the best and the worse steel types ?

[pedalinbob]

Would it be OT to ask why there has been no discussion of geometry? Any really good maker can take 440A and make it out-perform 75-80% of the knives on the market with the top 3-4 steels listed.

An excellent question.
I guess they are trying to provide a control for the discussion (assume the same geometry for each steel). This is definitely tricky, because there could very well be a synergy between a specific steel and a specific geometry.
This would make for an interesting study.

Personally, I like steels that strike a middle-of-the-road balance: reasonably hard/tough, easier to sharpen, etc.
This is probably why I like SAK steel. It does dull kinda fast, but it sharpens easily, and (I believe) the geometry allows it to cut for some time even after being deemed "dull."
I do admit that I would like the steel to keep an edge a bit longer--and I hear 13C26 might fit this desire.

Where on these lists would the SAK steel fall? Isn't it a step below 13C26, being similar to 12C27 (or something like that)?