What is your favorite steel for fixed blades ?

I don't know yet, I am still on my journey, which is quite casual. An unusual one that I just got in was a Nepalese kukri. It is supposed to be differentially heat treated and made out of vehicle leaf spring 5160 steel. I finally got it decently sharp and just need to find the time to whack some fire wood with it. Half my year is devoted to land and water metal detecting so my impressions are slow to build due to limited use, and too many wood processing toys. But I am curious as to how the edge holds up on this one. Toughness and rust resistance are higher priorities for me, and I am willing to sharpen when needed. I am not hard to please with knife steel as long as it can take some rough treatment and casual maintenance.
 
Like many others here, I like the simple carbon 10xx series and tool steels like A2 and 5160. I think I only have one knife in CPM3V so far, so I don't have enough experience using that steel yet. Obviously, I like what I hear about CPM3V, that it's supposed to be super tough and very wear resistant, but then I think some of those knives are made with thinner blades because they're made of tougher steel. So is a thin CPM3V as tough as a thick 1095 knife? Maybe, maybe not. It comes down to user by user and knife by knife comparisons. If they made my favorite knives in CPM3V, I'd get them in the new steel. But in general, I'm fine with my 10xx and tool steel knives and don't really see a need to pay triple the price for one in a super steel.
 
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