Thoughts on S30V?

shootist16

shootist16

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I have a S30V knife on the way (thank you Neil Blackwood!)

Initial reports are that this is a wonder steel. It is supposed to be more corrosion resistant than ATS-34 and tougher than A2. If that is the case it sounds like an excellent performer. Realistically what can I expect from this steel? Is it going to be a bear to sharpen?
 
From what I have read S30V will not be as hard to sharpen as some of the other Crucible steels. It does not contain as much Vanadium. It will probably still take a little extra elbow grease to get it sharp though.

I think that what you can expect is an excellent steel that is tougher than other Stainless steels, is very stain resistant and one that will hold an edge incredibly well. The only place where S30V is better than any of the other SS out there is in toughness. It will hold it's own in all the other departments as well. This looks to be an excellent addition to the steels that are used to make knives.
 
Put that with Neil Blackwoods awesome designs and I should have an awesome knife then.
 
Any knife from Neil will be a joy to own. The fact that he is making his fantastic designs in S30V means to me that he is willing to try new things. This steel is starting to get out there a bit. I hope to see more makers using this steel in the future.
 
For those of you who don't frequent the Cris Reeve forum; CRK will be introducing S30V on the Sebenzas in the near future.
Lenny
 
For those of you who don't frequent the Cris Reeve forum; CRK will be introducing S30V on the Sebenzas in the near future.
Click to expand...

I didn't think this had been confirmed yet by CRK :confused:

Matthew
 
My expectation based on the thread in the test and review forum is that S30V will have a little better corrosion resistance and wear resistance than ATS-34, and be almost as tough as A-2. That's a hell of a hard use steel in my opinion. I am thinking of S90V, only tougher and easier to sharpen. Hgaw!

Neil is making me a knife out of the first batch too! I'm a lucky bastid!
 
There has to be some disadvantages. Therte are tradeoffs with everything. Does anyone know what a disadvantage of this steel may be?
 
I should have a camp-knife sized blade coming in fairly soon in S30V, and will try to post my impressions on the steel as soon as I can have some (impressions, that is, on the steel itself as opposed to the knife design). Homina, homina, how---ah... I can't wait.
 
Well, I got Neil's other S30V on the way, so it will be fun to find out how good it is.
 
Iktomi, waiting on new furnace coils, so fairly soon is a good estimation! :D

S30-V has better wear resistance than BG-42, so it is considerably a better edgeholder than ATS-34. I think it is the best balanced stainless for the combo of corrosion resistance, edgeholding and toughness out there right now.
 
Some decent threads on S30V already:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=179217&highlight=s30v

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176554&highlight=s30v

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176510&highlight=s30v

My first S30V knife won't arrive for a few weeks.
Until then, I can only speculate that it will be only slightly harder to sharpen than BG-42 at same hardness, and for sure easier than 420V at same or slightly lower hardness.

I use diamond stones, so the point is somewhat moot to me anyway.
 
Originally posted by Rob Simonich
Iktomi, waiting on new furnace coils, so fairly soon is a good estimation! :D
Click to expand...

DOH!

Oh well, no big deal. I'll still be here waiting eagerly. ;) Definitely worth the wait, I'm sure of that. Hope you had a merry Christmas and happy New Year.
 
Originally posted by shootist16
There has to be some disadvantages. There are tradeoffs with everything. Does anyone know what a disadvantage of this steel may be?
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It's not 3V. :) Seriously, I think S30V will prove to be a fine, probably even a sensational stainless, but I don't see the attraction unless you have circumstances where stainlessness is essential. Otherwise, give me 3V and a bottle of A.G. Russell's Rust Free. :)

Jack
 
S30V is better than other stainless steels in a couple important regards. What gives it a lot of it's toughness is it's fine grain structure, certainly finer than other stainless steels and a some moderate alloy steels like D2. Fine grain makes fine edges. That's what makes 3V such a great cutting steel. S30V may not be all that 3V is, but whatever it's lacking is too subtle for most folks to worry about.

I'll continue to use 154CM because it is a whole lot less expensive to turn into knives, and CPM-3V because it really is the best.

As for being easy to sharpen, I don't think anyone is going to find S30V very easy to sharpen. Tough and wear resistant are not compatible with easy to sharpen.
 
I am useing a S30v blade and my thought on sharpening is it is not bad at all. I have thinned out the edge alot and it really sharpens up nice. very fine grain for a stainless and taks a fantansic edge. I will write more about it after I have played with it more. First empression however is (great stuff). Don't quote me on that yet however :)
 
Originally posted by shootist16
There has to be some disadvantages. Therte are tradeoffs with everything. Does anyone know what a disadvantage of this steel may be?
Click to expand...

Uh, well... disadvantages?

* Harder to sharpen than some other steels.
* Less tough than 3V.
* Not as abrasion resistant as 420V and 10V...won't hold an edge as long in slicing in abrasive stuff (cardboard, rope, wild pig hides).
* Less corrosion resistant than Talonite and Stellite.
* More expensive to purchase than 440C.
* Harder to finish for the maker, so more expensive to finish than 154CM, etc. That is qualitative and dollars.

But, the pros and the cons are all relative... relative to something else.

S30V sounds to be an honest, very balanced improvement overall in performance (edge holding, corrosion resistance, and especially toughess... the triumvirate) over ATS-34/154CM and BG-42, while remaining reasonable to purchase, sharpen, fabricate, and heat treat. That's quite a feat, in my book.

But it's all back to "right steel given a very good heat treat, with the right knife selected for appropriate tasks."
 
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