Spyderco 8Cr13MoV vs. Kershaw 14C28N

Spyder328

Spyder328

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Feb 12, 2012
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Ok, so I love Kershaw knives, but I want to get a Spyderco and see how it is. I saw the Tenacious and I love the look of it. I read that the Spyderco 8Cr13MoV has a better heat treat then standard 8Cr13MoV. Is that true? How is it at holding an edge compaired to the Kershaw 14C28N?
 
Spyderco has fairly high standards for heat treatment across the whole product line so I would not expect a problem.
I believe that Sandvik formulated 14C28N to offer improved corrosion resistance, and I've heard some comments that 8CR13MoV is slightly susceptible to corrosion.
Neither steel is known for high wear resistance, but depending on your intended use and sharpening ability that might not matter.
Both companies make good value priced knives.
 
Spyderco 8CR13MoV I feel is better then Kershaw 8CR13MoV but not as good as their 14C28N. As far as edge holding.
 
8CR is considered similar to AUS-8, while I've heard 14c28n is considered a poor mans s30V... not terribly sure on that though... I definitely prefer 14c28n though.
 
There isn't a big enough difference. I would buy the knife you like better. For me, I kept my Spyderco Persistence and dumped the Skyline even though the steel was supposedly better. Not better enough. The bead blasted finish on the Skyline showed rust spots after a few days. Both needed regular sharpening. Both are budget steels and require constant maintenance.
 
I have not noticed a significant difference between the two steels to align myself with one or the other. They're both great steels that perform quite well. The usual caveats apply as to edge retention and maintenance, but they still both get a thumbs up from me. Quick to sharpen and both take a fantastically keen edge.

Go for a Spyderco to try a different blade style, opening method and maybe a different level of comfort (depending on the design) but don't expect a sea of difference in the steels.
 
14c is great good edge and corrosion resistance. 8cr is very good for being such a cheap steel but I have it rust up like crazy.
 
Thanks for all the replies :D It was a lot of help :thumbup: Looks like I'm gonna be getting my first Spyderco :D
 
I've found 8Cr13MoV to be comparable in edge retention to AUS-8. It does seem a bit coarser though (maybe larger carbides, or not as uniformly distributed?), as I cannot get as consistently sharp an edge on any of my 8Cr13MoV blades as with AUS-8 ones. The 14C28N steel seems to consistently take a fine edge (feels the same as AUS-8) with retention marginally better than AUS-8 and 8Cr13MoV.

My experience with Spyderco's 8Cr13MoV is limited (Tenacious & Persistence). I have more experience with Kershaw's 14C28N (Skyline, Blur, Leek, Needs Work, Zing, and some others), as well as some with their 8Cr13MoV (Cryo, Half Ton, OSO Sweet, Chill). I can't really tell any difference between the 8Cr13MoV by Spyderco or Kershaw. The 14C28N on the Kershaws is a step up from 8Cr13MoV for taking and holding a fine edge, but it's not a huge difference.

Can't really say much on corrosion resistance though, since I don't tend to have that with any of my knives (including non-stainless). From what I've read, though, it seems 14C28N may be more corrosion resistant than 8Cr13MoV.
 
I haven't played with spyderco's 8cr, but I have knives of both steels from kershaw. My 1 ton from kershaw with 8cr actually did pretty through some rough use. It's been used for some chopping, whittling green wood, cutting fibrous stalks in the course of some evening and held up. I never let it get butter knife dull, but even after some of those rougher nights it never took more than 20 minutes on the cheapest set of Arkansas medium/fine stones fathomable to take it back to push paper sharp. I'm sure spyderco is at least on par with that. I haven't taken my JYD with 14c28n out for too much field use yet, but through lighter use the steel seems on par in edge retention (though I'm far from scientific in testing) and it is ridiculously easy to put a razor edge on it.
 
I doubt there is a whole lot of difference. They both take a fine edge and need regular maintenance.
 
I don't know if I prefer the blade steel of my skyline (14c28n) or the design but if find me using it more than my persistence. Edge retention seems about the same but i can put a wicked edge on 14c28n.
 
I've owned and used several of each.
To me there is no huge noticeable difference and Kershaw's 14c28n would actually rust and I never had any issues like this with Spyderco's 8cr13mov.

Both hold a decent edge and needed touched up in about the same amount of time.

And I personally like Spyderco better.

But at the same time you can get a Spyderco in: BD-1, n690co, VG-10, and s30v for around the same price of the 14c28n Kershaw knives.
In my experience all of those steels are better than the 14c28n and of course they better than 8cr13mov.
 
A few years ago now, I guess, I used a Tenacious for a couple months at a warehouse job I was working. Most of what I was doing with my knives was cutting or collapsing boxes, usually cardboard, as well as whatever general-use junk came up. I found the Tenacious had a tendency to get pretty significant chips in the edge whenever it brushed up against a staple / bit of hardwood that I didn't see among the cardboard. It would go dull pretty readily, to the point where I had to sharpen it after each and every day of work just to keep a useable edge on it. I found that the steel just would not keep an edge for the length of time I needed it to during that job, so I sold it after a couple of months.

I've used various Kershaw knives in 14c28/13c26 for the same sort of tasks over the years, and was able to compare the Tenacious to my Cyclone (13c26 steel) at the time I owned them both (doing the very same tasks). I found that the 13c26 held up quite a bit better, especially when it came to nicking the edge on the occasional staple or whatnot. Where the 8cr13MoV tended to chip, the 13c26 seemed to be much more stable and would only exibit minor rolling or deformations (damage that was much easier to sharpen out than chipping). It did, of course, get dull (cardboard will dull any edge eventually), but where I found I had to sharpen the Tenacious every day, I could go 2-3 work days before I needed to sharpen the Cyclone.

Now, I haven't really put any other 8cr13MoV knife through its paces the way I did with the Tenacious, so it might have just been a problem with the heat treat or whatnot of that particular knife. I have used a whole bunch of other knives in 13c26 and 14c28 steel (3 Cyclones, a Leek, 2 RAMs, a Shallot, a Knockout, and a couple others) though, and have been consistently satisfied with how the steel holds up. It's not magical never-gets-dull wonder steel, but for me it provides a very good balance of edge holding, cost effectiveness, and ease of sharpening.

In a nutshell, I've found that 13c26 / 14c28 are much less prone to major deformations (especially chipping), and aren't really any harder to sharpen than 8cr13MoV. Given the choice, my preference would be Sandvik steel over alphabet-soup steel.
 
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Spyderco 8Cr is better than Chinese brand 8Cr, there's a test by Ruslankiyasov on YT.

Dorito, any chance comparing Tenacious with the Ganzo or others you have (SRM, Enlan, Navy, Ganzo)?
 
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Chris "Anagarika";11761824 said:
Spyderco 8Cr is better than Chinese brand 8Cr, there's a test by Ruslankiyasov on YT.
Click to expand...

Spyderco's 8Cr knives are made in China by some of the same people who make all those Chinese-brand knives. Hell, Sanrenmu's website used to specifically name Benchmade's Red-Class and Spyderco's Tenacious as knives they'd been contracted to make...It's literally the exact same thing, made by the same people in the same factories. :confused:
 
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