Supersteels. Do we really need 'em?

old Marine said:
I'm a fan of the modern steels like S30V, 154CM, etc. They just seem to hold an edge so much longer. If you've ever cleaned, skinned and quartered a large bull elk, I'm sure you can relate. Years ago I would have to carry a sharping stone in my pack with the old steels but no longer needed with these new steels.
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I'm a fan of such steels too! I'm just trying to say, that steels like s30v/154cm/vg10 are more than welcome, but much more extreme materials like maxamet, cruwear etc. not. At least not when you're don't need to cut hundrets of cardboxes everyday, because for sure I don't need to. ususally I'm preparing food, peeling apples etc. Well, sometimes I even go hunt and my custom knife made out 52100 heat treated to 61 hrc makes all the job without any problems and I don't have to sharpen it on the spot. And boars, which we usually shoot have tons of sand among hackles so field dressing em is not an easy task for any knife.
 
singularity35 said:
That's my sig line.
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Thank you for the correction.
22-rimfire said:
Hell no. But we need chicken. :D

On steels (blades), I like choices. I'm also pretty happy with the medium grade steels that were considered super steels not so long ago.
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Insipid Moniker said:
Despite the fact that our preferences may differ, I think we're largely on the same page. For me, super steels aren't a necessity but more, to steal (steel? ;)) a term from gaming, a quality of life improvement. I cut loads of cardboard and resharpening in the middle of a task never fails to annoy me. I much prefer to sit down and sharpen while I'm relaxed and in a place to take pride in my handiwork rather than feel pressure to get an edge back on right now so I can finish the task at hand.
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I'm so happy with them right now that I sold all my knives which were made of premium supersteels. S110V spyderco paramili, s90v benchmade 940-1 osborne, zdp189 dragonfly, custom from a polish knifemaker from vanadis 75, another custom in rex121, m4 mili...those are just examples, I had many many more. (Yes, I was spending thousands of bucks per year on knives) Yes, I sold them all, due to lack of opportunites to benefit for such high grade steels. I never have or had to cut high abrasive materials. I mostly use my knifes for preparing food, cutting cloth, strings, opening packs with bottles. Since years I hadn't the opportunity to test full edge retention potential of any of my premium steel knives. I was sharpening already sharp knives because of boredom. In my case all of those fantastic materials were just a gear masturbation.
"IN MY CASE" - please keep this in mind before getting offended.
 
DukeNukem1977 said:
Thank you for the correction.



I'm so happy with them right now that I sold all my knives which were made of premium supersteels. S110V spyderco paramili, s90v benchmade 940-1 osborne, zdp189 dragonfly, custom from a polish knifemaker from vanadis 75, another custom in rex121, m4 mili...those are just examples, I had many many more. (Yes, I was spending thousands of bucks per year on knives) Yes, I sold them all, due to lack of opportunites to benefit for such high grade steels. I never have or had to cut high abrasive materials. I mostly use my knifes for preparing food, cutting cloth, strings, opening packs with bottles. Since years I hadn't the opportunity to test full edge retention potential of any of my premium steel knives. I was sharpening already sharp knives because of boredom. In my case all of those fantastic materials were just a gear masturbation.
"IN MY CASE" - please keep this in mind before getting offended.
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Not offended at all! In fact, you've somewhat described what I've done with my outdoor knives. I find high end steels very useful in my folders, but when hiking and camping a Becker in 1095cv, Buck in 420HC or Condor in 1075 is more than enough for my needs.

As aficionados, I think we're all prone to somewhat overbuying our needs.
 
The other day the bluntness creeped up on me on my 8cr knife. I couldn't remember the reason this would even happen. I didn't seem to cut anything much with it.
This never happened to me with my premo steels... I guess I'm just spoiled :)
 
I agree with most of these comments, although i do like the super steels, as they hold an edge better IMHO. There is nothing wrong with medium grade steels. I was given a Solingen steel hunting knife by Coast Cutlery by my dad when I first started hunting big game. I still have it and ALWAYS carry it it my pack (nostalgia maybe) but before all the pack saws we have today. We used to cut through the pelvic bone when cleaning an animal by hammering the knife blade with a large rock. Worked very well. This old knife has been pounded through many an animal and there are NO nicks, cracks or chips in the blade. It would require sharpening sometimes when working an elk however.
 
Some steels that are "fashionable" now - will be forgotten in 5-10 years. However, ever so often come along steels that stand the test of time because they are well balanced and offer great performance. Steels like Aogami Super, M390, K390, CPM 3V, ZDP 189 are a joy to own, use and maintain.
 
ridnovir said:
Some steels that are "fashionable" now - will be forgotten in 5-10 years. However, ever so often come along steels that stand the test of time because they are well balanced and offer great performance. Steels like Aogami Super, M390, K390, CPM 3V, ZDP 189 are a joy to own, use and maintain.
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its unfortunate, but steel thats been used 10+ years ago is still used today. heck some of those super steel options have been around for 30 years now and are just starting to be used in mass production knives.
 
Mo2 said:
its unfortunate, but steel thats been used 10+ years ago is still used today. heck some of those super steel options have been around for 30 years now and are just starting to be used in mass production knives.
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Would steels like M390, ZDP189, and K390 have become more in use without better sharpening tools? Maybe even more wear resistant steels will become more popular if even better sharpening tools become available.
 
Diamond sharpening stones have been around for a long time. Even SiC can sharpen some of those high carbide steel without much trouble.
 
singularity35 said:
Would steels like M390, ZDP189, and K390 have become more in use without better sharpening tools? Maybe even more wear resistant steels will become more popular if even better sharpening tools become available.
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Good point.
 
I think the people who benefit the most from super steels (and this is my opinion and in no way meant to hurt feelers) are the people who only casually use their knives. They want that edge to remain sharp for the 5-10 times a month they actually cut more than the tape on a box or open a letter.

I also think some people over react to some great steels, like 154cm and aus8. Sometimes the people I see hating on certain steels I swear have never actually used them and are just regurgitating opinions they read somewhere as fact.

As far as my preference? I still carry aus8 and 154cm knives, but my ultimate favorite is sleipner. It gets the heavy tasks, and when it finally dulls, it gets sharp very quickly again. I also like 1095 as well.

Also, stropping is your best friend when using higher end AND lower end steels. I don't know why people don't do it more often, it's not rocket science.
 
Well , I do not know if this is super steel but after a month in the kitchen simple refuses to blunt .... and its VERY stainless :) HSS-E or M35 steel 67 Hrc and 1.8mm thick on spine :D

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"Well , I do not know if this is super steel but after a month in the kitchen simple refuses to blunt .... and its VERY stainless :) HSS-E or M35 steel 67 Hrc and 1.8mm thick on spine"

Pretty super, yes. :)

It's M2 with 5% cobalt added. It's probably close to M4 and Spyderco's HAP 40 . Run at full hardness like that it should cut and slice a bunch.

Joe
 
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