We are bored with S30V

P2P said:
Hey, I was just trying to be friendly and stoke some conversation. It’s obvious that this is the opinion of a few respected users out there. Looks like I’m pushing boundaries with some of you however.
Click to expand...

REDACTED. [too mean]
 
Last edited:
cashville said:
Sweet app bro!!! Who needs first hand experience when we have charts showing steel compositions. Things like differing manufacturing processes and differing heat treats/hardnesses would have no affect.
If I experience more edge degradation in one steel than another from the same manufacturer, I guess there is not even the slightest possibility that it could be the steel, or something related to the steel.
Click to expand...
You said you were using 2 different knives of course they will feel different ..varying the blades thickness,edge profile and shape etc ....if you want to make a real comparison you use 2 of the same exact knife and there's plenty of those out there...like say 2 pm 2s i doubt you will ever know the difference.
 
Last edited:
When someone from work asks to see one of my knives and asks what steel is the blade made from, I get a little throw up in my mouth when I have to say S30V.:confused:
Hell, most folks I work with think surgical steel is high quality stuff. So, in reality, we’re just a bunch of steel snobs that aren’t satisfied with the superb steels we have. We’re the 1% that determine what the next fad of steel will be. IMO, the major players reads these forums and figure if we can be appeased, the rest of the consumers will be thrilled. That in turn, starts this snowball effect the drives quality and prices up and then we bitch because we can’t get knives at last years prices :rolleyes:

All in all, there’s nothing to turn a nose up at S30V
 
I only own one blade in this steel. Honestly don't have enough experience to comment about it but, I like the knife :)
 
P2P said:
70+ responses in say half a day. Not bad. Why don’t you go color coordinate something.
Click to expand...

Give me time! I'm workin on it...

YVkDPS1.jpg
 
P2P said:
I love it! Honestly bro, I don’t mean to be anyway. You got a lot of cool stuff. I think all the peeps here are cool, even if we are on separate sides of a topic. We all carry bad ass folders.
Click to expand...

Hey, it's cool, I'm not trying to be an ass either. I don't want to just buy S30V either, I'm a steel nerd, no question. I guess I just think it makes sense as to why some companies use it as their base steel in popular models. But I'd love to see more XHP and CPM 154 in that role, as I do enjoy their attributes more as well.
 


I need more Spyderco M4 in my life.
Para 3 M4
An affordable para 2 in M4, time for another batch.
 
halden.doerge said:
I was bummed that Spyderco went from M4 to S30V on the Mantra 3 that they announced at Shot Show.
Click to expand...
Same here.
My guess is lack of availability? or a reply to M4 patina complaints from the less than steel fanatics that we are around here.
 
I'll be honest, when I first looked up the spyderco shaman, I was disappointed to see s30v (same thing happened with the Manix 2 XL), so I guess it has become a slight turnoff for me. It sounds crazy, as it is a revolutionary knife steel. I do feel it was only a matter of time that it fell behind somewhat, with steels such as cts hxp and s35vn often outperforming s30v in cutting tests while being tougher and easier to sharpen. S30V also tends to go from 10/10 sharpness to 9/10 rather quickly, so despite its ability to maintain the 9/10 sharpness impressively, this can be an issue to knife enthusiasts. And I believe if you're buying a blade in s30v, you're a bit of a knife enthusiast as it is.

I hope that we see soon see a growth in the availability of super steels. Prices would eventually go down if spyderco wasn't the only company offering such a wide selection in blade material. I would love to see an abundance of maxamet, 15v, 10v, zpd 189, rex 121, k390, cpm m4, M390/20cv, etc. in the market. I believe if certain companies that focus on producing budget knives would go out on a limb and do a a few sprint runs of higher quality steels, the "knife enthusiast" audience would grow. I see gerber is offering s30v now (not in just the gator premium), which helps. Buck had a Marksman in s90v I believe too. I also like the Kershaw dividend and link in m390. More of this would be great. It causes more casual "knife guys" to say "DOUBLE THE PRICE? what's so special about this M390 stuff?" ....and a few google searches later, curiosity dictates a swift "add to cart" and a blade steel enthusiast is born. Sprint runs never have trouble selling anyway.
 
I have some very good experience with s30v from Benchmade and ZT
I have pretty hard used it on cardboard and wood without any issues and I have never had to deal with any rust an these blades

For sure their is nothing fancy about it but I like it when it is properly done ;)

I am more bored with s35vn, CRK do it well but I havn’t Been impressed by it at other manufacturers
Sometime I would prefer a good s30v blade at a cheaper price rather than some s35vn blade which an higher cost a not much more value for my use

The steels that I like and for which I can pay more will be M390, 20cv, s110v or s90v for exemple

But nothing wrong with s30v for me
 
Didn't we just do this thread like a month or so ago?

It wasn't long ago that S30V was the epitome of supersteels. VG-10 and 154CM/ATS-34 were the runner up, "compromise" steels (which, previously, were also the top steels).

Just because S35VN, M390, ELMAX, CPM-20CV, etc are all now the supersteels, that doesn't automatically relegate older steels like S30V into junk. VG-10 is still a very good knife steel. So is S30V. All of these are far better than the old standard, 440C, which held the top spot for many years.

Some people are far too uptight about how the new and cutting edge (PNI) outperforms the other steels. I do totally understand that when you plunk down a hundred bucks or three you'd want the best steel for your money. Me too. But when I'm actually using one of the knives I actually use, it never pops into my mind that I wish my VG-10 was ELMAX because I'd get a few more clean cuts through cardboard before it's not hair-popping sharp anymore. Just be happy that it's a good, decent steel on your S30V Spyderco or Benchmade, and not 420J or 9Cr29MoV69BBQ30DBAA.
 
There is a degree of snobbery on the S30V subject...

....and in this case, thats okay.

'We' do like our super steels.

It a knife forum after all. You go ahead and buy the seemingly 'mundane' S30V or what ever fancier steel strikes your fancy. Its your dough.

Im fine with a Spyderco in S30V: Takes a good edge for my purpose and is easy to sharpen. Whats not to like.

As others have touched upon, Im certainly not tired of VG10 either. Its a great steel for most people and for many purposes. Gets hair popping sharp and is easy to sharpen.

I like it and have several knives in VG10.

PS Why anybody would revel in seemingly having 'touched a nerve' on this subject, I cant fathom. Its hardly THAT important.

There are more important things in life:D

 
i have used CPM S30V on a pair of kitchen knives. I used peters heat treat and went to 61HRC. I was a really impressed with how they held up. I had one come back for sharpening after over a year of use. Not too tough to work with. Easier than the kitchen knife i made in CPM 20CV. But the 20CV holds a razor edge much longer at the same hardness.
My first benchade has S30V and i did like it. Back then i had kind of a tough time sharpening it, but i got pretty good at it and got a mirror polished edge eventually. I did go from sharp to dull one-time xutting carboard at a job i worked at. I cut a lot of cardboard that day, it dulled enough that i had to switch knives because it went totally dull. But i did and impressive amount of cardboard.

I will admit that im a total steel snob. I typically work with CPM 3V, 20CV, Z-Finit, Z-Wear, CPM 154. I have used CPM 4V and plan on trying, CPM M4, CPM Rex T15 and Vanax eventually. But having used S30V in my own knives i was impressed with how it held up at 61HRC. Peters has an exellent heat treat recipie for it.

P2P said:


I need more Spyderco M4 in my life.
Para 3 M4
An affordable para 2 in M4, time for another batch.
Click to expand...
How do you like spydercos CPM M4? Ive never used it and been itching to try it out. Same with their Cru-Wear. But im not paying 300 bucks for a cruwear para 3 from bento box.

.
 
Last edited:
Agree,I wish that xhp was the default steel- on the other hand they just saved me a ton of money and to that I say thank you.
P2P said:
There is no doubt in my mind that bladeforums is the best knife community out there. From what I can gather, there seems to be a consensus that we are bored to death with S30V. Disagree? If not, then what is the next standard? S35VN? I would imagine it has to be something cost effective.

I would love the new Spyderco Brower, but S30V? Just ruined it for me. Maybe we’re just along for the ride, here’s to 10 more years of S30V![/QUOTE

Yeah between Spyderco and Benchmade ,I'm going to save a ton of money sooo thank you.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top