What is your favorite blade steel

[microtech85]

I voted for s35vn. It is my favorite folding knife steel. However, VG-10 is a very very close second. I chose s35vn because it is almost as easy for me to sharpen as vg10 yet holds its edge longer. Vg10 was a close second for me because it is even easier to sharpen and easily takes the finest edge of any stainless I have used. I like s90v as my 3rd choice. I choose it with my 940-1 if I know I will have a lot of cutting to do because it holds its edge much longer than anything else I have and it is a very aggressive cutter. I vote it 3rd though because I don't often use my knife enough to need that kind of edge retention that requires so much more time on the stone. For my daily use, the ability to easily put a very keen edge on my knife is paramount because with my regular daily uses, a steel like vg10 will hold that nice edge for about two weeks and s35vn for almost a month and that suits my needs best.

 

[jdm61]

SR101 is 52100 and it was wrongly left off of the list.

I like several steels but the "kick" I am on now includes: 3V, INFI, SR101, 5160 and Z-Wear. The Z-Wear is very new to me so I cannot give an accurate rating yet, but have heard very positive things about it. For the rest I listed, they are all excellent in their own ways--I could not say one in my modest list is the "best" because it is all relative to the task I am performing.

 

[DeadboxHero]

This list is just not complete without my all time favorite steels

I've had awesome experiences with both r2d2 and c3po

Sorry, I had to! Lol I keep reading all these steels I never heard of and that's the first thing that comes to mind


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hahaha

 

[EntrancedVermin]

I made a new one since everyone said i made a bad choice on what i picked as "your favorite" blade steel.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...d-Whats-your-Favorite-Blade-Steel-(yes-Again)

 

[EDCanAdamas]

154CM for the win. It's an underrated steel, and I personally prefer it to S30V. I wish more companies would offer knives in the $175 to $250 range in CPM-154, I would love to try that twist of 154CM.

 

[craytab]

154CM for the win. It's an underrated steel, and I personally prefer it to S30V. I wish more companies would offer knives in the $175 to $250 range in CPM-154, I would love to try that twist of 154CM.

You should vote for it in the new poll. Oh wait, it is not an option even though it is the main steel used in one of the biggest US knife companies......

 

[RamZar]

Due to the 20 options limit for polls on BladeForums you could combine some similar steels. For instance, N690, N690BO, N690CO. Perhaps 154CM & CPM-154 although the latter is powdered. Even ATS-34 and RWL-34 although the latter is powdered. M390, CTS-204P and CPM-20CV are very similar.

I looked at BladeHQ's listing of all steels for all knives and here are some of the most common/popular ones. That's still more than 20 of them so need to chop off some more from this list.

1. 7Cr17 (including 7Cr17MoV)
2. 8Cr13MoV (including 8Cr14MoV)
3. 154CM (including CPM-154)
4. 420 (including 420C, 420HC, 420J1, 420J2)
5. 440 (including 440A, 440C)
6. 1075
7. 1095 (including 1095 Cro-Van, 1095V)
8. A2
9. ATS-34 (including RWL-34)
10. AUS-8 (including AUS-8A)
11. M390 (including CTS-204P, CPM-20CV)
12. N690 (including N690BO, N690Co)
13. CPM-S30V
14. CPM-S35VN
15. CPM-3V
16. CPM-M4
17. CPM-S90V
18. CPM-S110V
19. CTS-XHP
20. D2 (including CPM-D2, K110)
21. Damascus (all types)
22. Elmax
23. Niolox
24. O1
25. PSF27
26. Sandvik 12C27 (including 12C27M, 12C27Mod, 12C27MoV)
27. Sandvik 14C28N
28. Sleipner
29. VG-10
30. ZDP-189

Of the above I'd exclude these:

1. 7Cr17 (including 7Cr17MoV)
2. 420 (including 420C, 420HC, 420J1, 420J2)
3. 1075
4. Niolox
5. PSF27
6. Sandvik 12C27 (including 12C27M, 12C27Mod, 12C27MoV)
7. Sleipner