S90V Military?

[Ankerson]

I didn't list a manufacturer because I didn't want to start a brand war. I think I'm going to get a S30V Military and see what I
think compared to the other S30V I have. I will say it is a higher end piece I have for production folders that has the S30V.
I guess thats why I expected it to out perform 154 CM or similar by a significant margin.
Im just trying to keep the thread on topic instead of letting it drift to sharpening skills.

I think you will be happy with the Military in S30V.

The one I tested here just last week was the best S30V blade that I have ever seen, used and tested hands down, no contest. :thumbup:

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

sure but s30v wouldn't be described as such a pain to sharpen even with the carbides added.

Soft steel can be just as hard to sharpen as really hard steel. Soft steel can form a burr that will not go away and can be very frustrating. My S30V native had a burr that just flopped back and forth and I could not get rid of it to save my life. But once I sharpened it a few times and got down to new steel it got better.

S30V seems to lose it's hair popping edge quickly but keeps a working edge for a long time even if it will no longer shave hair. I personally like a hair popping edge so I'm not a huge fan of S30V because it looses that fairly quickly. It has been hypothesized by some that the small very hard carbides chip out and leave a rough edge that doesn't shave well on an almost microscopic level. Not big chips you can see but much smaller ones. There were also some reports of chipping that can be seen with the eye on S30V blades and I actually had it happen on one knife. This has also been thought to be over heating of the very edge during sharpening at the factory. And again once the knife has been sharpened a couple times the edge gets down to new metal and this goes away, at least it did for me.

As to your original question, yes S90V holds an edge longer than S30V. It has quite a bit higher carbide content than S30V. Have you ever tried ZDP189? They don't make a Military with it but if you are concerned with edge holding then it is worth giving a try.

 

[singularity35]

I think you will be happy with the Military in S30V.

The one I tested here just last week was the best S30V blade that I have ever seen, used and tested hands down, no contest. :thumbup:

How much better than the S30V on the SMF you tested?

 

[pwet]

Soft steel can be just as hard to sharpen as really hard steel. Soft steel can form a burr that will not go away and can be very frustrating. My S30V native had a burr that just flopped back and forth and I could not get rid of it to save my life. But once I sharpened it a few times and got down to new steel it got better.

agreed, check post 18

as for s30v HT, i've had my share of S30v knives from different makers and each was different, some just right, kinda hard to abrade but got a clean edge (the vast majority), some too hard, enough to chip on me without reason, some too soft and "gummy" feeling on the stones, hard to make really sharp for long because of the nasty burr they kept.

 

[Ankerson]

How much better than the S30V on the SMF you tested?

Night and day difference.

I just sharpened another S30V blade for a guy over the weekend and it felt like sharpening butter compared to the Military.

 

[RevDevil]

Did you use Spyderco S30V? The heat treatment, which differs from company to company (even over time, probably), is the main factor. I used S30V quite a lot, on Spyderco, CRK, and custom knives, and I really like this steel. Is it the best in edge holding? Nope. Is it the toughest? Nope. It's a pretty good compromise, though. YMMV, obviously.

Never had the chance to try S90V

This is absolutely the truest statement in this thread by far. Many factors can affect a steels hardness and ability to be sharpened:
-Heat treat (Final RC varies from one company to the next)
-How many blades were treated in a single batch
-CPM-S30V steel vs regular S30V

Also, some blades perform much better once the factory edge is removed and resharpened. Spyderco does do S30V incredibly well. I have severeal Militarys in S30V and they have held an edge a bit longer than the S30V used by other knife manufacturers. Sharpening equipment makes all the difference too. I have found that the Edge Pro makes short work of super hard steels (ZDP-189 and CPM-D2 as examples). Regular stones would take an eternity I would imagine to do S90V. Although the blades in 154CM that I have shrpened did take much less time to form a burr and ultimately achieve a razor edge, the cutting edge does not last nearly as long sharpened to the exact same angle when compared to S30V. In my opinion, steel in and of itself is only half the story, the real properties come alive after the heat treat.

 

[tiguy7]

I sharpened one of my S-90V knives on Norton stones even though I have the diamond stuff. It took a while, but six years later I have yet to resharpen it.

 

[Ankerson]

This is absolutely the truest statement in this thread by far. Many factors can affect a steels hardness and ability to be sharpened:
-Heat treat (Final RC varies from one company to the next)
-How many blades were treated in a single batch
-CPM-S30V steel vs regular S30V

Also, some blades perform much better once the factory edge is removed and resharpened. Spyderco does do S30V incredibly well. I have severeal Militarys in S30V and they have held an edge a bit longer than the S30V used by other knife manufacturers. Sharpening equipment makes all the difference too. I have found that the Edge Pro makes short work of super hard steels (ZDP-189 and CPM-D2 as examples). Regular stones would take an eternity I would imagine to do S90V. Although the blades in 154CM that I have shrpened did take much less time to form a burr and ultimately achieve a razor edge, the cutting edge does not last nearly as long sharpened to the exact same angle when compared to S30V. In my opinion, steel in and of itself is only half the story, the real properties come alive after the heat treat.

You are correct. :thumbup:

The HT and tempering process is extremely important to get the best performance out of the steel.

There is a big difference between S30V blades from different companies I can tell you that 1st hand.

 

[pwet]

-CPM-S30V steel vs regular S30V

this doesn't exist.

 

[JNewell]

this doesn't exist.

Kinda like that CPM-154CM I've seen on a few dealers' sites.

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

This is absolutely the truest statement in this thread by far. Many factors can affect a steels hardness and ability to be sharpened:
-Heat treat (Final RC varies from one company to the next)
-How many blades were treated in a single batch
-CPM-S30V steel vs regular S30V

As has been hinted at, there is no regular S30V. All S30V is CPM S30V. It is all the same stuff, made by the same company, using the same process. It is all made by Crucible using their particle metal process, hence the CPM designation.

 

[RevDevil]

this doesn't exist.

Need to tell that to the marketing departments of some production knife companies .

As has been hinted at, there is no regular S30V. All S30V is CPM S30V. It is all the same stuff, made by the same company, using the same process. It is all made by Crucible using their particle metal process, hence the CPM designation.

I was refering to the technology available before particle metallurgy was available (CPM vs conventional processing).

 

[pwet]

btw, i've got a user S90v milie on my way. should be here tomorow if the mailman is nice enough.

the seller already polished the cf for me so it will atch my user stretch ...


me happy.

 

[xtestifyx]

I was refering to the technology available before particle metallurgy was available (CPM vs conventional processing).

To my knowledge, there was no S30V before S30V was made, all S30V is made by Crucible. Just like Carpenter's S90V is called CTS-20CP instead of CTS-S90V

You may already know it, and I think you do :thumbup: