Super Steel Spin...

Boxer .45

Boxer .45

Joined
Jan 11, 2015
Messages
2,575
Short question. Does anyone elses head spin with all of the super steels out there? I mean I know there are charts and explications, but without personal experience...well I'm no metallurgy expert. Sure I understand qualities of many steels that are more common, A2 and 3V, etc, but with all of these numbers and codes and nicknames and damasteel, and....whew.:onthego:
 
It's just like anything else...if you are into it, you're into it. If you aren't, you aren't.

Just like something like slipjoint patterns, or the "finer" details of any hobby or interest.

If you don't care, you don't care about the lingo.
 
There is no substitute for personal experience. There's no predicting whether or not you will benefit from a super steel, of a specific thickness, with a specific grind, with a specific heat treat, for your specific needs. You just have to try some and make your mind up.
 
For me steel is a pride of ownership thing. I'm not saying its meritless. As I buy knives with premium steel often. But aside from when I'm at a sharpener I wouldn't be able to tell you a difference. And If I tried it would probably all be in my head. But even if its more of a placebo I do take pride in premium steel and out of mostly prejudice I wont carry things under 440c. Not that I have anything against lesser steels. But its kinda like when you buy your first high end watch with a premium mechanical movement. Its hard to go back to a quartz fashion watch even if they both keep time equally.
 
I like the increased performance of some of the less common steels, I'm carrying M4 today. But there are so many different numbers and letters that it is hard to keep track of what is what. I think some unscrupulous manufacturers play on this by offering some version of a butter knife steel with numerical designations and say it is a super steel.
 
HSS steel are very good choice .But , question is why there are not many knives from this steel by knifemaker , not company ? I know they have a complicated HT process , but........................ ?
 
I would be happy if all my knives were 3V and M390. But, I do really like some others like PD1, K390, M4, and Stellite. It made my head spin when I first began looking at steels and their compositions. Now I know you have to choose the right steel/metal for the job, and it is not just about one thing, like edge retention or stain resistance.
 
ATJ999 said:
I would be happy if all my knives were 3V and M390.
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My two favorites as well and a definite weakness when I see them on the exchange.
Counter-intuitive to a point seeing as I'll never wear out a knife in either of these steels yet I can't seem to buy enough of them.
Fun though to experience different makers, grinds, and heat treats on the same steel.
 
I have fun when I can test different steels. I like ELMAX based on how easily I could sharpen it and how it didn't chip when I weeded a gravel driveway. I can't tell a difference between s30V and s35VN, but I can tell that they hold an edge better than my INFI and A2. I haven't chipped 154CM, but I do need to strop it much more often than my M390, and I have dinged a chip in 20CV, but it is extremely thin behind the edge and I hit a screw-thread. Noticing the little differences is part of the hobby for me.
 
For simplicity I use 4 categories. Alloy composition determines the category.
Low alloy carbon
High alloy carbon
Low alloy stainless
High alloy stainless
Of course, there are some differences inside the categories, some overlap between them, and intangibles like heat treat, but so far it's been generally reliable in terms of what I can expect.
 
marcinek said:
It's just like anything else...if you are into it, you're into it. If you aren't, you aren't.

Just like something like slipjoint patterns, or the "finer" details of any hobby or interest.

If you don't care, you don't care about the lingo.
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I never said I didn't care, but there are so many with so many variables. I like guns and I know a lot as well as a lot about various calibers, but there are so many guns and calibers and weights, and charges, and barrel twists and velocities and muzzle energy vs ft lbs and many cross over one another depending that unless you are intimately familiar with a few favorites there is no way you can keep up with it all. Especially since it's continually progressing.

Knives are a lot like that in so many ways, it's not just about the metallurgy, but how it is ground and heat treated, easyness tosharpen and rust resistant or not, impact durability vs cutting capabilities, etc and so many of it crosses over as well. Thats not even mentioning scales or complementary metals and springs-screws, and general design.

I don't claim to know it all or even half really, likely never will with the progression of the industry. I know whats good and what I consider minimum to get by and I can tell quality and design when I see it, I also have my favorite mfgs like anyone.

Still it's enough to make my head hurt abd often I can get bored trying to figure it all out or what I would consider perfect. I've been into knives most of my life, I can only imagine someone fresh in the door how it could be extremely overwhelming. It's no wonder so many just go straight to asking the more experienced "whats a good knife" and just taking a chance, it's hard to blame them really.
 
I forget how it goes exactly but someone on the forums here told me years ago :

"Edge retention , corrosion resistance and toughness , pick two".

And from my experience he was spot on. Of course , everything depends on what the intended purpose of the knife/steel in question is. For me (overall) , edge retention and corrosion resistance are of the utmost importance.

So I have my favorites based on that. However , Cruwear has pleasantly surprised me. I thought for sure being used in a maritime environment would have brought about some rust or discoloration. But so far it's been spotless and perfect. And it keeps a hell of an edge too.

But personally , I really like all the different steels available. As long as I have a good stainless steel with proper HT , I'm happy.
 
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Your question was, "does anyone's head spin?" For me, no. I don't worry or think that much about it. I tend to think about the knife steel in broad categories. Carbon or stainless, hard or soft, hard carbides or not. Mainly so I'll know how to sharpen the blade.
 
PURPLEDC said:
For me steel is a pride of ownership thing. But even if its more of a placebo I do take pride in premium steel and out of mostly prejudice I wont carry things under 440c.

Sonnydaze: I'm much like this, generally a very casual user with M390, 3v, or m4.
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PURPLEDC: But its kinda like when you buy your first high end watch with a premium mechanical movement. Its hard to go back to a quartz fashion watch even if they both keep time equally.
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Sonnydaze: But THIS is NOT me. I wore very accurate day/date watches out of necessity in my job, for many yrs. Now retired. I bought a collector quality Illinois Railroad watch...accurate to 30 sec a week, although wouldn't compare in accuracy to a $20 quartz watch these days. No day/date for me any more. Don't care. I was anal when I first bought it two yrs ago...recorded variation from NIST constantly...kept a log. NOW? Heck, no. It keeps time within a few minutes per week. And that's just fine with me. It's a gorgeous rose gold 1927 railroad watch; I love it....AND...I carry it in my Levi's WATCH POCKET...which is sometimes called a change pocket by the younger folks who haven't been there. :)

 
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