stainless better than S30V?

richw said:
Ankerson, thank you for your replies.

You have any thoughts on chipping/hard use on cpm 154 vs s30 (or 154cm vs s30v)?

I know that Bark River likes cpm 154 for some of their knives (like the bravo s1), but they also used 12c27 on large bowies.
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Haven't had either one chip on me, but IMO S30V will lose it's razor edge very fast, something I noticed when I got my 1st knife in S30V while CPM 154 will keep the razor edge longer.

S30V doesn't really go dull, it gets a user edge and holds that, but it doesn't hold a keen edge for very long, it's something I wasn't very happy about either considering how expensive the knife was.

All I could think about was how my Voyager in VG-1 held the edge a lot better than a knife costing 5 times as much.... As I said I wasn't happy about it at all.... I have 3 knives in S30V currently.
 
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After all these years, imho the "best" all-around stainless for a pocket knife is ATS-34 or 154CM. It's predictable and when heat treat correctly performs very well.
 
richw said:
Is it more expensive than S30v? I have no idea.

Cost wise how does it compare to zdp 189, vg 10, and/or m390?

Just curious. Its kinda weird, everybody "knows" that cpm 154 is better than 154 cm, but I haven't seen any like direct comparisons or sow how much it is better at anything specifically.
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good question.

perhaps because it has no big fancy carbides ?

cpm154 is a pretty simple steel with not much hype except the cpm process. not enough hype for limited editions and too limited for regular production probably.
 
Benchmade uses a lot of 154CM. Buck did use CPM154 - it was an extra cost option for Buck Custom Shop 110's - replaced by S30V a year or two back. I have a special 110 from Bass Pro, a short run 192, and the 005RWS Gen5, all in CPM154. Came with - and holds/takes - a razor edge ever so slightly better than Buck's also Paul Bos heat-treated S30v. I bet they'll miss him - he retired last month. S30V continues to pull cut in an unreal fashion - and can be easily restored on a basic Spydie Sharpmaker's fine files - you just have to keep them clean - and to know when 'enough is enough', not always intuitively obvious!

Benchmade's D2 & 440C are a career to re-edge, in comparison to CPM154 & S30V. 154CM is not as bad - and the M4 seems about the same. Knowing 'when to stop' with S30V makes it just about perfect. Of course, if you want a razor - go with 420HC like Buck uses - or a good heat treated 1095, A2, or whatever CS Boker Tree Brand uses. They - as great slicers - and S30V for a utility cutter - and, IMHO, you are good to go.

Stainz

PS I have one VG-10 - a Kershaw 1993-2 'Gentleman's Folder' - ho hum!
 
I forgot to compare/contrast another addition to the 'alphabet soup' - BG-42, a ball bearing steel. Great edge-keeping - my only such blades are Buck Custom Shop 110's, which are all, but one - my most used 'user', still razors - despite some real use. I have not been able to resharpen that one over-used user with the Sharpmaker and it's basic files. BTW, even the one teardrop Damascus Buck Custom Shop 110 I have, despite some carry & use (It is pretty!), is still the sharpest Damascus-bladed knife I have - and an arm-hair raising device with class!

So, if you can find affordable BG-42, it aint bad! It could just be the Bos heat treating...

Stainz

PS My all around favorite is still S30V.
 
Huh, I thought the Manix II was 154cm not the CPM version. I may have to check it out again (I don't generally like saber grinds and keep missing the special releases).

Not sure if its 'better' or even stainless but I am really liking Kershaw's CPM D2. My understanding is the CPM process, and the possible addition of vanadium makes it even more corrosion resistant then normal D2. I find it to be much easier to sharpen the ZDP-189 and it keeps the edge I like for a very long time.
 
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thombrogan said:
I like SG-2 better than S30V and ZDP-189. Harder (when heat-treated by KAI/Kershaw at least) than S30V, keeps an edge around as long as ZDP-189, and is easier to sharpen than either S30V or ZDP-189.
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Is SG-2 available in a production knife?
 
falkniven 3g is sgps clad with vg2. i think sgps is a generic term that refers to sg1 or sg2, not sure of that
 
Chewy1 said:
Is SG-2 available in a production knife?
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It was available in limited runs of Kershaw's Blur and Junkyard Dog II knives, but it's standard in their Shun Elite, Shun Kaji, and Shun Kramer knives. It's one of the superpowderuberwhatever steels that easily sharpens up on the cheaper King waterstones (the ones that won't do much for S30V unless you're really lucky).
 
Better is a dangerous term. All alloys have plusses and minuses. That's why there are so many alloys available. Everything is a compromise. You just need to decide where you want to compromise.
 
Stainz said:
whatever CS Boker Tree Brand uses
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That's German C75, which is the direct equivalent of 1075.

Stainz said:
PS I have one VG-10 - a Kershaw 1993-2 'Gentleman's Folder' - ho hum!
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Very nice & underrated knife. :thumbup: Mine was ridiculously sharp right out of the box.
VG-10 can take that kind of edge, as noted in a post above.

iamtoast said:
I thought the Manix II was 154cm not the CPM version.
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It is 154CM.
 
how does the VG-10 3G compares to the S30v?
I've got a fallkniven F1 3G and just can't imagine anything sharper than that, seriously! :)
 
Like many of us I've tried plenty of the steels mentioned in this thread.

And still the best in my book is BG-42.
 
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troller said:
how does the VG-10 3G compares to the S30v?
I've got a fallkniven F1 3G and just can't imagine anything sharper than that, seriously! :)
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Fallkniven 3G has nothing to do with VG-10.
It's SGPS (Super G1) clad in VG-2.

I agree with you, though, that it's one of the best laminate blade steels available today.
 
that means that if I buy a knife with VG-2 steel OR G1 steel I'm getting something better than VG-10?
thank you!
 
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