Strider in CPM 154 or S30V?

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Frapiscide

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Aug 26, 2009
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I'm planning on getting a Strider SnG hopefully this month, provided some sales go smoothly. I have the option of either getting it in CPM 154 or S30V so which one do you think would do better for fine edge holding? I don't really need absolute edge retention. For my uses, I don't need to have a working edge that lasts for a really long time, I prefer having that super fine edge for a longer time. I don't really have any experience with CPM 154 or 154CM. My experience with S30V is with a '09 Military and a '10 Paramilitary 2. What I found is that in sharpening, I can't get much of a burr, which makes sharpening slower, since I have to really feel with my finger and nail to find the burr. In use, Spyderdo's S30V can achieve a hair whittling edge in about 15 minutes, but loses that edge after cutting a piece of paper (or at least it feels like that).

This will also be my first mid-tech knife, so is there anything I should expect when the Strider comes in?
 
CPM154 wins in terms of holding a razor edge. S30V holds an excellent working edge for a very long time, but loses its razor edge if you so much as look at it wrong...
 
cpm but not sure anyone still has them in stock. Nice thing about s30v version is you can find them pretty cheap sometimes on the exchange.
 
Striders excels at the HT so it won't really matter.
CPM154, if I had a choice. You will love your SnG.
 
From PC's website on their steels:

"8/26/12 I had a long talk with Duane on steel today. As many Striders are now coming in CPM154v I wanted some clarification. As Duane said S35v, S30v and CPM154v are all a similar steels and they can be worked to enhance, edge holding, wear or toughness. As Striders are for hard use, Strider heat treats to enhance the toughness of their knives. Duane said "if you were to use all three knives together, you would find no difference". If it was done on the standard test they use for cutting they would all be about the same. Now remember while Strider enhances the toughness in these steels another company can hence the edge holding or wear but that is normally done when used as a ball bearing. So in some case you would say that knife "A" does not hold an edge as well as "B", but it broke much easier. Enhance the different abilities in the steel brought out by different heat treating. So in Strider there is no difference in the 3 steels. If Strider does any S35v with a atmosphere of 6 there will be different abilities but that is not something that is normally done and only a few heat treat facilities in the country can do it. You will also pay dearly for it. Duane said he is always willing to talk steel so if you see him at a show have fun! he knows a lot!"
 
154 CM is not better steel than S30V. I dont like either, get something in M390 or Elmax if you want to keep your shaving edge a little longer.
 
I just bought my first Strider (SnG DGG with digicam blade) with S35VN steel.

How does its CPM S35VN compare with the CPM 154 and CPM S30V?

I heard that S35VN and S30V are virtually identical.
 
ericvar101 said:
interesting read, but looks to me like S30V may still have a slight edge due to the higher wear resistance. to me that equates to better edge retention. I am assuming "grindability" equates to, easier to sharpen?
Click to expand...

That's what it says on paper, but remember that blade performance is not one-dimensional. OP asked about fine edge holding. S30V holds a working slightly toothy edge for a very long time
 
I have 2 knives in cpm154 and they could not be much different. The Kirby Lambert has a thin hollow ground blade and takes an extremely sharp edge with little effort. As I have not used this knife, I can't tell how well it holds that edge. The other is a SMF with a rather steep angle. The SMF is tougher to get razor sharp, but it holds a shaving edge for a long time.
 
take back what I said about not in stock, I see them on several sites now. Took the plunge and ordered an SNG coyote brown cpm154 today.
 
Cassull said:
I just bought my first Strider (SnG DGG with digicam blade) with S35VN steel.

How does its CPM S35VN compare with the CPM 154 and CPM S30V?

I heard that S35VN and S30V are virtually identical.
Click to expand...

S35VN is a bit tougher than S30V. But the general consensus is that S30V has higher edge retention. S35VN I easier to sharpen and polish.
 
People put way to much stock in the kind of steel in there knives. Worry more about the skill of the maker, as its a fact that a steel with as little as .2% carbon and little else can be made extremely high
quality. Now I wouldn't buy a knife with "fender" steel, but as long as 60 years ago knives with far inferior steels were being made that could run with the best super steel. Ed Fowler and his 52100 blades are a good example of this. At an open house at Wayne Goddard's shop. Rick Dunkerley tested a forged 52100E blade and it performed within 10% of 440v. Phil Wilson was present and he suggested that a thorough evaluation be done at a metallurgical laboratory. Long story short, the metallurgist had never saw such a fine grained steel and he wondered what kind of steel it was. Rick assured the man that it had started as a virgin 11/2" bar of 52100E. Moral of the story is worry about the skill and knowledge of the maker of your next knife, not wether or not some dummy who tests one example of a steel and has a bad experience, and proceeded to tell the world that its bad steel. These people are the reason that you are worried about which steel to get, they have everyone convinced that there testing is the end all answer. These guys "CTS" should be banned.
 
I ve had nothing but great success with CPM154! Very good steel! Although I find nothing wrong with 30 or 35 either! For me and maybe what I use my knives for I find little difference! You wont be disappointed with a Strider in 154!!
 
CPM154 is easier to sharpen, and easier to sharpen with improvised or readily available sharpening tools. CPM154 and S30V are equally tough, so for field use where a fine edge is necessary and where that fine edge must be easy to recover, I'd advocate CPM154 all the way.
 
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