S35vn

S

Spyder59

Joined
Dec 26, 2014
Messages
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Can some of y'all make some comparisons to other similar steels, and maybe describe some of S35VN steel characteristics for me. I'd appreciate it.
 
It's a nice all around stainless. I mentally group XHP, S30V, S35VN and Elmax together as it seems they're all often run about the same hardness and, that being the case, I doubt I could actually tell one from the others in a blind test. I like them all.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
It's a nice all around stainless. I mentally group XHP, S30V, S35VN and Elmax together as it seems they're all often run about the same hardness and, that being the case, I doubt I could actually tell one from the others in a blind test. I like them all.
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This is about right honestly, and you could also add CPM-154 to that list too.

One thing I will note is that Elmax SHOULD have better performance than the other 3, but won't really unless you get it from a custom maker who knows how to do the heat treat right, because production companies tend to mess it up a bit, notably bringing down the performance.

Also, I would say that in general S35VN and CTS-XHP are probably tied for best in their category of all-around good steels, without going into the higher realm of more complicated metals like M390, Elmax, S90V, etc.
They are easy to sharpen, can be heat treated to a good variety of different performance levels in different needs, and have a very clean and easy to work with structure and composition, so most manufacturers have no trouble getting a decent level of performance out of them.

I really like S35VN, and the fact that it was specifically designed for use in blades is pretty apparent when you start working with it.
 
I also like S35VN, I have 2 folders with this steel, find it reasonably easy to sharpen - it can take a very sharp edge, and has good corrosion resistance.
CRK use S35VN, and I think that says a lot, even though I don't own a CRK (one day I hope to).

As stated above, CPM 154, S30V, S35VN, XHP and Elmax are in the same neighborhood property-wise.
I have developed a slight preference for Elmax, it seems to have a little bit better edge holding, and have recently been using CTS XHP and liking that too, but for general use/users I think S35VN is a very good choice.

Above this group is steels like S90V, S110v, ZDP-189, all of which offer superior edge retention at the cost of noticeably increased difficulty in sharpening.
 
I have s35vn on a Pro Tech TR-3 and a Sukhoi 2.0. Both knives get incredibly sharp with little effort and hold it quite well.
I'm very happy with it. The closest steel, performance wise that I have, is CTS-XHP.
 
I have a small Sebenza with s35vn and it is a great all around steel. It compares favorably to s30v but seems to be a little easier to sharpen.
 
Hoosier N La said:
I have a small Sebenza with s35vn and it is a great all around steel. It compares favorably to s30v but seems to be a little easier to sharpen.
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This also a good point. S35VN is easier to sharpen than S30V, has better toughness, and has better edge stability as well. If you get the heat treat right on it, S35VN will usually hold an edge a little longer than S30V because of the higher toughness and higher edge stability preventing micro-chipping at the edge.
It also has a finer grain so it's easier to strop up to a super fine edge in no time.

CTS-XHP and S35VN are very similar in performance from everything I've seen, but CTS-XHP can have a little higher edge retention with a very good heat treat, like you would often see in custom knives. Not enough you would notice it all the time, but it's worth mentioning.
 
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