What are your favourite knife steels?

Hawk45 said:
I buy more based on style, egros, fit/finish, price/value and materials as a whole than looking for specific steels. My EDC is 1095 carbon and it does not let me down. Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe and it's a razor again. I prefer a broad spectrum of steel b/c if all I purchased was M4 knives, I would have limited options and miss out on some great designs.. that actually still cut stuff.
Click to expand...

this ^^^

That being said, I have the most experience with 1095, 154cm, and CPM s35vn, all are very good IMO.
 
I guess I learned the hard way. I started top down meaning I had a budget for the super steels and started with Rex-121. You will rarely have to sharpen something like this but when you do, you're going to hate yourself and your local sharpening buddies will hate you too. Don't believe the hype. Get something you can actually use and abuse and easily sharpen. I'm now a huge fan and believer in 1095. Never thought I'd say that but it works. Specifically like my Esee 5 and have a BK11 as well. Take savings you would have spent on a high end steel blade and buy a gun.
 
1095, D2, 154CM, S30V, S35VN, and ELMAX are among favorites I have experienced. If I had to pick a current favorite, I'd say S35VN.
 
i personally like a steel i can sharpen easy because i don't use my knives awfully hard so edge retention is not so much of a concern for me so i've found the steel in victorinox knives to be sufficient for my needs but recently i discovered the wonders of spyderco and have had good experiences with CTS BD1 i also like them because they are resistant to rust. i'm not really big on high edge retaining super hard steels because i am not very good at sharpening free hand and i dont have any real system i.e. lansky turnbox, sharpmake or edge pro i just have a ceramic sharpener for field use and for pocket knives and if an edge is really badly dull a benchstone.
 
Of the steels I own, I like 12c27 as stainless. It's tough and easy to sharpen. I like S35VN and for non stainless I love Infi. I too dislike super hard and difficult to sharpen steels. Ease of sharpening is more Important to me than ultimate edge retention.
 
Anything but 8Cr13MoV and CPM-S30V.

My favorites are:

CTS-XHP
ZDP-189
CPM-M4
Elmax
D2
 
1095, vg-10, zdp 189. great knives that won't break the bank. and easy to maintain (yes, zdp 189 is lazy-joe -easy to touch up once you sharpen it right.)
 
I love the 1095 from Rowen.
Wasn't happy with the D2 from Benchmade until I really learned how to sharpen with it. In the past I have just mirror polished everything but the Benchmade D2 loves my india stone and then a strop. 1000 grit + doesn't make it hair popping despite the stropping. Takes a hair popping toothy edge with little work that lasts.

my favorite has to be 154cm, just takes a wicked edge and easy to bring back from dull.
 
Vascowear/Cruwear class ( inc. PD#1, Z wear)
3V
4V
CPM M4
O-1, W2, 52100
Aogami Super

that's about as good as I can do. It would be easier and smaller to list the steels I don't like.
 
It depends on what its used for. In fixed blades I like 10xx steels, 5160, 3v, a2 and 52100. In folders im loving cts xhp, m390, s110v, cpm m4, elmax, super blue, cpm 3v and its brothers pd1, cruwear and zwear and nitrogen steels like Nitrobe 77 and vanax 75. Also n690 is a great steel, I have a few Thorburns and a field grade bodega in it and its a great steel for edc, takes a keen edge, decent wear resistance and pretty easy to sharpen plus it has pretty good edge stability with bodega being ground at around .020 and Thorburn knives at .015 and .012 and they dont chip or deform.
 
Not really all that versed on steels but I like spyderco's VG10 and BM S30v. Decent edge retention and real easy for me to touch up and put an edge on them before I go to work or out the door.
 
I am liking beating the snot out of 3V and Zwear. Pretty dam good edge holding and refinement for how tough they are.
 
Fixed blades:
- M4 coated
- A2 coated
- CPM 3V coated
- INFI coated
- 12C27

Folders:
- 12C27
- VG10
- M390
- S90V
 
Forged 52100 for carbon steel. Nothing I have used has compared to it's performance.

440C for stainless. As good or better when properly heat treated as any steel out there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top