5 and knives that I could not be happier with for their intended purposes.

All that being said, I am in and around salt water a good but and have a bunch of H-1 blades.
Stainless steel is fine, evidence my EDC Emersons and passion for D2 (a good compromise) but the so-called super steels scare me. They are expensive, brittle or chippy and supposedly hard to sharpen; did i mention expensive compared to "regular" stainless steel knives?

I know I can buy diamond stones and/or spend more time sharpening, but 1095 in fixed blades and 154CM or even AUS-8 has kind of spoiled me.

Then again, I'm a Budweiser guy and not fond of most IPAs.
Click to expand...

You don't have to be a fan of St. Louis pee to not be a fond of IPA..

There are super steels that are none of those things, just like there many that are all of them.
 
James Y said:
Thank you.
I don't know what Rc Spyderco uses on their S30V, but my two S35VN CRKs I mentioned above are at Rc 59-60 (they bumped up the hardness a bit several years ago). But I get what you're saying. However, I've read where some people say that steels like S35VN and S30V always require diamond sharpeners, not necessarily referring to custom knives.

Jim
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Its mostly because of the Vanadium in these steels. At higher grits you will get carbide tear out and at lower grits the Vanadium can be troublesome to sharpen at 60-61hrc. Using ceramic is not idea but will work. You will see the stones get really dirty from load up and have to clean them often.

Crk did increase the folders hrc to 59-60 within the last 4 years or so. Around 2016-2017 I forget exactly. Because they didn't keep an edge. And this was as Chris stated so it was easy to sharpen.

For any steels with 3-4% Vanadium or more or steels with 60hrc or higher, it's idea to use diamonds or cbn but not always necessary. You will get better edge retention and better apex formation on these steels, it will be faster and you won't run into any chance of carbide tear out that's been documented many times before at higher grit levels. Remember ceramics are not as hard as Vanadium. Sic is a better alternative but still not as hard as Vanadium.

But if you stay around 1000-2000 grit max, it won't matter too much what stones you use due to the small carbides being combed so to say by the larger grits. Just takes longer and loads stones up because of the Vanadium not being sharpened but rubbed onto the stones.
 
Mo2 said:
Its mostly because of the Vanadium in these steels. At higher grits you will get carbide tear out and at lower grits the Vanadium can be troublesome to sharpen at 60-61hrc. Using ceramic is not idea but will work. You will see the stones get really dirty from load up and have to clean them often.

Crk did increase the folders hrc to 59-60 within the last 4 years or so. Around 2016-2017 I forget exactly. Because they didn't keep an edge. And this was as Chris stated so it was easy to sharpen.

For any steels with 3-4% Vanadium or more or steels with 60hrc or higher, it's idea to use diamonds or cbn but not always necessary. You will get better edge retention and better apex formation on these steels, it will be faster and you won't run into any chance of carbide tear out that's been documented many times before at higher grit levels. Remember ceramics are not as hard as Vanadium. Sic is a better alternative but still not as hard as Vanadium.

But if you stay around 1000-2000 grit max, it won't matter too much what stones you use due to the small carbides being combed so to say by the larger grits. Just takes longer and loads stones up because of the Vanadium not being sharpened but rubbed onto the stones.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info!
Regarding CRK's increase in blade hardness, IIRC, that started sometime in 2013.

Jim
 
I know I’m bringing a dead thread back to life, but I’m curious if OP gained some experience in this. It seemed silly to start a new thread, but I’ve been looking into the ESEE 3 in 1095 vs. S35VN.

I have a lot of experience with 1095 in GECs, Case’s CV and stainless. I find them all easy to sharpen. All perfectly serviceable; the 1095 being my favorite.

I’ve got experience with Queen’s D2, which is noticeably more difficult to sharpen with the benefit of higher edge retention, as we expect. It’s harder to get a fine edge- maybe impossible with the non-powder D2 steel. I’ve not been able to achieve it at least.

after reading this thread and a few others here on blade forums, I decided to go for the ESEE in S35VN. I expect it will get neglected more than my pocket knives so the stainless quality ultimately drove the choice, but I’m eager to see what a premium steel is like from a respectable knife company.

I am expecting it Thursday, so I hope to give my impressions, and maybe add a little to this thread for posterity.
 
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