What is important to you about steel selection?

[fjblair]

I'm not a steel geek so I buy the knife and not the steel. I buy knives from people that make really good knives, and they are not going to utilize poor blade steel. Nothing wrong with either approach.

 

[Cosmodragoon]

I don't do anything and everything with my pocket folder. I just like to be able to should the need arise. I see a pocket knife as a broadly versatile cutting tool that is always with you. It meets a task when you don't have a better or more specialized tool close at hand. So I prefer a good all-around steel.

The constraining factor is cost. I understand that pocket knives are for use. They will take some wear and tear. They might get dirty. They might even get lost. It can't be so fancy or expensive that those things become problems. A big part of my journey with this hobby has been seeking the optimal balance of quality within that window.

I already liked 14C28N when I started this journey. I discovered VG-10 by looking at charts and reading forum posts. It fits the bill as a good all-rounder and stays just inside the cost window. After falling in love with the Civivi knives, I've also got some 9Cr18Mov to play around with. I'm looking forward to exploring these three steels for the rest of the year.

 

[Banter 247]

I like lazy man steels. Don’t corrode. Hold an edge reasonably well. Touch up readily. Easy criteria to satisfy. S30V, S35VN, XHP, CPM-154, 154CM... hell, give me 12c27 with good geometry.

 

[whp]

Although not strictly necessary, a knife blade with good edge holding and good corrosion resistance is much more of a pleasure to use when doing landscaping in the salt air close to the ocean.
A steel that is too hard to sharpen is not worth its edge retention advantage. For me the only steel I have tried that might fall into that category is s110.

 

[Wowbagger]

Woke up on the couch at three in the morning. Watched some quick knife steel vids. I have the day off so who cares.
Thought you might want to see what I found . . . and I'm off to bed.
Talkin' my fave M4 here

Whole bunch of steel here including K390, REX121 at 69 hardness

I just got another ZDP-189 yesterday. I love the stuff.

 

[cbach8tw]

I am trying a few different ones, to see if I notice a difference, but my bet is I will not see a great difference as an do not use my folders hard, mostly D2, cpm 154, S35v, and Sandvik 12C. I want it to stay sharp and be easier to maintain sharp, and stainless helps. My fixed blades are mostly carbon steels.

 

[Rasmus80]

Much of the craving for the latest and greatest steel, reminds me of the same people who just have to have the latest and greatest iPhone, powerdrill, watch etc.
Or women "needing" a new pair of fancy shoes or sunglasses when ever fashion magazines says so.
Just people who are easily swayed by marketing

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

I enjoy all kinds of steels! Just know what to expect with each type. Case in point, what I'm carrying today;

They are from the top down, AUS-4, M390, and 1095 (no that isn't a very nasty burr on the edge, just light reflecting oddly from my couch). Very different steels, and yet I enjoy using all of them. True, AUS-4 won't hold an edge nearly as long as either of the other two steels, but I like the design of the knife, the ease of sharpening, and the stain resistance it affords.

A more direct answer to OP would be that I enjoy steels with a great deal of edge retention capabilities just as much as I enjoy steels that can take a beating, just as much as I enjoy steels that are very corrosion resistant. Should I only be carrying one knife for the day, the choice is determined by what kind of work I expect to be doing.

 

[DocJD]

I enjoy all kinds of steels! Just know what to expect with each type. Case in point, what I'm carrying today;

They are from the top down, AUS-4, M390, and 1095 (no that isn't a very nasty burr on the edge, just light reflecting oddly from my couch). Very different steels, and yet I enjoy using all of them. True, AUS-4 won't hold an edge nearly as long as either of the other two steels, but I like the design of the knife, the ease of sharpening, and the stain resistance it affords.

A more direct answer to OP would be that I enjoy steels with a great deal of edge retention capabilities just as much as I enjoy steels that can take a beating, just as much as I enjoy steels that are very corrosion resistant. Should I only be carrying one knife for the day, the choice is determined by what kind of work I expect to be doing.

I'm wondering what the bottom tool is made for ? Some kind of scraper ?

 

[The_Iron_Joe]

I'm wondering what the bottom tool is made for ? Some kind of scraper ?

More or less! It's my modern take on an Ulu knife; the design was originally meant for skinning animals, but I've found that it works great as a utility knife as well.

 

[22-rimfire]

....The constraining factor is cost. I understand that pocket knives are for use. They will take some wear and tear. They might get dirty. They might even get lost. It can't be so fancy or expensive that those things become problems. A big part of my journey with this hobby has been seeking the optimal balance of quality within that window

For those that love the super steels, my journey has been mostly circular in that I started with Case, Camillus, and Schrade knives as a young person (with their steels) and moved in the last 20 years to Vic SAKs, GEC-1095, D2, and others, and a few super steels. Yeah, I try stuff out, but that is becoming less. The cost factor is important to me. I can pretty much afford any reasonable knife, but I still try to be practical relative to my usage.

 

[ScottsBad]

I you are a collector, buying high quality steel (along with high quality designs) will help maintain the value of your collection.

About 10 years ago I got interested in better quality folding knives. And it wasn't until about 5 years ago that I got interested in steels and fixed blade knives. As a user, not a collector, I started to appreciate the value that proper steel selection can make in ease of use. The proper steel can make a good knife better. For instance, a good tough super-steel that holds its edge will allow the designer to make the blade thinner and lighter without sacrificing strength or edge holding.

I've gotten used to sharpening hard steels, and learned how to do it. Now, it doesn't seem difficult to me at all. Plus, I don't have to sharpen the super-steels as often.

This isn't to say that there is anything wrong with traditional steels, many of them are excellent if heat treated properly. But the toughness, hardness, and corrosion resistance of many of the new steels make them really nice for many applications. I do occasionally struggle with M4, but I only have one pocket knife with M4.

My favorites are 3V, CPM20CV, S30V Benchmade, and S90V. Also good is CPM154, and ELMAX. I also like INFI which is not a super-steel.

I have knives of 1095, 52100, etc. These high carbon knives perform very well with the right heat treat, but cannot be compared to a super-steel in an appropriate role.

JMHO

 

[sgt1372]

I you are a collector, buying high quality steel (along with high quality designs) will help maintain the value of your collection.

I am mainly a collector, not a user, and I don't think that this is necessarily true.

Most knives that I have collected are/were only made w/one type of steel. The cost of those knives made w/premium steel tend to be higher than those that are not but, generally speaking, you do not have a choice of steels and the value of the knives is based on how desirable the knife is to other collectors based on the design of the knife, the materials used (including but not limited the steel) and its perceived quality/rarity; all of which affect its valuation.

When you do have a choice of steel, the knives made w/premium steels tend to be rarer and in greater demand which drives the prices for those knives higher but I'm not certain that the degree of appreciation in the premium version of the knife is all that much greater than for the non-premium versions. I'm sure that there are cases where that might be true but w/o a documented sales history for such knives, it's hard to prove that this is true.

In any event, I do not collect knives or anything else w/the objective of making $ on them. I collect them because I like them and, if I chose those things well, they will generally go up in value over time (if I take care of them well enough and keep them long enough) regardless what I do. This has been the case w/most of the things that I've bought and/or collected over the years and I expect that will also apply to the knives that I collect as well.

 

[sodak]

I've never felt the need to gravitate towards "old school" or modern steels. I enjoy using them all.

But I have to say, all the talk about super steels being hard to sharpen is nonsense, based on my experience. I use a DMT diafold on almost all my knives and sharpen by hand. I find "soft" steels (57 - 59 HRC) the hardest to sharpen due to burr formation. The hard (62 - 64+ HRC) steels are a breeze to sharpen.

 

[cbrstar]

I've slowly been learning what I don't like more so then what I do. For me I'm not a fan of a super brittle steel such as S110V despite how great of an edge it has. I prefer something that's more forgiving

 

[ChrisLee]

I don’t cut things often but when I do. I use M390. Stays sharp my friends.

Okay bad joke but couldn’t resist. I’ve had some cheap knives and expensive knives. They all got used for simple cutting chores. I used a Elmax ZT0562 to remove all the carpet in the house when I redid the floors. It was still sharp after I was done. My little Para3 in M390 is my daily carry now. It’s perfect for just about everything. I can’t say enough things about M390. It just good.

 

[ScottsBad]

I am mainly a collector, not a user, and I don't think that this is necessarily true.

Most knives that I have collected are/were only made w/one type of steel. The cost of those knives made w/premium steel tend to be higher than those that are not but, generally speaking, you do not have a choice of steels and the value of the knives is based on how desirable the knife is to other collectors based on the design of the knife, the materials used (including but not limited the steel) and its perceived quality/rarity; all of which affect its valuation.

When you do have a choice of steel, the knives made w/premium steels tend to be rarer and in greater demand which drives the prices for those knives higher but I'm not certain that the degree of appreciation in the premium version of the knife is all that much greater than for the non-premium versions. I'm sure that there are cases where that might be true but w/o a documented sales history for such knives, it's hard to prove that this is true.

In any event, I do not collect knives or anything else w/the objective of making $ on them. I collect them because I like them and, if I chose those things well, they will generally go up in value over time (if I take care of them well enough and keep them long enough) regardless what I do. This has been the case w/most of the things that I've bought and/or collected over the years and I expect that will also apply to the knives that I collect as well.

You may be right when it comes to custom handmade designs. A lot of those are more about art and craft than utility and capability. But as more and more people become aware that modern steels are part of the value and quality of a knife, I believe that will change. It started with mid-priced and mid-tech knives and move up.

In my mind there is no reason to buy a beautiful $500 handmade Fiddleback Forge Duke in A2 over a $425 Carothers Performance Field Knife in 3V. Even though the Fiddleback Forge knife is hand made and looks beautiful, the CPK will clean its clock in toughness and edge holding, resulting in superior value and performance. So, which will hold its value better over time? Most really collectible things have some intrinsic value that differentiates them and maintains their value. It could be artistic, scarce/desirable, historical/famous, unique, or qualitative, but it has to make someone want to pay more to hold its value. It hard to hit that with knives.

Busse hit that with the TGLB because of "The Walking Dead". Happened to me with a Colt Python because of the same stupid TV show.

I think a lot of people collect knives that will not continue to increase in value. And many collections are just for the owners pleasure. I always get amused when I see people collecting Buck knives, but I understand it because its a hobby and has some sentimental, aesthetic and/or maybe historical value, but damn Buck knives are junk compared to modern knife construction and steels.

If you look at what happened with Hinderer knives. They were hard to get and marketed to first responders only. Not that great a knife at that time, but hard to get and very tough. Prices for a used one went astronomical. They started to make them in more volume and better quality, but not a huge number of knives. Prices stayed high, and each generation improved. Then they hit Gen 6 and marketing to end users with a vastly improved action and improved steel. Prices that at one time were $600-$1000 for pre-owned knives have crashed.

I know that now when I buy a knife I look at design/utility, build/locking mechanism, and steel. If the steel isn't what I think it should be for the intended purpose of the knife I'll skip it. Even if I like the design. Its that important.

I won't buy a Busse in SR101 because INFI is so much better and worth the extra $100, especially if I have to resell it later.

 

[ScottsBad]

Much of the craving for the latest and greatest steel, reminds me of the same people who just have to have the latest and greatest iPhone, powerdrill, watch etc.
Or women "needing" a new pair of fancy shoes or sunglasses when ever fashion magazines says so.
Just people who are easily swayed by marketing

When our ancestors went from bronze to steel, you would have said steel is just a marketing gimmick.

Steels are not equivalent to styles. Steels are not fashion. Knife designs can be fashion, but not steels. Good steel, whether it's old school or new school is not fashion. Steel makes up the most important working portion of the tool. Good steel is an extremely important factor in the performance of a knife.

 

[GermanyChris]

When our ancestors went from bronze to steel, you would have said steel is just a marketing gimmick.

Steels are not equivalent to styles. Steels are not fashion. Knife designs can be fashion, but not steels. Good steel, whether it's old school or new school is not fashion. Steel makes up the most important working portion of the tool. Good steel is an extremely important factor in the performance of a knife.

I disagree that its the most important part. I can make any steel sharp but I can't make any handle comfortable or any old clip both comfortable and retain the knife.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I disagree that its the most important part. I can make any steel sharp but I can't make any handle comfortable or any old clip both comfortable and retain the knife.

You're making a pretty fine point.

Obsidian can get insanely sharp, sharper than any steel out there. While I can't speak to the edge retention, I imagine it does just fine (obsidian is harder than steel on the mohs scale, and less hard than molybdenum, obviously brittle, though I'd guess fairly abrasion resistant).

However, no matter how sharp and obsidian flake can get, I'd rather field dress my deer with a comfortable knife made sometime post iron age.