Who does not like "supersteels"?

Truth is most knives dont get used,but are bought to keep as safequeens by collectors and other people cutting nothing else besides paper.A lot of people are even afraid to sharpen these knives,so they dont scratch them,but never really use them and brag about how well they perform lol.Knives should be used(i understand knives with limited series and with certain details that are made specifically for collectors,but a lot of people dont even use plain spydercos and other knives made to be used ,and used hard),and a lot of these steels are overhyped,but in real world dont offer the type of performance they were marketed for,still the price increases with every new super steel.....same thing is with the grinds and also thickness of the blades.A lot of knives are made like prybars with weird grinds that do not serve purpose,but i guess they sell well as tactical or whatever,thats why i started buying and carrying traditional knives (LEss expensive ones) with thinner blades,proven and tested steels,flat or high hollow,or convex grind and designs that stood test of time mostly.And of course Victorinox and Opinel Kitchen and pocket knives that are made to cut :)
 
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Super steels have their place and I wouldn't outright claim that I don't "like" super steels.. they just rub me the wrong way in that they so far outclass a tangible pursuant "need" in the cutlery world. Having used a fair few of the super steels out there (CPM-S30V-S35VN-3V; CTS-XHP-204P; HITACHI-HAP40; BU-ELMAX), I find myself harnessing a deeper respect for less astonishing steels. While I can certainly appreciate attributes in performance (finer geometry, cutting aggression), I don't feel as much of a connection to my blade and rather experience somewhat of a cold, machine-like character in-use due to the consistent lack of attention these steels require (not withstanding corrosion resistance). All of these "basic" super steels I mentioned above have far exceeded the abuse (or lack thereof) I inflict upon my knives to the extent that I just don't care for how little I actually have to care for the darn things. Honestly, it bores me how long these things seem to just "work" :rolleyes:.

Utilizing appropriate abrasives, I haven't found any of these steels "hard" or "harder" to sharpen (should be construed as more time consuming) compared to the lesser alloyed simple steels and have never yearned to swim farther into the deep end of wear resistance to find a sacrifice within that sharpen-ability. That is one trade-off I cannot see value; in favor of neglectful reliability. I don't "get" where only needing to sharpen a knife merely but more than a handful of times before my expiration will provide a better feel for an experience of greater knowledge on that steel. After seeing tests ran on steels that exhibit a purposeful cutting of over 1,000 push-cuts severing seven-inch thick rope, batoning through the crust of the Earth at 3 distinct coordinates, then finally whittling wolverine teeth to make maracas, just to get a steel to NOT SHAVE HAIR o_O, only makes me wonder how in the hell did they attune the proper batoning coordinates :confused:. It'll take until the next ice-age melts before that knife is rendered dull and then another 3 aeons before it will be apexed properly. Impressive surely, but entirely silly and novel. I've sat countless times on the cusp of the purchasing trigger to add a new knife to my kit adorning a more super steel than the last and I just can't muster the justification of premium cost of admission for a cutlery tool, given my inherent utilization of knives to cut things as they were first crafted for. As someone with a passion for cutlery and a human being who realizes complete irony, I will no doubt participate within this frenzy to a very minor degree :p.

Maybe I just don't "use" my knives the proper way ;); I just don't see the overall "super" advantages brought to the table that outclass lesser alloys in a way that make sense to continue this treading development for cutlery applications. I would much rather see the refinement of quality, lesser, tried and true steels that have yet to be fully perfected. I'm patiently awaiting the peak of diminishing returns before it just becomes redundant to even press steel so far that we shouldn't actually be exploring other mediums for cutting at that point. I see super steels as the "lazy dog owner" steel; they don't seem to mind being loyal to that neglect and are actually attuned to just that mindset. Maybe the more interesting data will be recorded generations from now when great-great grandchildren exploring other galaxies will have still-functioning LNIB tools from their ancestors of Earth, as interesting artifacts of inferior methods to cut things :D. I guess I just like the overall ceremony of upkeep with my tools rather than to have a blade that seems to do its job well without any fuss. Color me backwards, but I like that fuss every once in a while :thumbsup:
 
willc said:
I totally agree with you that a lot of companies low ball the ht on their super steels.
It is really ridiculous because most of those knives don’t even get used and that is why you rarely hear about these knives under performing.
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So many are collectors or carry "beater knives" it is easy to get away this.
 
I generally like them. The only one I seem to be struggling with is s35vn in a ZT 0220. Cant seem to get that one anywhere near as sharp as my others.

My favorite so far is s30v.
 
IMHO no steel holds an edge forever ans no steel is hard to sharpen. I just use them and enjoy them, from 420HC to whatever steel is considered the new "super steel".
 
I'm stopping my "Super-steel-train" at Elmax. Sure, it holds an edge longer, but for the stuff I use it for (mostly food prep and camp type stuff like carving, splitting kindling etc.) 12C27, 8Cr13MoV and the like are just fine for days at a time. I'm not going out into the wilderness for weeks on end, and if I did, I'm confident I could sharpen pretty much all of my blades on a nice brick or rock or the DC4 + field strop I carry around most of the time...

If I spent the whole day cutting cardboard, then maybe I'd be into super steels. Or utility knives :D
 
bemymonkey said:
If I spent the whole day cutting cardboard, then maybe I'd be into super steels. Or utility knives :D
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Super steels do a great job cutting soft stuff. Boxes, opening mail etc..piece of cake. But once you start doing some things with a knife like cutting rope on rootballs for plants or slicing the pots to remove them then it doesn't matter. Lol. Hit a piece of metal and your toast. Hit some soil, same thing. 420 c or any other steel. I would love to see how many feet of grass sod is cut before the knife stops shaving hair. Hahahaha. About 4 inches. Lol.
 
Nope, don't care for them. They're not worth the extra cost. I've carried and used 20CV, S110V, S30V, & S60V. Side by side, I couldn't tell a difference between S110V and CTS BD1. I could never get the S110V quite as sharp either. Kept the BD1 and sold the S110V. I won't avoid them in a knife I otherwise like, but I won't buy a knife just for the steel.
 
Wowbagger said:
All you have to do is spend a year or two using Case SS and CV and SAKs etc., etc., etc.,

then

as Kurt Elling said when asked "What is Jazz ?".
He said : Jazz is like pornography; you know it when you here it.

Super steel . . . you know it when you use it.
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Ah well, I guess supersteel is whatever you want it to be
In that case, everyone likes it.
 
WHOOSH

A lot of guys here are missing the point.

Super steels don't replace sharpening.

It's about higher performance edges and sharpening when you want to, not because you have to.
 
T Abell said:
I did always wonder what Case's "Surgical Stainless Steel" is.....

...
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It's 420HC.

I always wonder why these discussions have to be so either-or. Why does it have to be you either like the so-called super steels, or you don't? Everything has its place and optimum purpose. I'm grateful that there are folks out there blazing trails around different steels and their characteristics. It's just good for the industry as a whole. It's not like we don't have plenty of options to satisfy just about any desire or niche we want. And by classifying these high-carbide steels as super is to incorrectly imply that older and softer steels are somehow less. They aren't, and I think this general line of thinking misleads a lot of people and that is not good for the community.

Besides, who decides what constitutes a super steel anyway? To a beach comber, H1 and LC200N might well be considered super steels even though they have less edge retention. A butcher will treasure softer steels and a professional big game guide who has to clean three elk in the dark might highly prize S90V or whatever.

Like beauty, "super" is in the eye of the beholder.

This whole "these steels are harder to sharpen" thing can be misleading too. Some of the softer steels can be a real pain and the aforementioned 420HC can hold onto its burr like a beggar with a dime. Different steels sometimes sharpen differently. I get the "in general" concept behind it all but that doesn't make it right. I also always love to see how long it takes for the inevitable "bottom of the coffee mug" comment to come out. Twenty two posts in this case.

The real shame in all this super steel discussion is that it detracts from the two far more important factors of geometry and heat treat. I wish these topics got a quarter of the attention the steel type does. I hate tell all the folks out there who are giddy about their mainline production S90V that is probably in the 59 or so HRC range, you ain't really getting a lot out of that steel at those hardness levels. And geometry will almost always reign supreme.

These days I prefer softer steels but the primary reasons are 1) I don't need the other stuff and 2) cost. If I don't need it why would I pay for it? But I sure don't begrudge those who do. And I don't care if a person wants some razzoo steel in a safe queen or not. If it makes them happy who am I to judge? And again, guys like Phil Wilson and so many more who blaze trails on steel types are awesome.

DeadboxHero DeadboxHero posted this recently and it's a really good video:


Like what you like but that doesn't make what others like any less relevant. :)
 
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I've been using a 4V knife for 3 months now. I really wanted to check out 4V. Yea sure, it has phenomenal wear resistance. It's a bitch to sharpen. It takes about 4 times as long to sharpen comared to my A2 and Blue #2 blades and 3 times as long compared to my 3V and cpm154 blades. No joke.

3V has an excellent wear resistance to sharpenibility ratio.
 
So which are the most often over-the-counter sold supersteels in folding knives, in other words which are the most popular (or the most common) supersteels from your impressions/observations of the market/in the knife community? (i don't mean 'popular by demand' but rather: popular by issuing knife companies/factories)

This should be different from the question 'which is your favorite supersteel in folding knives?'. There are maybe 40-50 'known' supersteels on the market but many amongst them have an irrelevant market share, only very few folding knife models in a company's catalog come with the "exotic" blade steels, and one would find them only in sprint runs.

A market research pie chart showing the 'popularity' of all available supersteels in folding knives (maybe measured in number of knives sold over the counter with the indicated blade supersteel, over the past 10 years) would basically answer the question.

For example M390 and M4 seem to be highly desirable supersteels by many aficionados ("favorite supersteels") but i am sure that in that 'popularity' pie chart their pie sections would be disappearingly small. And by definition, steels which don't appear in the pie chart at all (like 420xx, 440xx, AUS-6, AUS-8, Chinese D2, 8Cr13MoV, 14C28N, CTS-BD1, and similar) are no supersteels. I am guessing that VG10 and S30V would have the biggest shares in the chart, they are supersteels. But which are the next ones (Top10, in order)?
 
Even Victorinox steel is good for edc,i carry spartan on keychain for past month,one of most practical edcs that you can buy.
 
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