Tired of supersteels

Never! My Wicked Edge WE130 can handle just about any blade. I could chain two or three WE vises to sharpen swords if I needed to.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
So, using this logic, the softer the steel, the better because those steels are easiest to sharpen. Maybe someone will make a blade out of lead because you can strop it on a paper towel. I'll stick with 20CV, CPM 154, etc.
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Oh come on that's a logical fallacy if I've ever seen one, maybe you should just use a ceramic or obsidian knife because you really value edge retention and hate sharpening. You see how absurd and non productive that comment is?
 
To me, Sxx series is super steel. Why not use steel like 14c28n, LC200n, or 420HC? Why not split the diff and use easier to sharpen tool steels? Cruwear would be great for you. I prefer carbon "super-steels" like K390, M4, Cruwear, etc. to stainless steels that I perceive could be brittle..

For some reason, 20cv and M390 scare me like Maxamet to use for anything but light work, and I associate it with "bland modernity" (I know, weird for a steel.)
I own a UTX-75 in M390 and a 20cv Yojimbo. Maybe I should cut for a week with 20cv and a week with Cruwear, same knife (Yo2) and see how the difference is.
 
I'm definitely not a steel snob. My absolute favorite, most-used, and badly beaten blades are made of 420HC, AUS-8, 1095, 1095 Cro-Van, 5160, 52100, 80CrV2, and the like...definitely not a "Who's Who" of super steels.

However, I am MADLY in love with one super steel, and that's 3V. Even with the most rudimentary of sharpening systems, it takes and holds a great edge, is stupid tough, and is the most corrosion resistant "tool steel" that I have ever encountered.

If you don't yet own a blade in 3V, you should rush-out and get one, even if you have to take a "Payday" loan to get it done. (*in my very humble opinion)


Your mileage may vary.
 
Easy to sharpen = easy to dull.

diamond sharpener + skill = quicker, better, even super steels.

I read one post that said something about taking 45 minutes to sharpen 20cv.
With my diamond sharpener it’s usually 2-3 minutes unless im reprofiling a chip or damaged edge but still doesn’t take but maybe 15 minutes to reset a damaged edge.

I have seen some guys trying to use a diamond plate like a regular stone and using to much pressure which only pops the diamonds off. Diamond sharpeners only need light pressure because the hard diamonds cut much faster than traditional stone.
 
Alone said:
3V.
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The added toughness is worth paying a premium for me on large blade, hard use type , fixed . :cool:

I hate having a knife break , when I need it most .

Super edge retention is not worth it for me , so long as I have the means to sharpen freehand .

Super retention with corrosion resistance may be worth it for special uses , but so far H1 has sufficed for me .

Sweet spot for folders is XHP and S35VN type balanced steels , IMO .

Many other steel types give decent performance and value , at a great price .

No need to break the bank , IMO . ;)
 
DocJD said:
The added toughness is worth paying a premium for me on large blade, hard use type , fixed . :cool:

I hate having a knife break , when I need it most .

Super edge retention is not worth it for me , so long as I have the means to sharpen freehand .

Super retention with corrosion resistance may be worth it for special uses , but so far H1 has sufficed for me .

Sweet spot for folders is XHP and S35VN type balanced steels , IMO .

Many other steel types give decent performance and value , at a great price .

No need to break the bank , IMO . ;)
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For fixed blades I agree, I want toughness.

For my 3.25 inch edc blade I’m not concerned with toughness because I simply don’t put that kind of force on the blade so for small folders I prefer edge retention with good heat treatment and tempering.
 
dirc said:
wharn with easy to sharpen steel which is still good all around? - easy...
get a kershaw leek in 14c28n
(it's my most often carried edc)
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Thank you for the recommendation. That was actually one that I was considering for this for sure. The Leeks a fantastic knife.
 
So I've been carrying my knives for a month at a time and I've been at deferente ends of the spectrum with steels. Last month it was ZDP-189 at 67 hrc and this month is NitroV. I have found that to keep ultimate sharpness the NitroV has to be touched up a bit more but it's still very fast, a couple of swipes on ceramic. But the difference in steels isn't as much as I thought it would be to be honest.

I think the major thing is that I never run my knives down to dull. If I ran them until they wouldn't cut paper one of them would for sure cut for longer but I never go that long without touching them up.
 
AR-RPM9 is a supersteel too. The name super steel is very misleading, but good marketing. I'm not going to throw out my A2 knife because it isn't supersteel. Some knives give me steel choices and some don't. Would I choose a supersteel over a crucible steel? It depends on the options for both types of steel and what I'm going to use it for. Would I love to own me some Magnacut steel? Of course I would. Do I occasionally use some pretty soft steel? Yes.

Do I carry knife supersteel as a status symbol? No. Carry what you like and know that pretty much nobody else cares. I mean sure, that bank teller might seem keenly interested in listening to you go on about that Carothers Kephart you just pulled out, but she's really just buying time for the police to arrive. That goes for watches too. Unless you're sporting a Rolex, nobody but a rare horology nut is going to appreciate what you're wearing and even then the first thing you'll get asked is if it's a fake. There aren't a lot of knife connoisseurs for you to stumble into in the real world, outside of this forum, knife shows, and knife stores (depending on who is working there). Just carry, collect, and use what you like.
 
I can get along fine with any steel, really. If a knife comes with an "older" softer steel, I'm cool with that as long as the price reflects it. If a knife comes in at a premium but sports a super steel, I'll pay for it. I know there is a benefit and I have the diamond stones and the skill to keep them sharp.

For me, Cruwear is my current new favorite. It gets sharp and stays sharp. For a pocket knife, I prefer Cruwear or any of the newer alphabet super steels that I can't keep straight. For a big knife that is going to take abuse, I still gravitate toward plain ol' carbon variations.
 
kafolarbear said:
Oh come on that's a logical fallacy if I've ever seen one, maybe you should just use a ceramic or obsidian knife because you really value edge retention and hate sharpening. You see how absurd and non productive that comment is?
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So, what's my logical fallacy? Kinda curious.
 
I agree ... cruwear is a supersteel I can get along with well. One of my favorite steels to have.
 
Firstly, I think the term “super steel” has changed as time passed by. For example at one point in time it was ATS-34 and now the new hotness is Magnacut. The goal post has moved as technology has progressed. I don’t consider anything S30V and below to be a super steel these days. My personal opinion of course.

I use my knives regularly and I’ve found that I much prefer ease of sharpening to ridiculous edge retention. It’s so much easier to fix damage and so quick to get sharp. I currently own only nine knives after many years of collecting and selling. Of those nine, four of them are 154CM, three are S30V, and the remaining two are S45VN and Chad Nichols Damascus. All are super easy to sharpen and all take a good enough edge for my needs.

ETA: I’m not the biggest fan of the S45VN knife, but it is still reasonably easy to sharpen and maintain. To be honest, I’d much prefer S30V in that knife but that’s not an option
 
I'd say all in all my favorite steel so far has been s30v (and it's cousins). It could definitely be though that it's just the most common out of my user knives and I've been carrying it for the last decade and have a lot of fond memories with my knives from that period. It's just a fun steel to use. It holds an edge very nicely in my opinion, and when it comes time to touch it up, I can throw a microbevel on it in 30 seconds, or sharpen it the traditional way which doesn't take too long either. I suppose that it's going to suck reprofiling no matter what steel it is, unless reprofiling is your thing.
 
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