Steel capable of taking glass/metal contact?

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KennyB

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Jan 19, 2010
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Are there any steels that can handle contact with hard materials well? I'm not talking about consistent contact, but I keep having situations where I run my Kulgera into something hard, and the S30V takes a good beating. It holds an edge for a while all the way down to 20* inclusive, but I've started putting a 30* microbevel on it to deal with edge dings and nicks.

I haven't heard a lot about D2 except that it's very hard, should I check it out? What are some of the "harder" steels that can take rough stuff like that at an acute angle?
 
Edge geometry will be as much a factor as the steel. Llike you see now with the improvements the micrbevel has made.

Well heat treated D2 can take some abuse but is a pain to sharpen even with diamonds. CPM-M4 or Elmax would be my choice.
 
OTOH, just imagine the thickness of a knife edge. I would guess it's just several hundred microns thick(someone correct me if I'm wrong please). Slam it with some force onto a hard surface. I don't think there's any steel that can go through that without betting blunted.
 
KennyB said:
I haven't heard a lot about D2 except that it's very hard, should I check it out? What are some of the "harder" steels that can take rough stuff like that at an acute angle?
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I think I know what you are trying to ask - wish the answer was that simple. Trying to compare knife steel performance without factoring in the actual steel composition, edge geometry and heat treatment etc is a futile exercise. Take D2 as an example. DiamondBladeKnves, Knives of Alaska, Benchmade, Dozier, KaBar..... all use D2 - yet the performance of these blades can vary by a marked degree with very different characteristics depending on how they are used and the media being cut. My advice - avoid the hard bits.

BTW - S30V is one of those wierd steels that has been reported to get better with age - could just be another urban myth but with steels - who really knows?
 
Yeah, like a fine wine s30 gets better with age...... Uh huh. Take anything you read on the internet with a 'grain of salt' :rolleyes:
 
M4 if you're looking for a folder. ESEE's/Rowen's 1095 seems to take impacts much better than most steels and sharpens out easily. Another idea would be an Emerson, the chisel edge can take a harder beating and still stay sharp, needs a quick touch up at the end of the day, but then its right back. Seems the 154cm would rather slightly roll/deform than chip due to the slightly lower hardness than most companies.
 
LaBella said:
Yeah, like a fine wine s30 gets better with age...... Uh huh. Take anything you read on the internet with a 'grain of salt' :rolleyes:
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If only that load was started on the internet. It was actually published in one of the knife magazines. Yet another reason I generally don't read them.
 
Why glass? do you often contact this?


Doesn't really matter, your either going to get lucky and not hurt the edge or the contact is instantly going to crush the edge regardless of the steel. Good luck in your search, its a rabbit hole ;)
 
S30V gets better as the user gets used to it, and as the factory edge gets sharpened away. ;)

What you are asking for is a steel with good toughness. D2 in general has decent toughness, CPM M4 is even better.
 
There's already an entire thread on this. Let's just say I don't believe it. The article in question didn't suggest work hardening, which wouldn't happen anyway.
 
i would go with a good carbon steel and a convex edge. i made a chopper for a member out of 1075 and he used it to tear out studs and drywall in a kitchen he was remodeling. before his pc was hit by lightning, he had pictures of it stuck in the drywall. he said that the chopper was still shaving sharp even after all the abuse he gave it. here is one post he made about it http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6282545
 
Has anyone thought about h1? It doesn't tend to chip, instead it rolls. Even if it does chip, It can be sharpened out easily and in that process, due to the properties of h1, the edge work harden very slightly. Thoughts?
 
I think no steel will stand regular impacts with glass or ceramics. If this cannot be avoided my choice would be a somewhat softer steel that can be brought back to sharpness easily, like aus8.

Sorry, I'll get me coat
 
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