What's your opinon, worst steel ever?

I only have limited experience but my SOG Seal pup (AUS8) is crap! No matter how light the job is it will NOT stay sharp.
 
Whatever they use in the Glock 78 Field Knife. I realize the geometry of that thing has issues too. And I don't suppose they really expect it to be used razor sharp but good luck getting an edge on one of those.

I have a Gerber LMF that is such a nice knife but heaven only knows what that blade is made of. Xamax maybe?

Titanium is not steel. It is an element unto itself (Ti). Steel is iron (Fe) and carbon (C) plus other things depending on the alloy. So titanium is not a crappy steel. It is not a very good edge holding metal that's true but a fantastic metal for many other things.
 
IUKE12 said:
440A is pitiful.
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+1 Yup

also 420A & 420J2 are pretty bad & I'm not crazy about Case's "True Sharp" stainless either(however,I really like their CV).I never used AUS-4 or 6 but I'm sure it's craptastic.
 
Spyderco's ATS-55 was a disaster on my Delica. Hard to sharpen and would not hold an edge.
 
knarfeng said:
In my book there is no such thing as a "worst steel". I never found a steel that was not good for something. It may not be good for the usage I have in mind, but it is good for some other usage that someone else has in his mind.

There are steels that do not work well for some uses. There are no "bad" steels.
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Precisely. Its a meaningless question. As meaningless as "What's the best steel?" :barf:

Worst for what??? The "dreaded" 420J2 is among the easiest to sharpen. So is it among the worst or among the best?
 
You can sharpen anything made of any metal. Keeping it sharp, that's another story. I swear that forged aluminum would hold an edge better than 420A/J. 420HC is ok, but I'm not a huge fan of it either.
 
knarfeng said:
In my book there is no such thing as a "worst steel". I never found a steel that was not good for something. It may not be good for the usage I have in mind, but it is good for some other usage that someone else has in his mind.

There are steels that do not work well for some uses. There are no "bad" steels.
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...the intelligent answer.
 
knarfeng said:
In my book there is no such thing as a "worst steel". I never found a steel that was not good for something. It may not be good for the usage I have in mind, but it is good for some other usage that someone else has in his mind.

There are steels that do not work well for some uses. There are no "bad" steels.
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The worst steel for knives. I thought that was implicit in the question.

Your point is valid to a certain extent even with just knives of course. I really understand what you are saying. But at the same time I don't think the OP is asking a silly question...I'll try to explain:


As soon as you admit that it's possible that one steel have any advantage over another you open the possibility of their being ones that are bad because they do not possess an advantageous combination of features. An extreme example being whatever the unamed stuff a few cheap Chinese knives I have are made of.

Sure, they are stainless...so they haven't rusted away, but rust resistance is not a unique feature. And they are soft, so they won't hold an edge, and while that makes them unlikely to break, I have knives in 1095 that are also tough, and that will take and hold an edge. Whatever they are made of is a bad steel for knives.
 
marcinek said:
Precisely. Its a meaningless question
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Arguing semantics? I think given the fact that we're posting on BF worst steel was clearly in knives context.
And then, if we go into details, the questions IMHO boils down worst performer for any given purpose, relative to each other.

Otherwise, besides steel you can go into HT and geometry and etc.
I am always for best HT and best geometry for specific uses, but generalizations are also fine and far from meaningless.

E.g Chroma uses type 301 steel in their knives, and as far as I understand that's not really knife steel, more like construction. Now, manufacturer's choices and reasons notwithstanding, I could definitely rate 301 as one of the worst, for any purpose as far as knives go. unless you tell me the intended purpose of that knife is to reinforce concrete.

Alternatively, you can pick worst performers by purpose, e.g. worst for soft materials, worst for abrasive cutting, worst for chopping (of reasonable steels for each purpose) and then pick which one was worst in designed work, it's all relative and subjective, but a valid comparison never the less.
 
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440A may not be ideal for edge retention but it has a reasonable balance of blade strength and edge holding when treated right. IMO there are much worse steels out there. People rag on 420, but it too is a capable steel, as Condor, Buck and many other traditional folder manufacturers have proven. The most money I've wasted on the biggest POS's as far as steel quality goes, is definitely Gerber. Get a grip. You claim to be one of the premier cutlery sources in the world and brag about US manufacturing, but it doesn't mean crap when the edge literally falls apart under normal cutting use. I love how Bark River is using 12C27 in their 150 dollar knives now, too... it's not a bad steel, but come on... you expect us to shell out that kind of money when I can go buy a 12C27 RC58 Mora for 10 bucks?
 
Remember, not that long ago AUS-8A was being touted as the next 'great' steel. As the Japanese version of 440C (I believe it was) it seemed to hold it's own until the next 'supersteel' hit the industry. I'm not necessarily endorsing AUS-8A, or any other steel for that matter, it's just that the POPULARITY of some tends to fade, but not as fast as their reputations do.
 
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