What stainless steel is best?

440C is kind of low end. S30V is the benchmark for all-around good traits for a steel, but some steels like ZDP-189, M390, ELMAX, CTS-XHP, S90V, and H1 far outperform it in some or most areas.
 
I'm not going to argue that 440C is "kind of low end." But all of the knives I own in 440C are, indeed, Randalls, and it manages to do quite well, thankyouverymuch.
 
Samael said:
I'm not going to argue that 440C is "kind of low end." But all of the knives I own in 440C are, indeed, Randalls, and it manages to do quite well, thankyouverymuch.
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Blade steel isn't everything in a knife, after all.
 
AUS-8 is an "okay" steel. Yep, it sharpens easily, which is a good thing, because you'll need to be doing it a lot. It takes a pretty nice polish, but it's no ATS-34. Nothing really wrong with it, but it's not the best thing out there either.
 
M390 really impresses me. It takes a super sharp edge and holds that sharpness. And it's not too difficult to sharpen. I first got it on my BM 805, and within a couple weeks it became my favorite stainless steel.
 
Didn't we just do this topic?

Why, yes. Yes we did. On the February 24, 2011.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824550

My response has not changed in a week. Imagine that.
knarfeng said:
To be truthful, I really don't have one favorite steel. The best I can say is that I have categories of favorite steels for various types of knives.

For a one-hand opener, I am partial to stainless alloys containing ~1% carbon. This includes,
AUS10
440C
154CM
VG1
VG10
N690

But AUS8 at 0.8% works OK as well.
I also find D2 to be good stuff.
And 13C26 takes an edge like no other. Lovely stuff when you want a really really sharp edge.

For a traditional folder I'm partial to carbon steel of the 1095 and 1085 kinds and to low alloy steels with similar Carbon contents, though well done 420HC is satisfactory as well.

For a hunting knife, S30V is pretty great stuff, though those 1% Carbon containing stainless steels work well, also. D2 works pretty fair there as well.

If I were into batoning and chopping, which I ain't, I'd guess I'd be pretty happy with an alloy steel like 5160 or some nicely done 1095 or 1095-type alloy steel.

Ladies and gents, there is no BEST steel. And there isn't any BAD steel.
There's only steels that are better for some purposes than they are for others.
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um. I like 440B as well?
 
I was thinking O-1, but I'm sure you know that a high-carbon 440B can be mighty sweet also.
 
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Properly forged Mithril steel, by a Dwarven master smith,posseses some amazing properties!;):D
 
for edc tasks I'll say S30V is my favorite stainless. Granted I use my knives as knives, not as shovels, pry bars, etc... That or vg10 are my favorite stainless so far. VG10 being much easier to sharpen, but with lower edge holding obviously.

CPM M4 is my favorite steel so far. Not exactly stainless, though.
 
I like ats-34 ,rwl-34 same as ats-34 but with a little vanadium and is a powder steel..
 
Personally, I don't go anything lower than 154CM. So you can group Sandvik, S30V, D2, M390, M4 around that too, but I'm a hard user on my blades.

I've had an old KaBar that I took apart my desk with that's in 1095. Took apart my desk and it got destroyed. Meanwhile, my ZT in 154CM has been through everything... I use it for wire running and construction. Only had to sharpen it twice.
 
Another aspects are important as well..

How often will it get sharpened, can the person sharpen it?
Heat treat
Edge geometry
intended use

I don't have a favorite, time tested stainless, but you'll want to know more than just what steel a knife is made from. Know it's edge geometry and hardness. I just got some Bark Rivers in CPMS35VN, they are supposed to hold an edge for a long time. They are @60-61, which is going to make them more difficult to sharpen.
 
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