whats the big deal?

The most expensive chef knives I've run into recently are of San Mai construction with a VG-10 core. $200.00+ per copy. I as far as I know, chef's are not being offered super steel knives. So I don't hear much discussion by cooks regarding high spec. steels. Many of the chefs I know send their knives out to be sharpened. They tend to buy the Victorinox/Sabatier/Wusthoff stuff which is fairly low spec. steel. They don't act like knife nuts.
 
to OP, with all due respect, you're over generalizing.
I'm another who doesn't hate this steel.

It all depends on what you use and need the knife for
 
I don't think that the problem is the steel. It is a good value steel that I am happy to have on my sub $50 - $75 knives. The problem, I believe, lies in the Manufacturer. When companies decide to use AUS8 on knives priced at greater than $100 is where the "big deal" starts to come into play. At that level, instead of upgrading the materials, companies would rather pocket the profits and tell you why that value steel is still the best and how much of a great deal and the great steel you are getting.

I really like my CS recon 1, my 3 Voyagers & my Spartan but I like them at the price I purchased them. Knowing that AUS8 is an inexpensive steel, I have a hard time paying $250+ for a Espada. That right there is getting into custom blade territory or at least high end production knives. Especially when I can get a Spyderco, Kershaw/ZT or Benchmade with more value over all and a much better steel.

I compare it to buying a ferrari and looking under the hood to find that it has a 4 cylinder Honda civic engine. Now, there is nothing wrong with the Honda civics engine, it is a reliable proven engine. Though, at that price, you were looking for much more for your money.

Or, as a buddy of mine would say, "You can't just sprinkle sh*t in my cornflakes and tell me it's captain f*ckin' crunch"
 
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AUS-8 in fact, is probably my favorite stainless. I prefer a knife that is easily field-sharpenable to a "super-steel". In a pinch AUS8 can be touched up easily on a smooth stone, cinder block or even the top of a car window. It holds an edge reasonably well and can take a fair amount of abuse. No hater here!
 
tiguy7 said:
The most expensive chef knives I've run into recently are of San Mai construction with a VG-10 core. $200.00+ per copy. I as far as I know, chef's are not being offered super steel knives. So I don't hear much discussion by cooks regarding high spec. steels. Many of the chefs I know send their knives out to be sharpened. They tend to buy the Victorinox/Sabatier/Wusthoff stuff which is fairly low spec. steel. They don't act like knife nuts.
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While many mid-range kitchen knives use VG-10, there many are many examples of "super steels" being used for kitchen cutlery. Shun, Henckles, Hattori and others are using some impressive steel. SG2, ZDP-189 and Cowry-X to name a few and there are others.

AUS-8 is a decent and affordable steel. Not everyone that carries and uses a knife everyday cares about super steels. How many Buck produced knives are being carried on a daily basis with good old 420HC? The answer is many.

As to "overcharging" for S30V knives...I don't understand how overall value can be assessed based on steel alone. There are many other aspects to a knife that determine the price.
 
Morrow said:
While many mid-range kitchen knives use VG-10, there many are many examples of "super steels" being used for kitchen cutlery. Shun, Henckles, Hattori and others are using some impressive steel. SG2, ZDP-189 and Cowry-X to name a few and there are others.

AUS-8 is a decent and affordable steel. Not everyone that carries and uses a knife everyday cares about super steels. How many Buck produced knives are being carried on a daily basis with good old 420HC? The answer is many.

As to "overcharging" for S30V knives...I don't understand how overall value can be assessed based on steel alone. There are many other aspects to a knife that determine the price.
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Great point, and a few examples would be Bark River Knife and Tool, as well as Chris Reeve knives. Some people say why buy a CR Sebenza when a Bradley Alias or Spyderco Sage have the same materials for much less money? Well for the fit and finish, the hand done details, etc. Companies dictate their products based on the market, if tomorrow everyone stopped buying cold steel knives with AUS-8, then they would change it. That being said I love it for my user blades along with 154. And I agree about the espada, that blade along with the gurkha kukri is an example of CS trying to shovel it's bulls**t down our throats.
 
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