What is YOUR favorite blade steel?

Stainless- S30v
Carbon- 1095

Those are my favorites but I have and like many other types.
 
CTS XHP! I think it's a very underrated metal that should be used in a lot more knives. Kinda pricey for everyday use but it is nice! M4 is pretty nice but in my experience it rusts to easily. My work edc is s30v because it's cheap, takes a nice edge and is easily sharpened and it gets USED. I'm extremely curious about INFI after seeing some videos on it so that will be my next purchase..
 
Toss-up for me between S30V and CPM-D2. Both sharpen well and keep a usable edge for a long time. Never really gave it much thought, but all four of my EDC blades have different steels. The aforementioned two plus VG-10 and Sandvik 14C28N. No problems with any of them thus far. Some need to get sharpened more often than others, but that's about it.
 
flarp said:
Toss-up for me between S30V and CPM-D2. Both sharpen well and keep a usable edge for a long time. it.
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I don't have any S30V yet... what kind of edge does it keep? I hear it loses that top sharpness pretty fast and keeps a working edge for a long time... but what kind of 'working edge' are people talking about here?
 
I think every knife that I bought from a serious knife company has had good steel. Outfits like those mentioned don't use any junk steel in their knives if they want to stay in the cutlery business for long. Probably my least favorite knife steel is that used in cheap stainless kitchen knives. If the blades were not so thin they would be impossible to use, IMHO. Here is a link to knife steels by bladesmith Joe Talmadge. It speaks volumes.

http://zknives.com/knives/articles/knifesteelfaq.shtml

SpydercoCitadelBlackC119BKP83mm3.jpg


SpydercoCitadelBlackC119BKP83mm6.jpg
 
Goosey said:
I don't have any S30V yet... what kind of edge does it keep? I hear it loses that top sharpness pretty fast and keeps a working edge for a long time... but what kind of 'working edge' are people talking about here?
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Like I mentioned before it does really well for a cheaper metal. It's no comparison for D2, m4 or any of the higher end metals. I use my s30v everyday as a work knife because i don't want to abuse my higher end knives. I'm an Electrician and that s30v gets tested daily, I use it primarily for slicing the insulation off of wire and things like that. It sharpens very easily! It's a very common metal to get ahold of so you can find a knife in s30v at a very reasonable price. Still my favorite, CTS XHP..
 
Hey Folks,

Slow day in the shop so i find myself posting here more than i ever have. But as for us at Velocity knives I would have to say we Enjoy using Starrett 01 tool steel quite a bit for our Hard use field and the majority of the Combat knives in our new division we are starting up. Also we do enjoy 440c for fair priced using knives. We have chosen PAUL BOS as our go to shop for all our Stainless and High alloyed knives hardening. We also use CPM 3v, A2, D2, cpmS35vn, cpms30v and basically any other alloy available if requested or we feel the tools function is better served using a specific alloy.

Myself, the shop made me a small everyday carry blade that later became our Eclipse model in CPM -D2 that I absolutely love. Great strength, edge holding ability and user friendly to boot in resharpening when it needs it, which it seems isn't very often , and I use it daily for something or another.


Regards,

Lisa
 
Depends on the purpose of the knife.

Around saltwater I like H1
Around food I like Elmax at 62 rc
Pretty much everything else I prefer Infi.
 
Goosey said:
I don't have any S30V yet... what kind of edge does it keep? I hear it loses that top sharpness pretty fast and keeps a working edge for a long time... but what kind of 'working edge' are people talking about here?
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Goosey,

My experience with S30V and the "working edge" that is often mentioned around here is that if I get the knife edge to hair whittling sharp, it loses that hair whittling sharpness after dozen or so cuts through corrugated cardboard... however the blade will still slice paper after 100 or so cuts through the same cardboard. Most of my S30V knives are Spyderco, and my typical blade setup is a 30 degree primary bevel and set the edge with a 40 degree micro bevel... For what it's worth, I haven't really done any testing or collected any empirical data, but it does seem that Buck's S30V does hold that initial hair whittling sharpness just a tiny bit longer.

As always, YMMV.

/J.R.
 
I have been stuck on CPM-M4 for a little while now. For some reason I seem to be able to get my M4 blades sharper than my others and they stay that way for a ridiculous amount of time.
 
Big Chris said:
S90V and 10V for no compromise edge holding and slicing. 3V is a very close second/third choice. I love how thin the edges can be ground on these.
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I agree. The bolo hybrid in 3V I bought from you has a very thing edge and has stood up to everything Ive thrown at it with no damage. Im pretty convinced at this point that nothing beats 3V and INFI for a big blade when you factor in edge holding, toughness, and edge stability. Im interested to see how 4V stacks up against them.
 
Goosey said:
I don't have any S30V yet... what kind of edge does it keep? I hear it loses that top sharpness pretty fast and keeps a working edge for a long time... but what kind of 'working edge' are people talking about here?
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I haven't done any controlled tests to objectively measure edge retention, but there are others on these forums that have. For my uses, I sharpen until I can push-cut newspaper and re-sharpen when I can no longer make smooth cuts through copy paper (eg. jagged edges, tearing, etc.). The S30V and CPM-D2 blades typically get me through a couple of weeks, but that can vary greatly depending on what and how much I cut. I don't really keep track. I just use it until I feel it needs sharpening, and then I sharpen it. That threshold will vary from person to person.
 
Best I've got to use has been ATS 34 and D2, no complaints, held an edge and didn't rust after being bloody and washed hastily in streams outdoors. I have one folder in BG42 that I've not really worked much. For slipjoints, anything works OK, from 1075 in Germans to Case/Buck etc., 420HC.
 
My new knife has 3V steel and it is pretty awesome in edge holding. It is a folder I've sliced roasted duck with (especially its bones were pretty tough) and knife easy slices thin paper after that. Best experience with steel till now - I have S90V, CTS-XHP etc....
 
elmax so far but m4 is a very very close second. But i maybe singing a different tune if i purchase a tilt...
 
sigsoup said:
elmax so far but m4 is a very very close second. But i maybe singing a different tune if i purchase a tilt...
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Like Elmax, I don't think the real great appeal of Vanax 75 (the steel used in the Tilt) is it's amazing edge retention, but rather it's amazing corrosive resistance. What knives do you have in Elmax and M4? Just curious because I haven't found Elmax to be anywhere near as good as M4 in my knives. I'm pretty sure M4 is much better on paper, but obviously it varies from knife to knife with different hardnesses, heat treat, edge geometry, etc. Still very surprised to hear of any Elmax performing as well as any M4, at least in terms of edge retention. Of course, if corrosion resistance is a huge factor, then the Elmax and Vanax 75 are going to be your two favorite steels. But if you don't mind maintaining M4 once in a while, then the edge retention will be much, much better (at least on paper and with the examples of knives that I've used those steels on).
 
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