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What was considered great knife steel years ago that is now considered cheap or not good?

I can't really think of any steel offhand that went from being thought of as king of the hill to being thought of as crap. 440C was a big deal back when I was a kid ('70s-'80s). I don't think people consider it "bad" nowadays, but it's definitely considered sort of a mid tier steel now. 🤷‍♂️
 
S30 was king for a little while, now not so much. VG10 and zdp 189 used to be high end too but are pretty basic at this point. I am sure there are lots of other examples but those come to my mind.
However- I don’t think anyone things of those steels now as junk, simply not top tier.
 
Knife_Nazi said:
What was considered great knife steel years ago that is now considered cheap or not good?
Click to expand...
Not sure what your question is ? :confused:

Some here do chase the newest bleeding edge super steel , but there are still many who also respect the tried and true .

As always , the advertised steel formula means little without a decent HT .

IMO , if it worked great back in the day , it probably still works fine, today and tomorrow . :cool::thumbsup:
 
None of them really. The person using the knife gets to decide whether their blade steel is crap or not. Some folks think 440A is top notch because it’s easy to sharpen after a days use when others think VG10 is junk because they can’t sharpen it on a cheap stone.
 
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I haven't been keeping up with knives and newer metals for a while now and was wondering if things have changed over the past couple years.
 
Knife_Nazi said:
I haven't been keeping up with knives and newer metals for a while now and was wondering if things have changed over the past couple years.
Click to expand...
Excitement about the new is far more common than utter rejection of the old.

ZDP-189 appears to be in the process of being replaced. It's a challenge to sharpen, but it's a great steel. But apparently it's difficult for the makers to work.

Magnacut is red-hot, and K390 is a big deal. Don't have any Magnacut, but K390 gets a thumbs up from me.
 
Worked with steel all my life. Many, (not all) of the "super steels" have been around for sometime, but weren't used for knives because they were too difficult to sharpen. Updated sharpeners, diamonds, etc. helped that situation. They are good for edge retention, but still can be difficult to sharpen. The older steels work just fine, too, It's a matter of personal preference.
 
I still love good 'ol 1095, in the hands of the right maker it's excellent. We've been spoiled by wide availability of clean, quality steel ever since the turn of the last century. I enjoy trying the latest/greatest powder metallurgy steels as well, but it's not because older steels were failing me in any way.
 
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