Steel that holds the best edge?

If someone would treat T-15 to 71 Rc like the specs say it can, I bet that would give S125V a run for its money.
 
If you want suggestions that are available for purchase I'd pick up something from Spyderco in ZDP-189 or CPM M-4. There's a S90V Para 2 sprint in the works as well.
 
built to last said:
Funny you should ask. I have a crazy idea I am toying with.

I have an issue with my box cutter at work. It is a nice model, but the blades we get are crap. They are reversible, but the edge wears out in three to four nights max. We are running through blades like crazy, and I hate wasting so much metal. So I was going to talk to some of the custom knife makers on here to see if I could have one made. The best case scenario would be that I could take it home and resharpen it. :)

I am just gathering info right now. What do you think of my crazy idea? :D

The metal would go under minimal stress and almost never come in contact with water and would be cutting cardboard boxes (lots of them) and some thin plastic. So it doesn't need to be amazing in all aspects, just holding an edge.
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I would go with S90V (if you can find it), or ZDP-189 RC'ed to 62-63+.

CPM M4 is a nice steel, but it gets spanked for edge retention by the above.
 
I would put M390 on the list. My own use suggests that it has better edge retention than S30V, Elmax(Bohler themselves say as much), and CTS-XHP. I don't have anything in S90V to compare it to, but given that the BM 755 MPR is in mass production with the steel(along with more knives in Limited Edition), I'd say the better availability makes up for that:thumbup:.
 
antonio_luiz said:
ya beat me to it - but of the 2 my vote is for the M4 - now appears the preferred bladesteel for BSI competition
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I'm with Antonio. M4 is my favorite steel these days. ZDP-189 is great and can take a high hardness and a very thin edge - making great "slicers". But M4 is a much better compromise between edge holding and toughness.

TedP
 
This is the best comparison I've seen, but still not comprehensive. Well worth a look and maybe a little surprising:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope

Edit: Just saw that Sonnydaze beat me to it. Oh well, it's worth posting twice. Also, it can't be stressed enough how much difference the heat treat makes. Two knives from different makers that have the same steel can perform VERY differently.
 
I was so confused when reading this thread, and then I realized it was over two years old. Rev Devil had ZDP-189 (along with M4), and I thought, he knows better than that. Anyway Jim's thread is awesome, but I think 15V and S125V which was mentioned early on is still one of the top dogs in pure edge retention. Not too practical, but you would expect something that is truly pushing the upper limits of what we know now to be a major compromise.
 
Knives dull by different mechanisms. Different steel/heat treat combinations better resist dulling by those different mechanisms. Without specifics of what type of usage we're talking about, any discussion of "edge holding" is pointless.
 
D2, D3 (Ivan Campos uses D3 occasionally), S30V, S35Vn and VG-10 seem pretty close. Overall I'd give the edge (sorry:D) to D3; I can chop a 2 x 4 in half with my American Standard Tanto from Ivan Campos (1/4" thick blade, 35 degree chisel edge) and still shave with it. Among high carbon steels I find that 52100 takes the best edge.
 
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From the steels I have tested it would be CPM S110V, CPM 10V, and K294 all at optimal hardness of 64-65 RC, in Customs...
 
I would think CPM-REX-121 would be up there with optimum ht- same with k390, 10v and s110v. i think Maxamet will be up there, its not out on any knives yet. Will be on one of the new kershaws, cant remember the model No.
 
curryman86 said:
Has anyone had any experience with M2 steel?
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M2 holds a verygood edge IME. I have only used it in my home made knives, but it was ahead of everything Ihad tested at the time, vg10, 425M, s60v, 440c, 154cm, O1, and 8cr13mov.
 
According to Knives Illustrated in October of 2010, Bob Dozier ground six knives out six different steels. All steels were ground from 0.125" stock and were each heat treated to 60-61 Rockwell. The test was cutting cards comprised of 5% silica with 50 newtons of force applied over a 40mm cutting stroke measured at 50mm/second. The results are as follows:

STEEL # OF CARDS
10V 1044
S60V 1030
S90V 1014
3V 682
S30V 541
154CM 468
 
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M.FREEZE said:
According to Knives Illustrated in October of 2010, Bob Dozier ground six knives out six different steels. All steels were ground from 0.125" stock and were each heat treated to 60-61 Rockwell. The test was cutting cards comprised of 5% silica with 50 newtons of force applied over a 40mm cutting stroke measured at 50mm/second. The results are as follows:

STEEL # OF CARDS
10V 1044
S60V 1030
S90V 1014
3V 682
S30V 541
154CM 468
Click to expand...


The hardness is low for 10V.....
 
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