Super steel opinions

There's no doubt that super steels take more time to shapen and they definitely hold a sharp edge longer. You do better have diamond sharpeners Otherwise it takes even longer time. The fastest way to sharpen is free hand using diamond stones - should take no more than 10 minutes to sharpen a very dull folder of super steel (M390, k390, etc) to clean shaving; add a bit more time if you want a highly polished edge.
 
Vlade said:
Thanks in advance fellas what is your take on super steels?
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Like spices, sometimes I crave more than salt & pepper.

I always carry more than one knife.

I want variety in the steel options.

That said, my first two knives are from Buck. I love their steel. I started to crave other steels once I realized they exist.
 
Cruware (sp?) sounds like something that goes on your feet and Magna (sp?) sounds like something Donald Trump concocted. Just my humble opinion, of course. I like less expensive blades that can be sharpen without too much trouble.
 
I am very much looking forward to sharpening my S390 Biryukov. ;)

Good thing the edge retention is longer than my life expectancy!🤣
 
K.O.D. said:
I am very much looking forward to sharpening my S390 Biryukov. ;)

Good thing the edge retention is longer than my life expectancy!🤣
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Yeah and they say this is our golden years. Before I sharpen anything else I've got to get a hold of work sharp and get some new diamond Stones. I had no idea they wear out. But I learned that on this forum yesterday. Then perhaps I'll be able to get a decent edge on my 20cv knife. But if my life expectancy is the same as the edge retention of 20 CV I'd be dead already. I'm not too impressed with it. Just my personal opinion. I will in the future try to avoid the expensive top-tier steels. My personality is I get aggravated pretty easily. It's not worth it so I'll stay with less expensive metal that's easier to work with. Of course this is my fault because I do not have the skills to properly maintain the better steels
 
I have zero problems sharpening super steels using diamond or Japanese stones with the TSPROF KO3, and some times free hand with the large stones with the bigger kitchen knives
 
I don't mind super steels, but my knife usage generally doesn't show the need.

I open the mail, cut up the apple, trim a couple Irish Pennants, sharpen the carpenter pencil, cut the tape on the Amazon shipment... Hard use is rare on my stuff.

So I like my 1095 and AUS-8 stuff just fine, I really like VG-10 and 420HC as well. CPM-154 is about as "super" as I need really. I can get all of these really sharp really easily.

I think that affordability and ease of sharpening are pretty "super" characteristics, actually.
 
I like simple alloy steels for their worry free ease of maintenance. But I also like high alloy steels for the historically unparalleled performance attributes they can offer, and with the right knowledge and tools, they are also simple enough to maintain. Good talk everyone, let's have it again in a couple weeks.
 
I’ve mentioned in other threads like this before that I was disappointed when I first got my manix 2 in m4. It wasn’t the never sharpen it again steel like I believed it was. I probably never clarified that m4 is still my favorite steel to use. Easy to sharpen and would hold an edge all day at work (previously worked a job where I pretty much cut dirty/nasty/thick cardboard all day). A 2-3 passes per side on my 600grit DMT stone every morning was all i needed to do to get a shaving edge again.

I unfortunately don’t get to cut all that cardboard every day anymore… my manix is retired for now. It gets to cut the recycling cardboard and help me out in the garage on my weekends though.

I will say that my ZDP caly 3.5 did genuinely surprise me. I expected the hype I read around ZDP to also not meet my expectations. When I used my blue DMT (320 grit I believe) it actually did much better than my manix 2. I could sharpen every other morning before work instead of every morning. My manix was just more comfortable to cut all that cardboard with so I didn’t mind sharpening every morning.

My traditionals get much more pocket time now, sharpening isn’t something I even think about with them. Use a coffee mug while I wait for my coffee and don’t even think about it.

Supersteels can be handy when you need them
 
Modernflame said:
Last week I reprofiled a Sebenza in Magnacut @ 63+ hrc. This involves flattening the factory convex edge into a V shape on a fixed angle system. I did not want the deep scratches left by my low grit stones, so I used a medium grit then strops. The whole job took under 20 minutes including set up and take down. Next time I get it in the jig, resharpening will take much less time. Five minutes?
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I have had a similar experience with Magnacut. Cutting it to a V took about 1/2 hour (from 100 to 600g diamond) on a WE. Yesterday I touched it up for the first time after a pile of cardboard. Mounting it and a few swipes of 600g followed with a few swipes of leather did the trick. Took about 5 min.

Hair popping sharp. Not hair scraping sharp.
 
jacobconroy75 said:
I have had a similar experience with Magnacut. Cutting it to a V took about 1/2 hour (from 100 to 600g diamond) on a WE. Yesterday I touched it up for the first time after a pile of cardboard. Mounting it and a few swipes of 600g followed with a few swipes of leather did the trick. Took about 5 min.

Hair popping sharp. Not hair scraping sharp.
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Yes! That's how it's done!
 
Vlade said:
The thick 1 in nylon rope the kind that's yellow. I had to cut a bunch of it for the hurricane season. I had to strap down my roof because I didn't want it to blow off again. It's thousands to fix
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Poly rope is tough, but not tough enough to dull super steel as if it were budget (420HC) steel, assuming they both start out sharp.

Side note: you may want to keep a fully serrated knife around for that use; it sounds like something you go through routinely.
 
I've got a couple of 3V knives that are incredibly sharp and seem to stay that way very well.
 
I have a Worksharp Fixed Angle with the full set of diamond stones, and it sharpens even S90V just fine. The hardest steel by far to sharpen was my Reate Torrent in M390, but other "high end" steels like Vanax only took a few minutes to bring to razor.

In my experience, higher end steels, when properly treated, do indeed provide a real upgrade over "budget" offerings, which have their place. My Kunwu Tao (recently sold), literally held a working edge for two years of light use.

So I trust the M390 from Reate, the Vanax and M390 from Kunwu, and prefer to use them over lower alloy steels.
 
I like the super steels, I like the idea of having a steel that improves the performance of the knife. There are downsides such as initial cost and difficulty in sharpening. I have the equipment to sharpen the steel and it takes longer to sharpen, I just do it less frequently.
The knives that I carry and use range from D2 to K390. In reality when I'm using them I can't tell the difference. I would probably be fine buying the base knife models in S30V.
 
Smaug said:
Poly rope is tough, but not tough enough to dull super steel as if it were budget (420HC) steel, assuming they both start out sharp.

Side note: you may want to keep a fully serrated knife around for that use; it sounds like something you go through routinely.
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I thought of that but then I also thought of what a p i t a they are to sharpen, they are the worst have you ever tried sharpening a cold steel serrated knife? Damn near impossible. Even with the special lansky ceramic sharpener that they make.
 
whereismyknife said:
I love super steels, but a well heat treated D2 is enough for me on a daily basis. As an EDC, there is no super steel that the combination of Fallkniven dc4 and a good D2 cannot beat. D2 has well above average edge retention. You can get it to razor sharpness in two minutes with Dc4.
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People love to hate D2, but I agree that it can have really good edge retention. Of course the heat treats can be all over the place with the no-name brands, but I was surprised how well my Ontario Rat held up during normal EDC. It barely even got any corrosion spots…and I wasn’t even oiling it ….way better in the corrosion department than M4. Edge retention seems quite similar to S35vn, much as I hate to admit it…. I could get by forever with a coated D2 blade that has a good HT
 
I like supersteels.

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