What is YOUR favorite blade steel?

S

Squashfan

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Jun 6, 2012
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What is your favorite blade steel? And for what reason is it your favorite? Do you like the ease of sharpening or does it hold it's edge for a long time? My current favorite blade steel is 13c26 as done by Kershaw. I can get it sharp easily. I have found that after I do a lot of cutting and the edge starts to roll, a return to a ceramic rod brings the edge back to almost new.

Now let's hear your opinions!
 
For most of my uses, I think 154CM is probably my favourite. 13c26 would most likely be the runner-up.
 
S90V or CTS-20CP, and I have a few in M390. I don't carry sharpening gear around with me in the field.
sonny
 
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S30V had been my favorite for a very long time, but now I'm loving the M390 on my CF Military....:D
 
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I like 5160 usually any thing like leaf springs or coil springs are made of this. I like it because it's very forgiving on the forge. And it holds a great edge. It's kinda like a 10 series steel with chromium added.
 
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m390 for me. Near m4 performance, very corrosion resistant, and sharpens up very easily in comparison to other super steels. Really though, the thing I like most about it is that it keeps a very fine razor edge for much longer than anything I've come across. I like steels that hold a nice working edge like s30v just fine, but it seems like s30v loses its razor edge if you so much as look at it wrong. Not the case with m390, and when it does its super quick and easy to touch it up. Just a great blade steel.
 
I prefer L6 myself. Easy to sharpen, very tough and takes a nice looking patina. It's neat that everybody has a different favorite.
 
For now, W2, but that is because I have worked with it a lot.
 
This moment, X15-TN by Benchmade has been pretty good to me.
I did ALOT of wood cutting today. Taking down 2 or 3 inch live trees that were in a path all grown up with my 551 H20
Held it's edge waaaaay better than I expected salt-water steel would.
Plus, a ceramic stone fixes rolls easily.
 
Depends on the use/blade type, for harder use like bigger fixed blades/choppers I like CPM-3V the best, for something smaller slicers or folders I like something that holds its edge for as long as possible so CPM-S90V, CPM-S110V, CPM-10V, M390
 
trey999 said:
I prefer L6 myself. Easy to sharpen, very tough and takes a nice looking patina. It's neat that everybody has a different favorite.
Click to expand...

I like L6, I have a piece of what once was a huge band saw blade. My section of the blade is around a foot 1/2 wide and 4foot tall by 1/8 thick. I just need to get it cut up without generating to much heat.
 
I've got two blades in m390. Once you get them sharp, they just keep on going. They stay sharp a long time. I just maintain the hair shaving edge with my ultra fine rods on the Sharpmaker ever so often. The other steel I'm really liking is cpm m4. I have a Spyderco Gayle Bradley, and a Contego in that steel. And, so far I'm loving it also. Kinda hard to tell which one I like the best yet. But, if I had to chose it would be m390. It just stays sharp forever it seems like, and it's stainless.
 
It's a tough choice for me. I've been a fan of CPM M4 for a while. But, I just got an 0560 a few days ago and am liking Elmax a lot. M390 and CTS XHP are in the mix as well. I really like how agressive XHP seems to be.
 
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