Top blade steels and why

marcinek said:
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CTS-XHP is my favorite steel, followed by CPM-S35VN. Truthfully, the only PM steel I've disliked is S30V.
 
Go to blade HQ and look at their blade steels tab. It's not an exhaustive list, but will give you a general idea. Pick one of those steels out that you think will work for you, and get a knife you think you'd like in that steel.
Then try it out. See how you like it. If you don't like it, sell it, and try something else out in possibly a different steel.
Might turn out to be a tough process, but eventually you'll find a steel and knife that you like.
I bought maybe 7-8 knives before I eventually found M4 steel, which is my personal favorite. I now have been hoarding all knives I can find in M4.
I still buy other steels like maxamet and m390, but I go out of my way for anything M4.
 
Jeremy D Bittler said:
Looking for a list of the top blade steels and why they are good?
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I won't provide a list I'll just ramble on endlessly about one steel. My fave.
I have some K390 coming (maybe tomorrow ! ! ! !). From what I have seen in vids and posts it may just surpass my fave. I'll believe it when I see it.
Until then you might want to look at this thread click here. :)

and my thoughts as promised (from that thread) :
BEGIN QUOTE :
As far as resistance to side loading which is key in my requirements of super steel knives I find M4 to be my favorite partly because of the superior polished edge this steel can support as apposed to my least favorite being S110V which not only distorts fairly quickly from this side loading but can't support a polished shavey, carvy, edge to save it's life. Sure S110V cuts rope for ever using a balanced linear sawing motion but start putting side loading on it in a carving motion, and I'm talking carving materials that are more clingy and abrasive than wood and the M4 makes most everything else look silly in short order and then goes on to cut that material a few times a day for weeks without sharpening.

M4 !
Every thing else is just a wannabe in my view.
I love my M4 knives so much I haven't even attempted the metal deburing thing with them. [ I referred to that earlier in the thread; I use CTS-XHP for carving on steel ;)]
I would be more inclined to use one of my 3V knives but they are fixed blades so rather out side this discussion though the CTS-XHP folder does the job flawlessly so that is where I stopped looking at alloys for this purpose.

Other qualities ?
I don't need diamonds to sharpen or touch up my M4 ! ! ! !
Sure if I were reprofiling and taking off a significant amount of the blade then I would go for extra coarse diamond.
Thank goodness I can sharpen my M4 with Shapton Glass stones and have had just the most astonishing and gratifying experiences touching up this world beater steel with Spyderco ceramic Triangle Rods. We are talking tree topping after a couple weeks of cutting difficult punishing and abrasive hard rubber products that the S110V couldn't cope with as well and most defiantly the S110V would require diamond abrasive for even a simple touch up. Sure the S110V could be made to seem sharp with other sharpening media but the edge would not be nearly as durable as an edge in the same steel off diamonds.
END QUOTE

so yeah . . . M4 is my dream alloy. I could not ask for a better blade steel.
 
In my opinion there is no “top blade steel”.

They all have their place.

An example is car tires. Some are good in snow or mud but perform poorly at the track. It’s all dependent on what characteristics you are looking for.

If you are looking for higher edge retention, your going to sacrifice performance in other areas such as toughness or ease to of quick sharpening.

CPM-3V and CPM-M4 have a nice balance of edge retention and toughness. You might want to look into these and see what you think.

Are you looking for a good all around pocket knife, or a dedicated cow foot wrap cutter?

Also for what it’s worth, a regular hoof trimming protocol is better for the animal rather than treating lameness with foot and leg wraps. For that I’d recommend getting a quality hoof nippers.
 
Jeremy D Bittler said:
I worked on a dairy farm for 7 years n cutting cow foot wraps I've seen Kershaw last few weeks Letherman last couple months all wont cut paper when done.got so bad I switched to box cutter with easy change blade. So have I seen dull knife no I've used them its painful
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Do you mean the Kershaw knife and Leatherman tool only lasted a few weeks to a couple months, or just the edges on the blades lasted that long? Investing in a good sharpening system and learning to use it properly to maintain your blades is a better option than chasing after some ‘super’ steel you’ll “never” have to sharpen, when in reality, when it DOES need resharpening (like all blades eventually do, if you use them), it’ll be more difficult, especially if you aren’t used to maintaining your knives.

Jim
 
James Y said:
Do you mean the Kershaw knife and Leatherman tool only lasted a few weeks to a couple months, or just the edges on the blades lasted that long? Investing in a good sharpening system and learning to use it properly to maintain your blades is a better option than chasing after some ‘super’ steel you’ll “never” have to sharpen, when in reality, when it DOES need resharpening (like all blades eventually do, if you use them), it’ll be more difficult, especially if you aren’t used to maintaining your knives.

Jim
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Yes but I dont want to have to sharpen every month or two
 
I do'nt gno iff wie nead twoo phriek owt ower wut mait bee a cimpol taipoh. :confused:



:D
 
Shoot, it looks like I spelled "Eye" wrong.
 
I exaggerate slightly, but yeah, he keeps doing that. This has to be at least 5x since he's been creating all these new threads the past 2-3 days. It makes my eyeball twitch.
 
David Mary said:
Naw, I spoke too soon.





I think the evidence suggests that our new friend simply has been experiencing technical difficulties of some kind.

J Jeremy D Bittler , sorry buddy. I hope the typography works out better for you.
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Nope. It has been at least 5x. I twitch each and every time. You're not seeing the ones that have since been corrected once called out. ;) The last one you mentioned, before being fixed:

IMG_4459.jpg

So, yeah... :eek:
 
Jeremy D Bittler said:
Yes but I dont want to have to sharpen every month or two
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Then you should be buying cheap throw away knives.

fishface5 said:
After a month or two of regular "work" use, any knife will need to be sharpened
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^This.

OP, don't take offense but it seems to me you need to spend a bit more time reading and researching on your own before posting more overly general questions. There is lots of information here and the search function is your friend.
 
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