Most folks are probably familiar with edge retention tests where someone makes hundreds of consistent cuts through manilla rope, cardboard, or some such material to test how long a certain steel will hold its edge. Recently, though, I've been questioning the relevance of those tests to my particular knife needs,.
Something I've noticed about using my knives at work is that my knives rarely ever get dull from making repeated clean cuts through a consistent medium. Instead, it seems that my knives get dull almost exclusively from brushing against, say, a staple that I didn't notice, a knot or old nail in a piece of wood, or some sand and dirt that had worked itself into a piece of rope.
This realization caused me to question my need for a steel with really exceptional edge retention - For me, it would seem that it doesn't matter too much whether a steel can make 50 or 5000 passes through a sheet of cardboard before getting dull. Practically speaking, it seems like there always comes a point where I run into one staple or other unseen obstacle and my knife's edge gets dull, no matter how fancy the blade steel. Thus, while I notice a major difference between low end steels (420, 8c13 etc.) and mid-to-high end steels (14c28, 154CM etc.), I don't think that I personally would benefit from the added edge retention capabilities of super steels like CPM-M4, Bohler M390, ZDP-189, etc.
This is just something I've been thinking about over the past couple of weeks, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. For your applications, do you folks find that there is a point where you no longer see a real benefit to more advanced steels, or do very high end steels have real practical benefits for you?
Any suggestions as to a steel which will hold up to THAT.
