The choice between S30V or 420HC.

[sunandsteel]

Is the S30V blade alot of hype? If given the choice between s30v or 420hc, which would you go with? I have a 420hc blade on my Buck 501 and it seems to stay sharp long and it's easy to sharpen. Would I be gaining anything by choosing the s30v instead?

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

Yes, lots of wear resistance at the expense of being a bit harder to sharpen. Look up the thread on edge retention testing. There's dozens of pages talking about the different steels.

 

[EChoil]

Only longer between sharpenings, which will be more difficult, and increased re-sale.

 

[chiral.grolim]

Is the S30V blade alot of hype? If given the choice between s30v or 420hc, which would you go with? I have a 420hc blade on my Buck 501 and it seems to stay sharp long and it's easy to sharpen. Would I be gaining anything by choosing the s30v instead?

Yes & no. S30V is significantly more wear-resistant than 420HC at similar hardness cutting abrasive media, while maintaining similar toughness and corrosion resistance... but it also tends to be much more expensive and, as was mentioned, if you don't sharpen with diamonds or silicon-carbide abrasive, it can be more challenging (frustrating) to sharpen.

If your use of 420HC provides what you need in edge-retention and is easy for you to maintain :thumbup::thumbup: I wouldn't rush out to buy the same knife in a more expensive steel if you are unlikely to notice the benefits.
That typed, if you DO cut abrasive material regularly with said knife, then you may note a substantial advantage by switching.
Alternatively, you could alter (thin-down, use a coarse finish, etc.) the edge geometry of the 420HC knife to improve its cutting performance to match that of an S30V blade. The risk there is that you weaken the knife against other stresses and shorten its longevity. *shrug* It's a trade-off.