S45VN Inkosi?

I saw something either on their site or their Facebook in the last week or two that stated that their first official run of S45VN knives had been shipped to distributors, but it wasn't specific about what models or distributors and my Google Fu didn't produce any luck in tracking them down.
 
IMightBeWrong said:
I saw something either on their site or their Facebook in the last week or two that stated that their first official run of S45VN knives had been shipped to distributors, but it wasn't specific about what models or distributors and my Google Fu didn't produce any luck in tracking them down.
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Umnumzaan tanto S45VN was available, maybe still is?
I almost grabbed one.
Still might.;)
 
Grand Prairie had S45VN Umnumzaans and lefty ones as well, but they're out of stock. I didn't see any at the other dealers to be honest.
 
I'm after the same knife, they told me last week that they hope to have the rest of the models switched over to S45vn in 6 months give or take.
 
Chapp said:
What would be the benefit over S35VN ? I'm not an expert on steel.
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In addition to what B Buzsaw said, CRK has always run their heat treat a little softer at RC58-59. A few years back they bumped that up to RC59-60, but with the change to S45VN, they have bumped it to RC61-62. So anyone like me who had always ended up buying something else because we thought CRK was running blades too soft is interested again.
 
madcap_magician said:
In addition to what B Buzsaw said, CRK has always run their heat treat a little softer at RC58-59. A few years back they bumped that up to RC59-60, but with the change to S45VN, they have bumped it to RC61-62. So anyone like me who had always ended up buying something else because we thought CRK was running blades too soft is interested again.
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Wow great, but isn't 59-60 pretty much the standard for production folders ? Is it as easy as pushing the heat treatment further in order to achieve a better steel overall ? Or it something steel dependent ?

Why didn't CRK just push S35vn to 61-62 ?

I'm asking because I might make the jump, but I wan't to be as informed as possible.
 
Chapp said:
Wow great, but isn't 59-60 pretty much the standard for production folders ? Is it as easy as pushing the heat treatment further in order to achieve a better steel overall ? Or it something steel dependent ?

Why didn't CRK just push S35vn to 61-62 ?

I'm asking because I might make the jump, but I wan't to be as informed as possible.
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Every company has different opinions on what constitutes the right hardness for a given steel. Some companies believe toughness and ease of sharpening at lower hardness is more important than edge holding. Just a matter of opinion. Emerson runs their knives notoriously soft for ease of "field-expedient sharpening." Steels have curves of performance balancing toughness and edge holding, among other characteristics, depending on the heat treat. Companies and users don't always agree what the optimum point on that curve is.

We have seen an increase in hardness for production knives as we start getting more and more steels in common use that don't lose as much at high hardness. M390 at RC60-61 is fairly normal, and we're seeing a lot more AEB-L at RC61+. But it's still a matter of the intended use and function.

Twenty years ago 154CM at RC58-59 would have been standard in production knives, with S30V at the same hardness as an upgrade. No one really complained then, but it's old and busted compared to the new hotness, and there's always a big chunk of folks chasing the new hotness.
 
madcap_magician said:
Every company has different opinions on what constitutes the right hardness for a given steel. Some companies believe toughness and ease of sharpening at lower hardness is more important than edge holding. Just a matter of opinion. Emerson runs their knives notoriously soft for ease of "field-expedient sharpening." Steels have curves of performance balancing toughness and edge holding, among other characteristics, depending on the heat treat. Companies and users don't always agree what the optimum point on that curve is.

We have seen an increase in hardness for production knives as we start getting more and more steels in common use that don't lose as much at high hardness. M390 at RC60-61 is fairly normal, and we're seeing a lot more AEB-L at RC61+. But it's still a matter of the intended use and function.

Twenty years ago 154CM at RC58-59 would have been standard in production knives, with S30V at the same hardness as an upgrade. No one really complained then, but it's old and busted compared to the new hotness, and there's always a big chunk of folks chasing the new hotness.
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Ok, thanks. I still need more informations so I'll pester you some more =D. You say m390 is fairly normal with a high heat treat, what does normal means in this context ? Top edge holding while being fairly normal to sharpen ?

To stay on the Sebenza, back then it was run soft so it could be easier to sharpen, but didn't keep an edge for a long time. Now it's the opposite. The thing I wonder is the ratio ease of sharpening/edge holding. Most people often want steel that keep an edge for a long time, even if it means being harder to sharpen, but is the trade off always linear ?

Like say I bump the ease of sharpening by 2 points, do I decrease the edge holding by 2 points at the same time ? Or is steel dependant and each have their own ratio trade-off ?
 
madcap_magician said:
Every company has different opinions on what constitutes the right hardness for a given steel. Some companies believe toughness and ease of sharpening at lower hardness is more important than edge holding. Just a matter of opinion. Emerson runs their knives notoriously soft for ease of "field-expedient sharpening." Steels have curves of performance balancing toughness and edge holding, among other characteristics, depending on the heat treat. Companies and users don't always agree what the optimum point on that curve is.

We have seen an increase in hardness for production knives as we start getting more and more steels in common use that don't lose as much at high hardness. M390 at RC60-61 is fairly normal, and we're seeing a lot more AEB-L at RC61+. But it's still a matter of the intended use and function.

Twenty years ago 154CM at RC58-59 would have been standard in production knives, with S30V at the same hardness as an upgrade. No one really complained then, but it's old and busted compared to the new hotness, and there's always a big chunk of folks chasing the new hotness.
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To CRKs credit, I’ve never had any of my CRK blades chip out. For sure some of my Sebenza seem to have fairly average edge retention, but I never worry too much about a big chip coming out of the blade due to lateral force. I have had chipping on other blades and it’s sucks. Especially if the blade is super hard and it takes you days and days to sharpen out the chip.

I have a chip in the blade of my Spyderco Gayle Bradley. That M4 blade is so resistant to sharpening, I basically gave up. I will have to wait a couple years before I sharpen past the evidence of the chip.
 
Wow, these knives go quickly. Well, not to worry, I expect finding a S45v bladed CRK should become easier in 4-5 years. The rush for one should slow down by then, at least I hope it does.
 
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