stainless better than S30V?

C

Chewy1

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Jun 5, 2006
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The subject says it all. A recent thread (or four) asked about the preferred blade steel for a pocket knife, and S30V was coming out a clear front runner. My question is, in your opinion, what's better than S30V, with 'better' being defined as edge holding, fine-ness of edge, ease of sharpening.
 
Sounds like he is looking for a stainless better than S30V.

For edge holding S90V, ZDP189, hard M4 (will discolor but red rust not a big issue), and Sleipner are all steels that seem to hold an edge longer for me so far. I have some others like CTS-XHP and M390 that I haven't got to use much but should probably be a little better. With the right tools they are all fairly easy to get sharp but M4 gets there really easy for me.
 
While my experience with the alloy is limited, I found SG2 to be superior to S30V in all of the areas you've described.

CPM 154 is easier to sharpen and takes a finer edge. Edge holding isn't noticeably better, though.

You also have S30V's relatives S35VN, S90V, and S110V. All of these are supposed to be superior to S30V (except in ease of sharpening for 90 and 110).

I'm sure there are more.
 
In just stainless s30v is hard or next to impossible to beat. But if you leave the world of stainless and enter the world of blades with character :D 1095 or 5160 are both IMO better steels if you don't mind things developing a bit of character with use.
 
Thanks, but I'll pass on the character steels for purposes of this discussion.

I've been very pleased with my Native and was just thinking about trading up...or over if I can't find something much better. It looks like I might need to try either S90V or ZDP189 in some configuration.

The hard M4 intrigues me the most though. I read recently about a Gayle Bradley that was used to cut wire mesh tape and really held its own. Hmmm
 
Chewy1 said:
Thanks, but I'll pass on the character steels for purposes of this discussion.
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Ahh well, if ya must:)

I'd say m4 is the was to go. Its pretty wear resistant which is part of what makes it awe inspiring, but using diamond sharpeners its not too bad to sharper. ZDP 189 is a great steel, but it doesn't take impacts well (at least with spyderco's HT) but does hold in edge for a very long time, its just not very "tough" example being I've chipped zdp on staples before, but m4 just hits em with no real damage. Pretty cool stuff.

Of course you can pick up a zdp delica/endura for pretty cheap compared to most m4 knives and they come flat ground now. M4 seems to be more what you're looking for though

Happy Hunting! :thumbup:
 
m4 does take some patina. not a very figured one like simpler carbon steel. the blade just gets darker while carbon steels show different colorations.
 
Didn't Chewy1 ask for stainless steels? CPM-M4 isn't a stainless steel.
 
I'm curious about that, too. I don't mind staining, just no rust. For some reason, I tend to be a humid person and my knives take a real beating just riding in my pockets. D2 and S30V, along with ATS34 are all keepers. M4 seems to have a better rep for edge holding...but it rusts?!?! Phooey.
 
If you really want a knife with CPM-M4....go get yourself a Rem-Oil gun cloth and wipe the blade down quick when you get home at the end of the day. No worries.... :)

D2 actually isn't stainless....but it is about as close as you can get to being stainless....without being stainless if that makes any sense. :p
 
Chewy1 said:
The subject says it all. A recent thread (or four) asked about the preferred blade steel for a pocket knife, and S30V was coming out a clear front runner. My question is, in your opinion, what's better than S30V, with 'better' being defined as edge holding, fine-ness of edge, ease of sharpening.
Click to expand...

S35VN
VG-10
CPM 154
VG-1
CTS-BD1

Harder to sharpen

ZDP-189
20CV
 
VG-10 a superb stainless steel; IMO even better than S30V in some cases. Also, a good choice would be CTS-XHP. The new Carpenter's steel surprised me tremendously.
 
If S30V sucks so much why do so many high end makers use it? Serious question as I am new to all the steels and knife stuff.
 
Razorsharp1986 said:
VG-10 a superb stainless steel; IMO even better than S30V in some cases. Also, a good choice would be CTS-XHP. The new Carpenter's steel surprised me tremendously.
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I would love to a lot more knives in ZDP-189, but unless one has an Edge Pro or uses diamonds or a belt grinder they will have a hard time. It's extremely tough and wear resistant steel and will hold a razor edge for a very long time.
 
I like VG10 and don't feel under-steeled with it at all. S30V may be a better EDC steel than VG10 because it can hold that toothy working edge for a good amount of time. VG10 is certainly more capable of taking a LASER edge IMHO. And as mentioned, the CTS-XHP is working out well for me so far too and true to the OP's question, I think all three perform admirably and resharpen easily. I find VG10 and CTS-XHP are more similar in edge characteristic than S30V, both capable of a very fine, almost LASER sharp edge.
 
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jazzandmetal said:
If S30V sucks so much why do so many high end makers use it? Serious question as I am new to all the steels and knife stuff.
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It doesn't suck, but there are better choices out there and it's not as good as it's hyped up to be. :)

CRK is starting to use S35VN. ;)
 
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