Which mid price steel offers best compromise?

[MTHall720]

At $150 you are no longer paying for alloy unless you want something exotic. You are paying for fit and finish. I'm partial to anything with 1% Carbon, whether melt or PM. You could choose
S30V
154CM
CPM154
ATS-34
N690
VG10
AUS10

lots of stuff to choose in that price range.

I am not familiar with N690. When I said 100-150 as mid price range I just figured that's what most people here would consider it as. I would prefer around 100.00 street to be a more comfortable end of the mid range for me personally, So far, I have not spent more than 140.00.

Can you tell me which brands often have the N690?

 

[EricV]

154cm for stainless (I'd take it on every folder I have, over all other steels, any day) Perfect compromise between edge holding, toughness, and ease of sharpening, plus it happens to take a great edge.

1095 for carbon steel, its just so darn versatile! low hardness for a wicked tough knife, and raise it high for great retention on something like a sodbuster or stockman.

 

[MTHall720]

154cm for stainless (I'd take it on every folder I have, over all other steels, any day) Perfect compromise between edge holding, toughness, and ease of sharpening, plus it happens to take a great edge.

1095 for carbon steel, its just so darn versatile! low hardness for a wicked tough knife, and raise it high for great retention on something like a sodbuster or stockman.

Thanks Eric. I was looking at the Condor Hudson Bay and a couple of others online today and noticed they were all 1075 instead of the 1095. Any thoughts on the differences of these two high carbon steels?

 

[kreole]

I am not familiar with N690. When I said 100-150 as mid price range I just figured that's what most people here would consider it as. I would prefer around 100.00 street to be a more comfortable end of the mid range for me personally, So far, I have not spent more than 140.00.

Can you tell me which brands often have the N690?

It's made by Bohler Uddeholm, which is a German company, so you see it in Euro-produced folders--so Fox, Lion Steel, etc., but Benchmade has a few (H&K branded) as well as Spyderco (Volpe and Hossum choppers).

 

[EricV]

Thanks Eric. I was looking at the Condor Hudson Bay and a couple of others online today and noticed they were all 1075 instead of the 1095. Any thoughts on the differences of these two high carbon steels?

I've no experience using 1075. I would assume it would have a lower carbon content and be slightly cheaper as well as tougher, but take less hardening, assuming I remember the 10xx series nomenclature. I'm hoping someone will correct that for me if I'm wrong.

 

[goodeyesniper]

CPM M4.

As long as it has a nice bevel to begin with, and you keep it sharp. Alternatively vg10 or S30V. I prefer both over AUS8. Aus8 is perfectly fine when done right, however it's been cheap enough to where crappy knifemakers put it in crappy knives and heat treat it poorly, so I haven't had the greatest results.

And seriously, don't listen to people worried about the staining on CPM M4, it's resistant enough to where it's practically a non issue unless you are doing some serious salt water work or something. I would be perfectly content slogging through rivers and muddy camp sites with just my CPM M4 military.

 

[MTHall720]

It's made by Bohler Uddeholm, which is a German company, so you see it in Euro-produced folders--so Fox, Lion Steel, etc., but Benchmade has a few (H&K branded) as well as Spyderco (Volpe and Hossum choppers).

Thanks Kreole This is one steel I had not heard of before.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

You didn't mention if you were looking at fixed blades, but a few companies to look at...

Ontario Ranger Knives - 5160 & maybe S7
Kabar Becker line - 1095 CroVan, supposed to be similar to 0170-6
Swamp Rat Knives - mostly 52100 (they call it SR-101), but sometimes 154CM, maybe some Infi in the past
Scrap Yard Knives - models in 52100 (again SR-101), S7 (called SR-77), 154CM, 1-2 Infi models out there
Spyderco - H1, VG-10, N690, O-1, plus about 10 different specialty steels in their Mule line

Plus there a bunch of very reasonable custom & semi-custom makers out there, depending on what you want.

 

[MTHall720]

Originally I was only looking at folders but I do want a fixed at some point too.

 

[Planterz]

Not for nothing, but a lot of the responses kinda ignored the original requirement. Steels like D2, M390, ZDP-189, and even sometimes 154CM/ATS-34 and S30V (depends on the maker) can be difficult to sharpen without spending a lot of time and/or a lot of money on sharpening equipment.

My favorite steel that's a balanced compromise between edge holding and ease of sharpening is VG-10. I find that it holds an edge reasonably well, certainly well enough for my means, and it is very easy for me to get wicked sharp with only ceramic sticks (freehanding). There's plenty of Spydercos and Al Mars in VG-10. A Calypso 3 or Caly 3.5 is a fantastic light-medium duty knife that'll handle some heavier duty work as well as long as you don't get stupid with it.

 

[The Mastiff]

Knarfeng wrote:

S30V
154CM
CPM154
ATS-34
N690
VG10
AUS10

I agree completely but would add Elmax, and CPM 154, as well as VG1 ( non "san mai") , which is also similar to 19C and MBS 28(?).

CPM D2, CTS XHP, and a few others. BD1( Gin 1), as well as 420hc are just barely in there and are tough, easy to sharpen, and pretty good about not corroding, etc.

 

[flatface77]

The Spyderco Endura in ZDP189 jumped into my head first when I saw the thread's title. The Kershaw Rake in CPM D2 was the second. Didn't know the Speedform came in Elmax for 80-ish. That would be a great choice too.

 

[arty]

Some of the steels that were recommended are fine steels, but do have a reputation for being difficult to sharpen. ZDP-189 is easy to maintain with a strop, but people report that it takes some time to sharpen. I have knives in D2 and 154cm, and find that they are very wear resistant steels. It really helps to have a belt sander to change the edge profile on these steels or to sharpen them.
I especially like VG10 for ease of sharpening and edge retention. I find VG10 is very easy to sharpen and still it holds a good edge. I have knives in ZDP-189, 12C27, D2, 154CM, AUS8, 440C, ATS34, 420HC, Case CV, and 1095. I have longer blades in 1085 and 5160. I think that steels like VG10 are the best compromise here, but I don't have enough experience using AUS8. AUS8 should be easy to sharpen and hold an edge comparably to many knives in 1095. I'd pick from VG10, 154CM or ATS34, or 440C if you want a good compromise between ease of sharpening and edge retention. If the knife comes in AUS8 and you want it, get it.

 

[crom]

I like: AUS8-A, VG10, 154CM and of course Kershaw's Sandvik steels. All of those I would consider middle of the road in price but excellent value and great for EDC use.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

If you have the right equipment & know how to use it, all of the steels mentioned aren't that difficult to sharpen.

That said, I agree that VG-10 and 154CM give you a lot of performance for your money.

 

[MTHall720]

If you have the right equipment & know how to use it, all of the steels mentioned aren't that difficult to sharpen.

That said, I agree that VG-10 and 154CM give you a lot of performance for your money.

I have to stay with what I have now for sharpening due to budgetary constraints. I have and use Diamond benchstones (coarse and fine), and a Sharpmaker with super coarse diamond rods plus medium and fine rods.

 

[hardheart]

I have to stay with what I have now for sharpening due to budgetary constraints. I have and use Diamond benchstones (coarse and fine), and a Sharpmaker with super coarse diamond rods plus medium and fine rods.

Then choose any knife you like irrespective of the steel. There isn't a $100-150 knife you won't be able to sharpen. There are precious few materials harder than diamond, wurtzite boron nitride, lonsdaleite, ACNR, and none are available for us knife nuts to sharpen our blades (trust me, we've tried to find them)

 

[MTHall720]

That sounds good to me.

 

[DallasSTB]

..
S30V
154CM
CPM154
ATS-34
N690
VG10
AUS10

lots of stuff to choose in that price range.

This is where I was headed before reading all the threads. These currently represent the "mid-priced" stainless market well and you wouldn't be disappointed or overly taxed with just about any of the them from good production houses.

 

[kreole]

Thanks Kreole This is one steel I had not heard of before.

:thumbup:

I went to bed dreaming of steel and woke up remembering a very informative post by Phil Wilson on it, which I'll include because he mentions it is a good steel for the trade off between edge holding and ease of sharpening.

I have been working with N690 for a while and it has a personality that is different from other steels. The edge holding is better than one would expect form just looking at the chemistry. Maybe it is the cobalt and also the 1% Molly, Vanadium all working together. Hard to tell but what jumps out to me is the aggressive nature when sharpened on a fine silicon carbide stone. It cuts rope and cardboard like a saw, very, very aggressive. As mentioned before it is easy to sharpen and can be refined with a loaded strop to a very fine edge-- if one wants that. Heat treat is pretty straight forward. It can be pushed to RC63 as quenched with the same general process as 154CM. It is very sensitive to temper and even 20 degrees can make one point hardness difference. The best balance of hardness and toughness seems to be about RC 60. I have a couple of fillet knives at RC 61, with a thin grind that don’t show any chipping on the edge with pretty aggressive whittling on seasoned fir. With fine grinding belt grits like 320 the grain structure is visible. It kind of looks like D2 and 154CM with the large carbide strings. Some may not like this but I think it is pretty. It is very easy on belts, grinds like butter. For long edge holding on abrasive materials(hunting knives) I still like the Vanadium Carbide PM steels but this one I think would shine as an easy maintenance EDC and makes a great fillet blade and also would be great on Chef’s or other kitchen knife. As premium steels go the price per pound is very reasonable. This is a bonus for makers. Phil